Chapter 5 Controls on sedimentation in Indian Palaeoproterozoic basins: clues from the Gwalior and Bijawar basins, central India

Abstract

Overlying Archaean Bundelkhand Granite Gneiss Complex, the Gwalior and Bijawar Groups of rocks represent two Palaeoproterozoic basin successions which, despite their common sediment provenance and analogous rift-related tectonic setup, record more dissimilarity in their sedimentation pattern than similarity. Whereas early sedimentation in the Gwalior Basin is clastic, the early Bijawar sedimentation is dominantly chemogenic (limestone and chert) except for an early, restricted volcano-clastic record. Although both of the basins record syn-depositional volcanic/volcaniclastic event(s) in the form of occurrence of basaltic and basaltic-andesite sills encased within their respective basin fills, the occurrence of iron formation in the later part of Gwalior sedimentation history and its absence in the Bijawar succession is related to variable oxidation conditions in the water columns of the two basins. Rising sea-level and upwelling on the continental margins of these two rift-related basins possibly generated different water chemistries; these allowed the deposition of iron formation in the Gwalior Basin and phosphorite in the Bijawar Basin. Effects of post-depositional digenetic re-crystallization are noticed within both iron formation and phosphorite deposits present in the basin successions.

Clue on ocean redox condition from trace element and rare earth element (REE) composition of iron formation and carbonate rocks from the late Paleoproterozoic Morar Formation, Gwalior Group, central India

“…Fe mineral phases associated with carbonate and chert (facies MBF-3, 4, and 5) are dominantly hematite and subordinately magnetite, while those alternated with shale (facies MBF-5 and 6) are Fe oxide/hydroxide recrystallized to hematite (cf. Chakraborty et al, 2015). At cases, Fe-rich bands entirely comprise of euhedral to subhedral crystals of martite, pseudomorph of magnetite ( Fig.…”

Origin of the Paleoproterozoic “Giant Quartz Reef” System in the Bundelkhand Craton, India: Constraints from Fluid Inclusion Microthermometry, Raman Spectroscopy, and Geochemical Modelling

“…The scanty radiometric age data reported so far indicate that the BGQR system was formed between episodes of emplacement of the Bundelkhand granodiorite batholith and intrusion of mafic dykes. The early Proterozoic lithologic ensembles of the Bundelkhand craton were the main source of sediments for the mid-Proterozoic Bijawar and Gwalior basins (see Figure 1) ( [18] and references therein). The Bundelkhand craton is fringed by the Vindhyan Supergroup of rocks on the western, southern, and eastern margins.…”

Shales of Palaeo-Mesoproterozoic Vindhyan Basin, central India: insight into sedimentation dynamics of Proterozoic shelf

“…It is agreed that, subsequent to the stabilization of the Aravalli-Bhandara craton with a post-orogenic granitic intrusion at c. 2.5 Ga (Eriksson et al 1999;Roger et al 1999), the craton thickness reduced as a result of continued rifting. These rifts accommodated sediments of early Proterozoic age, such as the Gwalior, Bijawar and Mahakoshal groups (Mazumder et al 2000;Bose et al 2001;Chakraborty et al 2015). Unconformably overlying early riftogenic sediments, the Vindhyan Supergroup occurs as a largely undeformed sediment package, dominated by immature siliciclastics and carbonate-rich sediments in its lower part and mature siliciclastics in its upper part.…”