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Dyke Swarms in the Dharwar Craton: A Key to Understanding the Late Archean to Early Proterozoic Cratonic Correlations

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Journal of the Indian Institute of Science Aims and scope

Abstract

Mafic dyke swarms are abundantly distributed in the Archean Dharwar craton. Previous studies have focused mainly on the major mafic dyke swarms in EDC; however, those in the WDC are yet to be studied in detail. Here we present preliminary geochemical data for the dykes in the Tiptur area, WDC and compare them with the dyke swarms in the EDC. Petrological studies indicate that the dykes in the Tiptur area fall into two distinct groups. The NW–SE trending dolerite dykes are unaltered, with characteristic ophitic textures and are geochemically comparable to 2.3 Ga EDC dykes. In contrast, the NE–SW trending meta-doleritic dykes showed high degree of alteration. The difference in petrography, major, trace and rare earth element geochemistry between the dolerites and meta-dolerites lead to a preliminary inference that these two suits of rocks might not be co-genetic. Meta-dolerites have not been reported from the EDC and it is possible to assume that they are a part of an earlier event, restricted in WDC, that might have emplaced prior to the amalgamation of WDC and EDC. In a global perspective, we compare our results with those reported in Archean cratons during late Archean to early Proterozoic around the world to constrain similarities that can lead to understanding the global scale magmatic activity and to aid in correlations between cratons.

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Figure 1:

(Modified from French and Heaman21). Marked area is Tiptur dyke swarm, one of the major swarms in Western Dharwar Craton.

Figure 2:

(Modified after Geological Survey of India Map 1997).

Figure 3:
Figure 4:
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Figure 6:
Figure 7:
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Figure 9:

Normalizing values are taken from McDonough and Sun36.

Figure 10:
Figure 11:

(Modified from Ernst and Buchan16), Dyke swarms in the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia (Modified from Pigeon and Cook44) and Dharwar craton, Southern Indian shield (Modified from French and Heaman21).

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Acknowledgements

We thank Prof. M. Santosh and Dr. K. Sajeev for their invitation to contribute to the special issue. We also express our sincere thanks to Dr. Toshiro Takahashi and Ms. Rikako Nohara for the help rendered during the geochemical analysis of dykes at Niigata University. Discussions with Dr. Sajeev Krishnan (IISc) and colleagues at Niigata University have helped to build up the concept on the significance of dykes in a global perspective. SAS acknowledges Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) scholarship for PhD program at Niigata University. This study was supported by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas No. JP15H05831 from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan to MS-K.

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  1. Graduate School of Science and Technology, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan

    A. S. Silpa

  2. Faculty of Science, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan

    M. Satish-Kumar

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Silpa, A.S., Satish-Kumar, M. Dyke Swarms in the Dharwar Craton: A Key to Understanding the Late Archean to Early Proterozoic Cratonic Correlations. J Indian Inst Sci 98, 365–378 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41745-018-0090-4

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