Abstract
In an endeavor to document the composition and evolution of the Precambrian crust from the Northeast Lesser Himalaya from where much less information is available, Paleoproterozoic (1900 ± 100 Ma) metasedimentary (pelites and quartzites) rocks and granites from the Bomdila Group, Arunachal Pradesh were thoroughly examined. The integrated approach adopted in the study including field, petrography and major and trace element geochemistry indicate that the metasediments are felsic in composition and may have been derived from a granitic source, which may have undergone moderate to intense chemical weathering. The associated basement granites, on the basis of field and mineralogy, consists of two types of magmatic phases; porphyritic gneisses containing biotite and muscovite without tourmaline (referred as two-mica granites) and a weakly to non-foliated leucogranite having abundant tourmaline (referred as tourmaline granite). The geochemical signatures such as high peraluminosity (A/CNK > 1.1), S-type nature, normative corundum, presence of metasedimentary enclaves, enrichment in incompatible elements (Rb, Ba, K, Th, La) and depletion in high field strength elements (HFSE) and their respective ratios (such as Zr/Sc, Ti/Zr, Th/Sc) suggest that both suites are derived from a pelitic source, similar to that of the associated metasediments. This study further suggests the unroofing of felsic material which has supplied detritus to the Bomdila basin, thus establishing the felsic composition of the Precambrian crust in the region.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Absar, N., & Sreenivas, B. (2015). Petrology and geochemistry of greywackes of the ~1.6 Ga Middle Aravalli Supergroup, northwest India: Evidence for active margin processes. International Geology Review, 57(2), 134–158.
Acharrya, S. K. (1994). The Cenozoic foreland basin and tectonics of the eastern sub-Himalaya: Problems and prospects. Himalayan Geology, 15, 3–21.
Acharrya, S. K. (1998). Thrust tectonics and evolution of domes and the syntaxis in eastern Himalaya, India. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 18, 1–17.
Balaram, V., & Gnaneshwar Rao, T. (2003). Rapid determination of REEs and other trace elements in geological samples by microwave acid digestion and ICP-MS. Atomic Spectroscopy, 24, 206–212.
Bernard, F., Moutou, P., & Pichavant, M. (1985). Phase relations of tourmaline leucogranites and the significance of tourmaline in silicic magmas. The Journal of Geology, 93, 271–291.
Bhatia, M. R., & Crook, K. A. W. (1986). Trace element characteristics of greywackes and tectonic setting discrimination of sedimentary basins. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 92, 181–193.
Condie, K. C. (1993). Chemical composition and evolution of the upper continental crust: Contrasting results from surface samples and shales. Chemical Geology, 104, 1–37.
Condie, K. C., & Kröner, A. (2013). The building blocks of continental crust: Evidence for a major change in the tectonic setting of continental growth at the end of the Archean. Gondwana Research, 23, 394–402.
Cox, R., Lower, D. R., & Cullers, R. L. (1995). The influence of sediment recycling and basement composition on evolution of mudrock chemistry in the south-western United States. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 59, 2919–2940.
Das, A. K., Bakliwal, P. C., & Dhoundial, D. P. (1975). A brief outline of the geology of parts of Kameng District, NEFA (Vol. 24, pp. 15–27). Geological Society of India, Miscellaneous Publications.
Dickinson, R., Beard, L. S., Brakenridge, G. R., Evjavec, J. L., Ferguson, R. C., Inman, K. F., et al. (1983). Provenance of North American Phanerozoic sandstones in relation to tectonic setting. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 94, 222–235.
Dickinson, W. R., & Suczek, C. A. (1979). Plate tectonics and sandstone compositions. American Association of Petroleum Geologist, 63, 2164–2182.
Dikshitulu, G. R., Pandey, B. K., Krishna, V., & Dhana, R. (1995). Rb/Sr systematics of granitoids of the central gneissic complex, Arunachal Himalaya: Implications on tectonics, stratigraphy, and source. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 45, 51–56.
Ebadi, A., & Johannes, W. (1991). Beginning of melting and composition of first melts in the system Qz-Ab-Or-H2OCO2. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 106, 286–295.
France-Lanord, C., & LeFort, P. (1988). Crustal melting and granite genesis during the Himalayan collision orogenesis. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburg, 79, 183–195.
Gaschnig, R. M., Rudnick, R. L., McDonough, W. F., Kaufman, A. J., Hu, Z., & Gao, S. (2014). Onset of oxidative weathering of continents recorded in the geochemistry of ancient glacial diamictites. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 408, 87–99.
Gaschnig, R. M., Rudnick, R. L., McDonough, W. F., Kaufman, A. J., Valley, J. W., Hu, Z., et al. (2016). Compositional evolution of the upper continental crust through time, as constrained by ancient glacial diamictites. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 186, 316–343.
Hofmann, A. (2005). The geochemistry of sedimentary rocks from the Fig Tree Group, Barberton greenstone belt: Implications for tectonic, hydrothermal and surface processes during mid-Archaean times. Precambrian Research, 143, 23–49.
Hofmann, A., Bolhar, R., Dirks, P., & Jelsma, H. (2003). The geochemistry of Archaean shales derived from a mafic volcanic sequence, Belingwe greenstone belt, Zimbabwe: Provenance, source area unroofing and submarine versus subaerial weathering. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 67, 421–440.
Holtz, F. (1989). Importance of melt fraction and source rock composition in crustal genesis-the example of two granitic suites of northern Portugal. Lithos, 24, 21–35.
Holtz, F., & Johannes, W. (1991). Genesis of peraluminous granites I. Experimental investigation of melt compositions at 3 and 5 kb and various H2O activities. Journal of Petrology, 32, 935–958.
Ingersoll, R. V., Bullard, T. F., Ford, R. L., Grimm, J. P., Pickle, J. D., & Sares, S. W. (1984). The effect of grain size on detrital modes: A test of the Gazzi-Dickinson point-counting method. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 54, 103–116.
Kumar, G. (1997). Geology of Arunachal Pradesh. Geological Society of India, 217 p.
Li, S., Gaschnig, R. M., & Rudnick, R. L. (2016). Insights intochemical weathering of the upper continental crust from the geochemistry of ancient glacial diamictites. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 176, 96–117.
McDonough, W. F., & Sun, S. S. (1995). The composition of the Earth. Chemical Geology, 120, 223–253.
McLennan, S. M., Hemming, S. R., McDaniel, D. K., & Hanson, G. N. (1993). Geochemical approaches to sedimentation, provenance and tectonics. Geological Society of America Special Paper, 284, 21–40.
McLennan, S. M., Hemming, S. R., Taylor, S. R., & Eriksson, K. A. (1995). Early Proterozoic crustal evolution: Geochemical and Nd-Pb isotopic evidence from metasedimentary rocks, southern North America. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 59, 1153–1177.
McLennan, S. M., Taylor, S. R., McCulloch, M. T., & Maynard, J. B. (1990). Geochemical and Nd-Sr isotopic composition of deep-sea turbidites: Crustal evolution and plate tectonic associations. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 54, 2015–2050.
Mohan, M. R., Satyanarayanan, M., Santosh, M., Sylvester, P. J., Tubrett, M., & Lam, R. (2013). Neoarchean suprasubduction zone arc magmatism in southern India: Geochemistry, zircon U-Pb geochronology and Hf isotopes of the Sittampundi Anorthosite Complex. Gondwana Research, 23, 539–557.
Mondal, M. E. A., Goswami, J. N., Deomurari, M. P., & Sharma, K. K. (2002). Ion micro-probe 207Pb/206Pb ages of zircons from the Bundelkhand Massif, northern India: Implications for crustal evolution of the Bundelkhand-Aravalli supercontinent. Precambrian Research, 117, 85–100.
Naqvi, S. M., Raj, B. U., Rao, D. S., Manikyamba, C., Charan, S. N., Balaram, V., et al. (2002). Geology and geochemistry of arenite–quartzwacke from the Late Archaean Sandur schist belt—Implications for provenance and accretion processes. Precambrian Research, 114, 177–197.
Naqvi, S. M., & Rogers, J. J. W. (1987). Precambrian geology of India. Oxford: Oxford University Press Inc. 223p.
Nesbitt, H. W., & Young, G. M. (1984). Prediction of some weathering trends of plutonic and volcanic rocks based on thermodynamics and kinetic consideration. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 48, 1223–1234.
Pearce, J. A., Harris, N. B. W., & Tindle, A. G. (1984). Trace element discrimination diagrams for the tectonic interpretation of granitic rocks. Journal of Petrology, 25, 956–983.
Radhakrishna, T., Chandra, Ram, Srivastava, Akhilesh K., & Balasubramonian, G. (2013). Central/Eastern Indian Bundelkhand and Bastar cratons in the Palaeoproterozoic supercontinental reconstructions: A palaeomagnetic perspective. Precambrian Research, 226, 91–104.
Rashid, S. A. (2005). The Geochemistry of Mesoproterozoic clastic sedimentary rocks from the Rautgara formation, Kumaun Lesser Himalaya: Implications for provenance, mineralogical control and weathering. Current Science, 88, 1832–1836.
Rashid, S. A., & Islam, N. (2009). Petrogenesis of a crustal-derived Paleoproterozoic Bomdila orthogneiss, Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast Lesser Himalaya. In S. Kumar (Ed.), Magmatism, tectonism and mineralization (pp. 92–101). New Delhi: Macmillan Publishers.
Roser, B. P., & Korsch, R. J. (1986). Determination of tectonic setting of sandstone mudstone suites using SiO2 content and K2O/Na2O ratio. Journal of Geology, 94, 635–650.
Saha, D. (2013). Lesser Himalayan sequences in Eastern Himalaya and their deformation: Implications for Paleoproterozoic tectonic activity along the northern margin of India. Geoscience Frontiers, 4, 289–304.
Saini, N. K., Mukherjee, P. K., Rathi, M. S., Khanna, P. P., & Purohit, K. K. (1998). A new geochemical reference Sample of granite (DG-H) from Dalhousie, Himachal Himalaya. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 52, 603–606.
Sharma, K. K. (1998). Evidence of Paleoproterozoic orogeny (deformation, metamorphism and magmatism) from Sutlej valley, NW Himalaya. Abstract volume, 13th HKT International Workshop, Peshawar. 31, pp. 181–182.
Singh, S., & Chowdhury, P. K. (1990). An outline of the geological framework of the Arunachal Himalaya. Journal of Himalayan Geology, 1, 189–197.
Srinivasan, V. (2001). Stratigraphy and structure of low grade metasedimentaries in eastern Bhutan and western Arunachal Pradesh. Himalayan Geology, 22, 83–98.
Tang, M., Chen, K., & Rudnick, R. L. (2016). Archean upper crust transition from mafic to felsic marks the onset of plate tectonics. Science, 351, 372–375.
Taylor, S. R., & McLennan, S. M. (1985). The continental crust: Its composition and evolution (p. 312). Oxford: Blackwell.
Thakur, V. C. (1986). Tectonic zonation and tectonic framework of eastern Himalaya. Science de la terra, Memoir, 47, 347–366.
Tuttle, O. F., & Bowen, N. L. (1958). Origin of granite in the light of experimental studies in the system NaAlSi3O8–KAlSi3O8–SiO2–H2O. Geological Society of America Memoirs, 74, 1–146.
Winkler, H. C. F. (1979). Petrogenesis of metamorphic rocks (2nd ed.). Berlin: Springer.
Wronkiewicz, D. J., & Condie, K. C. (1987). Geochemistry of Archean shales from the Witwatersrand Supergroup, South Africa: Source-area weathering and provenance. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 51, 2401–2416.
Yin, A., Dubey, C. S., Kelty, T. K., Gehrels, G. E., Chou, C. Y., Grove, M., & Lovera, O. (2006). Structural evolution of the Arunachal Himalaya and implications for asymmetric development of the Himalayan orogen. Current Science, 90, 195–206.
Yin, A., Dubey, C. S., Webb, A. A. G., Kelty, T. K., Grove, M., Gehrels, G. E., et al. (2010). Geologic correlation of the Himalayan orogen and Indian craton: Part 1. Structural geology, U-Pb zircon geochronology and tectonic evolution of the Shillong Plateau and its neighboring regions in NE India. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 122, 336–359.
Acknowledgements
We thank the Chairmen, Department of Geology, AMU, Aligarh and the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Kashmir, Srinagar for providing necessary facilities to carry out this work. Dr. V. Balaram and Dr. M. Satyanarayanan, NGRI, Hyderabad and Dr. N. K. Saini, WIHG, Dehradun are thankfully acknowledged for the geochemical analyses.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rashid, S.A., Ahmad, S., Islam, N., Ganai, J.A. (2019). Precambrian Crustal History Unraveled from the Geochemical Studies of Post-Archean Rocks, Arunachal Pradesh, NE Lesser Himalaya. In: Mondal, M. (eds) Geological Evolution of the Precambrian Indian Shield. Society of Earth Scientists Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89698-4_21
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89698-4_21
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-89697-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-89698-4
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)