Late Paleoarchean to Neoarchean sedimentation on the Singhbhum Craton, eastern India: a synthesis
Publication: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
10 January 2023
Abstract
Subaerial rise of Earth's first continents took place 3.3–3.2 Ga years ago. This had significant influence on the ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere. Two important sedimentological consequences of continental emersion were (1) development of terrestrial (alluvial fan–fluvial–aeolian) depositional systems and (2) formation of shallow-marine sedimentary basins near the continental margin. Late Paleoarchean–Neoarchean terrestrial deposits, including development of an extensive paleosol around 3.2 Ga, and Meso–Neoarchean shallow-marine deposits have been reported from the Singhbhum Craton, eastern India from several localities. However, lateral and vertical changes in sedimentary facies associations and stratigraphic correlation between these terrestrial to shallow-marine sedimentary deposits have not yet been investigated. In this paper, we have reviewed the sedimentological characteristics of Late Paleoarchean to Neoarchean (3.2–2.8 Ga) stratigraphic successions of the Singhbhum Craton and have discussed sea level change and mode of stratigraphic sequence building. Our analysis shows that Singhbhum granitoid complex was emplaced around 3.3 Ga in an intracontinental setting, resulting in high continental freeboard conditions that triggered terrestrial (alluvial fan–braided fluvial) sedimentation (Dhosrapahar Formation). Continental sedimentation continued until ca. 3.0 Ga. In the eastern (Simlipal Group), western (Birtola Formation), and southwestern (the Mankarchua, Mahagiri, and Keonjhar formations) parts, shallow-marine sedimentation occurred after 3.0 Ga as a result of transgression. However, in the northern part (Dhanjori Formation), continental sedimentation prevailed throughout the Archean. These Late Paleoarchean to Neoarchean terrestrial and near-coastal successions of Singhbhum Craton should be the prime targets for intense geobiological research.
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Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
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History
Received: 10 May 2022
Accepted: 2 December 2022
Accepted manuscript online: 10 January 2023
Published online: 10 January 2023
Version of record online: 7 February 2023
Notes
This paper is part of a Collection titled “Understanding the Precambrian: a collection of papers in celebration of Grant McAdam Young (1937–2020)”.
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© 2023 The Author(s). Permission for reuse (free in most cases) can be obtained from copyright.com.
Data Availability Statement
This is a review paper that incorporates largely published data (mentioned in the reference list) and presents a critical synthesis. New field data are presented in the form of field photographs. There are no numerical data.
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Conceptualization: RM
Formal analysis: SD
Investigation: TC
Methodology: RM
Resources: SD, RM, TC
Software: SD
Supervision: RM
Visualization: RM
Writing – original draft: RM
Writing – review & editing: SD, RM, TC, WB
Competing Interests
The authors declare there are no competing interests.
Funding Information
RM and WB acknowledge financial support from The Research Council, Oman (Block Funding 2018 and 2020).
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Shuvabrata De, Rajat Mazumder, Trisrota Chaudhuri, and Wilfried Bauer. 2023. Late Paleoarchean to Neoarchean sedimentation on the Singhbhum Craton, eastern India: a synthesis. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.
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https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2022-0050
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