Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences
Title : | How did early continental crust formed on Earth? Petrological, geochemical and geochronological investigations of the granitoids of the south-western part of the Bastar Craton |
Area of research : | Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences |
Focus area : | Geology |
Principal Investigator : | Dr. sukanta Dey, Indian Institute of science Education and Research (IIsER) Kolkata, West Bengal |
Timeline Start Year : | 2024 |
Timeline End Year : | 2027 |
Contact info : | geodeys@gmail.com |
Details
Executive Summary : | The mechanism of Early Earth crust formation remains a major research interest globally. significant knowledge gaps are exiting regarding mechanisms and tectonic settings of formation of early continental crust, their source (depleted or chondritic or enriched mantle) and the reason for temporal change in their composition (mafic to felsic or sodic granitoid to potassic granites). some researchers argued that modern-style plate-tectonics operated from the beginning of the Eoarchean (or beyond), while others opined that the thermal regime of Early Earth, therefore the nature of tectonics, was fundamentally different of present-day. Major parts of the Archaean cratons are occupied by granitoids, which provide vital clues to the mechanism and geodynamic setting of continental crust formation. Granitoids of diverse types are well exposed in the Bastar craton. Available very scanty geochronological information indicates a wide age span (3.6-2.4 Ga). In the proposed project, field study and sampling of granitoids from three key sectors of the southwestern part of the Bastar Craton are being planned to address the above-mentioned research issues. subsequently petro-mineralogical study, whole-rock geochemistry (elemental and Nd-isotope), and zircon U-Pb dating, and O and Hf isotope study will be carried out. The results will help to understand petrogenesis of these granitoids, their role in crust formation and crust-mantle interaction, and mechanism of formation of continental crust with relation to the tectonic settings within the Early Earth. These are expected to bear global implications for search of very old crustal sources, unravelling episodes of juvenile crust formation and crustal reworking, understanding the mechanism temporal change in crust formation, and correlation with other cratons of the world during the Archaean. |
Total Budget (INR): | 38,67,680 |
Organizations involved