Abstract
The Oligocene Barail Sandstones of Surma basin from parts of Champhai District of Mizoram, northeast India has been studied for their tectono-provenance setting using petrography and geochemistry. The studied sandstones are poor to moderately sorted, subarkosic to sub-litharenite and show dominance of quartz (avg. 54.46%) followed by feldspars (avg. 7.22%), rock fragments (avg. 4.98%), mica (avg. 5.89%), matrix (avg. 14.47%) and cement (avg. 12.98%). Dominance of polycrystalline and undulatory monocrystalline quartz indicates contribution from medium grade metamorphic sources, primarily of granite gneisses. High concentration of SiO2 with moderate to low concentration of Al2O3, Fe2O3, MgO, Na2O and K2O resembles the composition of upper continental crust. Moreover, moderate to high concentration of Th and V, depleted value of Ni along with TiO2/Zr suggests derivation of sediments from felsic sources. The ratios of Eu/Eu* (avg. 0.63) and LaN/LuN bears resemblance with the upper continental crust. Overall analyses show that the sediments were derived from the felsic terrain of neighbouring orogens probably represented by granite-gneisses and have undergone a moderate degree of weathering (avg. values of CIA: 70.20, CIW: 81.03, PIA: 77.63, WIP: 38.45, ICV: 1.06, Iw = 2) in a semi-humid to humid climatic conditions [Qp/(F + RF):Qt/(F + RF) = 0.20].
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This research work is supported by the Department of Science and Technology-Science and Engineering Research Board (DST-SERB) vide Letter No. EMR/2016/003915. We are grateful to the Director, National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad for providing us the facilities to carry out HR-ICP-MS and XRF analysis at their laboratory. We like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their critical reviews and suggestions and Prof. Santanu Banerjee for the Editorial handling and constructive suggestions which has enhanced the quality of the manuscript.
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Borgohain, P., Hussain, M.F., Bezbaruah, D. et al. Petrography and whole-rock geochemistry of Oligocene Barail Sandstones of Surma basin: Implications for tectono-provenance and paleoclimatic condition. J Earth Syst Sci 129, 179 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-020-01431-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-020-01431-y