Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Presence of detrital olivine and serpentine minerals in the Dihing unit of upper Assam: Implication towards the source

  • Published:
Journal of Earth System Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A significant occurrence of olivine and serpentine (antigorite, lizardite) are reported for the first time in the Dihing sedimentary unit of upper Assam. Petrography of the Dihing Formation documents olivine, serpentine (antigorite, lizardite), pyroxene and major framework grains (quartz, feldspar and variety of lithic fragments). Based on modal composition, the Dihing unit samples are classified as lithic arenite. Heavy mineral analysis in addition to the above, provides evidence of other minerals such as zircon, tourmaline, rutile, garnet, epidote, amphibole, sphene, aluminosilicates, apatite, spinel, staurolite, chloritoid, chlorite and mica. The heavy mineral assemblage is dominated by olivine (36.9%) and pyroxene (16.5%). The low (10.7%) zircon–tourmaline–rutile (ZTR) index infers mineralogically immature nature of sediments. Raman spectroscopy confirms the presence of antigorite and electron microprobe analysis corroborates the existence of olivine, pyroxene, serpentine and chrome-spinel in the analyzed samples. The imbricated clasts and cross-bedding sedimentary structures indicate SSW to SW paleo-current direction. The peridotite and serpentinite rocks of the Tidding suture zone from the Lohit–Dibang valleys are suggested as the likely sediment provenance for olivine and serpentine minerals. We advocate that the Lohit and Dibang rivers earlier flowed close to the Indo-Burman Ranges (IBR) depositing the Plio-Pleistocene Dihing sediments before merging with the Brahmaputra river.

Research Highlights

  • First report of detrital olivine and serpentine minerals in the Dihing unit of upper Assam.

  • Petrography, heavy mineral, XRD and EPMA analyses show the presence of olivine, pyroxene, serpentine and chrome spinel.

  • Clast imbrications and current-bedding indicate SSW to SW paleocurrent direction.

  • Peridotite and serpentinite rocks of the Tidding suture zone from the Lohit–Dibang valleys are inferred as the source.

  • The Lohit and Dibang rivers seem to have carried detritus from source to sink.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Plate 1

References

  • Acharyya S K 1987 Cenozoic plate motions creating the Eastern Himalaya and Indo-Burmese range around the northeast corner of India. In: Ophiolites and Indian Plate Margins (eds) Ghosh N C, Varadarajan S, Patna University, Patna, pp. 143–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alván A, von Eynatten H, Dunkl I and Gerdes A 2015 Zircon U–Pb geochronology and heavy mineral composition of the Camaná Formation, southern Peru: Constraints on sediment provenance and uplift of the Coastal and Western Cordilleras; J. South Am. Earth Sci. 61 14–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bassey C E, Ite A E, Asuaiko E R and Aidoko E E 2019 Textural and heavy minerals characterization of coastal sediments in Ibeno and Eastern Obolo local government areas of Akwa Ibom State-Nigeria; J. Geosci. 7(4) 191–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhandari L L, Fuloria R C and Sastri V V 1973 Stratigraphy of Assam Valley, India; Am. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull. 57 642–654.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunnschweiler R O 1966 On the geology of the Indoburman ranges (Arakan Coast and Yoma, Chin Hills, Naga Hills); J. Geol. Soc. Austr. 13(1) 137–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caillaud J, Proust D and Righi D 2006 Weathering sequences of rock-forming minerals in a serpentinite: Influence of microsystems on clay mineralogy; Clays Clay Miner. 54(1) 87–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carmignano O R D, Vieira S S, Brandão P R G and Bertoli A C and Lago R M 2020 Serpentinites: Mineral structure, properties and technological applications; J. Brazilian Chem. Soc. 31(1) 2–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chutia A, Taye C D, Daimari J and Chutia D 2020 Petrography and clay mineralogical study of the Siwalik group of rocks exposed along Pasighat–Mariyang Road Section, East Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh, northeast India; J. Geol. Soc. India 95(3) 263–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cina S E, Yin A, Grove M, Dubey C S, Shukla D P, Lovera O M, Kelty T K, Gehrels G E and Foster D A 2009 Gangdese arc detritus within the eastern Himalayan Neogene foreland basin: Implications for the Neogene evolution of the Yalu–Brahmaputra River system; Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 285 150–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curray J R, Moore D G, Lawver L A, Emmel F J, Raitt R W, Henry M and Kieckhefer R 1979 Tectonics of the Andaman Sea and Burma; Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol. Memoir 29 189–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Das G A B and Biswas A K 2000 Geology of Assam; Geol. Soc. India, Bengaluru, 170p.

  • Decelles P G, Kapp P, Gehrels G E and Ding L 2014 Paleocene–Eocene foreland basin evolution in the Himalaya of southern Tibet and Nepal: Implications for the age of initial India–Asia collision; Tectonics 33(5) 824–849.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downs R 2006 The RRUFF Project: An integrated study of the chemistry, crystallography, Raman, and infrared spectroscopy of minerals; Presented at the Program and abstracts of the 19th general meeting of the International Mineralogical Association in Kobe, Japan, pp. 003–13.

  • Dutt A, Singh A K, Srivastava R K, Oinam G and Bikramaditya R K 2020 Geochemical and metamorphic record of the amphibolites from the Tuting–Tidding Suture Zone ophiolites, Eastern Himalaya, India: Implications for the presence of a dismembered metamorphic sole; Geol. Mag., https://doi.org/10.1017/S0016756820000825.

  • Evans P 1964 Tectonic framework of Assam; J. Geol. Soc. India 5 80–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleet W F 1926 Petrological notes on the Old Red Sandstone of the West Midlands; Geol. Mag. 63(11) 505–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fossum K, Morton A C, Dypvik H and Hudson W E 2019 Integrated heavy mineral study of Jurassic to Paleogene sandstones in the Mandawa Basin, Tanzania: Sediment provenance and source-to-sink relations; J. African Earth Sci. 150 546–565.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frost B R, Evans K A, Swapp S M, Beard J S and Mothersole F E 2013 The process of serpentinization in dunite from New Caledonia; Lithos 178 24–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garzanti E, Vezzoli G, Andò S, France-Lanord C, Singh S K and Foster G 2004 Sand petrology and focused erosion in collision orogens: The Brahmaputra case; Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 220(1–2) 157–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garzanti E and Andò S 2007 Plate tectonics and heavy mineral suites of modern sands; Dev. Sedimentol. 58 741–763.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garzanti E, Limonta M, Resentini A, Bandopadhyay P C, Najman Y, Andò S and Vezzoli G 2013 Sediment recycling at convergent plate margins (Indo-Burman ranges and Andaman–Nicobar Ridge); Earth-Sci. Rev. 123 113–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geological Survey of India 1998 Geological and mineral map of Meghalaya and Assam.

  • Geological Survey of India 2010 Geological and mineral map of Arunachal Pradesh.

  • Ghosh B, Mahoney J and Ray J 2007 Mayodia Ophiolites of Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern Himalaya; J. Geol. Soc. India 70(4) 595.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh B and Ray J 2003 Petrology of the Ophiolitic assemblage around Mayodia, Dibang Valley District, Arunachal Pradesh, north eastern India, Indian Minerals 57(1–2) 39–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh T, Basu S and Hazra S 2014 Geological mapping of the Schuppen belt of north-east India using geospatial technology; J. Asian Earth Sci. 79 97–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goswami T K 2013 Geodynamic significance of leucogranites intrusions in the Lohit batholith near Walong, Eastern Arunachal Pradesh India; Curr. Sci. 104(2) 229–234.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gururajan N S and Choudhury B K 2003 Geology and tectonic history of the Lohit Valley, Eastern Arunachal Pradesh India; J. Asian Earth Sci. 21 731–741.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Handique G K and Dutta S K 1981 A study of the Surma–Tipam Groups of Upper Assam Valley, south of Brahmputra; J. Palaeontol. Soc. India 25 42–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hubert J F 1962 A zircon–tourmaline–rutile maturity index and the interdependence of the composition of heavy mineral assemblages with the gross composition and texture of sandstones; J. Sedim. Res. 32(3) 440–450.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu X, Garzanti E, Moore T and Raffi I 2015 Direct stratigraphic dating of India–Asia collision onset at the Selandian (middle Paleocene, 59±1 Ma); Geology 43(10) 859–862.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingersoll R V, Fullard T F, Ford R L, Grimm J P, Pickle J D and Sares S W 1984 The effect of grain size on detrital modes: A test of the Gazzi-Dickinson point-counting method; J. Sedim. Res. 54(1) 103–116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kale M G, Pundalik A S and Kumar D 2020 Fluvial facies and petrography of Late Pleistocene Baneta sediments, Central Narmada Basin, Madhya Pradesh, India; J. Earth Syst. Sci. 129(1) 61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kent W N and Dasgupta U 2004 Structural evolution in response to fold and thrust belt tectonics in northern Assam. A key to hydrocarbon exploration in the Jaipur anticline area; Mar. Petrol. Geol. 21(7) 785–803.

  • Krippner A, Meinhold G, Morton A C, Schönig J and von Eynatten H 2016 Heavy minerals and garnet geochemistry of stream sediments and bedrocks from the Almklovdalen area, Western Gneiss Region, SW Norway: Implications for provenance analysis; Sedim. Geol. 336 96–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lang K A and Huntington K W 2014 Antecedence of the Yarlung–Siang–Brahmaputra River, Eastern Himalaya; Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 397 145–158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu H and Pu R 2011 Approaches of paleocurrent direction analysis; In: 2011 International Conference on Remote Sensing, Environment and Transportation Engineering (IEEE), pp. 8073–8076.

  • Mange M A and Maurer H F W 1992 Heavy Minerals in Colour; Chapman and Hall, London, 14p.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mange M A and Wright D T 2007 Heavy minerals in use; Dev. Sedimentol. Ser. 58 1328.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mange M A and Morton A C 2007 Geochemistry of heavy minerals; Dev. Sedimentol. Ser. 58 345–391.

  • Miao X, Lu H, Li Z and Cao G 2008 Paleocurrent and fabric analyses of the imbricated fluvial gravel deposits in Huangshui Valley, the northeastern Tibetan Plateau China; Geomorphology 99(1–4) 433–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Misra D K 2009 Litho-tectonic sequence and their regional correlation along the Lohit and Dibang valleys, eastern Arunachal Pradesh; J. Geol. Soc. India 73(2) 213–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morton A C and Hallsworth C R 2007 Stability of heavy detrital minerals during burial diagenesis; Dev. Sedimentol. 58 215–245.

  • Najman Y, Appel E, Boudagher Fadel M, Bown P, Carter A, Garzanti E, Godin L, Han J, Liebke U, Oliver G and Parrish R 2010 Timing of India–Asia collision: Geological, biostratigraphic, and palaeomagnetic constraints; J. Geophys. Res. 115 B12416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nesbitt H W and Young G M 1996 Petrogenesis of sediments in the absence of chemical weathering: Effects of abrasion and sorting on bulk composition and mineralogy; Sedimentology 43(2) 341–358, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3091.1996.d01-12.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nichols G 2009 Sedimentology and Stratigraphy; 2nd edn, Wiley, 432p.

  • Ningthoujam P S, Dubey C S, Lolee L K, Shukla D P, Naorem S S and Singh S K 2015 Tectonic studies and crustal shortening across Easternmost Arunachal Himalaya; J. Asian Earth Sci. 111 339–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oni S O and Olatunji A S 2017 Depositional environments signatures, maturity and source weathering of Niger Delta sediments from an oil well in southeastern Delta State Nigeria; Eurasian J. Soil Sci. 6(3) 259–274.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pettijohn F J, Potter P E and Siever R 1987 Sand and Sandstone; 2nd edn. Springer-Verlag, New York, 533p.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rai P, Borgohain B, Chettri N and Mathew G 2020 A comparative heavy mineral study of the Cenozoic sediments of Assam and Siwalik foreland basins, northeast Himalaya; J. Geol. Soc. India 96(5) 475–484.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rajkumar H S, Soibam I, Khaidem K S, Sanasam S S and Khuman C M 2019 Ichnological Significance of Upper Disang Formation and Lower Barail Formation (Late Eocene to Early Oligocene) of Nagaland, Northeast India, in the Indo-Myanmar Ranges; J. Geol. Soc. India 93(4) 471–481.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raju S V and Mathur N 1995 Petroleum geochemistry of a part of Upper Assam Basin, India: a brief overview; Org. Geochem. 23(1) 55–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rangarao A 1983 Geology and hydrocarbon potential of a part of the Assam–Arakan basin and its adjacent region; Petrol. Asia J. 6(4) 127–158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sahoo M and Gogoi K D 2009 Depositional history, processes and mechanism of early Miocene sediments of Upper Assam Basin; J. Geol. Soc. India 73(4) 575–585.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salvi D, Mathew G, Kohn B, Pande K and Borgohain B 2020 Thermochronological insights into the thermo-tectonic evolution of Mishmi hills across the Dibang Valley, NE Himalayan Syntaxis; J. Asian Earth Sci.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2019.104158.

  • Salvi D, Mathew G, Pande K and Kohn B 2021 Phased cooling of the Siang antiform, Eastern Himalaya: Insight from multi-thermochronology and thermal studies; J. Earth Syst. Sci. 130(1) 1–20.

  • Sarma J N and Chutia A 2013 Petrography and heavy mineral analysis of Tipam sandstones exposed on the Tipam hill of Sita Kunda area, upper Assam, India; South East Asian J. Sediment. Basin Res. 1 28–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sekhose K, Prajapati S and Jain A 2016 Final report on specialised thematic mapping to study the evolution of Gondwana Supergroup and Siwalik group in parts of Papum Pare and Lower Subansiri districts, Arunachal Pradesh; Geol. Surv. India., report., Mission I-A /North Eastern Region, 155p.

  • Sengupta S, Ray K K, Acharyya S K and De Smeth J B 1990 Nature of ophiolite occurrences along the eastern margin of the Indian plate and their tectonic significance; Geology 18(5) 439–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sevastjanova I, Hall R and Alderton D 2012 A detrital heavy mineral viewpoint on sediment provenance and tropical weathering in SE Asia; Sedim. Geol. 280 179–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma K K, Choubey V M and Chatti H R 1991 Geological setting of the ophiolites and magmatic arc of the Lohit Himalaya (Arunachal Pradesh), India with special reference to their petrochemistry; Phys. Chem. Earth 18 277–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siebach K L, Baker M B, Grotzinger J P, McLennan S M, Gellert R, Thompson L M and Hurowitz J A 2017 Sorting out compositional trends in sedimentary rocks of the Bradbury group (Aeolis Palus), Gale crater, Mars; J. Geophys. Res. Planets 122(2) 295–328.

  • Singh A K 2006 Petrography, geochemistry and petrogenesis of Abor volcanics, Eastern Himalayan syntaxial bend; Him. Geol. 27(2) 163–181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh A K and Singh R B 2012 Genetic implications of Zn- and Mn-rich Cr-spinels in serpentinites of the Tidding Suture Zone, eastern Himalaya, NE India; Geol. J. 48(1) 22–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh A K, Chung S L, Bikramaditya R, Lee H Y and Khogenkumar S 2019 Zircon U–Pb geochronology, Hf isotopic compositions, and petrogenetic study of Abor volcanic rocks of Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis, Northeast India: Implications for eruption during breakup of Eastern Gondwana; Geol. J. 55(2) 1227–1244, https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.3477.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinha R N and Sastri V V 1973 Correlation of the Tertiary geosynclinal sediments of the Surma valley, Assam, and Tripura state (India); Sedim. Geol. 10(2) 107–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uddin A, Kumar P, Sarma J N and Akhter S H 2007a Heavy mineral constraints on the provenance of Cenozoic sediments from the foreland basins of Assam and Bangladesh: erosional history of the eastern Himalayas and the Indo-Burman Ranges; Dev. Sedimentol. 58 823–847.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uddin A, Kumar P and Sarma J N 2007b Early orogenic history of the eastern Himalayas: Compositional studies of Paleogene sandstones from Assam, northeast India; Int. Geol. Rev. 49(9) 798–810.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vögeli N, Huyghe P, van der Beek P, Najman Y, Garzanti E and Chauvel C 2018 Weathering regime in the Eastern Himalaya since the mid-Miocene: Indications from detrital geochemistry and clay mineralogy of the Kameng River Section, Arunachal Pradesh India; Basin Res. 30(1) 59–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang P, Zheng H, Liu S and Hoke G 2018 Late Cretaceous drainage reorganization of the Middle Yangtze River; Lithosphere 10(3) 392–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitney D L and Evans B W 2010 Abbreviations for names of rock-forming minerals; Am. Mineral. 95 185–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

PR acknowledges Teaching Assistantship (TA) fellowship funded by IIT Bombay. PR and GM thank Prof S C Patel and Mr Javed M Shaikh for EPMA analysis at the Department of Earth Sciences, IIT Bombay. The authors thank Dr Biraj Borgohain for his help in the field. The funding from the Ministry of Earth Science (MoES) to GM (MoES/P.O. (Geosci)/2/2012) is gratefully acknowledged. We extend our most profound appreciation to the handling editor Prof N V Chalapathi Rao for his comments. Authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their critical reviews, which significantly improved the manuscript. Authors are also thankful to Dr Trupti Chandrasekhar for her help in PXRD.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400 076, India

    Priti Rai & George Mathew

Authors
  1. Priti Rai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. George Mathew
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Author confirms the contribution of co-author to draft this manuscript. PR and GM conceived the idea, carried out field work. PR performed all the analyses. PR and GM contributed equally towards the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Priti Rai.

Additional information

Communicated by N V Chalapathi Rao

Supplementary material pertaining to this article is available on the Journal of Earth System Science website (http://www.ias.ac.in/Journals/Journal_of_Earth_System_Science).

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (XLSX 25 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rai, P., Mathew, G. Presence of detrital olivine and serpentine minerals in the Dihing unit of upper Assam: Implication towards the source. J Earth Syst Sci 130, 86 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-021-01581-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-021-01581-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation