Petrographic and geochemical characteristics of Mesoproterozoic Kumbalgarh clastic rocks,NW Indian shield: implications for provenance,tectonic setting,and crustal evolution |
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| Abstract: | The Kumbalgarh Group of the south Delhi fold belt are the main bedrock series exposed in the axial region of the Aravalli craton. Quartzites and greywackes, the chief clastic constituents of this group, are well exposed. Petrographic and bulk-rock analyses of these rocks permit determination of their provenance, tectonic setting of the basin, and the Archaean to Proterozoic crustal evolution. Greywackes comprise quartz, plagioclase, amphiboles, K-feldspar, and rock fragments. Based on mineralogy, we divided the quartzites into three categories: QTZ1 is chiefly composed of quartz with a silty matrix and a minor quantity of feldspars and QTZ2 contains significant mafic minerals as well as quartz and feldspars, whereas QTZ3 is more feldspathic than the other groups. All the lithounits have SiO2/Al2O3 ratios <～10 suggesting textural immaturity consistent with their sedimentary petrography. Greywackes display the least fractionated rare earth elements (REEs) (La/Yb N : avg. 2.55) with positive Eu anomalies (avg. Eu/Eu* = 1.34). QTZ1 contains strongly fractionated REE patterns (avg. La/Yb N : 13.56, avg. Eu/Eu* = 0.60), QTZ2 shows moderate REE fractionation (avg. La/Yb N : 4.97, avg. Eu/Eu* = 0.61), and QTZ3 possesses the least fractionated V-shaped REE patterns (avg. La/Yb N : 1.97, avg. Eu/Eu* = 0.51). Weathering attributes including chemical index of alteration (CIA), plagioclase index of alteration (PIA), chemical index of weathering (CIW), and A–CN–K plots assign a low to moderate degree of weathering to the Kumbalgarh sediments under a subtropical climate. Based on our synthesis of the petrographic and geochemical data, we suggest a provenance comprising basalts, tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite (TTG), and granite. Geochemical attributes indicate deposition of the detritus in an extensional backarc basin receiving sedimentary input from opposite directions. The opening and then closure of the South Delhi Basin was the last phase of the break-up of the supercontinent, columbia, which began by abortive rifting of the Udaipur belt and culminated in separation of the Aravalli–Bundelkhand–Dharwar block in the east and the East African orogen in the west. |
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| Keywords: | Aravalli craton sedimentary geochemistry clastic provenance crustal evolution backarc basin south Delhi fold belt Indian shield |
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