Late Quaternary sediments from Nal Sarovar, Gujarat, India: Distribution and provenance |
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| Authors: | K Pandarinath Sushma Prasad R D Deshpande S K Gupta |
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| Institution: | (1) Physical Research Laboratory, Post Box No. 4218, 380 009 Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, India |
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| Abstract: | A 54-m long core was raised from the bed of the Nal Sarovar, a large shallow lake located in the middle of the low-lying region
linking the Gulfs of Kachchh and Khambhat, in western India. A three-layer sequence comprising: Zone-1 (top 3 m), predominantly
silty-clay/clayey; Zone-2 (3–18 m), sandy; and Zone-3 (18–54 m), dominated by sticky silty-clay/clayey-silt with occasional
thin sand layers and basalt fragments was identified. Smectite and illite are the dominant clay minerals with minor amounts
of kaolinite and chlorite. Very high content of smectite (53–97%) in the clays of the lowermost zone (18–54 m) and the geomorphic
features of the surrounding region suggested that the sediments were derived from the basaltic terrain of Saurashtra and/or
via the Gulf of Khambhat. The clay content in the middle zone (3–18 m), dominantly sandy, is very low. Therefore, provenance
for this zone was derived using heavy minerals in the sand fraction. The heavy mineral species in this zone suggested the
mixed metamorphic and igneous terrain of Aravallis as the major source. The grain-size distribution of this zone closely matched
with the sediments underlying the modern Sabarmati riverbed at Ahmedabad, suggesting fluvial depositional environment. Clays
also dominate sediments of the topmost (0–3 m) zone with illite as the dominant (74–81%) specie followed by smectite suggesting
derivation from the mixed metamorphic and igneous terrain of Aravallis. |
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| Keywords: | Lake sediment grain-size parameters palaeo-environment Nal Sarovar and clay minerals |
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