Arun K Shandilya
HSG University, India
Title: Tectonics, Environment And Climate Change During Carboniferous- Permian-Triassic Period
Biography
Abstract
This geological period Early Permian – Triassic is responsible for the major Tectonic and climatic changes on the earth crust, developed the various Tectonic changes and formed the various graben or the rift valley type structure have been developed in Eastern and Central India, along with various rifted valley in Australia, South Africa, and in South America etc. in the part of old Gondwana Land. In India the eastern part is occurring in the Damodar valley, Mahanadi, Godavary valley, Umaria- Shahdol, Satpura Pachmarhi, regions in Central India, These area are characterized by the presence of Lower Gondwana rocks. The most important fact regarding these Gondwana rocks is its origin. The rift / Graben type valleys has been formed due to Mountain Building activities and other tectonic movement of early Permian time, such for instance as the rejuvenation of the Aravalli mobile belt and Eastern Mobile belt, had their reaction, now in the subsidence of large blocks of the country to the equilibrium plane, between vertical or slightly inclined Normal Faults in the crust, as a result the Graben/ Rift valleys has formed. These tectonic depressions are naturally become the place of deposition of river sediments in the new drainage configuration. The continually increasing load of the sediment that were poured into basin caused them to be sink relatively to the surrounding Archean or Vindhyan province from which sediments were derived and thus gave rise to continuation of the same conditions without any interruption for quite a long geological period. The Gondwana faulted depression / basin, correspond to the present disposition of their out crops. It should not be supposed that in every case these out crop imply the original faulted basis. Some of these faults were post Gondwana in age ( Triassic) The strike of these faults delimiting Gondwana basin in E-W in Bangal and in Bihar and NW-SE in Mahanadi, Godavary, Umaria, Satpura regions etc. The down throws of the main bounding fault are generally unequal in amount, e.g. on the south side of Damodar Valley basin, the throw in much greater than in the north margin, basin on the Godavary, Mahanadi, Umaris, Satpura region subsided much more on their NE margin than on SW. It is this circumstance that has determined the prevailing dip of the Gondwana strata, to the south in the former area and to the NE in the later. Minor cross or oblique faults are also seen in the basins, which have afforded pathway for the later Igneous intrusions in the Lower Gondwanas. It is a sinking of loaded trough among the Archean Crystalline rocks that has tended to preserve with Gondwana rocks. The vertical tectonics did not have disturbed the horizontal stratification of these deposit, beyond imparting to the then warping or a slight tilt now in one direction. These Gondwana rocks are marked by several environmental and climatic changes. The Boulder Bed and its base tills as an indicator of Cold Glacial climate during Upper Carboniferous- Permian time, which are occurring in the Hazara, Kashmir, Simla, Salt range, Rajputana, Garhwal Kumaun, M.P. and in Orissa. The upper Carboniferous glacial epoch is well established fact , not only in India, but also in all over Gondwanba Land including the Australia, South Affrica, South America etc. and part of Anagaraland as well The thick coal seams is in the strata of the succeeding epoch, pointing to a super abundance of Vegetaions suggest a much warmer climate. This followed by another cold cycle before Panchet, the evidence for which is contained in the presence of undecomposed feldspar grain in many clastic sediments. The thick red rock ferruginous formations, during Middle Gondwana Sandstone succeeding the Panchet beds indicate arid desert climate during some what later period, a conclusion warranted by the prevalence in them of so much ferrugenous matter coupled without vegetation. The major Environment and climatic change during geological period Early Permian – Triassic are as follows-Climatic Sequence Durning Gondwana period. Humid climate with Heavy Forest cover Dessertic hot Climate Cold climate with Frost action