The response of stromatolites to seismic shocks: Tomboliths from the Palaeoproterozoic Chaibasa Formation, E India
A.J. (Tom) van Loona,*, Rajat Mazumderb, Shuvabrata Dec
a Geocom Consultants, Valle del Portet 17, 03762, Benitachell, Spain; b Department of Applied Geology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Curtin University Sarawak, CDT 250, 98009, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia; c Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Bhopal By-pass Road, Bhopal, 462066, Madhya Pradesh, India
Abstract It is demonstrated here for the ?rst time how Palaeoproterozoic stromatolites survived seismic disturbance of their substrate. The stromatolites under study could have been cyanobacteria or any other photoautotrophic microbes, which formed mats that covered a substrate of very ?ne-grained sandstones and mudstones of the Chaibasa Fm. in eastern India. The sediments represent a shelf environment. The local abundance of the stromatolites suggests that the low-energy environment formed a suitable habitat. The common phases of tectonic quiescence were, however, occasionally interrupted by seismic shocks. These were suf?ciently strong to deform the mat layers, the lower parts of which might already have been (semi-) consolidated. The mats became partly folded, partly faulted, and already consolidated parts of the stromatolite layers broke off. This can be deduced from the angular shapes of part of the broken-off fragments. It appears, however, that part of these fragments were still suf?ciently soft to become rounded and deformed by rolling over the sea?oor, probably under the in?uence of tidal currents. When come to rest, these fragments served as a new substrate for new generations of the microorganisms. These micro-organisms thus survived by continued growth on the reworked fragments and built up new stromatolites that may show an ��angular disconformity�� with the stromatolites of their substrate. It thus is shown that stromatolites have an adequate response to a sudden disturbance of their habitat, and that they survive earthquakes by colonization of broken-off fragments. We call the ��healed�� fragments ��tomboliths�� (tumbled stones).
Corresponding Authors:
E-mail address: Geocom.VanLoon@gmail.com (A.J. (Tom) van Loon).
Cite this article:
. The response of stromatolites to seismic shocks: Tomboliths from the Palaeoproterozoic Chaibasa Formation, E India[J]. Journal of Palaeogeography, 2016, 5(4): 381-390.
. The response of stromatolites to seismic shocks: Tomboliths from the Palaeoproterozoic Chaibasa Formation, E India[J]. Journal of Palaeogeography, 2016, 5(4): 381-390.
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