Scree conglomerate and its derivatives in the Upper Cretaceous Kallankurichchi Limestone, Ariyalur Group, Cauvery Basin, South India

doi:10.1016/j.jop.2024.03.004

Abstract
Figure/Table
References
Related Citation (0)

Download: PDF (5855 KB) HTML (1 KB)
Export: BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)

Abstract

The repetitive influx of coarse clastics of mixed composition, siliciclastics and carbonates, locally common in the lower part of the Upper Cretaceous marine Kallankurichchi Limestone specifies a resurgence of tectonic unrest in the Cauvery rift basin, India. The basin-margin scree and its derivatives elicit diverse modes of emplacement and differ in many ways from denoting it only as basal conglomerate. The study meticulously reveals the depositional history of these basin-margin coarse clastics. The scree conglomerate bodies are wedge-shaped in appearance and often have flat, eroded tops. At places, their surfaces, tops and flanks, are encrusted with Inoceramus although internally, they are mostly unfossiliferous. They are clast-supported and extremely poorly sorted, having interstitial spaces filled by sand-sized grains at the basal part. The clasts can be traced into the underlying Sillakuddi Sandstone and the granitic basement. The clasts derived from the sandstone are angular and measure up to 60 cm in length, while the basement-derived clasts dominate the smaller (maximum diameter measured 5 cm) and more rounded population. The elongated clasts are chaotically arranged, even oriented sub-vertically, reclining on other clasts. The lowermost scree conglomerate has a sharp base, and the pebbles sunk into the underlying sandstone, although no discernible impact laminae wrapping their bottom were ever observed. Evidently, the scree fans were initiated under the sea, which permitted the slow sinking of assorted rock fragments dropped from above. The sporadic occurrence of marine fossils further corroborates this contention. The scree conglomerates at different stratigraphic levels transitioned laterally into conglomerates of mass flow origin and then to massive calcarenite, together forming wedge-shaped bodies. The initial alignment of clasts parallel to bedding transforms to a chaotic alignment representing the transition from internally sheared flow to debris flow and associated shapes. Matrix-supported fabric grades into massive calcarenite, suggesting gravity-driven transformation. Further down the wedge, the massive calcarenite turns into cross-stratified facies, making it evident that laminar flow turned turbulent in the course of body transformation of the sediment-driving flows. It can be presumed that these flows were triggered by subsidence, which resulted from renewed gaps in formation and led to the collapse of scree cones. Facies variability suggests scree deposits giving way downslope to debris flow and related deposits. Eventually, all the scree products pass laterally into the carbonate formation basinwards.

Key words： Scree conglomerate Kallankurichchi Limestone Tectonic subsidence Flow transformation Cauvery Basin.

Received: 21 August 2023

Corresponding Authors: ^*E-mail address: shilpa.srimani@gmail.com (S. Srimani).

	Service

	E-mail this article
	Add to my bookshelf
	Add to citation manager
	E-mail Alert
	RSS
	Articles by authors
	Shilpa Srimani

Cite this article:

URL:

http://journal09.magtechjournal.com/Jweb_jop/EN/10.1016/j.jop.2024.03.004 OR http://journal09.magtechjournal.com/Jweb_jop/EN/Y2024/V13/I3/495

[1] Alberti M., Pandey D.K., Sharma J.K., Swami N.K., Uchman A.,2017. Slumping in the Upper Jurassic Baisakhi Formation of the Jaisalmer Basin, western India: Sign of synsedimentary tectonics? Journal of Palaeogeography, 6(4), 321-332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jop.2017.08.001.
[2] Arguden A.T., Rodolfo K.S., 1986. Sedimentary facies and tectonic implications of Lower Mesozoic alluvial-fan conglomerates of the Newark Basin, northeastern United States. Sedimentary Geology, 51(1-2), 97-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/0037-0738(86)90026-6.
[3] Banerjee S., Bansal U., Pande K., Meena S.S.,2016. Compositional variability of glauconites within the Upper Cretaceous Karai Shale Formation, Cauvery Basin, India: Implications for evaluation of stratigraphic condensation. Sedimentary Geology, 331, 12-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2015.10.012.
[4] Banerji R.K., Sastri V.V., 1979. Quantification of foraminiferal biofacies and reconstruction of palaeobiogeography of the Cauvery Basin.Journal of the Geological Society of India, 20(12), 571-586.
[5] Bansal U., Pande K., Banerjee S., Nagendra R., Jagadeesan K.C., 2019. The timing of oceanic anoxic events in the Cretaceous succession of Cauvery Basin: Constraints from ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of glauconite in the Karai Shale Formation. Geological Journal, 54(1), 308-315. https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.3177.
[6] Bose P.K., Sarkar S., 1991. Basinal autoclastic mass flow regime in the Precambrian Chanda Limestone Formation, Adilabad, India. Sedimentary Geology, 73(3-4), 299-315. https://doi.org/10.1016/0037-0738(91)90090-Z.
[7] Bose P.K., Sarkar S., Mukhopadhyay S., Saha B., Eriksson P.,2008. Precambrian basin-margin fan deposits: Mesoproterozoic Bagalkot Group, India. Precambrian Research, 162(1), 264-283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2007.07.022.
[8] Chakraborty N., Mandal A., Nagendra R., Srimani S., Banerjee S., Sarkar S., 2021. Cretaceous deposits of India: A review. In: Banerjee, S., Sarkar, S. (Eds.), Mesozoic Stratigraphy of India. Society of Earth Scientists Series. Springer, Cham, pp. 39-85. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71370-6_2.
[9] Chakraborty N., Sarkar S.,2018. Syn-sedimentary tectonics and facies analysis in a rift setting: Cretaceous Dalmiapuram Formation, Cauvery Basin, SE India. Journal of Palaeogeography, 7(2), 146-167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jop.2018.02.002.
[10] Chakraborty N., Sarkar S., Mandal A., Mejiama W., Tawfik H.A., Nagendra R., Bose P.K., Eriksson P.G., 2017. Physico-chemical characteristics of the Barremian siliciclastic rocks in the Pondicherry Embryonic Rift Sub-basin, India. In: Mazumdar, R. (Ed.), Sediment Provenance: Influences on Compositional Change from Source to Sink, First Edition. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 85-121.
[11] Chakraborty P.P.,2011. Slides, soft-sediment deformations, and mass flows from Proterozoic Lakheri Limestone Formation, Vindhyan Supergroup, central India, and their implications towards basin tectonics. Facies, 57(2), 331-349. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-010-0241-1.
[12] Chand S., Radhakrishna M., Subrahmanyam C., 2001. India-East Antarctica conjugate margins: Rift-shear tectonic setting inferred from gravity and bathymetry data. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 185(1-2), 225-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0012-821X(00)00349-6.
[13] Dolnicki P., Grabiec M., 2022. The thickness of talus deposits in the periglacial area of SW Spitsbergen (Fugleberget Mountainside) in the light of slope development theories. Land, 11(2), 209. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11020209.
[14] Dong D.T., Qiu L.W., Ma P.J., Yu G.D., Wang Y.Z., Zhou S.B., Yang B.L., Huang H.Q., Yang Y.Q., Li X.,2022. Initiation and evolution of coarse-grained deposits in the Late Quaternary Lake Chenghai source-to-sink system: From subaqueous colluvial apron (subaqueous fans) to Gilbert-type delta. Journal of Palaeogeography, 11(2), 194-221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jop.2022.03.006.
[15] Govindan A., Ravindran C.N., Rangaraju M.K., 1996. Cretaceous stratigraphy and planktonic foraminiferal zonation of Cauvery Basin, South India.Memoirs of the Geological Society of India, 37, 155-187.
[16] Madhavaraju J., Lee Y.I., 2010. Influence of Deccan volcanism in the sedimentary rocks of Late Maastrichtian-Danian age of Cauvery Basin southeastern India: Constraints from geochemistry.Current Science, 98(4), 528-537.
[17] Mulder T., Alexander J., 2001. The physical character of subaqueous sedimentary density flows and their deposits. Sedimentology, 48(2), 269-299. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3091.2001.00360.x.
[18] Mullins H.T., Dolan J., Breen N., Andersen B., Gaylord M., Petruccione J.L., Wellner R.W., Melillo A.J., Jurgens A.D., 1991. Retreat of carbonate platforms: Response to tectonic processes.Geology, 19(11), 1089-1092.
[19] Nagendra R.,Kamalak Kannan, B.V., Sen, G., Gilbert, H., Bakkiaraj, D., Reddy, A.N., Jaiprakash, B.C., 2011. Sequence surfaces and paleobathymetric trends in Albian to Maastrichtian sediments of Ariyalur area, Cauvery Basin, India. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 28(4), 895-905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2010.04.002.
[20] Nagendra R., Raja R., Reddy A.N., Jaiprakash B.C., Bhavani R., 2002. Outcrop sequence stratigraphy of the Maastrichtian Kallankurichchi Formation, Ariyalur Group, Tamil Nadu.Journal of the Geological Society of India, 59(3), 243-248.
[21] Nagendra R., Reddy A.N.,2017. Major geologic events of the Cauvery Basin, India and their correlation with global signatures — A review. Journal of Palaeogeography, 6(1), 69-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jop.2016.09.002.
[22] Nagendra R., Reddy A.N., Jaiprakash B.C., Gilbert H., Zakharov Y.D., Venkateshwarlu M., 2018. Integrated Cretaceous stratigraphy of the Cauvery Basin, South India. Stratigraphy, 15(4), 245-259. https://doi.org/10.29041/strat.15.4.245-259.
[23] Narasimha Chari M.V., Sahu J.N., Banerjee B., Zutshi P.L., Chandra K., 1995. Evolution of the Cauvery Basin, India from subsidence modelling. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 12(6), 667-675. https://doi.org/10.1016/0264-8172(95)98091-I.
[24] Nemec W., Steel R.J., 1984. Alluvial and coastal conglomerates: Their significant features and some comments on gravelly mass-flow deposits.Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists Memoir, 10, 1-31.
[25] Powell C.M., Roots S.R., Veevers J.J., 1988. Pre-breakup continental extension in East Gondwanaland and the early opening of the eastern Indian Ocean. Tectonophysics, 155, 261-283. https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(88)90269-7.
[26] Prabhakar K.N., Zutshi P.L., 1993. Evolution of southern part of Indian east coast basins.Journal of the Geological Society of India, 41(3), 215-230.
[27] Ramasamy S., Banerji R.K., 1991. Geology, petrography and systematic stratigraphy of the pre-Ariyalur sequence in Trichinopoly district, Tamil Nadu, India.Journal of the Geological Society of India, 37, 577-594.
[28] Ramkumar M.,2000. Lithostratigraphy, depositional history and constraints on sequence stratigraphy of the Kallankurichchi Formation (Maastrichtian), Ariyalur Group, South India.Geološki Anali Balkanskoga Poluostrva, 63(1), 19-42.
[29] Reijmer J.J.G., Mulder, T., Borgomano, J., 2015. Carbonate slopes and gravity deposits. Sedimentary Geology, 317, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2014.12.001.
[30] Rodine J.D., Johnson A.M., 1976. The ability of debris, heavily freighted with coarse clastic materials, to flow on gentle slopes. Sedimentology, 23(2), 213-234. 10.1111/j.1365-3091.1976.tb00047.x.
[31] Samanta P., Mukhopadhyay S., Sen A., Ghosh N., Bumby A.,2022. Precambrian fans on opposite margins of an intracratonic rift basin; palaeogeography, palaeoclimate and provenance: Neoproterozoic Badami Group, Karnataka, India. Sedimentary Geology, 428, 106050. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2021.106050.
[32] Sarkar S., Chakraborty N., Mandal A., Banerjee S., Bose P.K.,2014. Siliciclastic-carbonate mixing modes in the river-mouth bar palaeogeography of the Upper Cretaceous Garudamangalam Sandstone (Ariyalur, India). Journal of Palaeogeography, 3(3), 233-256. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1261.2014.00054.
[33] Shanmugam G.,2015. The landslide problem. Journal of Palaeogeography, 4(2), 109-166. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1261.2015.00071.
[34] Srimani S., Mandal S., Sarkar S., 2021. Facies and microfacies analysis of Kallankurichchi Formation, Ariyalur Group with an Inkling of Sequence Stratigraphy. In: Banerjee, S., Sarkar, S. (Eds.), Mesozoic Stratigraphy of India. Society of Earth Scientists Series. Springer, Cham, pp. 529-552. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71370-6_18.
[35] Srivastava R.P., Tewari B.S., 1969. Biostratigraphy of the Ariyalur stage, Cretaceous of Trichinopoly.Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India, 12, 48-54.
[36] Sundaram R., Henderson R.A., Ayyasami K., Stilwell J.D.,2001. A lithostratigraphic revision and palaeoenvironmental assessment of the Cretaceous System exposed in the onshore Cauvery Basin, southern India. Cretaceous Research, 22(6), 743-762. https://doi.org/10.1006/cres.2001.0287.
[37] Sundaram R., Rao P.S., 1979. Lithostratigraphic classification of Uttatur and Trichinopoly Group of rocks in Tiruchirapalli district, Tamil Nadu.Geological Survey of India, Miscellaneous Publications, 45, 111-119.
[38] Sundaram R., Rao P.S., 1986. Lithostratigraphy of Cretaceous and Paleocene rocks of Tiruchirapalli district, Tamil Nadu, South India.Records of the Geological Survey of India, 115(5), 9-23.
[39] Tewari A., Hart M.B., Watkinson M.P., 1996. Foraminiferal recovery after the Mid-Cretaceous oceanic anoxic events (OAEs) in the Cauvery Basin, Southeast India. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 102, 237-244. https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.1996.001.01.17.
[40] Watkinson M.P., Hart M.B., Joshi A., 2007. Cretaceous tectonostratigraphy and the development of the Cauvery Basin, Southeast India. Petroleum Geoscience, 13(2), 181-191. https://doi.org/10.1144/1354-079307-747.