COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Integrated Analysis of the Neoproterozoic Vindhyanchal Basin, India

Columbia University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract Collaborative Research: Integrated Analysis of the Neoproterozoic Vindhychal Basin, India The latest Mesoproterozoic (1300-1000 Ma) and Neoproterozoic (1000-543 Ma) eras represent intervals of Earth history marked by profound changes in Earth system processes. These changes include large shifts in atmospheric and ocean chemistry with the build-up of free oxygen; the transition from equable, static climate to variable climatic conditions with the repeated occurrence of low-latitude glaciation; and the evolution of bilateral, multicellular organisms and the innovation of biomineralization. Our understanding of this important interval is currently hampered by the lack of a well- defined and calibrated stratigraphic reference framework, in which data can be integrated at a global scale. This project seeks to tackle this issue by means of a pilot study of portions of the Vindhyanchal basin of peninsular India. This basin appears to preserve a sedimentary record for much of the Meso-Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian interval, but has received comparatively little attention outside India. Our analysis will place U-Pb geochronology of ash beds and other igneous units in a sequence stratigraphic context that will serve as the temporal and physical framework for future biostratigraphic, magnetostratigraphic, and chemostratigraphic studies.