US-India Coop Res: Structure & Evolution of the South Indian Craton & Mobile Belts from Deep Seismic Profiling & other Geophysical & Geological Investigations: A LEGENDS Initiative

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports a US-India cooperative research project entitled Structure and Evolution of the South Indian Craton and Mobile Belts from Deep Seismic Profiling and other Geophysical and Geological Investigations: A LEGENDS Initiative. US PI David Brown, Cornell University and Indian collaborator Parvata R. Reddy, National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad will investigate the deep crustal and lithospheric structure of the South Indian craton in the context of its role as one of the key fragments of the supercontinent, know as Gondwanaland. They will assess existing geophysical data from India and prioritize the critical scientific issues represented by the lithosphere of southern India. They will also design a strategic program of modern geophysical and geological surveys in southern India that will ultimately be implemented as part of the larger LEGENDS initiative, which will probe the lithosphere of the East Gondwana continental fragments. This effort will offer new insight into key aspects of continental evolution such as the nature of collisional sutures in the lower crust and upper mantle, the space-time interaction of collisional and extensional structures on the lithospheric scale, and the definition of the lithosphere across a range of continental dimensions. This project will promote new collaborations not only between US and Indian scientists but with scientists from the neighboring Gondwana countries of East Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka. This research is supported by the Indian Department of Science & Technology under the NSF/DST joint program.