Research Projects

The Permian-Triassic-Boundary (PTB) is the most significant event that witnessed the Earth’s largest extinction of marine and terrestrial life. Many questions remain unanswered as to the succession and timing of the event that led to this crisis. Many hypotheses have been established from paleontologic, geochemical, and/or tectonic data from individual marine and terrestrial PT sections to find an answer to this event. A research project comprising of the geochemical, isotopic and paleontological studies of sedimentary rocks across PTB from an important and previously unstudied Kumaun basin, Tethys Himalaya is proposed here. The prime objectives of the proposal is to get insights into the possible potential causes of mass extinction at the PTB from this region and also to understand the provenance signatures and depositional history (anoxic vs. oxic conditions) of the sedimentary rocks across PTB along with paleoweathering and paleoclimatic conditions. By adopting high resolution sampling, considerable efforts will be made to look for paleontological and geochemical evidences or (isotopic) anomalies at the extinction boundary. Rigorous field work, petrography, major, trace elements (e.g. Ni, Cr, Sc, Zr, Th, Rb, Sr, REEs, and redox sensitive elements) geochemistry along with C, S, Sr and Nd isotope systematics will be employed to achieve this purpose. This will be a maiden attempt and novel approach by the investigators in this area to work on PTB rock sequences using multiple proxies. Another significant outcome from this project would be to develop a relation or link among the three Indian Tethyan basins (i.e. Kashmir, Himachal and Kumaun) by correlation of the research results produced from this multi-proxy approach. Thus a comprehensive model on the evolutionary history of the Tethyan basin may be developed. The fossiliferous Permian Kuling Group (consisting of Girthi Formation and Kringkrong Formation) and the Triassic Rawalibagar Group (comprising of Rambakot, Niti, Kalapani, Kuti Shale, Kiogad, Kioto and Laptal formations) exposed in Kali, Gori, Girthi and Kiogad valleys will be examined in the present study. These formations essentially consist of carbonaceous black shales, grey shales, silt stones, sandstones and intercalated limestones, which are less or unmetamorphosed rocks and therefore best suited for geochemical studies. Since the black shales are considered to be deposited under anoxic conditions, they host lot of economically significant polymetallic deposits (U-V-Mo-Ni-Zn-Cu-Co-Au-PGE) besides possible occurrence of hydrocarbons. If extractable or profitable amounts of metals and/or fossil fuels are explored from this region; this will eventually benefit the large society. This signifies the economic and social importance of the present proposal.