Research Projects

Passive continental margins are covered by thick terrigenous sediments transported to the ocean floor through multiple pathways. The Indian passive margin hosts the two largest submarine fan deposits in the world – the Bengal fan (~ 3 million sq. km) and the Indus fan (~ 1.1 million sq. km) (Curray et al., 2002; Clift, 2006). Genesis and growth mechanisms of these vast depositional systems are of critical importance for studying climate change, geo-hazards, as well as natural resource potential. Typically, the terrigenous sediment load passes through the shelf edge prior to entering the ocean. Therefore, the shelf edge varies in time and space in tandem with shoreline fluctuations in response to the prevailing tectono-climatic processes and the total sediment flux (Catuneanu, 2006). Long-term shelf-edge variations provide important baseline information for studying past climate, coastal erosion and degradation as a precursor to the contemporary and future trends (Camfield and Morang, 1996; Carvajal et al., 2009; Shepherd et al., 2024). For instance, an interrupted progradation of sediments may alter the morphology of the outer shelf to the upper slope. Consequently, lower slopes and marginal basins may receive the dominant sediment load and vice versa (Jackson, 2012). India has a vast shelf margin with an extensive coastline (11000 km). Therefore, a precise account of long-term variations in the geometry of paleo shelf edge and shoreline fluctuations is essential. Changes in the shelf edge may also trigger slope instabilities and the formation of mass transport complexes (MTCs) (Catuneanu, 2006; Dailey et al., 2019; Cheng et al., 2021). Shelf-edge failures and their cascading effects have the potential to adversely impact human lives and coastal infrastructures. To the best of our knowledge, no systematic studies exist about long-term shelf edge variability and paleo-shoreline fluctuations along Indian continental margins. This is primarily due to the lack of reliable information about the shelf geomorphology and accurate sediment accumulation rates. Inspired by such knowledge gaps, we propose to carry out a comprehensive study of how the shelf edge and paleo-shorelines along the Indian margins have evolved through time and space. We propose to take up this initiative first along the western continental margin of India (WCMI). Availability of new deep seismic reflection profiles and other ancillary data along WCMI encourages us to bridge this gap. We aim to analyse an extensive network of marine seismic profiles to deduce paleo-shelf morphology and sediment flux variations through time and space. We also aim to identify potential MTCs and characterise their provenance using geochemical and isotopic analyses.