Research Projects

The Mesozoic Era's most significant event was the Cretaceous climatic evolution from a super-greenhouse to a cooler greenhouse towards the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Throughout the Cretaceous period, sea surface temperatures were extremely high, but towards Maastrichtian they were relatively low, indicating a global cooling greenhouse. An increasingly humid climate reached its peak at the K/T boundary with high detrital influx. Authigenic, Fe-rich green-silicates recorded these global climatic variations, which were consistent with major sea-level fluctuations and the carbon cycle. These green-silicates stabilized marine pH and controlled element sequestration, affecting seawater chemistry. The late Cretaceous seawater chemistry is unique due to the deposition of green-silicates worldwide. The green-silicates of Mahadek Formation along the South Shillong Shelf, Meghalaya basin, near the K/T boundary may record the signatures of the cooling greenhouse accompanying the enhanced humid climate and its implications on seawater chemistry.