Anil D. Shukla

Mineralogy and trace element chemistry of the Siliceous Earth of Barmer basin, rajasthan : Evidence for a volcanic origin

We report the presence of a 3–5 cm thick loose fragmental layer in the Siliceous Earth at Matti ka Gol in the Barmer basin of Rajasthan. Petrographic, chemical and mineralogical study reveals the presence of abundant volcanic debris such as glass shards, agglutinates, hollow spheroids, kinked biotites, feldspars showing oscillatory zoning, olivines, ilmenite and native iron. The presence of similar particles in the whole section suggests that the Siliceous Earth is a volcanic ash. Stratigraphic correlation, palynological and microvertebrate data suggest that the Siliceous Earth may have deposited over a short span of time during the Upper Cretaceous to Lower Palaeocene. In view of the possibility that this section may contain K/T impact debris, we looked for grains having impact signatures. Some patches of the Siliceous Earth of Bariyara show the presence of Ni-rich (> 0.5%) vesicular glasses, sanidine spherules, magnesioferrite crystals, soot, etc., but because of their low abundance, it is not possible to establish if they are volcanic, micrometeorite ablation products or a part of the K/T impact ejecta.

Chronology of red dune aggradations of South India and its Palaeo-environmental significance

Red sand dunes occur in the coastal plains of south east and west of Tamil Nadu, India between the coordinates of 8°00′ to 9°30′ N; 77°18′ to 79° 00′ E. OSL dating of these sands indicated aggradations between ∼16-9 ka and ∼9-3 ka in the west and east coasts respectively. Dating results from inland red dunes at the foothills of Western Ghats show a break in deposition at ∼6 ka and aggradation since ∼2 ka. The sand aggradations in the west coast occurred during the transition period when SW monsoon in the area was reestablishing. The dunes attained their stability by 9 ka. In the coastal region, the aggradations were controlled by sea level changes and a local recycling of earlier dunes (in the east coast). In the inland areas, the dune building was controlled by sand supply from fluvial sources.

Early Middle Palaeolithic culture in India around 385–172 ka reframes Out of Africa models

Luminescence dating at the stratified prehistoric site of Attirampakkam, India, has shown that processes signifying the end of the Acheulian culture and the emergence of a Middle Palaeolithic culture occurred at 385 ± 64 thousand years ago (ka), much earlier than conventionally presumed for South Asia. The Middle Palaeolithic continued at Attirampakkam until 172 ± 41 ka. Chronologies of Middle Palaeolithic technologies in regions distant from Africa and Europe are crucial for testing theories about the origins and early evolution of these cultures, and for understanding their association with modern humans or archaic hominins, their links with preceding Acheulian cultures and the spread of Levallois lithic technologies. The geographic location of India and its rich Middle Palaeolithic record are ideally suited to addressing these issues, but progress has been limited by the paucity of excavated sites and hominin fossils as well as by geochronological constraints. At Attirampakkam, the gradual disuse of bifaces, the predominance of small tools, the appearance of distinctive and diverse Levallois flake and point strategies, and the blade component all highlight a notable shift away from the preceding Acheulian large-flake technologies. These findings document a process of substantial behavioural change that occurred in India at 385 ± 64 ka and establish its contemporaneity with similar processes recorded in Africa and Europe. This suggests complex interactions between local developments and ongoing global transformations. Together, these observations call for a re-evaluation of models that restrict the origins of Indian Middle Palaeolithic culture to the incidence of modern human dispersals after approximately 125 ka.

Astrobiological implications of dim light phototrophy in deep-sea red clays

Red clays of Central Indian Basin (CIB) under influence of trace of Rodriguez Triple Junction exhibited chemoautotrophy, low temperature hydrothermal alterations and photoautotrophic potential. Seamount flank TVBC-08, hosting such signatures revealed dominance of aerobic anoxygenic phototroph Erythrobacter, with 93% of total 454 pyrosequencing tags. Subsequently, enrichments for both aerobic (Erythrobacter) and anaerobic anoxygenic phototrophs (green and purple sulphur bacteria) under red and white LED light illumination, with average irradiance 30.66Wm-2, were attempted for three red-clay sediment cores. Successful enrichments were obtained after incubation for c.a. 120 days at 4°± 2°C and 25°± 2°C, representing ambient psychrophilic and low temperature hydrothermal alteration conditions respectively. During hydrothermal cooling, a microbial succession from anaerobic chemolithotrophy to oxygenic photoautotrophy through anaerobic/aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic microbes is indicated. Spectral absorbance patterns of the methanol extracted cell pellets showed peaks corresponding to metal sulphide precipitations, the Soret band of chlorosome absorbance by photosystem II and absence of peaks at Qy transition band. Dendritic nano-structures of metal sulphides are common in these sediments and are comparable with other sulphidic paleo-marine Martian analogues. Significant blue and redshifts have been observed for the experimental samples relative to the un-inoculated medium. These observations indicate the propensity of metal-sulphide deposits contributing to chemiluminiscence supporting the growth of phototrophs at least partially, in the otherwise dark abyss. The effects of other geothermal heat and light sources are also under further consideration. The potential of phototrophic microbial cells to exhibit Doppler shift in absorbance patterns is significant towards understanding planetary microbial habitability. Planetary desiccation could considerably influence Doppler effects and consequently spectral detection techniques exo-planetary microbial life.