M. Radhakrishna

India–East Antarctica conjugate margins: rift-shear tectonic setting inferred from gravity and bathymetry data

Abstract The Eastern Continental Margin of India (ECMI) has evolved as a consequence of breakup of India from East Antarctica during the Early Cretaceous (ca. 130 Ma). The conjugate margin of ECMI in East Antarctica is represented by the margin extending from Gunneris Ridge in the west to about 95°E in the east. To understand the isostatic compensation mechanism operating beneath these conjugate margins, we have examined the cross spectral correlation between gravity and bathymetry along 21 profiles across the ECMI and 16 profiles across the conjugate East Antarctica Margin using both ship and satellite-derived gravity data. The ECMI is considered as a composite of two segments, one north of 16°N extending beyond 20°N, which is based on its rifted margin character, and the other, south of 16°N extending up to Sri Lanka, which has a transform-rift character. Similarly, the conjugate margin of East Antarctica is also considered to be a composite of two segments, west and east of the central bulge at 50–55°E. Admittance analysis and comparison with various isostatic models suggest a flexural plate model with an elastic thickness of 10–25 km for the northern segment of ECMI and its conjugate segment which is the east Enderby land Margin, comparable to results obtained from the eastern North American Margin. For the southern segment of ECMI, low elastic plate thickness of less than 5 km or a local compensation is obtained with matching results for the west Enderby land Margin. These, in turn, appear comparable to the low Te values inferred for the Ghana transform margin of North Africa and Grand Banks Margin of eastern Canada, thereby indicating that the southern segment of ECMI and its conjugate in East Antarctica have developed as a consequence of shearing rather than rifting in the early stages of continental separation.

An analysis of Indian tide-gauge records

The paper presents an analysis of four Indian tide-gauge records. The stations were: Bombay, Madras, Cochin and Vishakhapatnam (Vizag). They were selected because of their reliability.There was no evidence of a monotonic rising trend at all four stations. The test by Mann and Kendall (loc. cit.) showed a rising trend at Bombay from 1940 to 1986 and at Madras from 1910 to 1933. The other records did not reveal a significant trend.The records reveal evidence of long-period cycles (50–60 year period), with shorter cycles (4.5 to 5.7-year period) riding on them. Spectral peaks corresponding to shorter cycles passed a false alarm probability test at 95% level of significance. The peaks were identified by computing periodograms and by maximizing the entropy of the time series.ARIMA models suggest a third order autoregressive model for Bombay and Madras (1953–1986). The remaining records only had a moving average component.Monthly tide-gauge data of Bombay reveal a 13.4-month cycle which was statistically significant. This was close to the 14.7-month Chandler wobble. But, an interaction between a 13.4-month and an annual cycle could not fully explain the observed short period cycles.Finally, the paper summarizes evidence to indicate that a pattern exists between fluctuations of monsoon rain and relative sea level at Bombay.

Crustal structure and rift tectonics across the Cauvery–Palar basin, Eastern Continental Margin of India based on seismic and potential field modelling

The Cauvery–Palar basin is a major peri-cratonic rift basin located along the Eastern Continental Margin of India (ECMI) that had formed during the rift-drift events associated with the breakup of eastern Gondwanaland (mainly India–Sri Lanka–East Antarctica). In the present study, we carry out an integrated analysis of the potential field data across the basin to understand the crustal structure and the associated rift tectonics. The composite-magnetic anomaly map of the basin clearly shows the onshore-to-offshore structural continuity, and presence of several high-low trends related to either intrusive rocks or the faults. The Curie depth estimated from the spectral analysis of offshore magnetic anomaly data gave rise to 23 km in the offshore Cauvery–Palar basin. The 2D gravity and magnetic crustal models indicate several crustal blocks separated by major structures or faults, and the rift-related volcanic intrusive rocks that characterize the basin. The crustal models further reveal that the crust below southeast Indian shield margin is ∼36 km thick and thins down to as much as 13–16 km in the Ocean Continent Transition (OCT) region and increases to around 19–21 km towards deep oceanic areas of the basin. The faulted Moho geometry with maximum stretching in the Cauvery basin indicates shearing or low angle rifting at the time of breakup between India–Sri Lanka and the East Antarctica. However, the additional stretching observed in the Cauvery basin region could be ascribed to the subsequent rifting of Sri Lanka from India. The abnormal thinning of crust at the OCT is interpreted as the probable zone of emplaced Proto-Oceanic Crust (POC) rocks during the breakup. The derived crustal structure along with other geophysical data further reiterates sheared nature of the southern part of the ECMI.

Magnetic anomalies over the Andaman Islands and their geological significance

The Andaman Islands form part of the outer-arc accretionary sedimentary complex belonging to the Andaman–Sumatra active subduction zone. The islands are characterized by thick cover of Neogene sediments along with exposed ophiolite rocks at few places. A regional magnetic survey was carried out for the first time over the Andaman Islands with a view to understand the correlation of anomaly signatures with surface geology of the islands. The residual total field magnetic anomaly maps have revealed distinct magnetic anomalies having intermediate to high amplitude magnetic signatures and correlate with the areas over/close to the exposed ophiolite rocks along the east coast of north, middle and the south Andaman Islands. The 2D modelling of magnetic anomalies along selected E–W profiles across the islands indicate that the ophiolite bodies extend to a depth of about 5–8 km and spatially correlate with the mapped fault/thrust zones.

Trends and the pole tide in Indian tidegauge records

This paper studies tidegauge records of stations on the Indian coastline. An analysis of trends did not reveal a monotonie trend. Trends were seen for limited periods at only five of the eight stations on the Indian coast. A spectral analysis of annual records produced evidence of long period cycles with shorter cycles riding on them. The shorter cycles had a period of 5.0 years. The spectra of monthly records revealed evidence of a pole tide and an annual cycle. The amplitude of the pole tide was estimated to be around 7.5 mm. This was larger than the equilibrium tide. A spectral analysis of monthly rainfall at Bombay, a station on the Indian west coast, also showed a 13.9 month cycle and a (3,1,0) autoregressive model. But the coherence between monthly rainfall and relative sealevel fluctuations was low.