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Geological Setup of the East Coast of India

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Estuarine Biogeochemical Dynamics of the East Coast of India

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Abstract

Precambrian crystalline highlands, quaternary sediments, marine deposits, and alluvium occupy the east coast of India and its hinterland. The Precambrian comprising charnockite, khondalite, granite gneiss, and schist are exposed in the central and southern part of the east coast. The major part of the east coast pertains to the low-lying deltaic and estuarine environment at an average elevation of 1–3 m above sea level. The sand dunes on the east coast, at places, are well developed, having considerable width, notably a height of 18 m along Ganjam, Orissa, and 17 m along Baruva, Andhra Pradesh. Neotectonic faults have resulted in upliftment/subsidence of seabed and adjoining coast at several places, e.g. the one across Pulicat Lagoon and offshore extension of east-west faults and vertical upliftment of the seabed in Palk Bay, Tamil Nadu. The east-west trending lineaments associated with thermal springs on the Palk Bay coast are deep-seated. Near Baruva, Mid-Holocene transgression coincided with neotectonic upliftment and led to the evolution of the barrier-lagoon coast. Geological and physical processes play a crucial role in the development of different types of estuaries. The Hooghly estuary is one of the significant estuarine systems of India, having a long tidal intrusion and characterized by season-wise and location-wise variation in salinity and dissolved oxygen levels.

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Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the technical help rendered by Ms. Jaya Pradhan, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Science and Technology, Government of West Bengal, for the compilation and drawing of the geological map. The author is thankful to Mr. Jayant Kumar, Director (Retd.), Geological Survey of India, who has gone through the text critically and has offered valuable suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Formerly, Geological Survey of India, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

    Bijan Kumar Saha

  2. School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

    Bijan Kumar Saha

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  1. Bijan Kumar Saha
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

    Sourav Das

  2. School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

    Tuhin Ghosh

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Saha, B.K. (2021). Geological Setup of the East Coast of India. In: Das, S., Ghosh, T. (eds) Estuarine Biogeochemical Dynamics of the East Coast of India. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68980-3_2

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