Abstract
The Neogene–Quaternary Siwalik foreland fold and thrust belt is studied for better understanding of tectonics along the Kameng river section of Arunachal Pradesh, India. The Kimi, Dafla, Subansiri, and the Kimin Formation correspond to Lower, Middle and Upper Siwaliks, respectively. The lithology in the foreland basin is dominantly sandstones, siltstones, claystones, carbonaceous shales, and boulder beds in the upper part. The structural style of the sedimentary sequence from the Main Boundary Thrust southward shows first order ramp-flat geometry. The brittle shear transfers slip across glide horizons to shallower depth. Repeated splay generations from a major regional-scale floor transfers slip from one glide horizon to another that shortens and thickens the crust. In the micro-scale, the lithological response in the structural development is well documented as pressure solution seams and other diagenetic deformation signatures. The basement asperity plays a significant role as the moving thrust front produced a major lateral ramp. The differential movement of the mountain front on both sides of the ramp is decipherable. This is especially true at the western part of the SE flowing Kameng river. The tectonic evolution of the area initiated with slip along the MBT \(\sim \)11 Ma ago along with the deposition of the Siwalik sediments. With southward propagation of the mountain front, the foreland basin shifted towards S, produced splay thrusts from the Himalayan Frontal Thrust-1 (HFT-1), which has been uplifting the Kimin and the older terraces.
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Acknowledgements
TKG, DB, RKS and SJ thank the previous Head of the Department for support. They are grateful to the University Grants Commission (UGC) for providing Special Assistance Program to the Department, which partly supported the fieldwork. TKG thanks additionally to the UGC for providing financial support: grant number: F.N. 41-1025/2012 (SR), 2012. SM acknowledges IIT Bombay’s CPDA grant. A research sabbatical assigned by IIT Bombay to SM for the year 2017 helped to finish this manuscript. Thanks to the anonymous reviewer for the positive comments in great detail, and Prof. Saibal Gupta for handling this article.
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Goswami, T.K., Bezbaruah, D., Mukherjee, S. et al. Structures and morphotectonic evolution of the frontal fold–thrust belt, Kameng river section, Arunachal Himalaya, India. J Earth Syst Sci 127, 88 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-018-0984-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-018-0984-6