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Sedimentary Thickness and Upper Crustal Structure of the North Cambay Rift, India Deduced from Gravity Data: New Evidence of Pre-trappean Sediments

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Journal of the Geological Society of India

Abstract

A gravity survey was carried out to estimate the sedimentary thickness and to map upper crustal geometry over the northern part of the Cambay rift. Structural lineaments delineated using the total horizontal gradient of the Bouguer anomaly indicate a major lineament trend in the NW-SE direction. Results of the density modelling using residual Bouguer anomaly reveal the average thickness of the Quaternary and Tertiary sediments to be between 0.5 and 6 km, while the Deccan trap thickness varies between 0.5 and 3 km. It is seen that the Mesozoic sediment (maximum thickness ∼0.6 km) is sandwiched between the Deccan trap and granitic basement, which indicates the possible existence of a rift in the late Jurassic-early Cretaceous. Based on the residual Bouguer and density modelling results, the spatial locations of the NE-SW trending Unhawa ridge and the N-S trending Mehsana uplift are provided, which are believed to be the remnant rock of the Proterozoic age. A high-density body, interpreted as a magmatic underplating layer, is also found in the lower part of the middle crust along the central part of the rift, which continues in the lower crust. The magmatic underplating layer is formed during the Reunion hotspot and lithospheric interaction in the Cretaceous period.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the Director General, ISR, Gandhinagar, for his encouragement and approval to publish this manuscript. The authors acknowledge DST, the Government of Gujarat, for the financial assistance through different projects under which gravity data is acquired. Special thanks are addressed to all people participating in the gravity data acquisition and Dr. Rakesh Dumka, ISR, for RTK data processing. The authors are also thankful to the Director, IIT(ISM), for his keen interest in the study. The authors thank the editor, JGSI and anonymous reviewers for their critical comments that enhance the quality of the work.

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  1. Institute of Seismological Research, Gandhinagar, 382 009, India

    Avinash Kumar Chouhan & Pallabee Choudhury

  2. Indian Institute of Technology-Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, 826 004, India

    Avinash Kumar Chouhan & Sanjit Kumar Pal

  3. Bihar Mausam Sewa Kendra, Patna, 800 023, India

    Avinash Kumar Chouhan

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  1. Avinash Kumar Chouhan
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Chouhan, A.K., Choudhury, P. & Pal, S.K. Sedimentary Thickness and Upper Crustal Structure of the North Cambay Rift, India Deduced from Gravity Data: New Evidence of Pre-trappean Sediments. J Geol Soc India 99, 773–782 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-023-2384-z

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