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Weathering pattern of amphibolites in the different climate zones from Western Dharwar Craton, Southern India

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Abstract

A climatic transition of humid to arid conditions from west to east on the Western Dharwar Craton, southern India provided a suitable setting to understand the relative role of chemical vs. physical weathering of amphibolites. Weathering pattern of amphibolites was studied from two locations in humid climatic zone and two locations in semi-arid zone. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the relative importance of structural features in rocks and rainfall in the extent of chemical weathering based on mobilization of elements and mineralogical variations. Under conditions of humid climate with good vegetation and relief bedrock physical features (all interconnected complex system) become less important and biota becomes more important. Biological activity and relief together made weathering solutions acidic under humid conditions. Under semi-arid conditions, weathering solutions normally remained alkaline; however, microbially mediated acidity prevailed in the microzones of weathering profile. In the humid zones, the immobile or less mobile chemical elements, Ce and Ti, and to a less extent Fe and Ba show high degree coherence by strongly enriching in the most weathered products, whereas the REEs are mobile in both conditions. There is significant loss of HREE resulting in fractionated patterns, relative to the parent rock, only under humid conditions, in the weathered products. The present study of weathering has shown that local geological features in a rock become important to the nature and extent of weathering under semi-arid condition by creating zones of aridity and humidity on the outcrop scale.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are thankful to Prof. V. Rajamani and Dr. Jayant K. Tripathi, JNU, New Delhi, and Dr. Anupum Sharma, BSIP, Lucknow, for technical discussions on the topic. Dr. D. K. Pal, NBSS&LUP, Nagpur is acknowledged for his kind help in clay mineral identification. Authors are very much thankful to all the three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments, which proved useful in the improvement of the manuscript. Co-author VPM  acknowledges DDG&HOD GSI NR for extending  support.  

Funding

The study was supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (Project No. ES/23/IRPHA/04/2000) to Prof. V. Rajamani.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Central University of Jammu, Bagla (Rahya-Suchani), Samba, 181143, Jammu, J&K, India

    Pankaj Mehta

  2. Mineral Physics Division, Geological Survey of India, Northern Region, Lucknow, 226 004, India

    Vivek P. Malviya

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  1. Pankaj Mehta
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Correspondence to Pankaj Mehta.

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Mehta, P., Malviya, V.P. Weathering pattern of amphibolites in the different climate zones from Western Dharwar Craton, Southern India. Arab J Geosci 14, 2435 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-08595-x

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