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New U-Pb ages of zircons in the Owk Shale (Kurnool Group) with reflections on proterozoic porcellanites in India

  • Research Article
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Journal of the Geological Society of India

Abstract

Felsic tuff beds with some presumed sedimentary components were reported from the Owk Shale (Kurnool Group; bearing Neoproterozoic fossils) in the upper part of the sedimentary succession in the Cuddapah basin in India by Saha and Tripathy (2012a). Our optical and SEM petrographic study of three thin sections, however, indicates that the parent samples are sandy mudstones with variable amounts of a felsic volcaniclastic component. New highquality U-Pb (SHRIMP and LA-MC-ICPMS) ages of 133 detrital zircon grains from a sample show that one grain is ca. 1880 Ma, one grain is ca. 3300 Ma, and the ages of the remaining 131 grains fall between 2690 Ma and 2429 Ma, the population averaging 2522 ± 36 Ma. The data indicate that the zircons are detrital grains derived from the ca. 2.5 Ga granitic/gneissic/greenstone basement of the Dharwar cratons that also host minor older Archean enclaves. The single 1880 Ma grain could have come from a ca. 1.9 Ga LIP. In the absence of any younger magmatic zircon, the absolute age of the Owk Shale remains elusive.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Heroy Geology Laboratory, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, 13244-1070, USA

    M. E. Bickford

  2. Geological Studies Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, 203 B.T Road, Kolkata, 700108, India

    D. Saha

  3. Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    J. Schieber & A. Basu

  4. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, 241 Williamson Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    G. Kamenov

  5. Schlumberger, 5599 San Felipe, Houston, TX, 77056, USA

    A. Russell

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  1. M. E. Bickford
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Bickford, M.E., Saha, D., Schieber, J. et al. New U-Pb ages of zircons in the Owk Shale (Kurnool Group) with reflections on proterozoic porcellanites in India. J Geol Soc India 82, 207–216 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-013-0143-2

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