As the Sedimentological and stratigraphic analyses of these oldest sedimentary successions on earth is inadequate, the sedimentary environmental conditions under which life evolved on early earth is purely a matter of speculation and highly ambiguous (Mazumder and Chaudhuri, 2021). Consequently, the co-evolution of life and environment on early earth is poorly constrained. It is extremely important to study this coevolution of life and environment as this is the key to the search for life in terrestrial planets as they share similar early history. India has perhaps the richest Paleoarchean to Paleoproterozoic crustal components on Earth (in the Singhbhum, Dharwar and Bastar cratons; see Mazumder et al., 2019; Mazumder and Choudhury, 2021). Researchers have reported 4.2-4.0 Ga xenocrystic zircons from Gneissic rocks of eastern India and have pointed out the antiquity of the Indian rock associations (Chaudhuri et al., 2018). The Sedimentological and stratigraphic aspects of Paleoarchean- Mesoarchean successions of the Singhbhum craton has been studied in recent years (summarized by Mazumder et al. 2019). In contrast, the sedimentological analyses of the Paleoarchean successions of the Dharwar craton (the Sargur Group, which is of similar age to the Moodies Group in the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa), is under focused. The 3.3-3.2 Ga Sargur Group of the Dharwar craton have siliciclastic deposits but sedimentological investigation of these rocks are inadequate. It hosts barite deposits which is interbedded with quartzite’s speculated part of the succession formed under subaerial condition but no sedimentological verification has yet been made (Mazumder et al., 2019; Sunder Raju and Mazumder, 2020). Researchers have identified a Mesoarchean paleosol but geochemical and sedimentological verifications are yet to be made (Eriksson and Mazumder, 2020; Sunder Raju and Mazumder, 2020). The extant surface environmental conditions and its shift in terms of sea level change and tectonics are yet to be inferred (see Sunder Raju and Mazumder, 2020). Unlike the Moodies, the paleobiological inventory of the Paleoarchean successions of the Dharwar craton (the Sargur Group) is poor. The depositional environments of the Paleoarchean sedimentary rocks and tectonic settings have been constrained by geochemical characterization of the associated volcanic rocks without undertaking any sedimentary facies analysis (see Sunder Raju and Mazumder, 2020 for discussion). The paleo weathering and provenance characteristics of the Paleoarchean sedimentary rocks are unknown. The interaction between surface and internal processes is largely unknown. To fill in the prodigious gap in knowledge base on early earth surface environment and crust-mantle interactions, a thorough and in-depth sedimentological (sedimentary facies analysis and provenance studies), paleoclimatic and stratigraphic analyses of the Paleo- Mesoarchean stratigraphic successions of the Dharwar craton has such footprints. The geochemical data from volcanics interbedded with sediments to constrain the tectono-sedimentary model and global correlation with the Kaapval and Pilbara cratons will be presented.

Reference(s)

Mazumder, R., and Choudhuri, T. 2021. Paleoarchean terrestrial to shallow marine sedimentation on Singhbhum Craton, eastern India (the Western Iron Ore Group). Precambrian Research, 354, article No. 106071. 

Sunder Raju, P.V. and Mazumder, R. 2020. Archean sedimentation in Dharwar Craton, India and its implications. Earth Science Reviews, 202, article no 102999. Eriksson, P.G. and Mazumder, R. 2020. Archean Earth Processes (Preface), Earth Science Reviews, 202, article no. 103058. 

Mazumder, R., Chaudhuri, T., Biswas, S. 2019. Palaeoarchaean sedimentation and magmatic processes in the eastern Iron Ore Group, eastern India: A commentary. Geological Journal, 54 (5), 3078-3087. 

Mazumder, R., De, S. and Sunder Raju. 2019. Archean-Proterozoic transition: the Indian Perspective. Earth Science Reviews. 188, 427-440. Mazumder, R., 2019. A Paleoproterozoic Aeolianite (the Nummana Member) from the Lower Wyloo Group, Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, and Its Implication," The Journal of Geology 127, 109-118.

Chaudhuri, T., Yusheng, W., Mazumder, R., Mingzhu M. and Dunyi L 2018. Evidence of Enriched, Hadean Mantle Reservoir from 4.2-4.0 Ga zircon xenocrysts from Paleoarchean TTGs of the Singhbhum Craton, Eastern India. Scientific Reports, 8: Article number: 7069.