Trace element and isotopic studies of Permo-Carboniferous carbonate nodules from Talchir sediments of peninsular India: Environmental and provenance implications

Syngenetic carbonate nodules constitute an interesting feature of the glaciogene sediments of various Talchir basins in peninsular India. Petrographic, cathodoluminescence and sedimentary results suggest that many of these nodules contain primary carbonate precipitates whose geochemical signatures can be used for determining environment of deposition and provenance of the sediments and drainage source. Several nodules were collected from Gondwana basins of east-central India and analyzed for stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios, REE and trace element composition, and Sr isotope ratio. The mean δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values of the calcites in the nodules are - 19.5‰ and -9.7‰ (w.r.t. PDB) respectively suggesting a freshwater environment (probably lacustrine) for formation of these objects. Trace element ratios (Eu/Eu * and La/Yb) of the nodule samples show that the source of the sediments in the Damodar valley basin was the granites, gneisses and intrusives in the Chotanagpur region. The sediments in the Mahanadi valley were derived from granulites, charnockites and granites of the eastern ghat region. The Sr concentration of the carbonate phase of the nodules is low, ranging from 10-60 ng/g. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of the samples from the west Bokaro basin and Ramgarh basin vary from 0.735 to 0.748 (mean: 0.739) and from 0.726 to 0.733 (mean: 0.730) respectively. These values are consistent with our proposition that water of these basins drained through the granitic rocks of the Chotanagpur region. In contrast, the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of the samples from the Talchir basin (Type area) of Mahanadi valley vary from 0.718 to 0.723 (mean: 0.719). These ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are close to those of the granulites in the adjoining eastern ghat belt suggesting that area as the drainage source.