Archean Granitoids of India: Windows into Early Earth Tectonics
CONTAINS OPEN ACCESS

Granitoids form the bulk of the Archean continental crust and preserve key information on early Earth evolution. India hosts five main Archean cratonic blocks (Aravalli, Bundelkhand, Singhbhum, Bastar and Dharwar). This book summarizes the available information on Archean granitoids of Indian cratons. The chapters cover a broad spectrum of themes related to granitoid typology, emplacement mechanism, petrogenesis, phase-equilibria modelling, temporal distribution, tectonic setting, and their roles in fluid evolution, metal delivery and mineralizations. The book presents a broader picture incorporating regional- to cratons-scale comparisons, implications for Archean geodynamic processes, and temporal changes thereof. This synthesis work, integrating modern concepts on granite petrology and crustal evolution, offers an irreplaceable body of reference information for any geologist interested in Archean Indian granitoids.
Mechanism of Paleoarchean continental crust formation as archived in granitoids from the northern part of Singhbhum Craton, eastern India
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Published:December 14, 2020
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CiteCitation
Sukanta Dey, Sibani Kumari Nayak, Aniruddha Mitra, Keqing Zong, Yongsheng Liu, 2020. "Mechanism of Paleoarchean continental crust formation as archived in granitoids from the northern part of Singhbhum Craton, eastern India", Archean Granitoids of India: Windows into Early Earth Tectonics, S. Dey, J.-F. Moyen
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Abstract
Many Paleoarchean cratons display a gradual change from early sodic tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite magmatism to late K-rich granitoid magmatism; the geodynamic significance of this change is debatable though. This contribution presents field, geochemical and zircon U–Pb age and Hf isotope results of four different 3.32–3.25 Ga granitoid bodies from the northern part of Singhbhum Craton to investigate their petrogenesis and role in crustal evolution. The granitoids range in composition from tonalites to trondhjemites, derived from intracrustal melting at low- to medium-pressure conditions. The source was mainly low-K mafic rock. The granitoids show intrasuite fractional crystallization. These sodic granitoids represent the last stage of granitoid magmatism in the Singhbhum Craton which formed contemporaneously with K-rich granitoids occurring in other parts of the craton. This fact suggests that, contrary to the popular notion (of only potassic granitoids), both sodic and potassic granitoids could form at the terminal phase of cratonization, implying reworking of heterogeneous (mafic to tonalite) crust. A combination of evidence from geochemical data, secular change in granitoid composition, structural pattern and rock association of the Singhbhum Craton reflects that recurring mantle plume-related mafic–ultramafic magma emplacement in an oceanic plateau setting and attendant crustal melting can explain the Paleoarchean crustal evolution pattern.
- absolute age
- alteration
- Archean
- Asia
- chemical composition
- continental crust
- cratons
- crust
- dates
- fractional crystallization
- geochemistry
- gneisses
- granites
- hafnium
- Hf-177/Hf-176
- igneous rocks
- India
- Indian Peninsula
- isotope ratios
- isotopes
- leucogranite
- magmas
- mantle
- mantle plumes
- melting
- metals
- metamorphic rocks
- mineral composition
- P-T conditions
- Paleoarchean
- partial melting
- plutonic rocks
- Precambrian
- stable isotopes
- tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite magmas
- U/Pb
- whole rock
- Singhbhum Craton