Origin and Depositional Environment of Elongated Nodules Associated with the Bhander Limestone of the Vindhyan Supergroup around Rewa, Central India: Constraints from Mode of Occurrence, Optical Microscopy and Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotopic Compositions

D. P. Dubey; Yamuna  Singh; Pravin Tiwari

doi:10.51710/jias.v43iI.478

Authors

D. P. Dubey Pradhanmantri College of Excellence, Government Model Science College, Rewa – 486001, Madhya Pradesh
Yamuna Singh Centre for Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Hyderabad – 500 046
Pravin Tiwari Pradhanmantri College of Excellence, Government Model Science College, Rewa – 486001, Madhya Pradesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51710/jias.v43iI.478

Abstract

The results of investigations on nodules hosted in dark grey Bhander Limestone of the Vindhyan Supergroup from the Rewa area, Central India, are presented. The nodules are either exposed on the surface of the limestone bed or covered by a calcareous layer, making the surface uneven. The material forming nodules is harder than the host limestone. The majority of the nodules are elongated (<4 cm to 2.23 m long) and broader on one side and tapering on the other side. When broken, many calcareous nodules revealed dark scaly organic material in their centre, which, in some cases, changed into black organic material, imparting black color to the host limestone. Optical microscopy revealed the presence of elongated organic materials and segmented, including indeterminate, forms within the nodules. It is interpreted that the scaly material formed a nucleus for the precipitation, and the decomposing organic material provided local chemical conditions in the pore waters, which favoured precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) following the elongated shape of the organic material. Development of large-scale pits and pores on the limestone surface may be chitinous material, which is a fibrous organic substance known from most arthropods and many invertebrates, and also known to survive over hundreds of millions of years. It is likely that chitinous material on small pits and pores on the limestone surface was later hardened by calcium carbonate precipitation. The ¹³C (proxy of organic matter) values of nodules also indicate depletion of ¹³C, which is consistent with the influence of the organic-rich matter sources. This interpretation is further supported by the presence of eurypterid and trilobitid impressions in the study area. Chertification of some calcareous nodules is due to occasional precipitation of silica. Significantly, carbonaceous megafossils from the Bhander Group are known from other areas also, and the investigated nodules are from the youngest Bhander Group of the Vindhyan Supergroup. The covariance plots (¹³C-¹⁸O), depleted carbon and oxygen isotopes (¹³C, ¹⁸O), palaeosalinity and palaeotemperature collectively reveal formation of nodules in a supergene freshwater diagenetic environment under very shallow burial depth.

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