Geochemical and Isotopic evidence for volcanism on the Alleppey Terrace, southwest Indian continental margin

Abstract

The Arabian Sea consists of prominent undersea bathymetric highs whose genesis is often attributed to volcanism either related to the 90-85 Ma Marion or the 70-65 Ma Reunion hot spot activity on the Indian Plate. The enigmatic Alleppey Terrace (AT) is one such significant bathymetric high in the southwestern continental margin of India. We studied the siliciclastic sediments deposited on the AT and the adjacent shelf region using major/trace element, and Sr-Nd isotope geochemistry to decipher their provenances and implications of the findings for the origin of the Terrace. Geochemical data suggest that the AT sediments are chemically distinct from the adjacent shelf sediments, with the former having been sourced from juvenile mafic rocks and the latter from significantly older, felsic continental crustal rocks. Although currently located at a water depth of ∼300 m, AT was likely exposed above the sea level in the past and had undergone subaerial weathering and lateritization. The ε_Nd of AT sediments (−17.1 to −10.9), which is much radiogenic than that of the shelf sediments (−26.4 to −22.2), indicates significant presence of a juvenile basaltic component - likely derived from in situ weathering of the local seafloor/basement. The common component in both the terrace and shelf sediments appears to be terrigenous, deposited by the local rivers draining the Western Ghats. Conspicuous similarities of trace element ratios and isotopic compositions of the terrace sediments with those of the volcanic rocks temporally and spatially related to the Deccan volcanism suggest that the AT may contain traces of the end Cretaceous Reunion-Deccan plume/hotspot activity on the India subcontinent.