Browsing by Author "Bendangtola Longchar"

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Formation of the associating high-Al and high-Cr chromitites in the Nagaland-Manipur Ophiolites in northeast India
(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2025) Monika Chaubey; Athokpam Krishnakanta Singh; Sashimeren Imtisunep; Ibrahim Uysal; Birendra Pratap Singh; Manavalan Satyanarayanan; Bendangtola Longchar; Shoraisam Khogenkumar
The Nagaland-Manipur ophiolites (NMO), part of the Phanerozoic (538.8–0 Ma) Tethyan ophiolites, occur in the NNE-SSW trending Indo-Myanmar Orogenic Belt (IMOB), northeast India. The NMO hosts both high-Al (0.46 < Cr# < 0.53) and high-Cr chromitites (0.71 < Cr# < 0.79). These chromitite bodies are hosted in lherzolite, harzburgite, and dunite and show various textures, including massive, disseminated, nodular, and granular. The high-Al chromitite compositions in conjunction with the calculated Al2O3[melt] (15.66–16.39 wt.%), TiO2[melt] (0.65–0.94 wt.%), and FeO/MgO[melt] (0.65–0.83 wt.%) values indicate that they were derived from the tholeiitic melt that formed at the mid-ocean ridge centre through low-degree partial melting. In contrast, the high-Cr chromitites, coupled with the Al2O3[melt] (11.24–12.99 wt.%), TiO2[melt] (0.21–0.33 wt.%), and FeO/MgO[melt] (0.58–1.54) values show similar geochemical affinities to those derived from boninitic melts produced by partial melting of already depleted mantle due to the subduction of oceanic plate in a supra-subduction zone environment. The total platinum group element (PGE) contents (60–190 ppb) of high-Al chromitites are lower than the total PGE contents (118–2341 ppb) in high-Cr chromitites. Chondrite-normalized PGE patterns in high-Al chromitites are flat from Os to Rh and negatively sloping from Rh to Pd, whereas high-Cr chromitites show strongly fractionated chondrite-normalized PGE patterns. Total PGE contents and low Pd/Ir ratios (0.02–0.64) of chromitites are consistent with typical ophiolitic chromitites. Mineral chemistry and PGE systematics suggest that NMO chromitites were generated in two separate tectonic settings. Thus, we argue that the upper mantle of the NMO of the IMOB has been modified by a substantial amount of supra-subduction zone components after initially being formed in a mid-ocean ridge tectonic environment. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Magma heterogeneity in the generation of ophiolitic mafic rocks on the eastern flank of the Indian plate
(Science Press, 2025) Sashimeren Imtisunep; Athokpam Krishnakanta Singh; Monika Chaubey; Rajkumar Bikrmaditya Singh; Bendangtola Longchar; Shoraisam Khogenkumar; Amrita Dutt
Subduction polarity reversal typically occurs in intra-oceanic arc settings; the existence of an ancient intra-oceanic arc and its associated back-arc system within the Neotethyan plate has been deliberated. In this study, we investigate the possible role of subduction initiation of polarity reversal in the formation of Nagaland-Manipur ophiolite (NMO), evaluate the petrological and geochronological data and compare it with the neighboring natural examples of subduction polarity reversal of the Andaman-Nicobar ophiolite (ANO). The ancient intra-oceanic arc, namely the Incertus-Woyla Arc, and its associated back-arc remnant have been correlated with the back-arc mafic of the ANO. We found that the geochemical signatures of mafic rocks of NMO and ANO are comparable, and the available geochronology data of ~ 145 Ma from the NMO basalt and chert fit well with the evolution and formation of the intra-oceanic arc, i.e., Incertus-Woyla Arc. The evolution and age of the Incertus-Woyla Arc are between 135 and 150 Ma. Although the oldest age of the ANO has been reported from metamorphic sole at about 106.4 and 105.3 Ma, the back-arc affinity of the amphibole has been credited to the back-arc spreading that occurred behind the Woyla Arc. Previous paleomagnetic and geochronological studies have suggested that the development of the back-arc basin behind the Incertus-Woyla Arc was a result of divergent double subduction. Therefore, we have inferred a similar scenario for the development of the back-arc affinity rocks of the NMO behind the Incertus-Woyla Arc and the reinterpretation for the evolution of the supra-subduction zone affinity rocks of NMO and ANO during subduction initiation after subduction polarity reversal. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Science Press and Institute of Geochemistry, CAS and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025.