The Andaman-Nicobar archipelago that forms the western margin of the Andaman Sea is a sediment-dominated accretionary wedge (outer-arc island) associated with a convergent margin tectonic setting. The Andaman accretionary ridge consists of two stratigraphically and structurally distinct terranes,juxtaposed and telescoped into a north-south-trending highrelief fold-thrust belt formed along the obliquely subducting eastern margin of the Indo-Australian oceanic lithospheric plate. The geology and structure of the ridge reflect the complexity of the evolving tectonics and stratigraphy of an accretionary wedge. Pre-Cretaceous meta-sedimentary rocks, Upper Cretaceous ophiolites and Palaeogene-Neogene sedimentary formations indicate rapid, spatial and temporal changes in lithology, sedimentology, sedimentary and tectonic environments, and palaeogeographic setting. This chapter outlines the current geodynamic setting, evidence for the history of accretion and regional geology and introduces the regional stratigraphic framework. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London.

P C BANDOPADHYAY

A CARTER

University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University or CU) is a collegiate public state university located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.&nbsp;Within India it is recognized as a &quot;Five-Star University&quot; and accredited &quot;A&quot; Grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council.

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The University of Calcutta has secured the Fifth position among the Universities of India in the prestigious &quot;Indian University Ranking 2019&quot; list, released by the NIRF of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

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It was established on 24 January 1857, and was one of the first institutions in Asia to be established as a multidisciplinary and Western-style university. Its alumni and faculty include several heads of state, heads of government, social reformers, prominent artists, only academy award winner and Dirac medal winner in India, many Fellows of the Royal Society and five Nobel laureates as of 2019 which is highest in South Asia.

University Of Calcutta

Geological framework of the Andaman–Nicobar Islands

Geological Society Memoir

This chapter examines the history and distribution of seismicity across the Andaman-Nicobar island arc and Andaman Sea. Fundamental differences between the Andaman section of the subduction zone and the Sumatra-Java section to the south help to explain the nature of the deformation. Magnitudes of displacements varied along-strike from uniform dip-slip on the southern (Sumatran) segment to dip-slip and strike-slip components on the Andaman and Nicobar segment. The Andaman section has a more steeply dipping slab and a thicker sediment cover compared to the Sumatra region where coupling with the overlying plate is stronger. Temporal and spatial patterns of seismicity in the Andaman Sea spreading centre are consistent with normal faulting and c. 25 year cycles of dyke injection are considered responsible for the bulk of the spreading. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London.

Seismicity of the Andaman-Nicobar Islands and Andaman Sea

The Oligocene-aged sandstone-shale turbidites of the Andaman Flysch are best exposed along the east coast of the South Andaman Island. Previously undocumented sandstone-shale geochemistry, investigated here, provides important geochemical constraints on turbidite provenance. The average 70.75 wt% SiO2, 14.52 wt% Al2O3, 8.2 wt% Fe2Ot3+MgO and average 0.20 Al2O3/SiO2 and 1.08 K2O/Na2O ratios in sandstones, compare with quartzwackes. The shale samples have average 59.63 wt% SiO2, 20.29 wt% Al2O3, 12.63 wt% Fe2Ot3+MgO and average 2.42 K2O/Na2O and 0.34 Al2O3/SiO2 ratios. Geochemical data on CaO–Na2O–K2O diagram fall close to a granite field and on K2O/Na2O–SiO2 diagram within an active continental margin tectonic setting. The range and average values of Rb and Rb/Sr ratios are consistent with acid-intermediate igneous source rocks, while the values and ratios for Cr and Ni are with mafic rocks. Combined geochemical, petrographic andpalaeocurrent data indicate a dominantly plutonic-metamorphic provenance with a lesser contribution from sedimentary and volcanic source, which is possibly the Shan–Thai continental block and volcanic arc of the north-eastern and eastern Myanmar. Chemical index of alteration (CIA) values suggests a moderate range of weathering of a moderate relief terrane under warm and humid climate. © Indian Academy of Sciences.

Fulltext

Journal of Earth System Science

Provenance analysis of the Oligocene turbidites (Andaman Flysch), South Andaman Island: A geochemical approach

We examined the composition and lithological variability from a road section in south-Andaman which represents a pathway to the crustal section of the Cretaceous Andaman ophiolite. Like other well-studied ophiolites worldwide this transition zone is marked by association of olivine-rich troctolite, wehrlite, pyroxenite and gabbroic rocks. The mineral chemical variations document the evolution of this zone by melt-mantle interaction and fractional crystallization. Petrographic evidence suggests that water was introduced during the evolution of this transition zone. The olivine-rich troctolites record impregnation of MORB melt into a residual olivine-rich lithology (replacive dunite) that formed by an earlier episode of melt-peridotite interaction at a slow spreading ridge. The clinopyroxenites indicate formation from an extreme clinopyroxene saturated melt that might be genetically linked with the formation of olivine-rich protolith of the troctolitic rocks prior to melt impregnation. The wehrlite crystallized from the melt residual after the formation of clinopyroxenite. The composition of the impregnating melt that transformed the replacive dunite to olivine-rich troctolite is identical to the gabbroic rocks. We conclude that the association of these rock types from south-Andaman provides us with a snapshot of the switch over of geodynamic setting of the Andaman ophiolite (MOR to arc) as preserved presently between north-Andaman in the north and Rutland Island in the south. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

Lithos

Moho transition zone in the Cretaceous Andaman ophiolite, India: A passage from the mantle to the crust

Field studies supplemented by petrographic analyses clearly reveal complete preservation of ophiolite suite from Port Blair (11°39′N: 92°45′E) to Chiriyatapu (11°30′24″N: 92°42′30″E)stretch of South Andaman. The ophiolite suite reveals serpentinite at the base which is overlain unconformably by cumulate ultramafic-mafic members with discernible cumulus texture and igneous layering. Basaltic dykes are found to cut across the cumulate ultramafic-mafic members. The succession is capped by well exposed pillow basalts interlayered with arkosic sediments. Olivine from the basal serpentinite unit are highly magnesian (Fo80.1-86.2). All clinopyroxene analyses from cumulate pyroxenite, cumulate gabbro and basaltic dyke are discriminated to be 'Quad' and are uniformly restricted to the diopside field. Composition of plagioclase in different lithomembers is systematically varying from calcic to sodic endmembers progressively from cumulate pyroxenite to pillow basalt through cumulate gabbro and basaltic dyke. Plagioclase phenocrysts from basaltic dyke are found to be distinctly zoned (An60.7-An35.3) whereas groundmass plagioclase are relatively sodic (An33-An23.5). Deduced thermobarometric data from different lithomembers clearly correspond to the observed preservation of complete ophiolite suite. © Indian Academy of Sciences.

Journal	Geological Society Memoir
Publisher	Geological Society of London
ISSN	0435-4052