Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Microbial mat-induced sedimentary structures in siliciclastic sediments: Examples from the 1.6 Ga Chorhat Sandstone, Vindhyan Supergroup, M.P., India

  • Published:
Journal of Earth System Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper addresses macroscopic signatures of microbial mat-related structures within the 1.6Ga-old Chorhat Sandstone of the Semri Group — the basal stratigraphic unit of the Vindhyan succession in Son valley. The Chorhat Sandstone broadly represents a prograding succession of three depositional facies ranging from shallow shelf to coastal margin with aeolian sandsheet. The mat-mediated structures were generated because of plastic or brittle deformation of sand, turned cohesive and even thixotropic because of microbial mat growth. Mat growth also favoured abundant preservation of structures that usually have low preservation potential. Prolific growth of microbial mat in the subtidal to intertidal zone of the Chorhat sea was facilitated due to lack of grazing and burrowing activities of organisms in the Precambrian. It further indicates low rate of sedimentation between the storms, as also attested by frequent superposition of storm-beds, even near the storm wave base. It also reduces erosion and that, in turn, would imply low sediment concentration in flows leading to development of bedforms that are likely to be smaller in size and isolated from each other in a single train in contrast to those that form in mat-free sands.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Banerjee S 1997 Facets of the Mesoproterozoic Semri Sedimentation in Son valley, India; Unpubl. Ph.D. thesis, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, pp. 137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee S and Jeevankumar S 2005 Microbially originated wrinkle structures on sandstones and their stratigraphic context: Paleoproterozoic Koldaha Shale, central India;Sedim. Geol. 176 211–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bose P K, Banerjee S and Sarkar S 1997 Slope-controlled seismic deformation and tectonic framework of deposition of Koldaha Shale, India;Tectonophysics 269 151–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bose P K, Sarkar S, Chakraborty S and Banerjee S 2001 Overview of the Mesoto Neoproterozoic evolution of the Vindhyan basin, Central India;Sedim. Geol. 141 395–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouougri E, Porada H 2002 Mat related sedimentary structures in Neoproterozoic peritidal passive margin deposits of the West African craton;Sedim. Geol. 153 85–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demicco R V and Hardie L A 1994 Sedimentary structures and early diagenetic features of shallow marine carbonate deposits;Soc. Econ. Paleon. Mineral. Atlas Ser. 1, pp. 265.

  • Eriksson P G, Simpson E L, Eriksson K A, Bumby A J, Steyn G L and Sarkar S 2000 Muddy roll-up structures in siliciclastic interdune beds of the c. 1.8 Ga Waterberg Group, South Africa;Palaios 15 177–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fedonkin M A 1990 Systematic description of Vendian metazoan. In:The Vendian System: Paleontology 1 (eds) Sokolv B S and Iwanoski A B (Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag), pp. 71–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flemming H C 1991 Biofilms as a particular form of microbial life. In:Biofouling and Biocorossion in Industrial Water Systems (eds) Flemming H C and Geesey G G (Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag) pp. 3–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gehling J G 1999 Microbial mats in terminal Proterozoic siliciclastics: Ediacaran death masks;Palaios 14 40–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerdes G, Claes M, Dunajtschik-Piewak M, Riege H, Krumbein W E and Reineck H E 1993 Contribution of microbial mats to sedimentary surface structures;Facies 29 61–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerdes G, Klenke T and Noffke N 2000 Microbial signatures in peritidal siliciclastic sediments: a catalogue;Sedimentology 47 279–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagadorn J W and Bottjer D J 1997 Wrinkle structures: Microbially mediated sedimentary structures common in subtidal siliciclastic settings at the Proterozoic-Phanerozoic transition;Geology 25 1047–1050.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagadorn J W and Bottjer D J 1999 Restriction of a Late Neoproterozoic biotope: suspect-microbial structures and trace fossils at the Vendian-Cambrian transition;Palaios 14 73–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kocurek G 1996 Desert aeolian systems. In: Sedimentary environments and facies (ed.) Reading H G (Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications) pp. 125–153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kral T A, Bekkum C R, McKay C P 2004 Growth of methanogens on a mars soil stimulant;Ori. Life Evol. Bio. 34 615–626.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kulkarni K G and Borkar V D 1996 Occurrence ofCochlichnus Hitchcock in the Vindhyan Supergroup (Proterozoic) of Madhya Pradesh;J. Geol. Soc. India 47 725–729.

    Google Scholar 

  • Menzies J 1990 Sand intraclasts in a diamicton melange, southern Niagra Peninsula, Ontario, Canada;J. Quat. Sci. 5 189–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neu T R 1994 Biofilms and microbial mats; In:Biostabilization of Sediments (eds) Krumbein W E, Paterson D M and Stal L J (Oldenburg: Bibliotheks und Informations-system der Universitat Oldenburg) pp. 9–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neu T R and Marshall K C 1991 Bacterial polymers: Physiochemical aspects of their interaction at interfaces;J. Biomat. Applic. 5 107–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noffke N, Gerdes G, Klenke T 1997 A microscopic sedimentary succession of graded sand and microbial mats in modern siliciclastic tidal flats;Sedim. Geol. 110 1–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noffke N 2000 Extensive microbial mats and their influences on the erosional and depositional dynamics of a siliciclastic cold water environment (Lower Arenigian, Montagne Noir, France);Sedim. Geol. 136 207–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noffke N, Gerdes G, Klenke T, Krumbein W E 2001 Microbially induced sedimentary structures — a new category within the classification of primary sedimentary structures;J. Sed. Res. 71 649–656.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noffke N, Knoll A H, Grotzinger J P 2002 Sedimentary controls on the formation and preservation of microbial mats in siliciclastic deposits: a case study from the Upper Neoproterozoic Nama Group, Namibia;Palaios 17 533–544.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noffke N, Gerdes G, Klenke T 2003a Benthic cyanobacteria and their influence on the sedimentary dynamics of peritidal depositional systems (siliciclastic, evaporitic salty, and evaporitic carbonatic);Earth Sci. Rev. 62 163–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noffke N, Hazen R and Nhleko N 2003b Earth’s earliest microbial mats in a siliciclastic marine environment (2.9Ga Mozaan Group, South Africa);Geology 31 673–676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parizot M, Eriksson P G, Aifa T, Sarkar S, Banerjee S, Catuneanu O, Altermann W, Bumby A J, Bordy E M, Rooy J LV and Boshoff A J 2005 Microbial mat-related crack-like sedimentary structures in the c. 2.1 Ga Magaliesberg Formation sandstones, South Africa;Precamb. Res. 138 274–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pflüger F 1999 Matground structures and redox facies;Palaios 14 25–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pflüger F and Gresse P G 1996 Microbial sand-chips, a non-actualistic sedimentary structure;Sedim. Geol. 102 263–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pflüger F and Sarkar S 1996 Precambrian bedding planesbound to remain;Geological Society of America Abstract with Programs 28 491.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pietrogrande M C, Zampolli M G, Dondi F, Szopa C, Sternberg R, Buch A and Raulin F 2005In situ analysis of the Martian soil by gas chromatography: Decoding of complex chromatograms of organic molecules of exobiological interest;J. Chromatography A 1071 255–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plummer P S and Gostin V A 1981 Shrinkage cracks: Desiccation or synaeresis;J. Sed. Petrol. 51 1147–1156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prave A R 2002 Life on land in the Proterozoic: evidence from the Torridonian rocks of northwest Scotland;Geology 30 811–814.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rao K S and Neelakantam S 1978 Stratigraphy and sedimentation of Vindhyans in parts of Son valley area, Madhya Pradesh;Rec. Geol. Surv. Ind. 110 180–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rasmussen B, Bose P K, Sarkar S, Banerjee S, Fletcher I R and Mc Naughton N J 2002 1.6 Ga U-Pb zircon ages for the Chorhat Sandstone, Lower Vindhyan, India: possible implication for early evolution of animals;Geology 30 103–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ray J S, Martin M W and Veizer J 2002 U-Pb zircon dating and Sr isotope systematics of the Vindhyan Supergroup, India; Geology30 131–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reineck H E, Gerdes G, Claes M, Dunajtschik K, Riege H and Krumbein W E 1990 Microbial modification of sedimentary structures; In: Sediments and Environmental Geochemistry (eds) Heiling D, Rothe P and Foerstner U (Berlin: Springer-Verlag) pp. 254–276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Runkel 1994 Depostion of the uppermost Cambrian (Croixian) Jordan Sandstone and the nature of Cambro-Ordovician boundary in the Upper Mississippi valley;Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 106 492–506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarangi S, Gopalan K and Kumar S 2004 Pb-Pb age of earliest megascopic eukaryotic alga bearing Rohtas Formation, Vindhyan Supergroup, India: Implications for Precambrian atmospheric oxygen evolution;Precamb. Res. 132 107–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar S, Banerjee S and Bose P K 1996 Trace fossils in the Mesoproterozoic Koldaha Shale, Central India, and their implications;N. Jb. Paleont. Mh. 7 425–438.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar S, Banerjee S and Eriksson P G 2004 Microbial mat features in sandstones illustrated. In: The Precambrian Earth: Tempos and Events (eds) Eriksson P G, Altermann W, Nelson D R, Mueller W U and Catuneanu O (Amsterdam: Elsevier) pp. 673–675.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar S, Banerjee S, Eriksson P G, Catuneanu O 2005 Microbial mat control on siliciclastic Precambrian sequence stratigraphic architecture: examples from India;Sedim. Geol. 176 191–205.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar S, Bose P K, Samanta P, Sengupta P, Eriksson P G 2006 An example of microbial mat influences on clastic sedimentation: the Neoproterozoic Sonia Sandstone, Rajasthan, India (in press).

  • Schieber J 1998 Possible indicators of microbial mat deposits in shales and sandstones: examples from the Mid-Proterozoic Belt Supergroup, Montana, U.S.A;Sedim. Geol. 120 105–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schieber J 1999 Microbial mats in terrigenous clastics: the challenge of identification in the rock record;Palaios 14 3–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schieber 2004 Microbial mats in the siliciclastic rock record: a summary of the diagnostic features. In: The Precambrian Earth: Tempos and Events (eds) Eriksson P G, Altermann W, Nelson D R, Mueller W U and Catuneanu O (Elsevier: Amsterdam) pp. 663–673.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schopf J W 1999 Cradle of Life: The Discovery of Earth’s Earliest Fossils (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press) pp. 367.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seilacher A, Bose P K and Pfluger F 1998 Triploblastic animals more than 1 billion years ago: trace fossil evidence from India;Science 282 80–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seilacher A 1999 Bio mat-related lifestyles in the Precambrian;Palaios 14 86–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw A B 1964 Time in Stratigraphy (New York: McGraw Hill) pp. 365.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walter M R, Heys G R 1985 Links between the rise of metazoa and decline of stromatolites.Precamb. Res. 29 149–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Witkowski A 1990 Fossilization processes of the microbial mat developing in clastic sediments of Puck Bay (southern Baltic Sea, Poland);Acta. Geol. Pol. 40 3–27.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, Jadavpur University, 700 032, Kolkata, India

    Subir Sarkar & Pradip Samanta

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, 400 076, Mumbai, India

    Santanu Banerjee & Silambuchelvan Jeevankumar

Authors
  1. Subir Sarkar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Santanu Banerjee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Pradip Samanta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Silambuchelvan Jeevankumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sarkar, S., Banerjee, S., Samanta, P. et al. Microbial mat-induced sedimentary structures in siliciclastic sediments: Examples from the 1.6 Ga Chorhat Sandstone, Vindhyan Supergroup, M.P., India. J Earth Syst Sci 115, 49–60 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02703025

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02703025

Keywords

Search

Navigation