CUTSE International Conference 2008, 24-27 November 2008, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia
Geochemistry and Diagenesis of Neo-
Proterozoic limestones of Bhima Basin,
Southern India
Ramasamy Nagarajan
Department of Applied Geology, School of
Engineering and Science, Curtin University of
Technology, 98009, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Email: nagarajan@curtin.edu.my
Abstract: Geochemistry (Major, Trace elements,
Stable isotopes (Carbon, Oxygen and 87Sr/86Sr) are
reported for Limestones of Shahabad Formation,
Bhima Basin, Karanataka, South India. The
limestones show variation in geochemical and
petrologic signatures according to the effects of
diagenesis in the sedimentary system.
Petrographically limestones of Shahabad
Formation are micritic (calmicrite) and stylolites
and pressure solution structures are present. Some
of the pressure solution structures are related to
horizontal compressional forces (probably
resulting from tectonism). Terrigenous particles
like quartz and feldspar occur as aggregates and
lenses in the inter-laminar areas. Major and trace
elements signatures are varying minimally,
according to the lithological variations within the
Shahabad Formation. A positive carbon and
negative Oxygen isotopic signatures are recorded
in the Shahabad limestone, in which most of the
samples are similar to the average Precambrian
carbonates. However, the more depleted values of
oxygen (-5.76 to 12.93‰PDB) and high
concentration of 87Sr/86Sr (0.70699 to 0.7117) are
clearly indicates that the isotopic signatures are
altered due to diagenesis where as the effect of
diagenesis on the trace and Rare Elements
Elements are less. Two types of diagenetic
processes are involved in this formation (early and
late diagenesis) which has been confirmed by
elements and isotope geochemistry. The
terrigenous influx and the signature of REE in
Neoproterozoic age is also clearly explained in this
paper.
Keywords: Geochemistry, Neoproterozoic,
Limestones, Bhima basin, Southern India.
Raghavendra Nagendra
Department of Geology, Anna University,
Chennai – 600 025, Tamil Nadu, India
geonag@annauniv.edu
I. INTRODUCTION
Study of bulk chemical composition of
sedimentary rocks can be an effective tool to infer
the factors that controlled sediment
characteristics during and after their deposition.
Bulk chemical composition of sedimentary rocks
has been widely used to delineate specific units of
clastic and carbonate strata (Premmer et al 1990).
Chemical studies of ancient carbonate rocks have
shown that their composition is facies controlled,
and this is particularly for elements and isotopes
associated with carbonate lattice (Veizer et al
1978). Such chemical criteria may only be of
supplementary importance in Phanerozoic rocks
with abundant biota, but they may be
indispensable for interpretation of unfossiliferous,
particularly Precambrian carbonates.
Furthermore, the knowledge of variations in
chemical composition of particular facies will aid
in the quantitative reconstruction of diagenetic
history. Modification of trace element chemistry
during diagenesis serves as an important clue to
the lithification process. A carbon isotope
variation in seawater is an important tool to
understand Neoproterozoic environmental change
because of the anomalously high (and low) δ 13C
values that have been reported from
Neoproterozoic carbonate rocks (Knoll et al
1986, Kaufman et al 1997). In recent years, much
work has been focused on constraining primary
δ13C and δ18O values of Precambrian carbonate
sequences in understanding depositional
processes, evolution of the ocean-atmosphere
system and interactions of biotic and abiotic
processes during the earth’s history (Burdett et al
1990, Knoll et al 1995). This paper is focused on
the geochemistry and diagenesis of limestone
CUTSE International Conference 2008, 24-27 November 2008, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia
deposits, Shahabad Formation, Bhima basin,
India.
II. METHODOLOGY
Fresh samples were collected from the
outcrops and the samples were washed
thoroughly in distilled water to remove the
contamination. The major, trace, and rare earth
elements were analysed using an inductively
coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer
(ICP-AES - Jobin- Yvon JY138 Ultrace) at the
Department of Geochemistry, Ecole des Mines de
Saint-Etienne, France. SiO2, Nb, Zr, and Th were
analyzed by XRF method on pressed pellets. The
analytical precision for trace and REE is better
than 5%. For carbon and oxygen isotopic
determinations, CO2 was extracted from
powdered carbonates in a high vacuum line after
reaction with orthophosphoric acid at 25°C, and
cryogenically cleaned, according to the method
described by Craig (1957). CO2 gas released by
this method was analyzed for carbon and oxygen
isotopes in a double inlet, triple collector SIRA II
mass spectrometer, using the reference gas BSC
(Borborema Skarn Calcite), which calibrated
against NBS-18, NBS-19, and NBS-20 has a
value of -11.28 ±0.004 ‰PDB for δ18O and -8.58
± 0.02 ‰PDB for δ13C. The results are expressed
in the notation δ‰ (per mil) in relation to
international PDB scale. Two representative
samples were selected for Sr isotope analyses.
Limestone samples were leached in 1 N
ammonium acetate prior to acid digestion. Sr was
separated in 2.5 M HCl using Bio-Rad AG50W
X8 200-400 mesh cation exchange resin. Total
procedure blank for Sr samples prepared with this
method was <200 pg. For mass spectrometry, Sr
samples were loaded onto single Ta fi laments
with 1 N phosphoric acid. Sr samples were
analyzed on a VG Sector 54-30 multiple collector
mass spectrometer. A 87Sr intensity of 1V (1 ×
10−11A) ± 10% was maintained and the 87Sr/86Sr
ratio was corrected for mass fractionation using
87
Sr/86Sr = 0.1194 and an exponential law. The
VG Sector 54-30 mass spectrometer was operated
in the peak-jumping mode with data collected as
15 blocks of 10 ratios. For this instrument, NIST
SRM987 gave a value of 0.710260 ± 11(1 SD, n
= 17). To facilitate comparison of Sr isotopic data
from different laboratories we have adjusted the
87
Sr/86Sr values of our limestone samples to NIST
SRM987 87Sr/86Sr of 0.710230, following the
practice of the Max-Planck Institute, Mainz,
Germany (see e.g., the data repository in Verma,
2002).
III. GEOLOGY OF THE AREA
The Bhima Basin, southern India is a NE-SW
trending S-shaped Neoproterozoic, epicratonic,
extensional basin formed due to gravity faulting.
The epicratonic Mesoproterozoic Kaladgi
sugergroup and Neoproterozoic Bhima Group
overlie the Archean granite-greenstone basement
in Karnataka, southern India. The Archean
granite-greenstone terrain mainly consists of TTG
(tonalite-tronjhemite-gneiss) popularly known as
Peninsular gneisses (Dharwar greenstone belts).
The cratonization of the Archean province
occurred ~ 2.5 Ga ago accompanied by the
emplacement of K-rich granitoids (Closepet
granite; Jayananda et al., 1995). The
Mesoproterozoic sedimentary rocks of Kaladgi
supergroup and Neoproterozoic Bhima Group
were deposited on the eroded edges of the
Dharwar Craton (Senthil Kumar and Srinivasan,
2002). The sedimentary rocks of Bhima basin and
the granitoids have been affected by intense
faulting. Major faults across the basin define the
structural boundaries of the different sectors
(Kale and Peshwa, 1995). They are (1) East-West
trending Tirth, Gogi and Mogalavadikavagu
faults, and (2) NW-SE trending Wadi fault. Due
to the effect of the E-W trend faults, the
limestone of the middle part of the basin directly
rests on granites. The sedimentary rocks are
trending in the NE-SW direction, and exhibit a
total thickness of about 300 m (Misra et al.,
1987). These sedimentary rocks mainly comprise
an alternating sequence of clastic and carbonate
rocks (Janardhana Rao et al. 1975; Misra et al.,
1987; Kale, 1990; Kale et al., 1990). In the clastic
rocks, fine-grained sediments dominate over the
coarse clastics. The sedimentary rocks of Bhima
Basin have been divided into five distinct
formations i.e. (i) Rabanpalli Formation, (ii)
Shahabad Formation, (iii) Halkal Shale, (iv)
Katamadevarhalli Formation and (v) Harwal
Shale (Janardhana Rao et al. 1975). It comprises
an alternating sequence of terrigenous and
carbonate sediments. In the terrigenous unit, fine-
grained sediments dominate over coarse-grained
sediments (Kale et al. 1990). The Rabanpalli
Formation has been considered as the oldest
sedimentary rocks in the Bhima basin that
deposited over the Archean basement which is
mainly consists of quartz arenites, arkoses,
siltstones, and greenish yellow shale (Nagarajan
et al., 2007a,b). Harwal shale is the youngest
formation of the Bhima Group, which is overlain
by Deccan Trap with intratrappean sediments.
CUTSE International Conference 2008, 24-27 November 2008, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia

carbon and oxygen isotopes (‰) for the

Shahabad limestones are presented in Table 1.

TABLE I. THE GEOCHEMICAL ELEMENTS

CONCENTRATIONS (MINIMUM, MAXIMUM, MEAN AND
STANDARD DEVIATION) OF SHAHABAD LIMESTONES (N=25)

Min Max Mean StD

SiO2 9.12 33.90 17.60 5.85
TiO2 0.03 0.18 0.10 0.04
Al2O3 0.69 4.42 2.33 1.08
Fe2O3 0.27 1.95 0.82 0.41
CaO 28.40 49.00 40.93 4.35
MgO 0.23 0.85 0.47 0.17
Na2O 0.03 0.19 0.11 0.05
K2O 0.18 1.03 0.54 0.26
P2O5 0.07 0.73 0.17 0.15
Mn 14.50 488.00 283.61 105.60
Figure 1. Geology map of Bhima basin Sr 102.00 349.00 157.50 51.94
Rb 4.00 173.00 33.75 40.52
Ba 56.70 3565.00 565.17 912.48
Zr 5.45 180.00 27.92 35.21
Nb 0.51 13.10 1.99 2.60
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Th 0.00 16.60 2.96 3.28
U 2.15 6.52 3.78 0.98
Sc 0.85 4.41 2.53 0.98
A. Petrography V 3.30 19.80 10.64 4.74
Cr 2.64 21.20 10.09 5.31
Ni 1.80 10.60 5.77 2.88
Petrographically limestones of Shahabad Cu 1.19 10.40 5.05 2.64
Formation are micritic (calmicrite) and stylolites Zn 9.26 32.90 18.71 7.33
and pressure solution structures are present. Some Ga 1.10 15.50 4.39 2.79
of the pressure solution structures are related to Pb 0.00 26.10 4.33 6.81
horizontal compressional forces (probably Co 0.00 8.50 2.97 1.94
resulting from tectonism (fig.2). Terrigenous Y 6.57 19.70 11.13 3.43
particles like quartz and feldspar occur as
aggregates and lenses in the inter-laminar areas.
1) Major Oxides and trace elements

All the samples show high concentration of

Figure 2. Thin-section microphotograph of Shahabad
limestone shows the Microstylolites.
B. Geochemistry
The results (minimum, maximum, mean and
standard deviation) of major (in wt. %), trace
elements (in ppm), strontium isotopes, and
CaO than other elements followed by SiO2. High
concentration of SiO2 is encountered in the
peripheral areas of the basin and the SiO2 content
decreases approximately towards the central
portion of the basin. The high SiO2 content in the
peripheral areas may be due to terrigenous influx
and silicification processes in these limestones.
The major and trace elements show their total
contribution about 73.84% in the principal
component analysis. CaO exhibits negative
correlation with negative correlation with TiO2,
Al2O3 and K2O. The terrigenous influx into
system is indicated by factor 1 on the principal
component analysis. Factor 1 is highly loaded
with the variance of 41.28% followed by factor 2
(21.48%) and factor 3 (11.07%) table 2. Al2O3
shows positive correlation with TiO2, Fe2O3,
K2O, Mn, Sc, V, Cr, Ni, and Cu which are loaded
in factor 1. This perfect correlation of these
elements suggests the terrigenous influx in to
system Rb, Zr, Nb, Th, U, Ga and Pb show
positive correlation between them and loaded in
CUTSE International Conference 2008, 24-27 November 2008, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia

factor 2. SiO2, P2O5, Cu, Zn, Co, and Y are plots (Fig.3), the limestone samples from
loaded in Factor 3 and show good correlation Shahabad Formation show LREE depletion and
within them which indicates the influence of slight enrichment in HREE with negative Ce
diagenesis in the system. anomaly and positive Eu anomaly. Positive
correlation of ∑REE with Al (R = 0.912) and
TABLE II. RESULTS OF PRINCIPAL COMPONENT
negative correlation of ∑REE with Ca (R= -
ANALYSIS (VARIMAX AND KAISER NORMALISATION) FOR 0.642) implies that the presence of terrigenous
SHAHABAD LIMESTONES OF BHIMA BASIN (N=25). fraction is also the possible source for REE in
Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3
these limestones. The terrigenous source of REE
SiO2 0.03 -0.08 0.91 is further confirmed by the strong positive
TiO2 0.96 -0.01 0.21 correlation of ∑REE with Fe Ni, Cr, Sc, Y and
Al2O3 0.97 0.02 0.19 Zr. Among the REE group, the LREE show a
Fe2O3 0.93 -0.04 0.17 stronger positive correlation with terrigenous
CaO -0.38 0.25 -0.84 elements like Al, Fe, Ti, Mg and Zr compared to
MgO 0.75 -0.16 0.08 middle REE (MREE) and heavy REE (HREE).
Na2O 0.69 -0.21 0.02 The negative Ce anomaly reflects the
K2O 0.95 0.04 0.24
P2O5 -0.38 -0.22 0.79
incorporation of REE directly from seawater or
Mn 0.61 0.00 -0.20 pore water under oxic condition. This also
Sr 0.09 -0.23 0.00 implies the mixing of two-component systems
Rb -0.01 0.62 -0.10 with terrigenous clay (detrital) in the marine
Ba 0.28 -0.33 -0.24 sediments.
Zr -0.04 0.94 -0.11
Nb -0.02 0.94 -0.07 E81 S-26 S56C
Th 0.00 0.95 -0.16
U -0.12 0.74 -0.16 S-38 S-17 S57
Sc 0.94 0.03 0.19 10
V 0.97 0.01 0.15
Cr 0.96 -0.02 0.06
Element/PASS

Ni 0.95 0.06 0.15 1

Cu 0.62 -0.10 0.53
Zn 0.56 0.03 0.73
Ga 0.11 0.95 -0.12
Tb 0.21 0.76 0.09 0.1
Co 0.46 0.17 0.56
Y 0.36 -0.27 0.70
0.01

Tm
Sm

Gd

Ho
Pr

Dy
La

2) Rare Earth Elements
Shahabad limestones have consistent seawater
like shale normalized REE+Y pattern (Fig.) 3.
LREE depletion (average NdSN/YbSN = 0.64+0.08
(Present study); NdSN/YbSN of modern shallow
seawater = 0.205 to 0.497 for 50m water depth
samples; Zhang and Nozaki, 1996; de Baar et al.,
1985 respectively); 2. Consistent negative CeSN
and positive LaSN anomalies; 3. consistent
positive GdSN anomalies (average 1.05+0.16
(Present study); GdSN/Gd* of modern shallow
seawater 1.30 to 1.05 from the data of de Baar et
al., 1985 and Zhang and Nozaki, 1998
respectively); 4. Super chondritic Y/Ho ratio
(average Y/Ho = 38.13+21.35; Y/Ho of seawater
44-74 Bau 1996). Negative Ce anomalies on
shale normalised, REE variation diagrams in two
samples with very low REE contents suggest a
marine influence on the REE distribution.
Differences in ΣREE content among individual
samples are mainly related to variations in the
amount of terrigenous sediment included in these
limestone samples. In Shale normalized REE
Lu
Figure 3. Post-Archean Average Shale (PASS) normalized
REE pattern of the limestone of Shahabad Formation.
Positive Eu anomalies are uncommon in
seawater, which are generally results of input
from hydrothermal discharges along mid-ocean
ridges (Klinkhammer et al., 1983, 1994).
Significant negative or positive Eu anomalies
may occur in crustal rocks, which are mainly as
an effect of intracrustal fractionation separating
granitic melts from residues containing feldspar,
which is the major host of Eu2+ in rocks. Studies
by Elderfield and Sholkovitz (1987), and MacRac
et al. (1992) have shown that sediments can attain
the positive Eu anomaly within a time span of
10,000 – 12,000 yr of diagenetic history using the
porewater REE data of Buzzards Bay sediments.
These sediments show positive Eu anomaly
ranges of 1.24 to 1.26 in the samples taken
closest to the shore, which owing to dominantly
terrestrial source (Nath et al., 1997). The
Shahabad limestone samples display a range of
CUTSE International Conference 2008, 24-27 November 2008, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia
Eu (Eu/Eu*) anomaly mostly with low to
moderate positive values, (normalized by PAAS
values) which indicates that this positive anomaly
is due to presence of detrital feldspar in the
carbonates.
3) Stable and Radiogenic isotopes
δ13C excursions studied worldwide imply that
the oceanic environment has affected the carbon
reservoir in a basin or on a global scale.
Variations in the carbon isotopes of limestones
and co-occurring organic matter record secular
changes in the burial rate of the carbon phases
with increasing δ13C values (Hayes, 1993). Post-
depositional thermal alteration of organic matter
often preserves primary carbon isotopic
signatures in carbonate phases (Kah et al., 1999).
Therefore, ancient carbonates commonly retain
their primary carbon isotopic compositions
(Knoll et al., 1995; Nagarajan et al., 2008). The
variations of δ13C (+3.5 to – 1.38‰PDB), in
limestones of Shahabad formation is related to
the environmental oscillations during late
Neoproterozoic age.
The range of moderately depleted δ18O values
in most limestones is supportive of cementation
under mainly burial and/or meteoric conditions
rather than by syn-sedimentary marine cements
as in many tropical carbonate deposits. The
depletion in 18O observed in geologically older
carbonates, commonly ascribed to post-
depositional isotope exchange with meteoric
waters (Clayton and Degens, 1959), also holds in
the case of many Proterozoic carbonate
formations (Nagarajan et al., 2008). The 18O
signature shows a significant variation in their
concentration ranging between -5.76 to
12.93‰PDB. However a cluster of the samples
resembles the concentration of the average
87
Precambrian carbonates. The Sr/86Sr
composition of seawater has been considered as a
powerful tool for making correlations and indirect
age assignment, reconstruction of global
tectonics, and tracing diagenetic processes
(Banner, 2004; Halverson et al., 2007). 87Sr/86Sr
of the modern ocean (0.7092) generally indicates
a combination of hydrothermal alteration of the
oceanic crust (~0.7035) and input from
continental weathering (0.7120; Edmond, 1992).
However, the more depleted values of oxygen (-
5.76 to 12.93‰PDB) and high concentration of
87
Sr/86Sr (0.70699 to 0.7117) are clearly indicates
that the isotopic signatures are altered due to
diagenesis.
V. CONCLUSIONS
The overall studies have clearly indicated the
effect of terrigenous influx and diagenesis in the
Neoproterozoic sedimentary basin of Southern
India. The limestones of Shahabad formation is
affected diagenesis (post and late). The
limestones are retaining the original geochemical
signatures which are comparable with global
Neoproterzoic basins.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors thank Dr. Moutte, Dr. A.N. Sial,
Dr. Rob Ellam for their assistance in chemical
analyses. This study was greatly improved by
Prof. R.L. Cullers, Prof. S.P. Verma, Dr. J.
Madhavaraju and Dr. J. S. Armstrong-Altrin from
critical reviews.
REFERENCES
[1] Banner, J.L., 2004, Radiogenic isotopes: systematics
and applications to earth surface processes and
chemical stratigraphy: Earth Science Reviews, 65(3-4),
141-194.
[2] Bau, M. and Dulski, P., 1996. Anthropogenic origin of
positive gadolinium anomalies in river waters. Earth
Planet. Sci. Lett., 143: 245-255.
[3] Burdett, J.W., Grotzinger, J.P., Arthur, M.A., 1990, Did
major changes in the stable isotope composition of
Proterozoic seawater occur?: Geology, 18(3), 227-230.
[4] Clayton, R.N., Degens, E.T., 1959, Use of carbon
isotope analysis of carbonate for differentiating fresh-
water and marine sediments: Bulletin of the American
Association of Petroleum Geologists, 43, 890-897.
[5] De Baar, H.J.W., Bacon, M.P., Brewer, P.G., 1985.
Rare earth elements in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 49, 1943 – 1959.
[6] Edmond, J., 1992, Himalayan tectonics, weathering
processes, and strontium isotope record in marine
limestones: Science, 258(5088), 1594-1597.
[7] Halverson, G.P., Dudás, F.O., Maloof A.C., Bowring,
S.A., 2007, Evolution of the 87Sr/86Sr composition of
Neoproterozoic seawater: Palaeogeography,
palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 256(3-4), 103-129.
[8] Hayes, J.M., 1993, Factors controlling 13C contents of
sedimentary organic compounds: Principles and
evidence: Marine Geology, 113(1-2), 111-125.
[9] Janardhana Rao, L.H., Srinivasarao, C., Ramakrishnan,
T.L., 1975, Reclassification of the rocks of Bhima
basin, Gulburga district, Mysore state: Geological
Survey of India, Miscellaneous Publications, 23(1),
177-184.
[10] Jayananda, M., Martin, H., Peucat, J.J., Mahabaleswar,
B., 1995, Late Archaean crust-mantle interactions:
geochemistry of LRR-enriched mantle derived magmas.
Example of the Clospet batholith, southern India:
Contribution to Mineralogy and Petrology, 119(2-3),
314-329.
[11] Kah, L.C., Sherman, A.B., Narbonne, G.M., Kaufman,
A.J., and Knoll, A.H., 1999, d13C stratigraphy of the
Proterozoic Bylot Supergroup, northern Baffin Island:
CUTSE International Conference 2008, 24-27 November 2008, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia

Implications for regional lithostratigraphic correlations: along the slopes of the Sagami and Nankai troughs near
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 36, p. 313-332. Japan. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 62, 1307–1317.
[12] Kale, V.S., Mudholkar, A.V., Phansalkar, V.G., Peshwa, [27] Zhang, J., Nozaki, Y., 1996. Rare earth elements and
V.V., 1990, Stratigraphy of the Bhima Group: Journal yttrium in seawater: ICP-MS determinations in the East
of the Paleontological Society of India, 35, 91-103. Caroline, Coral Sea, and South Fiji basins of the
[13] Kale, V.S., Peshwa, V.V., 1995, The Bhima Basin: western South Pacific Ocean. Geochim. Cosmochim.
Field Guide, Geological Society of India, 142p. Acta 60, 4631– 4644.
[14] Klinkhammer, G.P., Elderfield, H., Edmond, J.M.,
Mitra, A., 1994. Geochemical implications of rare earth
element patterns in hydrothermal fluids from mid-ocean
ridges. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 58, 5105–5113.
[15] Knoll, A.H., Hayes, J.M., Kaufman, A.J., Swett, K.,
Lambert, I.B., 1986, Secular variations in carbon
isotope ratios from upper Proterozoic successions of
Svalbard and East Greenland: Nature, 321(6073), 832-
838.
[16] Knoll, A.H., Kaufman, A.J., Semikhatov, M.A., 1995,
The carbon isotope composition of Proterozoic
carbonates: Riphean successions from northwestern
Siberia (Anabar Maasif, Turukhansk uplift): American
Journal of Science, 295, 823-850.
[17] MacRae, N.D., Nesbitt, H.W., Kronberg, B.I., 1992.
Development of a positive Eu anomaly during
diagenesis. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 109, 585–591.
[18] Misra, R.N., Jayaprakash, A.V., Hans, S.K., Sundaram,
V., 1987, Bhima Group of Upper Proterozoic - A
Stratigraphic puzzle: Memoir Geological Society of
India, 6, 227-237.
[19] Nagarajan, R., Armstrong-Altrin, J.S., Nagendra, R.,
Madhavaraju, J., Moutte, J., 2007a, Petrography and
geochemistry of terrigenous sedimentary rocks in the
Neoproterozoic Rabanpalli Formation, Bhima Basin,
southern India: Implications for paleoweathering
condition, provenance, and source rock composition:
Journal of the Geological Society of India, 70(2), 297-
312.
[20] Nagarajan, R., Madhavaraju, J., Nagendra, R.,
Armstrong-Altrin, J.S., Moutte, J., 2007b,
Geochemistry of Neoproterozoic shales of Rabanpalli
Formation, Bhima Basin, Northern Karnataka, Southern
India: Implications for provenance and paleoredox
conditions: Revista Mexicana Ciencias Geológicas,
24(2), 150-160.
[21] Nagarajan, R, Sial, A. N. Armstrong-Altrin, J. S.
Madhavaraju5, J. and Nagendra,R (2008) Carbon and
oxygen isotope geochemistry of Neoproterozoic
limestones of the Shahabad Formation, Bhima basin,
Karnataka, southern India Revista Mexicana de
Ciencias Geológicas, v. 25, núm. 2, 2008, p. 225-235
[22] Nath, B.N., Bau, M., Ramalingeswara Rao, B., Rao,
Ch.M., 1997, Trace and rare earth elemental variation
in Arabian Sea sediments through a transect across the
oxygen minimum zone: Geochimica et Cosmochimica
Acta, 61(12), 2375-2388.
[23] Primmer, T.J., Kerr, S.A., Myers, K.J., 1990, Feasibility
of insitu elemental analysis in mudrocks evaluation:
Geological Society of London, Special Publications,
l48, 203-210.
[24] Senthil kumar, P., Srinivasan, R., 2002, Fertility of Late
Archean basement granite in the vicinity of U-
mineralised Neoproterozoic Bhima basin, peninsular
India: Current Science, 82(5), 571-576.
[25] Verma, S.P., 2002, Absence of Cocos plate subduction-
related basic volcanism in southern Mexico: a unique
case on Earth?: Geology, 30(12), 1095-1098.
[26] Zhang J. and Nozaki Y. (1998) Behavior of rare earth
elements in seawater at the ocean margin: A study