Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

In situ gamma radiation measurements in the Neoproterozoic rocks of Sirohi region, NW India

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

Abstract

Natural gamma ray measurements using a portable device were performed at 157 sites in the area around Sirohi town and Sindreth village in Rajasthan (NW India). This region comprises sedimentary rocks, metasediments, granites and gneisses that bear characteristic GR dose values and U/Th ratios corresponding with their specific geological history. A-type Malani granites and rhyolitic derivates, also referred as high heat production granites, show distinct differences as compared to the S-type Erinpura and Balda granites, most prominent in a high Th content of the former (up to 90 ppm). Sedimentary rocks in the Sirohi and Sindreth area are variable in their signatures reflecting their variable source rocks. In the area between the Balda and Paladi villages, northeast of Sirohi, measurements in vicinity of a N–S running shear zone, have shown U enrichment up to 8 ppm. This shear zone has been synkinematically mineralized with quartz and shows evidence of fluid infiltration into the host rocks in the vicinity of the shear zone. Erinpura granites have been altered due to fluid activity and show a light depletion of K (3.96%) and Th (20.11 ppm) as compared to the unaltered rocks (K, 4.06; Th 24.46 ppm). Enrichment of U (with a mean value of 13 ppm) has also been recorded in the lower clastic unit of the Sindreth Basin, especially within gritty conglomerates wherein migration and precipitation along fault planes is proposed.

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

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Asfahani J, Al-Hent R and Aissa M 2012 Radioactive and geological analysis of airborne gamma spectrometric data for locating favourable traps for uranium prospecting in the Syrian desert (Area-1), Syria; Applied Radiation and Isotopes 70 2317–2327.

  • Aydin I, Aydogan M S, Oksm E and Koçak A 2006 An attempt to use aerial gamma-ray spectrometry results in petrochemical associations of Central Anatolia (Turkey); Geophysical J. Int. 67 1044–1052.

  • Bellotti E, Di Carlo G, Di Sabatino D, Ferrari N, Laubenstein M, Pandola L and Tomei C 2007 y-Ray spectrometry of soil samples from the Provincia dell’Aquila (Central Italy); Applied Radiation and Isotopes 65 858–865.

  • Bhowmik S K, Bernhardt H-J and Dasgupta S 2010 Grenvillian age high-pressure upper amphibolite–granulite metamorphism in the Aravalli–Delhi Mobile Belt, northwestern India: New evidence from monazite chemical age and its implication; Precamb. Res. 178 168–184.

  • Bhushan S K 2000 Malani rhyolites – a review; Gondwana Res. 3 65–77.

  • Chore S A and Mohanty M 1998 Stratigraphic and tectonic setting of the trans-Aravalli Neoproterozoic volcanosedimentary sequences in Rajasthan; J. Geol. Soc. India 51 57–68.

  • de Wall H, Pandit M K, Dotzler R and Just J 2012 Cryogenian transpression and granite intrusion along the western margin of Rodinia (Mt. Abu region): Magnetic fabric and geochemical inferences on Neoproterozoic geodynamics of the NW Indian block; Tectonophys. 554–557 143–158.

  • de Wall H, Pandit M K, Sharma K K, Schöbel S and Just J 2014 Deformation and granite intrusion in the Sirohi area, SW Rajasthan – constraints on Cryogenian to Pan-African crustal dynamics of NW India; Precamb. Res. 254 1–18.

  • Deb M, Thorpe R I, Krstic D, Corfu F and Davis D W 2001 Zircon U–Pb and galena Pb isotope evidence for an approximate 1.0 Gaterrane constituting the western margin of the Aravalli–Delhi orogenic belt, north-western India; Precamb. Res. 108 195–213.

  • Eby G N and Kochhar N 1990 Geochemistry and Petrogenesis of the Malani Igneous Suite, north peninsular India; J. Geol. Soc. India 36 109–130.

  • El-Sadek M A 2002 Application of thorium-normalised airborne radio-spectrometric survey data of Wadi Araba area, north-eastern desert, Egypt, as a guide to the recognition of probable subsurface petroleum accumulations; Applied Radiation and Isotopes 57 121–130.

  • Förster A and Förster H -J 2000 Crustal composition and mantle heat flow: Implications from surface heat flow and radiogenic heat production in the Variscan Erzgebirge (Germany); J. Geophys. Res. 105 B12 27,917–27,938.

  • Grasty R L, Holman P B and Blanchard Y B 1991 Transportable calibration pads for ground and airborne gamma-ray spectrometers; Geological Survey of Canada Paper 90-23.

  • Gregory L C, Meert J G, Bingen B, Pandit M K and Torsvik T H 2009 Paleomagnetism and geochronology of the Malani Igneous Suite, northwest India: Implications for the configuration of Rodinia and the assembly of Gondwana; Precamb. Res. 170 13–26.

  • Gupta S N, Arora Y K, Mathur R K, Iqballuddin, Prasad B, Sahai T N and Sharma S B 1997 The Precambrian geology of the Aravalli region, southern Rajasthan and northeastern Gujarat; Geol. Surv. India Memoir 123 262p.

  • Hecht L, Vigneresse J L and Morteani G 1997 Constraints on the origin of zonation of the granite complexes in the Fichtelgebirge (Germany and Czech Republic): Evidence from a gravity and geochemical study; Geologische Rundschau 86 S93–S109.

  • Heron A M 1953 Geology of Central Rajputana; Geol. Surv. India Memoir 79 339p.

  • IAEA 2003 Guidelines for radioelement mapping using gamma ray spectrometry data. IAEA-TECDOC-1363, International Atomic Energy Agency, Wien.

  • Just J, Schulz B, de Wall H, Jourdan F and Pandit M K 2011 Monazite CHIME/EPMA dating of granitoid deformation: Implications for Neoproterozoic tectono-thermal evolution of NW India; Gondwana Res. 19 402–412.

  • Kochhar N 1989 High heat producing granites of the Malani Igneous suite, northern peninsular India; Indian Minerals 43 339–346.

  • Kovačević J, Nikić Z and Papić P 2009 Genetic model of uranium mineralization in the Permo-Triassic sedimentary rocks of the Stara Platanina eastern Serbia; Sedim. Geol. 219 252–261.

  • Kovačević J, Tereesh B M, Radenković M B and Miljanić S 2013 Discovery of uranium mineralization in the rhyolite–granite complex in the Jabal Eghei area of southern Libya; J. Serbian Chem. Soc. 78 741–758.

  • Meert J G, Pandit M K, Pradhan V R, Banks J, Sirianni R, Stroud M, Newstead B and Gifford J 2010 Precambrian crustal evolution of Peninsular India: A 3.0 billion year odyssey; J. Earth Syst. Sci. 39 (6) 483–515.

  • Minor A 2013 Kinematic studies on the Late Neoproterozoic Balda–Paladi Shear Zone and associated quartz mineralisation, Sirohi region, NW India; Masters Dissertation, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, 100p.

  • Naik M S 1993 The geochemistry and genesis of the granitoids of Sirohi, Rajasthan, India; J. Southeast Asian Earth Sci. 8 111–115.

  • Pandit M K, de Wall H, Daxberger H, Just J, Bestmann M and Sharma K K 2011 Mafic rocks from Erinpura gneiss terrane in the Sirohi region: Possible ocean floor remnants in the foreland of the Delhi Fold Belt, NW India; J. Earth Syst. Sci. 127 627–641.

  • Purohit R, Papineau D, Kröner A, Sharma K K and Roy A B 2012 Carbon isotope geochemistry and geochronological constraints of the Neoproterozoic Sirohi Group from northwest India; Precamb. Res. 220–221 80– 90.

  • Radiation Solutions Inc. 2007 RS-125 Assay Analysis – comments re Precision (Preliminary). Technical Note 2007-1251 – Rev 1.

  • Rosholt J N and Noble D C 1971 Mobility of uranium and thorium in glassy and crystallized silicic volcanic rocks; Econ. Geol. 66 1061–1069.

  • Roy A B and Sharma K K 1999 Geology of the region around Sirohi town, western Rajasthan – story of Neoproterozoic evolution of the Trans-Aravalli crust; In: Geological Evolution of Western Rajasthan (ed.) Paliwal B S, Scientific Publishers (India), Jodhpur, pp. 19–33.

  • Schöbel S 2009 Magnetic fabric studies in Neoproterozoic granites of the Malani Igneous Suite, NW-India. Unpublished Diploma thesis, University of Würzburg, Germany, 78p.

  • Sharma K K 1996 Stratigraphy, structure and tectonic evolution of the metasediments and associated rocks of the Sirohi region; Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, MLS University, Udaipur, 103p.

  • Sharma K K 2004 The Neoproterozoic Malani magmatism of the northwestern Indian shield: Implications for crust-building processes; Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Earth Planet. Sci.) 113 (4) 795–807.

  • Singh L S and Vallinayagam G 2012 High heat producing volcano-plutonic rocks of the Siner area, Malani Igneous Suite, Western Rajasthan, India; Int. J. Geosci. 3 1137–1141.

  • Somani O P, Arpan Misra Jeyagopal A V, Nanda L K and Parihar P S 2012 Radioelement distribution in Neoproterozoic volcano-sedimentary Sindreth Basin, Sirohi District, Rajasthan and its significance; Curr. Sci. 103 305–309.

  • Tartese R, Boulvais P, Poujol M, Gloaguen E and Cuney M 2013 Uranium mobilization from the Variscan Questembert syntectonic granite during fluid–rock interaction at depth; Econ. Geol. 108 379–386.

  • Tzortzis M, Haralabos T, Christofides S and Christodoulides G 2003 Gamma-ray measurements of naturally occurring radioactive samples from Cyprus characteristic geological rocks; Radiation Measurements 37 221–229.

  • van Lente B, Ashwal L D, Pandit M K, Bowring S A and Torsvik T H 2009 Neoproterozoic hydrothermally altered basaltic rocks from Rajasthan, northwest India: Implications for late Precambrian tectonic evolution of the Aravalli craton; Precamb. Res. 170 202–222.

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank T Böhm, I Donhauser and T Hörbrand for their support in the field, and Richard Issa and Tom Cox from Radiation Solutions Inc., Canada and Tom Brunclik and Jaromir Babacek of GeoRadis, Czech Republic for providing technical details of the RS 230 spectrometer and explanations on data analysis. S Roy and an anonymous reviewer are thanked for their valuable and constructive comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schlossgarten 5, D-91054, Erlangen, Germany

    Lars Scharfenberg, Helga De Wall, Stefan Schöbel, Alexander Minor & Marcel Maurer

  2. Department of Geology, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, 302 004, India

    Manoj K Pandit

  3. Department of Geology, Government Postgraduate College, Sirohi, 307 001, India

    Kamal K Sharma

Authors
  1. Lars Scharfenberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Helga De Wall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Stefan Schöbel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alexander Minor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Marcel Maurer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Manoj K Pandit
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Kamal K Sharma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lars Scharfenberg.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Scharfenberg, L., Wall, H.D., Schöbel, S. et al. In situ gamma radiation measurements in the Neoproterozoic rocks of Sirohi region, NW India. J Earth Syst Sci 124, 1223–1234 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-015-0601-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-015-0601-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation