Emplacement History of Pasupugallu Gabbro Pluton, Eastern Ghats Belt, India: a Structural Study

Abstract

Structural mapping of the Pasupugallu pluton, an elliptical intrusive gabbro-anorthosite body, emplaced into the western contact zone between the Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt and the Archaean East Dharwar Craton, along the east coast of India, reveals concentric, helicoidal and inward dipping magmatic and/or tectonic foliations. We identify a <1 km-wide structural aureole characterized by pronounced deflection of regional structures into margin parallel direction, mylonitic foliations with S-C fabrics, sigmoidal clasts, moderately plunging stretching lineations, non-cylindrical intrafolial folds, and stretched elliptical mafic enclaves in the aureole rocks. Our results suggest that the pluton emplacement is syn-tectonic with respect to the regional ductile deformation associated with the terrane boundary shear zone at the western margin of the Eastern Ghats. We present a tectonic model for the emplacement of the pluton invoking shear-related ductile deformation, rotation and a minor component of lateral expansion of magma. The intrusive activity (1450-800 Ma) along the western margin of the Eastern Ghats can be correlated with the significant event of recurring mafic, alkaline and granitic magmatism throughout the global Grenvillian orogens associated with the continent-continent collision tectonics possibly related to the amalgamation and the breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia.