Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction for the Permian (lower Gondwana) succession of the Godavari Valley Coalfield in southern India based on a combined palynofacies, carbon isotope, and biomarker study

Abstract

The study presents integrated palynofacies, organic carbon isotope, and biomarker data to reconstruct palaeoenviromental setting for the Permian sediments (borehole MGK-6) of the Kachinapalli block of the Godavari Valley Coalfield, southern India. The palynofacies data reveal three distinct palynofacies (A–C) as follows. Palynofacies A is dominated by abundant arborescent vegetation (glossopterids and conifers) along with structured organic matter, suggesting freshwater forest swamps in proximal settings. Palynofacies B is dominated by abundant degraded organic matter and amorphous organic matter, suggesting lakeshore/flooded palaeomires in slightly dismal settings. It has a high water level in the hinterland, which enables bacterial degradation of organic matter and establishes low-oxygenation conditions within the water column. These conditions would have provided grounds for the accumulation of either degraded or amorphous organic matter. Palynofacies C is dominated by the abundance of charcoal/opaque phytoclasts, indicating prolonged transportation or post-depositional alteration, suggesting a highly-oxidizing condition in distal settings. The bulk organic δ13C range (−25.1‰ to −20.9‰) in the borehole MGK-6 is in close agreement with the global Permian records. This study also shows a weak but statistically significant correlation with the major forms of palynofacies A and C. The interlinked behaviour of bulk organic δ13C and palynofacies suggests that the changes in palaeobiogeography/palaeodepositional settings were most likely driven by the change in mean annual precipitation. The biomarker study shows the presence of n-alkane from C15 to C31 with unimodal and bimodal distribution patterns, revealing the source materials as vascular plants and microbially-altered organic matter. The combined palynofacies, organic carbon isotope, and biomarker data provide vital clue to salient findings for the development of environmental conditions of Godavari Valley Coalfield during lower Gondwana sedimentation.