Zircon and apatite U-Pb age constraints from the Bundelkhand craton and Proterozoic strata of central India: Insights into craton stabilization and subsequent basin evolution

Abstract

The geologic processes involved in attaining strengthened cratonic lithosphere remain debated despite their importance for stabilization and long-term preservation. In central India, stabilization of the Bundelkhand craton has conventionally been attributed to the youngest magmatic event impacting the craton at ~ 2.5 Ga, though the post-amalgamation evolution of the craton prior to Proterozoic basin development is poorly understood. This study presents new basement zircon and apatite U-Pb age data along with new detrital zircon U-Pb age data from Proterozoic marginal sedimentary basin deposits to explore the post-magmatic and burial evolution of the Bundelkhand craton. Apatite from ~ 3.4–2.5 Ga granitoids and gneisses collected across the ~ 250 km wide craton yielded near uniform U-Pb ages between ~ 2.4–2.3 Ga, indicating broad-scale exhumation of the Bundelkhand craton through mid-crustal depths following amalgamation and felsic magmatism. Unroofing of the Bundelkhand craton at this time is corroborated by ~ 2.7–2.5 Ga detrital zircon U-Pb age peaks from basal sandstones of the Bijawar and Gwalior groups, which lie in direct nonconformable contact with the craton along both its southeastern and northwestern margins, respectively. These age populations reveal an abundance of zircon sourced directly from the Bundelkhand craton, and a sub-population of ~ 2.2–2.3 Ga grains provide a maximum depositional age for the oldest strata deposited on the craton. We speculate that the redistribution of heat producing elements associated with shallow emplacement of Bundelkhand granitoids and subsequent erosion may have enhanced lithospheric strengthening and facilitated a long-term thermal regime that promoted craton stability by ~ 2.2 Ga. Following stabilization, far-field marginal tectonism likely influenced the vertical motions within the Bundelkhand craton, inducing stages of broad subsidence and erosion recorded within the strata of the Lower and Upper Vindhyan successions.