SE9
Probing the Continental Margins of Gondwanaland: The Deep Crust of Southern India and Sri-Lanka - A Key to Evolution of the Lower Continental Crust

Main Organiser
Alfred Kroener, Institut fuer Geowissenschaften, Universitaet Mainz 55099 Mainz, Germany
kroener@mail.uni-mainz.de

Co-Organiser(s)
P.R. Reddy, National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad, India
paravata@yahoo.com

L.Brown, Institute for the Study of the Continents, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
brown@geology.geo.cornell.edu

Brief Description
Exploration of the continental lithosphere by deep seismic reflection profiling has revolutionized our view of the deep crust and upper mantle. The largest expanse of unexplored continental lithosphere lies in those fragments that were once part of the supercontinent of Gondwanaland. A comprehensive interdisciplinary program has therefore been proposed to explore the structure of East Gondwanaland. Detailed studies of the crystalline rocks in East Africa, Madagascar, southern India, Sri Lanka, and East Antarctica provide a basis for framing geodynamic questions that can be addressed by such surveys. The present-day dispersal of the Gondwana fragments makes many of these problems accessible to marine deep seismic profiling. A seismic profile across southern India and Sri Lanka, accompanied by multidisciplinary research, will explore one of the largest exposed terrains of Precambrian deep continental crust, and this session will address questions related to these issues and the evolution of the deep continental crust.