Cretaceous Early Paleogene Biostratigraphy and Paleoenvironment of the Krishna Godavari Basin

Abstract

The Cretaceous-early Paleogene period of the Indian subcontinent was very important, as it experienced extensive geological activity such as tectonic movement, oceanic volcanic activity, sea-level fluctuation, major oceanic anoxic event and second largest mass-extinction. The eastern margin of the Indian plate was directly connected with Australia and Antarctica assembly as a part of east Gondwana and separated out during Early Cretaceous tectonic activity associated with massive volcanism. This tectonic activity led to the formation of the eastern Indian Ocean and the development of several sedimentary basins (including Krishna-Godavari Basin), which reveal a detailed geological history of the Indian subcontinent. The movement of Indian plate represents one of the longest movements of all the continents. It started the journey from the Austral region in the Early Cretaceous time and ended to the Tethys region during the mid-Paleogene period and recorded all the palaeoenvironmental signals during this voyage. newline