Bull Volcanol (2001) 63:435442 DOI 10.

1007/s004450100160

R E S E A R C H A RT I C L E

Raymond A. Duraiswami Ninad R. Bondre Gauri Dole Vinit M. Phadnis Vivek S. Kale

Tumuli and associated features from the western Deccan Volcanic Province, India
Received: 29 August 2000 / Accepted: 12 June 2001 / Published online: 7 August 2001 Springer-Verlag 2001

Abstract Whale-back-shaped uplifts called tumuli are common in the pahoehoe flows of the western Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP). Although they usually occur in hummocky flows, they are also associated with thicker sheet lobes. They have been subjected to a detailed morphometric and petrographic study for the first time. The tumuli are characterised by positive relief and lavainflation clefts occupied by squeeze-ups. They display elongate as well as equant forms; some are constituted of a single flow lobe, whereas others display multiple flow lobes. Some tumuli appear to have developed along anastomosing tube systems. The detailed study of one of the tumuli reveals considerable petrographic and textural variations among the constituent flow units. Some of these, such as the enrichment of phenocrysts in squeezeups and breakouts, could be related to the emplacement dynamics of the tumulus. All the observed tumuli display much evidence of inflation or endogenous growth. Field observations and measurements reveal that the tumuli and associated pahoehoe features display a close similarity with their Hawaiian counterparts. This is a very significant observation since it points out to a similarity in nature and style of eruptions in Hawaii and at least in the western part of the DVP. This has an important bearing on determining the short, medium and longterm effusion rates in the Deccan; however, any concrete inference will have to await systematic volcanological studies of the lava features in the DVP. Keywords Tumuli Squeeze-ups Hummocky pahoehoe DVP Inflation Flood basalts
Editorial responsibility: P. Mouginis-Mark R.A. Duraiswami N.R. Bondre () G. Dole V.M. Phadnis V.S. Kale Department of Geology, University of Pune, 411 007 Pune, India e-mail: ninad_b@yahoo.com Tel.: 91-20-5650799 Present address: N. R. Bondre, 1099, Model Colony, Block 4, Shriban, 411 016 Pune, India

Introduction
The compound pahoehoe flows in the Deccan Volcanic Province display a variety of lava structures. Such features are diagnostic in deciphering the emplacement mechanism of flows but have remained only cursorily studied. Although considerable work has been done on establishing the stratigraphy of the Deccan Traps in the past two decades (Cox and Hawkesworth 1985; Beane et al. 1986; Subbarao and Hooper 1988; Mitchell and Widdowson 1991), the physical volcanology of the lavas remains only sparsely recorded. Recent studies (Keszthelyi et al. 1999; Bondre et al. 2000a, 2000b) have underlined the importance of endogenous growth or inflation in the emplacement of these flows. Tumuli are local inflation features, well documented from, for example, Hawaii (Walker 1991), the Columbia River Basalt Province (Nichols 1936; Self et al. 1998) and Iceland (Rossi and Gudmundsson 1996). Only passing references have been made of their occurrence in DVP (Phadke and Sukhtankar 1971; Keszthelyi et al. 1999). The internal features (distribution of vesicles, crystallinity and jointing) and the morphology of some of the tumuli occurring in the western DVP are described here for the first time. The studied tumuli (Fig. 1) have been recorded from Ahmednagar (A1), Daund (D1D19), Harihareshwar (H1H2) and Pune (M1M3). It is a well-known fact that compound pahoehoe flows dominate the western DVP (Fig. 1; Deshmukh 1988; Walker 1999). The study of features such as tumuli, in conjunction with detailed mapping of, for example, individual flow fields and position of vents, will throw considerable light on the eruptive history of this province. All the studied flows are pahoehoe flows with unambiguous evidence of inflation. Of all exposures of tumuli, the best assemblage available for morphometric studies is from a flow exposed near Daund (Fig. 1). In the other places the tumuli are exposed only partially. We therefore focus on the Daund flow for details in this paper but include the morphometric studies from other sites.

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Fig. 1 Geological map of the area around Daund showing locations of tumuli D1D19. The tumuli occur in the hummocky pahoehoe flow exposed in the river bed and along its banks. Outline map of the Deccan Volcanic Province adapted from Deshmukh (1988). Solid circles represent the locations covered during the present study

glassy rind (12 cm) of the toes is mostly devoid of vesicles. On the contrary, the interior contains numerous vesicles. The typical pahoehoe features in this area are indicative of locally low volumetric eruption rates (Rowland and Walker 1990). The presence of hummocks and tumuli in this area may be the result of a relatively higher viscosity imparted by the lack of sustained lava supply and consequent cooling. This may also be due to the long residence time in a tube system, or due to lava remaining in the tumuli for an extended period of time.

Morphology of tumuli
Morphometric studies were carried out by grid mapping and field measurements. Walker (1991) has classified tumuli into three types, e.g. shallow-slope, moderate-slope, and flow-lobe tumuli, based on their position in pahoehoe flow fields. In the present study, flow-lobe tumuli could be distinctly recognised, and hence this term has been retained; however, the other tumuli were classified on the basis of their morphology. It was felt that a slopebased classification scheme would be inappropriate given the ancient and eroded nature of the DVP. Determination of the position of the tumuli in the flow field was also not possible. The observed tumuli were classified into the following four main types: 1. Elongated, ridge-like tumuli (A1, D5-D7, D11D15, H1, M2): D6, D11 and D12 (Fig. 3a) are characterised by the presence of a prominent (0.50- to 1.00-mwide) axial cleft. Several lesser clefts are developed sub-parallel to the axial clefts (D13, D14) or with triple cleft junctions. Depth of axial clefts ranges from 1.41 to 1.65 m. 2. Equant tumuli (D1D4, D16, M1): they are polygonal uplifts (Fig. 3b, 4a) that rise (~2.5 m) above the surrounding landscape, displaying a prominent axial cleft, or a system of clefts arranged in a star-like pattern. Horizontal inflation clefts are also present.

Fig. 2 Vertical section exposed along the bank of the Bhima river at Daund. Note the sheet-like nature of the upper lobe and the hummocky nature of the lower flow lobes

Daund flow
This compound pahoehoe flow is exposed along the Bhima river channel near Daund (Fig. 1). The lower parts of the flow display a hummocky character with numerous small (24 m thick), elongated hummocks and tumuli. Large-amplitude ropy festoons with variable flow directions are also observed at many places, indicating that they developed on the lobes that grew as breakouts. Flow lobes are seen to coalesce and inflate in vertical sections (Fig. 2). The upper part of this flow is constituted of larger flow lobes that show pipe vesicles at their base, a dense core, and a vesicular crust. Several vesicle cylinders (up to 3 cm wide and 66 cm tall) are present in the cores. Numerous small toes occur near the highly irregular bases of these flow units, and in depressions formed between the underlying hummocks. The outer

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Fig. 4a, b Field photographs of tumuli near Daund. a Tumulus D4 is in the foreground, displaying a typical whale-back shape. Tumuli D5 and D6 which are elongate in shape are also seen in the background. b Flow lobe tumulus D8 showing a single axial cleft occupied by a squeeze-up Fig. 3ac Maps of three tumuli observed around Daund. a Elongate, ridge-like tumulus D11 showing a prominent axial cleft, breakouts with ropy surfaces, and associated flow-lobe tumulus D10 occurring on the top left. b Equant tumulus D4 with numerous lesser inflation clefts and one prominent axial cleft. c Flow lobe tumulus D8 with a radial arrangement of inflation clefts

3. Flow-lobe tumuli (after Walker 1991): this type (Fig. 3c) is represented by D8D10, D15 and D18. As the name suggests, these involve a single flow lobe (Fig. 4b). These are generally smaller, distinctly asymmetric, being higher and steeper on one side (Fig. 3c). They range from 2.80 to 3.75 m in length and from 2.76 to 5.40 m in width. A dominant axial cleft up to 0.35 m wide follows the long axis with several clefts or branches, besides smaller cracks or failed clefts. The tumuli are raised above the surroundings by horizontal clefts exposed around part of their periphery. Lower average length/width ratio (0.91) of flow-lobe tumuli with respect to the other two types of tumuli are attributed to the in situ inflation of flow lobes without significant down-slope elongation (except D15 with length/width ratio of 1.73). Squeeze-ups of varying size and shapes are present within the clefts.

4. Tumuli on the top of pahoehoe sheet lobes: these are different from the others in their morphology (e.g. M3). M3 occurs on the crust of a large (ca. 12-mthick) sheet lobe. The crust of this lobe is characterised by numerous breakouts and thick squeeze-ups (Fig. 5a). At places, tilted slabs of pahoehoe crust give rise to a tumulus-like geometry. Similar features have been recorded from the Columbia River Basalts (Thordarson and Self 1998). The length/width (aspect) ratio of the first two types ranges from 1.43 to 4.84 and averages 2.64; that of the third is 0.91 (Fig. 6). The aspect ratios of the studied tumuli from DVP match well with those from Hawaii, as is evident from the coincidence of their plots in Fig. 6.

Associated features
Squeeze-ups are the most distinctive feature associated with many of the tumuli (Fig. 5) occupying the axial and lesser clefts (which are simple dilation fractures; see Whitehead and Stephenson 1998). Where the cleft section is exposed, horizontal striations/grooves marked by

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Fig. 5ad Field photographs of squeeze-ups observed during the present study. a Squeeze-up in the crust of the sheet lobe at Kondhwa. A branch of this squeeze-up has been intruded horizontally into the crust (photograph is of a vertical section). b Squeezeup occupying the axial cleft of tumulus D13. Note the striations on the wall of cleft. c Squeeze-up occupying the axial cleft of tumulus D6. Note that it is attached to one wall of the cleft, and has a bulbous, vesicular top. d Thick squeeze-up intruded horizontally into the crust of a sheet lobe near Pune

calcitezeolite mineralisation (D13, Fig. 5b), or horizontal bands (D5) are seen. These features are particularly evident in the elongate, ridge-like tumuli. The grooves form when solid lava scraped across hot and still-plastic lava (Nichols 1939). Horizontal grooves are the result of cracking, whereas the vertical ones form due to scraping (L. Keszthelyi, pers. commun.). Vertical grooves were not observed during the present study. The squeeze-ups occur as linear bulbous fillings in the axial and lesser clefts, with highly vesicular convex top surfaces and vesicle free lower end (Nichols 1939). Most squeeze-ups fill the entire width of the clefts (Fig. 3c) but have negligible volume in comparison with that of the tumuli. Many squeeze-ups display a distinct enrichment of large (up to 1-cm) phenocrysts of plagioclase, as compared with the tumuli. In the axial cleft of D8, a zeolitised matrix cements angular fragments (up to 2.5 cm) of greenish, glassy basalt. A similar, brecciated material is observed filling the cleft in M3. Tumulus D6 has a single 0.30-m-thick squeeze-up occupying the axial cleft, attached to one wall (Fig. 5c). At

places, smaller squeeze-ups occur at different depths and are attached to either of the two walls. In D1 it appears that at least two generations of cross cutting clefts occur; however, since cleft formation is a continuous process (Walker 1991), establishment of such relationships can get complicated. Around margins of some tumuli (D7, D11), larger squeeze-ups appear to give rise to thin (<11 cm), up to 2-m-long lava breakouts with ropy surfaces.

Internal structure and petrography

A section through D2 displays multiple flow lobes with distinct differences in colour, vesicle size, vesicle distribution, crystallinity and jointing patterns (Fig. 7). The basal lobe (exposed thickness of 1.56 m) has a dark, dense core, with few vesicles. Its reddish crust is characterised by a banding of numerous small, completely zeolitised vesicles. The exposed thickness of the crust varies from 0.92 m (central) to approximately 0.31 m (along margins). This lobe shows intersertal and intergranular textures (Fig. 8a), with glomeroporphyritic aggregates of fractured microphenocrysts of augite (up to 1.3 m) and plagioclase (up to 4.5 m). The plagioclase phenocrysts show corroded margins and compositional zoning (Fig. 8b), marked by glass and clinopyroxene inclusions. Idiomorphic, unzoned groundmass plagioclase laths (~2 m long) define a crude flow texture. The groundmass plagioclase displays an ophitic/subophitic

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Fig. 7 Vertical section through tumulus D2, depicting the constituent units and variation in crystallinity through the section

Fig. 6 Aspect ratios of tumuli from the present study (represented by solid circles). Stippled area and open circles represent the fields/plots for Hawaiian tumuli. (Modified after Walker 1991)

relationship with the clinopyroxenes. Equant, euhedral opaques (0.6 m) and unaltered brown glass are also observed. In the middle are several flow lobes, ranging between 0.65 and 2.81 m in thickness. They are similar to the P-type lobes of Wilmoth and Walker (1993) and show basal pipe vesicles. These pipes are bent in the direction of lobe propagation, over the down-slope surface of the lower lobe. A glassy rind (12.5 cm) is preserved around most flow lobes, whereas the cores are pinkish, fine grained and iddingsite-bearing. The presence of multiple flow lobes has led to an irregular and undulating upper surface. The uppermost flow lobe (in D2) is a fine-grained, mildly plagioclase phyric basalt with many irregular vesicles. It has a very fine-grained groundmass and meso-

Fig. 8a, b Line drawings of photomicrographs of tumulus D2 (Cpx clinopyroxene, Pl plagioclase, g groundmass and O opaques). a Basal lobe of D2 displaying intersertal and intergranular textures in plane polarised light. b Plagioclase phenocryst in the basal lobe of D2 displaying compositional zoning between crossed nicols

440 Table 1 Modal compositions of flow lobes of the tumulus D2, a pahoehoe lobe and a squeeze-up exposed in the bed of River Bhima near Daund (see Fig. 1) Pahoehoe lobe Crust Plagioclase (p) Plagioclase (g) Clinopyroxene Olivine Opaques Glass 3.55 34.06 20.94 0.53 0.36 40.56 Core 19.62 25.21 27.06 1.41 4.20 22.49 Tumulus D2 Lower unit 1.76 29.04 46.18 0.00 5.86 18.55 Middle units 4.93 35.34 18.80 0.60 11.85 28.50 Upper unit 7.57 27.20 13.38 5.39 11.24 35.23 13.62 28.36 31.29 0.57 2.99 23.16 Squeeze-up

stasis, with acicular (up to 1.5 m long) and spherical inclusions of opaques. In tumulus D2, the uppermost flow lobe and those in the middle differ from the basal unit in grain size, morphology of opaques and the modal abundance of glass and olivine (Table 1). Glomeroporphyritic aggregates of plagioclase and iddingsite pseudomorphs after olivine (especially in the uppermost unit; up to 1 m) are present. The plagioclase microphenocrysts are 12 mm long, unzoned, fractured and strained. The intersertal and interstitial groundmass is constituted of strain-free plagioclase (0.6 m), clinopyroxene (0.5 to 0.7 m), devitrified glass and small (<0.3 m) equant and few acicular grains of opaques. The petrographic and textural variations of the internal units of D2 offer interesting insights into the cooling histories (see Lofgren 1980; DeGraff et al. 1989). Nucleation and growth of crystals are suppressed at very high cooling rates (>500C/h), as in case of the glassy rinds. Rock textures and grain size in lobe crusts and in the uppermost and middle lobes indicate a relatively faster rate of cooling (~80C/h) than that (<20C/h) for the lobe cores and basal lobe with equant, euhedral grains. The modal abundance of glass/mesostasis (Table 1), the morphology of opaques and the whole-rock chemistry (Table 2) also reflect this. A thin, prominent inflation cleft is seen to cut across the flow lobes in the middle, and the crust of the lowermost flow lobe of tumulus D2. Several squeeze-ups of chilled reddish glass occupy lesser inflation clefts. The presence of multiple flow lobes in D2 compares well with the observations in Hawaii (Walker 1991), where some tumuli uplifted more than a single flow lobe. In the present case, field relations indicate that the lowermost flow lobe and those in the middle had already formed before the initiation of tumulus growth. The uppermost lobe was erupted as a breakout from axial clefts in the final stage of tumulus growth. It may also have resulted from a major breakout from the tube system during a surge in the eruption rate. Pahoehoe flow lobes often display striking variations in phenocryst content. Walker (1971) attributes such phenocryst variations to gravity sinking/rising aided by low viscosity of pahoehoe flows and slow rates of effusion. Deshmukh (1988) assigns these variations to the lobe by lobe emplacement of pahoehoe flows that allowed filtering out phenocryst free lava into successive lobes. The present study indicates that phenocryst-laden lava may also be filtered/squeezed out.

Table 2 Chemical compositions of basalts from the Daund flow. Analyses carried out at the Earthquake Research Centre, Japan. The technique used for the analyses was X-ray fluorescence 1 SiO2 TiO2 Al2O3 FeO MnO MgO CaO Na2O K 2O P 2O 5 Total Sc V Cr Co Ni Cu Zn Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Ba TiO2/P2O5 MgO/TiO2 Zr/Nb Ba/Sr Ba/Y Ba/Zr 49.12 2.05 13.89 14.15 0.15 4.44 8.98 2.41 1.77 0.22 97.18 30.9 307.9 37.7 42.9 37.4 136.7 99.5 70.8 247.8 29.8 179.2 11.1 195.0 9.3 2.2 16.1 0.8 6.5 1.1 2 49.45 2.10 13.73 14.52 0.19 4.64 9.18 2.42 0.93 0.22 97.38 33.0 312.3 39.4 42.88 40.9 141.2 106.6 22.6 258.7 33.9 180.9 12.3 226.0 9.5 2.2 14.7 0.9 6.7 1.2 3 49.69 2.17 13.43 14.88 0.18 4.92 9.33 2.35 0.86 0.23 98.04 37.4 289.1 36.7 51.1 38.4 149.2 108.4 12.5 257.3 33.3 186.1 11.8 199.9 9.4 2.3 15.8 0.8 6.0 1.1 4 49.42 2.16 12.85 14.78 0.200 4.99 9.47 2.21 1.11 0.25 97.44 34.0 325.3 38.1 50.0 40.2 144.3 110.8 30.3 226.3 33.9 181.4 12.0 173.0 8.6 2.3 15.1 0.8 5.1 1.0 Average 49.42 2.12 13.48 14.58 0.18 4.75 9.24 2.35 1.17 0.23 97.51 33.83 308.65 37.98 46.72 39.23 142.85 106.33 34.05 247.53 32.73 181.90 11.80 198.48 9.23 2.24 15.43 0.80 6.08 1.09

Geochemistry
Six representative samples from various lobes of the pahoehoe flow at Daund were analysed for their major oxides and some trace elements (Table 2). The basalts from the present study have an average MgO (4.76%), TiO2 (2.03%), P2O5 (0.22%), Cu (137.5 ppm), Sr (255.0 ppm), Y (31.4 ppm), Zr (172.1 ppm), and Ba (189.2 ppm), and shows affinity to the highly evolved MGT Chemical Type of the Middle Thakurwadi Formation (Khadri et al. 1988; Khadri et al. 1999). In addition, the high modal plagioclase, the presence of zoned plagioclase and microphenocrysts of olivine in the basalts under study are characteristics of the MGT Chemical Type.

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Discussion
The present study is the first of its kind in the DVP and focuses on the physical characters, petrography and emplacement of tumuli and associated features. Variations in the mechanism of lava emplacement and transfer (e.g. distributory tubes or broad sheets; Hon et al. 1994; Self et al. 1997, 1998) give rise to a variety of features from sheet lobes to tumuli. Most tumuli studied occur in hummocky pahoehoe flows. Such flows form under conditions of irregular micro-topography and/or discontinuous lava supply rates through distributory tubes (Fig. 9), whereas tumuli often form over the clogged ends of such tubes (Swanson 1973; Self et al. 1998). Tubes or distributory systems are difficult to identify in ancient Continental Flood Basaltic provinces such as the Deccan. The alignment of tumuli in the Daund flow (Fig. 1), however, indicates the presence of such a tube system. These flows exhibit distinct evidence of endogenous growth. The present study confirms the observations of Keszthelyi et al. (1999) and Bondre et al. (2000a, 2000b) on the role of inflation in the emplacement of pahoehoe flows in different parts of the DVP. Petrographic studies highlight the distinct variations in texture and phenocryst content within the flow lobes constituting the tumuli. The textural variations can be attributed to the unequal cooling rates within the constituent flow units. Our observations in the past, as well as those during the present study, indicate that the squeeze-ups and breakouts are almost always more porphyritic as compared with the tumuli, with a concentration of larger plagioclase phenocrysts. This may be related to the genesis of the tumuli, and can be explained in the following way: tumuli are products of localised inflation; their growth takes place by the injection of successive batches of lava below a thickening upper crust. These lava batches may, or may not, have a similar plagioclase phenocryst content. The phenocrysts, being lighter, tend to float to the top and accumulate beneath the crust. Continued inflation leads to the development of axial clefts in response to the uplift and rupture of the brittle upper crust. These clefts are then occupied by squeeze-ups, and breakouts may result depending on the rate of inflation. It is likely that these features will show a concentration of plagioclase phenocrysts, whereas the bulk of the tumulus will acquire a more uniform texture with fewer phenocrysts. In the case of D2, the breakout is also enriched in olivine phenocrysts. This is explained by the observation that most of these are closely associated with glomeroporphyritic aggregates of plagioclases. Hence, despite their higher specific gravity, they have been extruded out along with the plagioclase phenocrysts (Table 1). The morphological study of tumuli from the western DVP shows that their lengths range from 2.80 to 77.10 m and their widths range between 2.76 to 39.62 m. Notwithstanding the large variation in their dimensions, these tumuli plot within the field of dimensional variations of tumuli recorded from the Hawaiian volcanics by Walker (1991). Field studies clearly indicate that differ-

Fig. 9a, b Development of a hummocky pahoehoe flow and tumuli. a Plan view of hummocky pahoehoe flow with distributory tube system (modified after Self et al. 1998). b Cross sections illustrating the progressive stages in the formation of tumuli. i Small toes and lobes erupt from the vent and move down slope. ii The irregular topography and low volumetric rate of eruption lead to the formation of a tube-fed hummocky pahoehoe flow. iii Continuous injection of lava below the crusts of individual flow units leads to the formation of whale-back uplifts (tumuli) with inflation clefts and squeeze-ups. This process is aided by obstructions

ent pahoehoe features in the DVP are very similar, both in form and in magnitude, to their Hawaiian counterparts (also see Bondre et al. 2000a, 2000b). This observation is strengthened by similarities in the geometry, sizes and aspect ratios (Fig. 6, present study) of the Deccan tumuli with the Hawaiian examples. This inevitably leads to a comparison between the volcanic systems in Hawaii and in the DVP. The compound pahoehoe lavas in the DVP may have developed in a manner similar to the scutulum-type shields in Hawaii (Walker 1993). Such shields are characterised by long-sustained and unmodulated eruptions, and in Hawaii (Mauna Ulu; Walker 1993), the rate is of the order of 5 m3 s1, although the determination and quantification of several variables will be required to comment on the exact rates in the DVP. This includes determining the position of the studied locations with respect to, for example, the vents, locating the vents themselves and quantifying flow volumes. It is noteworthy, however, that true Aa flows are absent in the DVP. The comparison with Hawaii is also significant in another sense. Thick (>20 m), kilometre-scale sheet lobes appear to be more common in the Columbia River Basalts (CRB; Thordarson and Self 1998) than in the DVP. Similarly, thick, ponded flows with multiple tiers of columns are almost absent in the DVP, although several have been recorded from the CRB (Long and Wood 1986). Pahoehoe flows in the DVP are strongly compound on a local scale and metre-scale lobes are most frequently observed, which once again emphasises the similarity with Hawaiian flows. Why should lava features in a giant Continental Flood Basalt (CFB) province be so similar to those in a relatively smaller shield volcano, and different from another CFB (i.e. the CRB)? This needs to be explored since it has an important bearing on the relationship between the eruptive style, rates of effusion and the products of eruption.

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What is clear, however, is that these flows are definitely a product of slow and sustained eruptions. The vast thickness of compound pahoehoe flows in the western Deccan clearly demonstrates that these flows were not emplaced in a turbulent flood of lava as postulated in previous models (Shaw and Swanson 1970). On a broader scale, while compound pahoehoe flows dominate in the western and central DVP, flows to the south and east are markedly different in character, being extensive, simple, and capped by flow-top breccias. These flows dominantly constitute the younger stratigraphic formations. Does this imply that there was a fundamental change in the eruptive style (e.g. higher effusion rates) of the Deccan at some stage? Once again, the paucity of physical volcanological data does not permit any concrete inference to be drawn. It is now imperative that greater emphasis be placed on the detailed quantitative and morphometric studies of Deccan Trap flows in order to obtain definitive information on the evolution of the Deccan volcanism. Studies of lava structures are vital in understanding the dynamics of any volcanic system. Better documentation of such features in the DVP will go a long way in determining the emplacement mechanism of the constituent flows. This in turn will have an important bearing on several topics of current interest, including the duration and style of the Deccan volcanism.
Acknowledgements This study was supported by the Department of Science and Technology (ES/5(9)/WB/Proj/96) and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. We are grateful to G.P.L Walker and S. Self for their valuable comments. The authors are thankful to Drs. Yamamoto and Kaneoka of Earthquake Research Centre, Japan, for the chemical analyses. Discussions with V.V. Peshwa, Himanshu Kulkarni, A.V. Phadke, N. Karmalkar and S. Mangave are acknowledged. The authors are grateful to the reviewers: L. Keszthelyi for his pertinent comments and M. Widdowson for his critical review. We also thank Drs. MouginisMark and Druitt for their helpful suggestions.

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