Igneous Petrology
Igneous Rocks are primary rocks that crystallize from a mushy, molten magma. I look at them through a fine lens. No, literally!!!!!!!! I use high resolution microscopes, Electron microprobes and SEMs to look at the Mineralogy and Mineral Chemistry of Igneous rocks. Having figured out the microdomains, I then zoom out to look at the elemental and isotopic abundance in a bulk sample of the whole rock using sophisticated mass spectrometers. I try to explain the elemental behavior in the whole rock domain as well as in microdomains of the samples.
Projects
A summary of the most recent projects is given below:
Phonolites of Bhanjada Bet
The Phonolitic rocks of Bhanjada bet in Kutch provide a window into early Deccan volcanism and Carbonatitic metasomatism of the lithosphere in connection to Plume activity. Access the springer article here.
Mukherjee, D., Ray, A., Paul, D.K. et al. J Earth Syst Sci 131, 213 (2022).
Exotic minerals in Syenites
The Nepheline Syenites from the South Puruliya Shear Zone abound in Eudiyalites, Na-Zr-Silicates and other exotic mineralogies.
This project aims at characterizing their occurrence and chemistry in relation to REE mineralization.
In manuscript stage for publication.
TE and Isotopes in Carbonatites
The Carbonatites of SPSZ show typical trace, REE and Isotopic characters that are useful in demonstrating the petrogenesis of the carbonatitic magma.
In manuscript stage for publication.