New Analytical Facilities for Earth Science Research in India
New Analytical Facilities for Earth Science Research in India
– Initiatives of the Department of Science & Technology*
M. PRITHVIRAJ*
Science and Engineering Research Council Division, Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi - 110 016
INTRODUCTION
India is a vast country possessing a variety of geological
features evolved over a wide range of geological time through
a spectrum of endogenic and exogenic processes. This makes
it a natural laboratory offering exciting research possibilities
to understand a host of geologically significant phenomena
of global and regional interest. Some of the geologically
exclusive provinces/phenomena specific to India that has
caught the interest of the global geological community are:
1. Archaean cratons and their mobile belts
2. Himalaya – classic example of continent collision
process
3. Deccan Volcanic Province
4. Proterozoic cratonic basins
5. Gondwana basins
6. Indo-Gangetic Plains – with well-preserved sections for
paleoclimatic reconstruction
7. The arid – semi-arid region of the Thar Desert
SERC PROGRAMME ON EARTH SCIENCES
Under the Science and Engineering Research Council
(SERC), emphasis is on research promotion in challenging
areas of science and technology through extramural funding,
facility creation and manpower development. Support for
organizing national seminars as well as for attending
seminars/symposia is also provided to young and deserving
scientists. Earth & Atmospheric Sciences form an important
component of the SERC. The other S&T areas being covered
include - Engineering Sciences, Physical Sciences, Life
Sciences, Medical Sciences, Mathematical Sciences and
Chemical Sciences. The Earth Sciences Programme is
constantly guided by experts through the Programme
Advisory Committee on Earth Sciences (PAC-ES). The scope
of the programme includes study of Earth and Earth System
Processes – their coupling with the atmosphere and oceans.
In this programme, individual R and D proposals attempting
to carry out research in forefront areas of Earth sciences are
supported. Co-ordinated programmes evolve wherever an
integrated approach to understand a problem/phenomenon
is felt.
Every year around 100–120 proposals are received under
various branches of Earth sciences, out of which about 60
research projects are recommended by the committee for
support. The PAC-ES, also shoulders the responsibility to
scout for talent to take up challenging research problems,
identify gaps in research and advises DST on improving
the research climate. PAC also helps DST in manpower
* E-mail: prithvi@nic.in
319
development by conducting several field workshops, contact
programmes and Summer/Winter schools in areas of
national/global interest. During the last five years several
major analytical facilities have been created with the support
made available by the department.
MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT -
MECHANISMS
In the last 10 years, use of advanced instruments for
generating data in various branches of Earth sciences has
increased manifold. The advanced geochemical and isotope
geo-chronological facilities are considered as basic
requirements and available in many universities in the
developed and developing countries, including China. But
in India, the facilities had not grown enough to accommodate
the demands of the faculty and research scholars and many
had no access to sophisticated analytical facilities. This
seriously hampered the overall quality of research in the
country and severely restricted training of young researchers
in the field of quantitative and isotope geology. DST through
the SERC focused on creation of the state-of-the-art R&D
infrastructure facilities and supported several major facilities.
Funding was through two major programmes viz. the
FIST–‘Funds for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure in
Universities and other Higher Education Institutions’ and
the IRHPA – Intensification of Research in High Priority
Areas for strengthening infrastructure. Under the FIST,
high end computational systems, image processing and GIS
facilities were created in several universities across the
country. In addition, major analytical facilities for Earth
science research were also created. Funding per se was
decided on the basis of research activities in and around
the institutions, commitment from the institution toward
manpower and maintenance of the systems and willingness
to extend the facilities to the other institutions on a national
basis. Under IRHPA, facilities are created around an
outstanding scientist to nucleate research activities in certain
important/contemporary theme, using advanced
techniques/equipments. The programme also helps develop
manpower by extending funds for organising field
workshops, contact programmes. The Earth sciences segment
of the SERC had taken advantage of the above schemes and
interacted with the leading Earth scientists and encouraged
them to evolve proposals for consideration under the IRHPA
scheme. A brief narrative of new facilities follows.
ACCELERATOR MASS SPECTROMETRY (AMS)
FACILITY FOR RADIOCARBON (14C) ANALYSIS
Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) became the
preferred instrument for 14C dating all over the world by
1990, as it required much less sample and time compared
to the decay-counting technique. A high-powered committee
320
reviewed the three tandem accelerators, in India for use as
an AMS and selected the 3 MV NEC 9SDH-2 machine in
the Institute of Physics, Bhubaneshwar to be configured as
a national AMS facility for 25% of its time for 14C dating,
and 10Be dating. The AMS was supported through joint
funding of four government agencies viz. the Department
of Science and Technology, Department of Atomic Energy,
Department of Space and the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research.
The Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) Facility at
the Institute of Physics (IOP), Bhubaneswar has been in
operation for AMS radiocarbon (14C) analysis since June
2004. This facility is catering to the requirements of 14C
analysis in the areas of archaeology and geosciences
including paleo-climatology, oceanography, hydrogeology
and other related areas (see the paper by GV Ravi Prasad
et al, this volume). An interlaboratory comparison of results
on samples already dated in the Arizona laboratory was
satisfactory (Current Science, 2006). During the “User
Interaction Meeting on AMS 14C ” several new programmers
were presented in the area of archaeology and geosciences,
paleoceanography, terrestrial chronology/paleo-
climatology, paleoseismology, tectonics, hydrology and
archeology. Samples provided by those research teams
have been analysed.
National Facility on Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass
Spectrometry (ICP-MS)
This national facility was established at National
Geophysical Research Institute in August, 2002 and is
equipped with a Perkin Elmer SCIEX ELAN® DRC-II,
Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (Concord,
Ontario, Canada). A major objective of this facility was to
provide a high-quality analytical facility for the estimation
of some of the critical trace elements, rare earth elements
(REE), platinum-group elements (PGE) and isotopic data
for geochemistry and process modelling and mineral
exploration. The facility would also provide training to
researchers, students and teachers of the universities and
Earth science R & D organizations on the recent
advancements made (i) in the analysis of geological and
environmental materials and (ii) applications in
geochemistry, cosmo-chemistry and mineral exploration
studies.
In the last 5 years the scientists of this laboratory have
designed and developed several new methods for the precise
estimation of REE, PGE and many other trace elements by
ICP-MS in geological and environmental samples such as
rocks, ores, soils, water and other materials. Analytical
methods have also been developed for the precise estimation
of trace elements in particulate matter in air, plant samples,
fish tissues, blood plasma, steiner films and inorganic
impurities in bulk drug/pharma samples. Methodologies
were developed for analysis of seawater samples and for
the precise estimation of V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Co, Cu, Zn, As,
Se, Mo, Cd, Pb and U at various pH (ranging from 2 to 8.9)
following APDC/MIBK (full form) pre-concentration.
Systematic studies to understand the concentration of PGE
in road dust/soil samples in high-traffic areas in the twin
cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Visakhapatnam
Glimpses of Geoscience Research in India
and Bangalore city, were carried out. Studies to understand
the groundwater quality in the granitic terrain of Hyderabad
are underway.
National Facility on Stable Isotope Geochemistry
(NAFSIG)
DST established the NAFSIG at Indian Institute of
Technology, Kharagpur in April 2004. The specific goals of
this programme was to provide stable isotope data to other
research programmes in the area of paleoclimate and
hydrology on collaborative basis and to undertake GSMS-
based programmes on certain challenging areas of Earth
and Environmental sciences. The IIT facility is equipped
with a Thermo made DELTA PLUS XP continuous flow
mass spectrometer (CFIRMS) along with several peripheral
equipments like Gas bench, Elemental analyser and TC-EA,
capable of analysing different types of geological materials
including water, carbonate, sulphide/sulphate, organic
matter, graphite, clay, etc. The gas bench provides rapid
analysis of large number of water and carbonate samples.
Likewise the Flash Elemental Analyzer (EA) provides rapid
analysis of carbon isotopes in organic matter, graphite and
sulfur isotope in sulphide/sulphate. The high-temperature
pyrolysis TC-EA peripheral can analyse sub-microlitre water
samples or hydrogen isotopes in clay/mica.
The core research projects, under the facility, are:
a) The linkages between Himalayan upliftment, climate
(temperature) and forcing parameter (CO2) and,
b) The stable isotope tracer data of precipitation, surface
and groundwater of eastern India to reconstruct hydro-
meteorological and hydro-geological models.
This facility has supported national projects like – Gas
Hydrate Project and Antarctic Project and also extended
support to academic segment especially for investigators
operating DST projects and scholars pursuing their Ph.D.
degrees. In all, 7 scholars have used this facility and many
are currently using it. Some of the highlights of the ongoing
research at this facility are as follows:
1. 1. Using this system for the first time a high-resolution
time series data of hydrogen and oxygen isotope values
of precipitation have been generated for Kolkata. This
finding suggests that the summer monsoon rains over
northern India is an admixture of vapour source from
Bay of Bengal and ~20% vapour originating from the
Arabian sea.
2. Sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy and isotope
analysis in parts of the Himalayan peripheral foreland
basin of northwest India suggest that the closure of the
marine system ~31 Ma ago and initiation of continental
alluvial deposition was caused by a tectonically
induced forced regression. The unconformity between
these two is less than 3 Myr. Such a study has enormous
implication for the evolution of Himalayan mountain
chain and global climate change.
3. Time-series data over two years for δ18O, dD, and Ca,
Mg, K, and Cl concentrations, for 10 ponds in, and
upflow of an As-polluted region of southern West
Bengal were monitored. Compositions of As-polluted
groundwaters from wells show that water from ponds
New Analytical Facilities for Earth Science Research in India
does not contribute significant mass to arsenic-polluted
groundwater and, therefore does not provide organic
matter to aquifers in sufficient amounts to drive
reduction of iron oxyhydroxides and hence arsenic
pollution. The study disputes the earlier claim that
increased irrigation, and consequently higher surface
water recharge, was responsible for arsenic pollution
in Bengal basin and has important socio-economic
implication.
LAM-MC-ICP National Facility
This facility at the NGRI supports multi-element isotope
geochemistry and geochronology, relevant to basic and
applied research in solid earth, ocean and environmental
sciences. The facility was established in a collaboration
mode with funding from CSIR, DST, NIO and NGRI. The
facility was formally inagurated in February 2007. When
ready the laboratory can facilitate measurements of isotopic
composition of some selected trace elements that are difficult
to analyse by TIMS; for instance the focus could be on
elements such as Li, Mg, Ca, Fe, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Cd,
In, Sn, Te, Lu, Hf, W, Re, Os, Tl, Pb, Th and U. Since, the
isotopic compositions of elements such as Rb, Sr, Sm, Nd
and Pb can be determined very well by conventional TIMS
this lab would not focus on them. Once the laboratory is
made operational specific analytical protocols will be
established for the elements desirable to be analysed based
on calibration checks using internationally accepted
reference materials and standards. Following are the
priorities set up for this lab: 1) Lu-Hf isotopic analysis in
silicate rocks (solution mode), 2) Zircon U-Pb dating and
Hf-isotopic analysis (intial mode using the LAM) and
3) Isotopic analysis of Fe, Cu and Zn in silicates and sulphide
ores.
NATIONAL FACILITY FOR GEOCHRONOLOGY AND
ISOTOPE GEOSCIENCE
DST established facilities for radiogenic isotope
geoscience studies at the Indian Institute of Technology
(IIT), Roorkee and Pondicherry University. The mass
spectrometer model TRITON make Thermo Fisher has been
installed at IIT Roorkee in April 2000. The instrument has
very high sensitivity and precision (~ 5 ppm). Due to the
use of energy filter (Retarding Potential Quadrupole), the
abundance sensitivity is also high (~ 20 ppb). This enables
the measurement of isotopic ratios such as 230Th/232Th. The
facility has excellent clean room for sample preparation and
since its inception Rb, Sr, Sm and Nd isotopes have been
analysed for about 550 samples including rocks, sediments,
minerals, water and ivory.
The following major R&D program have been attempted
using this facility.
i) 87SR/86Sr isotopic characterization of Trans-Himalayan
rivers
ii) Rb-Sr age and exhumation of the Karakoram batholith
iii) Isotopic characterization of the Shyok-Nubra valley
volcanics
iv) Exhumation of the Himalayan metamorphic belt
(HMB) along Sutlej, Bhagirathi, Dhauli Ganga Darma
and Alaknanda valleys
321
v) Pan-African magmatism in the NW Himalaya
vi) South Indian Granulite terrain – age of Archaean
metamorphism and its reactivation
vii) Eastern Ghats charnockites and mafic enclaves
Uranium Series Disequilibrium Studies
This system is currently being developed to measure
small-time differences starting from 10 Ka to 1 Ma in natural
systems using the isotopic ratios of thorium (230Th/232Th)
as well as the ratios of low-abundance isotopes of uranium
with respect to 238U for studying the time scales of magma
formation, crystallization and magma eruption in young
volcanic rocks. Himalayan tectonics and exhumation history
is also being attempted through the systematic age
determination investigations on the Trans-Himalayan
domains and the Higher Himalayan metamorphic belt.
At the Pondicherry university, a thermal ionization
mass-spectrometer (TIMS), model triton of Thermo-Finnigan
(Germany) was installed in October 2003 to function and
serve as an analytical support for Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd and other
isotope studies and also to focus on high-precision single-
mineral U-Pb dating. After elaborate testing using a series
of international isotope standards, Sr (NIST-SRM 987), Nd
(La jolla) and Pb (NIST-SRM 981), this facility has become
operational.
One of the important research focuses is the
determination of crustal growth in the Dharwar Craton
using U-Pb isotope ages on zircon and titanite from the felsic
volcanics and granitoid rocks in and around the Hutti Schist
Belt.
NATIONAL PROGRAMME ON ISOTOPE FINGER
PRINTING OF WATERS OF INDIA (IWIN)
This programme address important hydrological
questions related to, 1) origin of water sources and, 2) the
processes of redistribution (by evapo-transpiration, stream-
flow generation, ground-water recharge/discharge) from
watershed to continental scale has been launched. This is
on the lines of IAEA operating network of precipitation
isotope monitoring stations (GNIP) and other such networks
in Europe, Canada and USA. For isotopic analyses of samples
of atmospheric moisture, rainwater, river water and
groundwater collected under this programme Stable Isotope
Ratio Mass Spectrometer (SIRM) Laboratory is being set up
at Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad. Thermo Delta
V Plus with both Dual Inlet and Continuous Flow Modes
of analyses and a Finnegan GasBench-II sample preparation
system for water equilibration with carbonate option
(including acid pump) is being considered. Refurbishing
of laboratory space and sample repository for over
20,000 samples, over the next 5years is currently being
undertaken.
Ar- Ar Geo-Thermochronology Laboratory
A national centre for Ar-Ar geo-thermochronology
equipped with a high-precision noble gas mass spectrometer,
is proposed to be set up in the Indian Institute of Technology,
Bombay to complement the other isotope research facilities.
322
The proposed facility will initially be used to address two
core projects: (i) Geochronology and thermo-chronology of
the Himalayan orogenic belt, particularly the trans-Himalaya
of Ladakh by the IIT-Bombay group and the Central
Himalaya by the IIT-Roorkee group, and (ii) Geochronology
of the Mesozoic-Tertiary volcanic provinces of India, with
a focus on the Deccan Volcanic Province by the IIT-Bombay
group. Besides, several satellite research projects will be
carried out, involving application of the 40Ar-39Ar technique
to ore petrology, fluid- and melt-inclusion studies,
geothermal research and thermochronology of Precambrian
terrains.
ELECTRON PROBE MICRO ANALYSER FACILITY AT
IIT-KHARAGPUR
The Electron Probe Micro Analyser (EPMA) is an
important facility for advanced research in petrology
(igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary) and, in economic
geology and ore petrology. Last 20 years has seen the
metamorphic petrologists and geochemists of eastern India
depending on foreign collaborations to advance their
research due to lack of EPMA facility in the academic
environment. The demand for good EPMA analysis has
increased manifold, in the recent years, due to its precise
and ease of estimation of mineral-chemical data and also
due to the escalated cost of acquisition of such data through
conventional techniques. Additionally, there has been a
quantum jump in the quality of quantitative EPMA data
needed for scientific work, like multi-element X-ray images,
REEs and EPMA dating of monazite, sphene and zircon
have also assumed importance for deciphering the
sedimentation history, provenance, etc. In view of this, the
DST encouraged EPMA-centric geo-scientists from the
eastern and northeastern parts of India to come together
to sustain the EPMA-centric activities. Based on the good
response a decision had been taken to establish a national
facility of EPMA system at IIT-Kharagpur where a group
of academicians having proven record in this specialized
area exist. Two units, namely, an EPMA and an SEM with
provision for BSE cathode luminescence attachments is
proposed to be established in this National Facility. Five
satellite projects set around the National facility have been
supported.
Manpower Training in Instrument-Based Analytical
Techniques
DST also realized that there is a need to go a step ahead
for creating better awareness amongst young researchers
the importance of the emerging techniques of investigations.
Therefore, several short-term contact workshops on isotope
geology and geochronology had been sponsored. Interaction
workshops had been organized at the institution where the
facility is housed, to encourage the researchers to evolve
research problems requiring the specific technique, in
consultation with the expert group and such projects were
extended funding. In such projects the investigating team
and the scholars were encouraged to carry out the required
measurements under the supervision of the expert team
manning the facility.
Glimpses of Geoscience Research in India
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper had been compiled using the inputs provided
by the scientists in charge of the established facilities. The
author extends his thanks to all concerned.
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS
Ravi Prasad, G.V., Mahapatra, D.P., Punithavelu, A.M.,
Somayajulu, B.L.K. and Gopalan, K., 2000, Status of the
AMS project at IOP Bhubaneswar: Nuclear Instruments
& Methods in Physics Research, no. 172, p. 66-69.
Mahapatra, D.P., Behera, A.K., Gopalan, K., Chakraborty, S.,
Dutta, K. and Somayajulu, B.L.K., 2004, AMS at the
Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, India: Nuclear
Instruments & Methods in Physics Research, v. 223-224,
p. 26-30.
Ravi Prasad, G.V., Rajagopalan, G., Choudhury, R.K., Gopalan,
K. and Somayajulu, B.L.K., 2006, AMS facility at Institute
of Physics, Bhubaneswar: Inter-laboratory comparison of
results: Current Science, v. 90(4), p. 488-490.
Sengupta, S. and Sarkar, A., 2006, Stable isotope evidence of
dual (Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal) vapour sources in
monsoonal precipitation over north India: Earth and
Planetary Science Letters, v. 250, p. 511–521.
Sinha, R., Tandon, S.K. and Sanyal, P., 2006, Calcretes from a
Late Quaternary interfluve in the Ganga Plains, India:
carbonate types and isotopic systems in a monsoonal
setting: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology,
Palaeoecology, v. 242, p. 214-239.
Satyanarayanan, M., Balaram, V., Gnaneshwar Rao, T., Dasaram,
B., Ramesh, S.L., Ramavati Mathur and Drolia, R.K., 2007,
Determination of Trace Metals in Seawater by ICP-MS
after Preconcentration and Matrix Separation by
Dithiocarbamate Complexes: Indian Journal of Marine
Sciences, v. 36(1), p. 71-75.
Syed, A.A., Suresha, S., Balaram, V. and Chandrasekhar, K.,
2007, Micro and Sub-micro level analysis of trace metals
in “Metal Ash” by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass
Spectrometry (ICP-MS): Chem. Environ. Res., v. 16, (1&2),
p. 33-39.
Zahida Begum, Balaram, V., Ahmad, S.M., Satyanarayanan, M.
and Gnaneswara Rao, T., 2007, Determination of trace
and rare earth elements in marine sediment reference
materials by ICP-MS: Comparision of open and closed
acid digestion methods: Atomic Spectrosocpy, v. 28(2),
p. 41-50.
Parijat Roy, Balaram, V., Anil Kumar, Satyanarayanan, M. and
Gnaneshwara Rao, 2007, New REE and Trace Element
Data on Two International Kimberlitic Reference Materials
by ICP-MS: Journal Of Geostandards And Geoanalytical
Research. v. 31(3), p. 261-273.
Chandra Mouli, P., Venkata Mohan, S., Balaram, V., Praveen
Kumar and Jayarama Reddy, A., 2006, Study on trace
elemental composition of atomospheric aerosols at a
semi-arid urban site using ICP-MS technique:
Atmospheric Environment, v. 40, p. 136-146.
Balaram, V., Pati,l M. L., Agrawal, A. K., Suba Rao, D. V.,
Charan, S. N., Satyanarayanan, M., Ramavati Mathur,
Kapilavastu, K., Sarma, D.S., Sankara Gowda, M., Ramesh,
S. L., Sangurmath, P., Anjaiah, K.V., Dasaram, B., Saxena,
R.K. and Zahida Begum, 2006, Preparation and
certification of highgrade gold geochemical reference
material: Accreditation And Quality Assurance, v. 11,
p. 329-335.
New Analytical Facilities for Earth Science Research in India
Pattanaik, J.K., Balakrishnan, S., Bhutani, R. and Singh, P., 2006,
Chemical and Sr isotopic composition of Kaveri, Palar
and Ponnaiyar rivers: Significance to weathering of
Granulites and Granitic gneisses of southern Peninsular
India: Current Science, v. 93, p. 523-531.
Sreedhar, A.K., Balakrishnan, S., Pappu, S. and Kumar, A., 2008,
Clay mineralogical studies of sediments and strontium
isotope analyses on calcretes at the prehistoric site of
323
Attirampakkam, Tamil Nadu: Current Science, v. 94,
p. 779-786.
Das, B., Paul, D.K, Choudhary, A.K., Ray, A., Patil, S.K. and
Biswas, S.K., 2007, Petrology and Geochemistry of Basinite
Dykes and Gabbro from Northern Kutch, Western India;
Implications on Source Rock Characteristics:
Jour.Geol.Soc.Ind.; v. 70, p. 771-779.