Himalayan Geology, Vol. 41 (1), 2020, pp. 115-120, Printed in India
Miocene palynological assemblage from the Nindam Formation, Ladakh Himalaya, India and its implication on palaeoenvironment
SAURABH GAUTAM1*, MADHUMITA DAS1, RAM-AWATAR2
1Fakir Mohan University, Vyasa Vihar, Nuapadhi, Balasore, 756019, India
27/464A, Vikas Nagar, Lucknow, 226022, India
*Email (Corresponding author): sbhgtm@rediffmail.com
Abstract: Palynofossils recovered near Dachi village along the Chiktan Nala, Ladakh, India are reported here. The assemblage comprises reworked Permian and in situ palynomorphs consisting of microthyriaceous ascostromata and bisaccate pollen grains. On the basis of these forms a Lower Miocene age is ascribed to this assemblage. It is inferred that during the Lower Miocene, Ladakh and Tibet was of moderate height allowing a tropical-subtropical vegetation to grow at the lower reaches. The presence of warmth loving fauna and flora in Tibet and Siwalik Basin during Oligocene- Miocene substantiates this further. The cold loving tree of the family Pinaceae were perhaps growing at the top of the hills to contribute the bisaccate pollen in the assemblage. The reworked early Permian palynomorphs recorded in the assemblage indicates that the Permian Tethyan sedimentary rocks exposed along the northern margin of the Indian plate were re-deposited into the tectonically active Cretaceous-Palaeocene trench-subduction complex that existed between the Indian and the Asian plates until the collision took place at ~50-60 Ma.
Keywords: Palynology, Nindam Formation, Lower Miocene, Ladakh, India.
