Nagaland University study unlocks clues to ancient Northeast India
Reported by Roopak Goswami
Guwahati: A team of researchers from Nagaland University has uncovered new clues about how parts of Northeast India were formed millions of years ago, shedding light on the ancient geological history of the Indo-Myanmar region.
The study focused on the Upper Disang Formation — a rock formation spread across parts of Nagaland and Northeast India, and examined how ancient sediments were created, transported, and deposited along the eastern edge of the Indian tectonic plate.
The findings provide fresh insights into the geological evolution of one of South Asia’s most tectonically active regions and could help scientists better understand earthquakes, basin formation, and the movement of Earth’s crust in the Indo-Myanmar belt.
The research was carried out by scientists from the Department of Geology, Nagaland University, and published in the international journal Evolving Earth.
Unlike earlier studies that mainly focused on upper Assam and nearby areas, this research explored relatively less-studied regions of Nagaland using advanced geological techniques, including rock analysis, heavy mineral studies, and sediment examination.
The researchers discovered that the sandstones of the Upper Disang Formation came from multiple sources, including igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. This suggests that ancient rivers carried sediments from both nearby and distant regions into the basin millions of years ago.
“Our study revealed evidence of tectonically active environments and major drainage changes during sediment deposition,” said Prof. S.K. Srivastava of Nagaland University.
The study also found signs that these sediments were deposited when the Indian and Burma tectonic plates were actively converging during the Middle to Late Eocene period — around 34 to 48 million years ago.
According to the researchers, the findings could support future studies on tectonic reconstruction, basin evolution, and regional geological mapping across Northeast India and adjoining regions.
Another important discovery was the identification of post-depositional changes in the rocks, providing clues about the region’s thermal history, burial processes, and fluid movement deep underground over millions of years.
Nagaland University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Jagadish Kumar Patnaik said the study highlights the university’s growing contribution to high-quality earth science research and helps improve scientific understanding of the Indo-Myanmar geological region.
The research team included S.K. Srivastava, Amitava Patra, K. Swuro, V. Kirha, and Shyam Kanhaiya from VBS Purvanchal University, Uttar Pradesh.