Post-eocene biofacies,palaeoenvironments and palaeogeography of the Bengal Basin,India

The Bengal Basin is known for the extensive development of a thick Cretaceous— Tertiary sedimentary sequence in the eastern part of India. The basin has undergone several phases of transgressions, regressions, periodic uplifts and localised negative movements throughout the period of its evolution. The sedimentation up to the end of the Eocene was largely under the influence of a major transgressive phase which was later replaced by a regressive phase on account of the uplift and resulting marine retreat. in this paper, an analysis of the microfaunal distribution, biofacies and sedimentary and tectonic history is made for reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental conditions and palaeogeography of the Bengal Basin relating to the post-Eocene regressive phase of evolution.During the Oligocene—Early Miocene, the open marine conditions existing since the Eocene were progressively modified on account of the regression into more brackish, lagoonal and estuarine types. A typical prograding delta started to spread over a large part of the marginal area of the basin. The rocks of the Barail Group, formed under the transitional environments of the delta, are found to occur in almost all the major geo-provinces of the basin. The sedimentary environments and characteristics of the rocks were ultimately controlled by the configurations of the respective geo-provinces. The negative movements in the Miocene along certain marginal areas were associated with the marine transgressive phase giving rise to the Surma Group. This transgressive phase was, however, short lived and its impact was not equally felt in all areas. The northeastern region was still uplifted which favoured an almost continuous existence of the deltaic phase.By the end of Miocene a greater part of the basin underwent a strong tectonic upheaval which was possibly the precursor of the main Himalayan orogeny. The intermontane depressions formed in the uplifted areas were the depositional sites for the Tipam Group and younger beds in Plio-Pleistocene times. The rapidly eroded debris from the highlands spread over a wide area towards the south under the influence of the river system of the Ganga and Brahmaputra which has transformed the original basinal areas into a large modern delta complex.