Field excursion at Mahabaleshwar
As part of the National Workshop on “Geochronology and Geochemistry of Koyna deep drill cores,” a one-day field excursion on 25th Feb 2026 was organised in the Mahabaleshwar area of Maharashtra, approximately 130 km from the base of Karad BGRL.
The aim was to explore and describe the geological exposures of Deccan basalt. Led by renowned geologists Prof. Raymond Duraiswami from Savitribai Phule Pune University and Prof. Hetu Sheth from IIT Bombay, the trip offered valuable insights into features such as flood basalts, which consist of multiple, laterally extensive lava flows erupted successively.
The contact between two flows is often marked by an interflow breccia or a red bole layer, indicating a pause in volcanic activity and subsequent subaerial weathering. Red boles represent paleosol horizons formed under oxidising conditions, while lateritic caps develop on basaltic hills due to prolonged tropical chemical weathering.
Collectively, these features document episodic volcanism and intervening phases of weathering. Participants, including senior members and speakers like Prof. S. K. Tandon, Prof. Avinash C. Pandey (Director of IUAC), Dr. N. Khare (Head of SAGE-MoES), Dr. Sukanta Roy (Head of MoES-BGRL), Prof. Saibal Gupta (IIT Kharagpur), Dr. Pankaj Kumar (IUAC), and Dr. Arun K. Gupta (MoES), actively engaged in the excursion alongside other participants from the 30 institute/ university around the country.
The field excursion was highly informative and inspiring for early-career researchers (ECRs), providing insight into the geological evolution of the Deccan Traps. It provided first-hand exposure to flow contacts, red bole horizons, and interflow breccias, strengthening the link between field observations and volcanic processes.
The visit also emphasized how field evidence can be effectively integrated with advanced geochemical and isotopic studies available at the National Geochronological Facility-IUAC.
This integration enables a deeper understanding of the origin, timing, and evolution of Deccan volcanism and will significantly assist early-career researchers in unravelling the long-standing geological mysteries of the Deccan Traps.