Citation: | Singh Ajab, K. Srivastava Ashok, Chauhan Naveen. Luminescence Dating and Bracketing Time of the Youngest Toba Tuff Deposits in the Quaternary Sediments of Purna Alluvial Basin, Central India. Journal of Earth Science, 2022, 33(4): 1007-1016. doi: 10.1007/s12583-020-1357-z |
Light gray to yellowish brown youngest Toba tuff (YTT) ash, preserved in the Quaternary sediments of India, have been used as a tool to know depositional and bracketing time period of the same in the sediments through applications of luminescence dating to interpret age connotation of various geological events. Pre- and post-tephra sediments of YTT ash beds from Hudki and Sukali areas of Purna alluvial basin, Central India have been optically dated to interpret the depositional age and bracketing time of the tephra within sedimentary sequences. These sediments are yellowish brown, thinly bedded, laminated, silty clay and host laterally extend discontinued beds of 0.15–0.20 m thickness. The ash is light gray, fine grained and powdery in nature, massive to structureless and lacks any sign of retransportation and redeposition, hence, considered as primary in nature. Total four sediment samples, one each from pre- and post-tephra lithounits of both the localities have been dated through optically stimulated luminescence technique (OSL) equipped with single aliquot regenerative (SAR) procedure on the feldspar grains. It shows pre- and post-tephra ages of 57 ± 5 and 70 ± 4 ka respectively for Hudki and 66 ± 5 and 67 ± 4 ka for Sukali localities. These depositional ages suggest that the ash was bracketed within sediments thousands years after YTT eruption. It is correlatable with the previously reported depositional and absolute ages for the YTT ash from the localities of Ghoghara and Khuntheli, Son Valley; Tejpur, Madhumati River Basin and Jwalapuram, Jurreru Valley. These ages also provide an idea about the period of existence of biological communities represented by the remains of faunal and vegetational activities before and during settlement of the YTT ash in the basin area.
Aitken, M. J., 1998. An Introduction to Optical Dating. Oxford University Press, Oxford |
Aitken, M. J., 1985. Thermoluminescence Dating. Academic Press, London. 351 |
Ambrose, S. H., 1998. Late Pleistocene Human Population Bottlenecks, Volcanic Winter, and Differentiation of Modern Humans. Journal of Human Evolution, 34(6): 623–651. https://doi.org/10.1006/jhev.1998.0219 |
Biswas, R. H., Williams, M. A. J., Raj, R., et al., 2013. Methodological Studies on Luminescence Dating of Volcanic Ashes. Quaternary Geochronology, 17: 14–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2013.03.004 |
Buylaert, J. P., Jain, M., Murray, A. S., et al., 2012. A Robust Feldspar Luminescence Dating Method for Middle and Late Pleistocene Sediments. Boreas, 41(3): 435–451. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2012.00248.x |
Chesner, C. A., Rose, W. I., Deino, A., et al., 1991. Eruptive History of Earth's Largest Quaternary Caldera (Toba, Indonesia) Clarified. Geology, 19(3): 200–203. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1991)0190200:ehoesl>2.3.co;2 doi: 10.1130/0091-7613(1991)0190200:ehoesl>2.3.co;2 |
Diehl, J. F., Onstott, T. C., Chesner, C. A., et al., 1987. No Short Reversals of Brunhes Age Recorded in the Toba Tuffs, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Geophysical Research Letters, 14(7): 753–756. https://doi.org/10.1029/gl014i007p00753 |
Duller, G. A. T., 2008. Luminescence Dating: Guidelines on Using Luminescence Dating in Archaeology. English Heritage, Swindon |
Guedes, C. C. F., Sawakuchi, A. O., Giannini, P. C. F., et al., 2013. Luminescence Characteristics of Quartz from Brazilian Sediments and Constraints for OSL Dating. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 85(4): 1303–1316. https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-37652013104912 |
Horn, P., Müller-Sohnius, D., Storzer, D., et al., 1993. K-Ar-, Fission-Track-, and Thermoluminescence Ages of Quaternary Volcanic Tuffs and Their Bearing on Acheulian Artifacts from Bori, Kukdi Valley, Pune District, India. Zeitschrift Der Deutschen Geologischen Gesellschaft, 144(2): 326–329. https://doi.org/10.1127/zdgg/144/1993/326 |
Huntley, D. J., Godfrey-Smith, D. I., Thewalt, M. L. W., 1985. Optical Dating of Sediments. Nature, 313(5998): 105–107. https://doi.org/10.1038/313105a0 |
Jones, S. C., 2007. The Toba super volcanic eruption: Tephra-fall deposits in India and paleoanthropological implications. In: Petraglia, M., Allchin, B., Eds., The Evolution and History of Human Populations in South Asia. Springer, Berlin. 173–200. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-5562-5_8 |
Jones, S. C., 2010. Palaeoenvironmental Response to the ~74 ka Toba Ash-Fall in the Jurreru and Middle Son Valleys in Southern and North-Central India. Quaternary Research, 73(2): 336–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2009.11.005 |
Mark, D. F., Petraglia, M., Smith, V. C., et al., 2014. A High-Precision 40Ar/39Ar Age for the Young Toba Tuff and Dating of Ultra-Distal Tephra: Forcing of Quaternary Climate and Implications for Hominin Occupation of India. Quaternary Geochronology, 21: 90–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2012.12.004 |
Miall, A. D., 1996. The Geology of Fluvial Deposits. Springer, Berlin. 581 |
Mishra, S., 2015. The Narmada River in Indian Prehistory. Dr. A. P. Khatri Memorial Lecture, Delivered on 17th December, 2015, Hyderabad |
Mishra, S., Venkatesan, T. R., Rajaguru, S. N., et al., 1995. Earliest Acheulian Industry from Peninsular India. Current Anthropology, 36(5): 847–851. https://doi.org/10.1086/204442 |
Neudorf, C. M., Roberts, R. G., Jacobs, Z., 2014. Assessing the Time of Final Deposition of Youngest Toba Tuff Deposits in the Middle Son Valley, Northern India. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 399: 127–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.02.014 |
Neudorf, C. M., Roberts, R. G., Jacobs, Z., 2012. Sources of Overdispersion in a K-Rich Feldspar Sample from North-Central India: Insights from De, K Content and IRSL Age Distributions for Individual Grains. Radiation Measurements, 47(9): 696–702. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radmeas.2012.04.005 |
Nishimura, S., Abe, E., Yokoyama, T., et al., 1977. Danau Toba―The Outline of Lake Toba, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Japan Pleistocene, 5: 313–332 |
Oppenheimer, C., 2002. Limited Global Change Due to the Largest Known Quaternary Eruption, Toba ≈74 kyr BP?. Quaternary Science Reviews, 21(14/15): 1593–1609. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0277-3791(01)00154-8 |
Pearce, N. J. G., Westgate, J. A., Gatti, E., et al., 2014. Individual Glass Shard Trace Element Analyses Confirm that all Known Toba Tephra Reported from India is from the c. 75-ka Youngest Toba Eruption. Journal of Quaternary Science, 29(8): 729–734. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2741 |
Petraglia, M., Korisettar, R., Boivin, N., et al., 2007. Middle Paleolithic Assemblages from the Indian Subcontinent before and after the Toba Super-Eruption. Science, 317(5834): 114–116. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1141564 |
Prescott, J. R., Hutton, J. T., 1994. Cosmic Ray Contributions to Dose Rates for Luminescence and ESR Dating: Large Depths and Long-Term Time Variations. Radiation Measurements, 23(2/3): 497–500. https://doi.org/10.1016/1350-4487(94)90086-8 |
Rampino, M. R., Ambrose, S. H., 2000. Volcanic Winter in the Garden of Eden: The Toba Supereruption and the Late Pleistocene Human Population Crash. In: McCoy, F. W., Heiken, G., Eds., Volcanic Hazards and Disasters in Human Antiquity. Geological Society of America Special Paper, 345: 71–82. https://doi.org/10.1130/0-8137-2345-0.71 |
Rampino, M. R., Self, S., 1992. Volcanic Winter and Accelerated Glaciation Following the Toba Super-Eruption. Nature, 359(6390): 50–52. https://doi.org/10.1038/359050a0 |
Rampino, M. R., Self, S., 1993. Bottleneck in Human Evolution and the Toba Eruption. Science, 262(5142): 1955. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.8266085 |
Rhodes, E. J., 2011. Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating of Sediments over the Past 200 000 Years. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 39: 461–488. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-040610-133425 |
Roberts, P., Delson, E., Miracle, P., et al., 2014. Continuity of Mammalian Fauna over the Last 200 000 y in the Indian Subcontinent. PNAS, 111(16): 5848–5853. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1323465111 |
Sangode, S. J., Mishra, S., Naik, S., et al., 2007. Magnetostratigraphy of the Quaternary Sediments Associated with Some Toba Tephra and Acheulian Artefact Bearing Localities in the Western and Central India. Gondwana Geological Magazine, 10: 111–121 |
Singh, A., Srivastava, A. K., 2022. Had Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT, Ca. 75 ka) Eruption Really Destroyed Living Media Explicitly in Entire Southeast Asia or Just a Theoretical Debate? An Extensive Review of Its Catastrophic Event. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences: X, 7: 100083. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaesx.2022.100083 |
Singh, A., Srivastava, A. K., 2021. Rhizosphere: a Fascinating Paleovegetational and Paleoclimatic New Intermediary in the Quaternary Fluvio-Lacustrine Set-up of the Purna Alluvial Basin, Central India. Rhizosphere, 20: 100430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rhisph.2021.100430 |
Smith, V. C., Pearce, N. J. G., Matthews, N. E., et al., 2011. Geochemical Fingerprinting of the Widespread Toba Tephra Using Biotite Compositions. Quaternary International, 246(1/2): 97–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2011.05.012 |
Srivastava, A. K., Bansod, M. N., 2020. Morphology and Field Association of Calcretes from Quaternary Sediments of Purna Alluvial Basin, Maharashtra. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section A: Physical Sciences, 90(5): 869–881. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40010-019-00614-7 |
Srivastava, A. K., Bansod, M. N., Singh, A., et al., 2019. Geochemistry of Paleosols and Calcretes from Quaternary Sediments of Purna Alluvial Basin, Central India: An Emphasis on Paleoclimate. Rhizosphere, 11: 100162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rhisph.2019.100162 |
Srivastava, A. K., Kale, V. M., 2018. Purna River, Maharashtra. In: Singh, D. S., ed., The Indian Rivers. Springer Nature, Singapore. 479–502 |
Srivastava, A. K., Singh, A., 2021. Geochemistry and Constrained 40Ar/39Ar Dating of Youngest Toba Tuff Glass Shards, Purna Alluvial Basin, Central India. Journal of Earth System Science, 130(1): 10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-020-01513-x |
Srivastava, A. K., Singh, A., 2019a. YTT Ash from Quaternary Sediments of Kapileshwar Area, Purna Alluvial Basin, Central India. Quaternary International, 500: 96–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.02.006 |
Srivastava, A. K., Singh, A., 2019b. Nature, Occurrence, and Lithological Setup of Youngest Toba Tuff Volcanic Ash, Purna Alluvial Basin, Central India. The Journal of Geology, 127(6): 593–610. https://doi.org/10.1086/705326 |
Srivastava, A. K., Singh, A., 2020. Lithological, Physical and Chemical Attributes of Primary Volcanic Ash of YTT, Purna Alluvial Basin, Central India. Geological Journal, 55(10): 7011–7023. https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.3820 |
Srivastava, A. K., Singh, A., Muhammad, R. F. B. H., et al., 2021. Geochemical Characterization and Regional Correlation of Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT, 75 ka) Glass Shards, Purna Alluvial Basin, Central India. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 14(19): 2013. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-07848-z |
Srivastava, A. K., Singh, A., Sharma, N., et al., 2020. Weathering Pattern of Youngest Toba Tuff, Purna Alluvial Basin, Central India. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 13(14): 607. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-05641-y |
Storey, M., Roberts, R. G., Saidin, M., 2012. Astronomically Calibrated 40Ar/39Ar Age for the Toba Supereruption and Global Synchronization of Late Quaternary Records. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(46): 18684–18688. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1208178109 |
Thakur, N. G., Badam, G. L., Varade, A. M., 2018. Additional Quaternary Faunal Remains from the Middle–Late Pleistocene Deposits of Purna Alluvial Basin, Maharashtra, Central India. Current Science, 114(7): 1402. https://doi.org/10.18520/cs/v114/i07/1402-1406 |
Thomsen, K. J., Bøtter-Jensen, L., Denby, P. M., et al., 2006. Developments in Luminescence Measurement Techniques. Radiation Measurements, 41(7/8): 768–773. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radmeas.2006.06.010 |
Tiwari, M. P., Bhai, H. Y., Varade, A. M., 2010. Stratigraphy and Tephra Beds of the Purna Quaternary Basin, Maharashtra, India. Gondwana Geological Magazine, 12: 283–292 |
Westgate, J. A., Pearce, N. J. G., Perkins, W. T., et al., 2013. Tephrochronology of the Toba Tuffs: Four Primary Glass Populations Define the 75-ka Youngest Toba Tuff, Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Journal of Quaternary Science, 28(8): 772–776. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2672 |
Westgate, J. A., Shane, P. A. R., Pearce, N. J. G., et al., 1998. All Toba Tephra Occurrences across Peninsular India Belong to the 75 000 yr B. P. Eruption. Quaternary Research, 50(1): 107–112. https://doi.org/10.1006/qres.1998.1974 |
Westway, R., Mishra, S., Deo, S., et al., 2011. Methods for Determination of the Age of Pleistocene Tephra, Derived from Eruption of Toba, in Central India. Journal of Earth System Science, 120(3): 503–530. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-011-0087-0 |
Williams, M. A. J., Ambrose, S. H., van der Kaars, S., et al., 2009. Environmental Impact of the 73 ka Toba Super-Eruption in South Asia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 284(3/4): 295–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2009.10.009 |
Zhao, H., Li, S. H., 2005. Internal Dose Rate to K-Feldspar Grains from Radioactive Elements other than Potassium. Radiation Measurements, 40(1): 84–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radmeas.2004.11.004 |
Zielinski, G. A., Mayewski, P. A., Meeker, L. D., et al., 1996. Potential Atmospheric Impact of the Toba Mega-Eruption ∼71 000 Years Ago. Geophysical Research Letters, 23(8): 837–840. https://doi.org/10.1029/96gl00706 |