Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 424 (2022) 107496

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Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research

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Tectonics, cooling rates and temperatures during emplacement of the

Rajmahal traps, India
Amar Agarwal a, *, L.M. Alva-Valdivia b, Arnaldo Hernández-Cardona b, Roshan A. Shukla a,
Gaurav Joshi a, K.K. Agarwal c
a
Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India
b
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Geofísica, Laboratorio de Paleomagnetismo, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 Ciudad de México, Mexico
c
Department of Geology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow 226007, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Paleomagnetism is used to decipher the emplacement setting of the Rajmahal traps. Sampling was restricted to
Rajmahal traps, India flows with known age. Three magnetic minerals are identified, titanomaghemite, Ti-poor magnetite, and possibly
Paleomagnetism Mg–Al-rich titanomagnetite. Detailed analysis of thermomagnetic curves revealed that the emplacement tem­
Low emplacement temperature
perature for Rajmahal traps was lower than 600 ◦ C. Two magnetization components are distinguished. The low
Fast cooling rate
coercivity component, probably chemical remanent magnetization, is erased in fields up to 3.1 mT. In contrast,
Penecontemporaneous tectonics
the high coercivity thermal remanent magnetization is more stable, sometimes throughout the demagnetization.
The paleomagnetic results show that the sites have suffered up to 11◦ of clockwise and 17◦ of counter-clockwise
rotation. As there is no field evidence of faulting and pervasive deformation, we propose that this rotation is
probably due to penecontemporaneous joints or faults. These structures could have acted as conduits for fluids
that increased the cooling rate.

1. Introduction
Regional-scale normal faults run along the western and eastern
boundaries of the Rajmahal traps, which downthrow the region in the
middle, forming a graben (Singh et al., 2004; Tiwari and Jassal, 2001).
Together with the Damodar Gondwana graben, these faults represent a
sort of triple junction at the mouth of the Bengal basin (Burke and
Dewey, 1973). This geometry led to the argument that the Rajmahal
volcanism is related to the lithospheric thinning and continental rifting
(Mukhopadhyay, 2000; Mukhopadhyay et al., 1986). However, other
workers have suggested that the traps originated from the Kerguelen
hotspot (Curray and Munasinghe, 1991; Kapawar and Mamilla, 2020;
Müller et al., 1993; Subrahmanyam et al., 1999).
The paleomagnetic characteristics of the Rajmahal traps have been
reported in detail by a series of reports (Kapawar and Mamilla, 2020;
Kent et al., 1997; Klootwijk, 1971; McDougall and McElhinny, 1970;
McElhinny and Luck, 1970; Sherwood and Malik, 1996). These studies
have used the standard sampling strategy and have covered the entire
traps, sampling various flows. This strategy has proven helpful in the
paleomagnetic dating of the traps and for the paleogeographic
reconstruction of the Indian subcontinent. The present study builds upon
the established paleomagnetic aspects of the Rajmahal Traps. This study
sampled flow with known age, geochemistry, and mineralogy. The re­
sults of this study quantify the magnetic mineralogy, domain size and
coercivity distribution. Then, the emplacement conditions, such as the
emplacement temperatures (Te), cooling rates and the role of tectonics
in the emplacement, are determined.
2. Geological setup of the Rajmahal Traps
The Rajmahal Traps (24◦ 15′ to 25◦ 15′ N, 87◦ 20′ to 87◦ 45′ E) extend
over an area of ~4100 km2 in the Jharkhand and West Bengal states of
India (Fig. 1). High precision whole-rock 40Ar/39Ar dating reveals that
the eruption occurred between 113 and 118 Ma (Kent et al., 2002; Ray
et al., 2008). On the western side, they rest over the Precambrian
basement of the Chota Nagpur terrain with a sharp igneous contact
marked by silicic tuffs and bentonite deposits (Das Gupta, 1996). At
places, sediments of the Gondwana Supergroup are present between the
volcanic and the Precambrian basement along the western margin of the
Rajmahal Traps. On the eastern side, they are covered by Quaternary

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: amar@daad-alumni.de (A. Agarwal).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2022.107496
Received 21 September 2021; Received in revised form 21 January 2022; Accepted 30 January 2022
Available online 4 February 2022
0377-0273/© 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
A. Agarwal et al.
and the recent alluvium of the Ganga–Brahmaputra delta (Kale, 2020;
Kent et al., 1997).
The Rajmahal Traps are primarily, 75%, tholeiitic basalts (Baksi
et al., 1987; Kale, 2020; Kent et al., 1997). Rhyolitic lava flows,
outcropping at places like Taljhari and Berhait, contribute a smaller
portion of ~24–28 km2 (Deshmukh et al., 1964; Kale, 2020; Rao and
Purushottam, 1963). The traps comprise 28 lava flows having a
maximum thickness of 332 m, seen in the Kansat borehole, West Bengal
(Das Gupta and Mukherjee, 2006; Mukhopadhyay et al., 1986). The
flows are sometimes separated by intertrappean sedimentary beds.
These centimetre to meter thick beds are made up of sandstone, silt­
stone, arenaceous clay bed, carbonaceous and siliceous shale and tuffs,
and are characterized by a large variety of fossils but are mainly known
for their paleofloral assemblage like Ptilophyllum (Kale, 2020; Sahni,
1932; Tripathi et al., 2013). The flows are massive, compact and are
devoid of vesicles (Fig. 2). The southern limit of the traps is unknown
due to the burial beneath the Bengal Fan (Kent et al., 1997).
3. Sampling and methods
We collected 26 oriented blocks from 12 paleomagnetic sites, mostly
in the northern part of the Rajmahal Traps. Each site represents an ‘in
situ’ volcanic unit, avoiding sites with possible fractures and/or high
alteration. Cylindrical cores were drilled from the blocks to recover six
to ten paleomagnetic specimens (2.54 cm in diameter and 2.2 cm long)
from each site. The drilling was done using a laboratory setup with a
nonmagnetic diamond bit at the Magnetic Observatory, Prayagraj,
India. Some specimens broke during drilling, and a total of 68 oriented
paleomagnetic specimens were recovered for further investigations
(Table 1).
The specimens were demagnetized in an AF Molspin demagnetizer
(Molspin Limited, England) and non-inductive Schonstedt furnace and
measured using a JR-6 spinner magnetometer (AGICO, Czech Republic)
in the magnetically shielded room. Alternating field (AF) demagneti­
zation was performed in peak fields up to 96.1 mT. Prior to demagnet­
izing all the specimens, initially, two pilot specimens from each site were
demagnetized by AF treatment. 10–12 steps were used to determine the
best laboratory strategy to obtain the characteristic remanent magneti­
zation (ChRM) directions. The ChRM directions are determined using at
Fig. 1. Geological map showing the distribution of Rajmahal Traps and the adjacent lithologies along with the sample locations (after Singh et al., 2004). The map is
prepared using QGIS software and Mapbox satellite streets v9 is used as the base map.
2
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 424 (2022) 107496
least five demagnetization steps and a maximum angular deviation
(MAD) below 5◦ . Individual magnetization directions were averaged per
site, and statistical parameters were calculated assuming a Fisher dis­
tribution (Fisher, 1953). The ChRM directions were used to calculate the
net rotation of the sites with respect to each other, using the methods
detailed in the appendix of Butler (1992). Determining the vertical axis
rotation has proven to be effective in revealing and confirming the ef­
fects of faulting (e.g., Hornafius, 1985; Kamerling and Luyendyk, 1979;
Luyendyk et al., 1985; Wilson and Cox, 1980). The demagnetization
intensity plots were used to calculate the median destructive field
(MDF), which allows identifying the relative magnetic hardness of the
samples (e.g., Agarwal and Alva-Valdivia, 2019).
The variation in low-field magnetic susceptibility at high-
temperature (ᴋ-T) was measured by equipping the Kappabridge
(KLY–4S) with a CS-3 furnace. The sample was heated from room
temperature up to 700 ◦ C at a rate of 10 ◦ C/min and then cooled back.
The bulk magnetic susceptibility was measured during the entire cycle of
heating and cooling. Possible oxidation while heating was minimized by
flushing out air from the sample holder using argon flowing at 50 ml/
min. Curie temperature (TC) was marked at the maximum negative
slope. We also calculated ΔTc, which equals Tc from the heating curve
minus Tc from the cooling curve. Tc, ΔTc and paleomagnetic measure­
ments are used to calculate the cooling rate and Te of the rocks (e.g.,
Agarwal et al., 2017; Alva-Valdivia et al., 2019c; Hernández-Cardona
et al., 2019; Lied et al., 2020).
Hysteresis curves were determined using Alternating Gradient Field
Magnetometer Micromag apparatus in fields up to 1.4 T. The remanent-
coercivity to coercive-force (Hcr/Hc) and the remanent-magnetization
to saturation-magnetization (Mrs/Ms) ratios were determined from the
curves. These ratios are used to estimate the relative proportions of the
single domain (SD), multi-domain (MD), and pseudo-single domain
(PSD) grains (Dunlop, 2002a, 2002b). In general, the ratio of Mrs/Ms is
higher for more SD materials and lower for more MD-like materials. The
stepwise increasing uniaxial field is applied to the specimens to calculate
the saturated and non-saturated isothermal remanent magnetization
(IRM) acquisition curves.
UNMIX analysis (Egli, 2005) was done on IRM curves to calculate the
coercivity distribution of the ferromagnetic minerals in the samples. The
investigation was done using the CODICA software, which is part of the
A. Agarwal et al. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 424 (2022) 107496

Fig. 2. Field photographs of outcrops of Rajmahal traps from which the oriented block samples were collected.

MAG - MIX routine to process the IRM data (Egli, 2005). While the
Table 1
hysteresis and Day plot reveal the bulk behaviour, i.e., the dominant
Compilation of paleomagnetic sites, specimens, nearby village (location), age
domain size, the UNMIX processing allows determining the individual
and geographical location. The ages are taken from Kent et al. (2002).
coercivity component. Combined with the thermomagnetic curves, they
Site Specimen Location Age (my) Latitude Longitude are a powerful tool for a more comprehensive understanding of mag­
113.6 ± N 25◦ 11′ E 087◦ 30′ netic behaviour (Alva-Valdivia et al., 2019a).
1 01–08 Ayodhya Pahar
0.4 52.5" 30.3" The pieces of the oriented block that were left after drilling the cy­
113.6 ± N 25◦ 16′ E 087◦ 28′
2 11–18 Dubauli lindrical cores, were used to prepare thin sections for transmitted light
0.4 08.3" 53.9"
Vindari 113.6 ± N 25◦ 02′ E 087◦ 37′ microscopy and polished sections for reflected light microscopy using a
3 19–30
bandarcola 0.4 35.1" 13.7" Leica DM2700P microscope. JEOL JSM-6010LA, W-Scanning electron
4 31–38 Chakjo Pahar
113.6 ± N 24◦ 53′ E 087◦ 44′ microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were
0.4 36.5" 09.1" used to map the relative amounts of Si, Fe, Ti, Al and Mg present in and
Aamdanda 113.6 ± N 24◦ 53′ E 087◦ 44′
5 39–45
Pahar 0.4 43.9" 05.0"
around titanomagnetites.
Aamdanda 113.6 ± N 24◦ 53′ E 087◦ 44′
6 46–53
Pahar 0.4 44.5" 07.9" 4. Results and interpretations
113.6 ± N 24◦ 55′ E 087◦ 47′
7 54–62 Kelabaadi
0.4 30.7" 44.9"
113.6 ± N 24◦ 55′ E 087◦ 47′ 4.1. Mineralogy and texture
8 63–70 Rakso Pahar
0.4 42.6" 47.2"

9 71–78 Rakso Pahar

113.6 ± N 24◦ 55′ E 087◦ 47′ In the basalts of the Rajmahal traps, the phenocrysts are mostly
0.4 30.6" 44.9" labradorite feldspars and pyroxenes, which are clustered together,
98.5 ± N 25◦ 12 ′
E 087◦ 39 ′
10 79–86 Lohanda Vedo imparting glomeroporphyritic texture (Figs. 3a and b). Plagioclase
0.5 45.5" 38.6"
98.5 ± N 25◦ 12′ E 087◦ 39′ exhibit characteristic Carlsbad and Albite twinning, and zoning with a
11 87–94 Lohanda Vedo
0.5 47.5" 36.4" homogeneous core surrounded by a zoned rim. Most clinopyroxene
12 95–102 –
118.1 ± N 24◦ 23′ E 087◦ 28′ phenocrysts are subhedral to euhedral augite. The groundmass is made
0.3 22.5" 56.6"
up of feldspars (andesine to labradorite) and pyroxenes, opaques, glass,
and secondary palagonite. Some plagioclase and pyroxenes are altered
to saussurite and biotite, respectively. The glass is more or less devitri­
fied and exhibits a spherulitic texture.
Oxide minerals from the sampled rock units of Rajmahal Traps

3
A. Agarwal et al. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 424 (2022) 107496

Fig. 3. (a and b) Photomicrographs presenting large

plagioclase and smaller pyroxene phenocrysts embedded
in a fine matrix. (c) Long strands of ilmenite and subhedral
titanomagnetites are common at sites 1 to 3. (d) Sites 4 to
6 present subhedral and skeletal titanomagnetite without
ilmenite. (e) Sites 7 to 11 present mostly skeletal and
cruciform titanomagnetite. (f) At site 12, the subhedral
titanomagnetite grain presents partial replacement with
titanohematite and titanomaghemite along the fractures.

belong to the spinel–magnetite series. Generally, subhedral titano­
magnetite and magnetite minerals are found as fine- to coarse-grained
dispersed crystals in the matrix of almost all the sites, hematite and
maghemite are scarce (Figs. 3a to 3f). We followed Buddington and
Lindsley (1964) and Haggerty (1976) classification for textures and
oxidation states, respectively.
The most common oxide mineral textures are: homogeneous C1-C3
and R1-R3 subhedral, skeletal to anhedral magnetite and ilmenite par­
ticles that likely formed from deuteric oxidation during cooling of
magma. Smaller grain sizes ranging from 5 to 40 μm indicate low to
medium oxidation state. The most frequently observed textures of tita­
nomagnetite are skeletal and cruciform homogeneous to subhedral
particles of varying grain sizes indicating low oxidation state (C1-C3 and
R1 to R3). The titanomagnetite is altered to titanohematite and titano­
maghemite along the fractures.

Table 2
Paleomagnetic site, specimens (Sp.), number of specimens collected (N), Curie temperature (Tc), median destructive field (MDF). The number of specimens used for
calculating mean paleo directions is represented by ‘n’. Dec and Inc. represent the mean declination and inclination at each site; ‘α95’and ‘k’ are the 95% of confidence
limit, dispersion parameter, respectively. ‘Lat’ and ‘Long’ show the calculated virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) coordinates for each site.
Site Sp. N Tc Heating [◦ ] Tc Cooling [◦ ] MDF Paleo direction [◦ ] VGP [◦ ]
[mT]
Tc(1) Tc(2) Tc(3) Tc(1) Tc(2) Tc(3) n Dec Inc α95 κ Lat Long

1 01–08 8 239 304 543 – – 543 225.7 8 302.2 − 69.2 1.2 265.62 2.7 118
2 11–18 0 233 – 560 – – 560 Specimen broken
3 19–30 8 – 302 490 – – 490 169.6 8 312 − 61.3 1.6 96.01 − 9.3 121
4 31–38 0 196 450 517 286 450 517 Unstable directions
5 39–45 7 – 338 539 – – 539 64.7 4 312.9 − 70.5 3.5 49.74 − 0.7 112
6 46–53 8 – – 494 – – 494 233.0 8 320.6 − 59.6 0.8 503.77 − 15 117
7 54–62 0 263 – 509 – – 509 Unstable directions
8 63–70 8 – 318 500 – – 500 115.5 8 327.2 − 69.7 2.9 57.39 − 6.6 106
9 71–78 8 240 – 487 – – 487 120.8 8 298.3 − 54.1 3.1 34.18 − 6.6 134
10 79–86 8 – 333 518 – – 518 97.0 8 302.4 − 54.9 2 80.55 − 8.5 131
11 87–94 8 274 402 – – 472 – 230.9 8 303.8 − 56.7 1 392.85 − 8.2 129
12 95–102 5 – – 495 – – 495 34.6 Unstable directions

4
A. Agarwal et al.
4.2. Magnetic transition temperatures
Rajmahal traps present complex temperature-dependent magnetic
susceptibility curves (ᴋ-T). These curves reveal up to three magnetic
transition temperatures. The first transition temperature, Tc1, ranges
between 196 ◦ C and 286 ◦ C and is never reversible (Table 2, Fig. 4). This
transition temperature may be the Tc of the Mg–Al-rich titanomagnetite
(Lied et al., 2020). SEM-EDS analysis indicates that there might be
heterogeneous distribution of Mg and Al within the titanomagnetite
grains (Supplementary Fig. 1). Tc1 is not observed in any cooling curves,
except for a unique instance (Site 4). The cooling curves without Tc1
indicate the transformation/destruction of the Mg–Al-rich titano­
magnetite at temperatures over 274 ◦ C into a lower susceptibility phase,
thus causing lower susceptibility in the cooling curves (Fig. 4, Supple­
mentary Fig. 2).
The second transition temperature, Tc2, varies from 302 to 450 ◦ C in
the heating curve (Table 2). The cooling curve has lower susceptibility in
this temperature range, and Tc2 is absent in all but two cooling curves
(Sites 4 and 11). This indicates the transformation of this phase to a
paramagnetic mineral, like ilmenite. This second phase could be tita­
nomaghemite with a transition temperature between 350 and 550 ◦ C.
Similar behaviour of titanomaghemite is reported from the lava flows of
the El Jorullo volcano, Mexico (Alva-Valdivia et al., 2019b) and the
ilmenite bearing Olmec artefacts (Alva-Valdivia et al., 2017b).
The third transition temperature, Tc3, is stable and occurs at similar
temperatures in all sites, except Site 11. Tc3 ranges from 487 to 560 ◦ C.
The curves are reversible beyond Tc3. Tc3 is, therefore, related with a
relatively stoichiometric titanomagnetite with a composition close to
the end-member magnetite with ulvöspinel content ranges around 0.1 to
0.0 (e.g., Alva-Valdivia et al., 2017a; Lattard et al., 2006).
4.3. Magnetic coercivity and domain size
The general shape of the hysteresis loops is wasp-waisted, and the
magnetization in all loops is saturated in the applied field up to 1.4 T
(Fig. 5). The loops, therefore, indicate dominance of PSD component.
5
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 424 (2022) 107496
Some loops present higher saturation remanence than others, perhaps
due to relatively higher SD components (Tauxe, 2003). In most cases, the
branch of the loop with an increasing applied field overlaps with the
branch representing the decreasing or negative applied field. This usu­
ally indicates that the magnetization is carried by low coercivity min­
erals (Tauxe et al., 2002), such as titanomaghemite (Lowrie, 1990). The
dominance of PSD behaviour at all sites is also evident from the Day plot
(Fig. 5). Site 8 and 9 have the highest SD component (c. 80%), while site
12 has the highest MD component (c. 90%).
Each peak in the UNMIX curves represents an individual coercivity
component (Fig. 6, supplementary fig. 3). The Rajmahal traps have
single to multiple coercivity components. For example, site 2 has a single
peak revealing a unique component. Two components are conspicuous
in Site 5 and subtle in Site 3 and 9. The lower coercivity component may
represent titanomaghemite, while the higher coercivity component may
be owed to titanomagnetite.
4.4. Intensities and directions of remanent magnetization
The magnetization intensities vary from 16.9 A/m for specimen 82 of
site 10 to 0.5 A/m for specimen 26 of Site 3. The MDF varies from 3.46
mT for site 12 to 23.3 mT for site 6 (Fig. 7). In the present case, low MDF
can be attributed to larger magnetic domain size, as Site 12, with the
lowest MDF has the largest MD population (Fig. 5). Low MDF indicates
magnetically soft behaviour, which usually results in unstable paleo­
magnetic directions (e.g., Agarwal et al., 2016). In agreement site 12
presents unstable directions, one of the lowest Tc3 (Table 2,.
Some specimens have unstable paleomagnetic directions (type-I).
These specimens were excluded from the calculation of the ChRM. Most
other sites present two magnetization directions (e.g., Site 3 in Fig. 8).
The lower coercivity component (type-II) accounts for about 10% of the
total remanent magnetization. It demagnetizes at relatively lower fields,
up to 3.1 mT. Note that 3.1 mT was the first step of demagnetization
used. The type-III magnetization component with higher coercivity re­
mains stable throughout the demagnetization process, i.e., applied fields
up to 96.1 mT (e.g., sites 3 and 9, Fig. 8). This component represents the
Fig. 4. Thermomagnetic curves present the variation in
magnetic susceptibility with temperature in four repre­
sentative specimens. The heating and cooling curves are
represented in red and blue, respectively. The Curie tem­
peratures, Tc1 and Tc2, are observed in just the heating
curve, while Tc3 is observed in both heating and cooling
curves. Curves from other samples are given in the sup­
plementary material. (For interpretation of the references
to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the
web version of this article.)
A. Agarwal et al. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 424 (2022) 107496

Fig. 5. Hysteresis of one specimen from each paleomagnetic site. Note the different vertical scales. The specimens are also plotted in the Day Plot (Day et al., 1977).

Fig. 6. Characteristic UNMIX curves presenting different coercivity components (see supplementary fig. 3 for other paleomagnetic sites). Shaded area represents the
error in the coercivity estimation.

ChRM acquired as the thermal remanent magnetization during the 5. Discussion

cooling of the basalts.
The declination of the ChRM varies from 302.2◦ to 327.2◦ and the
inclination from − 54.1◦ to − 69.7◦ (Figs. 8, 9, Supplementary Fig. 4).
These values are comparable to previously published directions for
Rajmahal traps (Kapawar and Mamilla, 2020; Kent et al., 1997, 2002;
Klootwijk, 1971; McDougall and McElhinny, 1970; McElhinny and Luck,
1970; Poornachandra Rao et al., 1996; Sherwood and Malik, 1996).
5.1. Cooling rate and emplacement temperature
Our ᴋ-T measurements reveal a complex behaviour with up to three
magnetic transition temperatures and irreversible heating–cooling
curves. Based on the transition temperatures, we can distinguish two
types of ᴋ-T curves. Type-I curves are characterized by lower Tc1 in the
cooling curve compared to the heating. They have a ΔTc1 of − 90 ◦ C.
Previous studies have demonstrated a correlation of ΔTc with cooling
rates or Te, and interpreted those results in terms of cation ordering and

6
A. Agarwal et al. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 424 (2022) 107496

5.2. Characteristic remanent directions

Three types of remanent directions are identified in specimens from

the Rajmahal Traps. Type-I is unstable and excluded from the calcula­
tion of the ChRM. Type-II demagnetizes at applied alternating-field
below 3.1 mT, indicating a lower coercivity magnetic carrier. Based
on the Tc2 in the ᴋ-T curves, we attribute the type-II remanent magne­
tization to titanomaghemite. Type-II magnetization may represent
either viscous or chemical remanent magnetization.
The third type-III remanent directions are stable, sometimes
throughout the AF demagnetization, i.e., in applied fields up to 96.1 mT.
They represent the ChRM acquired during cooling and emplacement.
This component is due to SD magnetite, based on the Tc3 in the ᴋ-T and
high Mrs/Ms ratios (sites 3 and 9 in Figs. 4 and 5).
The ᴋ-T curves reveal that site 9 has two ferrimagnetic minerals,
Fig. 7. The removal of magnetization due to stepwise alternating field
demagnetization. The field at which 50% of magnetization remains is the me­ which may be Mg–Al-rich titanomagnetite and relatively stoichiometric
dian destructive field. Sites 2, 4 and 7 are not included. titanomagnetite (Fig. 4). Site 9 has a single remanent component, type-
III, which is stable (Fig. 8). The magnetization is therefore carried only
by the stoichiometric titanomagnetite.
disordering (Jackson and Bowles, 2014; Lied et al., 2020; Redfern et al.,
1996; Stimpfl et al., 2005). For example, a ΔTc of − 60 ◦ C is known to
correspond with a cooling rate faster than 11 ◦ C / min (Lied et al., 2020). 5.3. Emplacement setting
Therefore, a lower ΔTc (− 90 ◦ C), as in the present case, may indicate a
cooling rate faster than 11 ◦ C / min. There is a certain degree of un­ Discordant paleomagnetic directions may reflect the vertical axis
certainty in these estimates due to compositional sensitivity. rotation of the sites (Butler, 1992). The net rotation suffered by the
Type-II ᴋ-T curves are owed to titanomaghemite and are character­ basalts is calculated using the ChRM directions and the apparent polar
ized by irreversible behaviour. Previous studies have shown that tita­ wander path (Torsvik et al., 2012). See appendix of Butler (1992) for
nomaghemite either transforms into Ti-poor titanomagnetite and
ilmenite (in the ambient atmosphere) or into titanomagnetite (in argon
atmosphere) during heating at about 425 ◦ C (Lied et al., 2020). In type-II
curves, maghemitization of titanomagnetite is completely masked by the
effects of cation ordering.
Te of ignimbrites from the 1980 Mt. St Helens eruption was directly
measured by Banks and Hoblitt (1981, 1996). At location where Te was
below 600 ◦ C the ignimbrites contained mainly Al- and Mg-bearing
titanomagnetites (Tc < 450 ◦ C); but as Te exceeded 600◦ the ignim­
brites contained oxyexsolved composites of nearly pure magnetite and
Ti-, Al- and Mg-bearing phases (Tc ≥ 525 ◦ C). To summarize, the Mt. St.
Helens and Novarupta deposits with Te > 600 ◦ C have Tc ≥ 525 ◦ C, and
those with Te < 600 ◦ C have Tc < 450 ◦ C (Bowles et al., 2013). Using the
same analogy and considering the presence of Al- and Mg-bearing tita­
nomagnetites in our samples which causes low Tc, we propose that the
Te for the studied flows of the Rajmahal traps was lower than 600 ◦ C,
which was the Te of Mt. St. Helens and Novarupta deposits. Our
emplacement temperature estimates are similar to those by Lied et al.
(2020) for their samples with similar curves and maghemitization. Fig. 9. 3D orthographic projection of the paleomagnetic poles. The shapefile
However, different redox conditions in basalt flows as compared to ig­ for the Asia map is taken from https://tapiquen-sig.jimdofree.com/, and the
nimbrites may render some uncertainty to these estimates. VGPs are visualized using GPlates software (Müller et al., 2018).

Fig. 8. (Left) The mean characteristic remanent magnetization directions (squares) and the α95 confidence ellipse (black circles) are presented in the lower
hemisphere stereographic projection. (Right) Orthogonal projections of the paleomagnetic directions were obtained during alternating field demagnetization of two
representative specimens.

7
A. Agarwal et al.
details. The sites have suffered up to 11◦ of clockwise, and 17◦ of
counter-clockwise rotation, which indicates both right and left lateral
movement. Similar vertical axis rotation in Xalapa basalts, Mexico, was
attributed to extensional faulting and Riedel shear in the region (Alva-
Valdivia et al., 2019a). Therefore, we argue that the rotation of the sites
is due to extensional faulting and Riedel shear. The reports of exten­
sional faulting from the margins of the Rajmahal traps support this
argument (Singh et al., 2004; Tiwari and Jassal, 2001). There is no field
evidence of pervasive deformation in the traps. The rotation may, thus,
be attributed to faulting during the emplacement of the traps when the
magnetic minerals had already solidified. Recent reports have shown
that the early Rajmahal eruptions took place in an extensional tectonic
setting accompanied by rifting (Ghose et al., 2017). It is likely that the
extensional tectonics continued and affected the Rajmahal flows.
Both earlier proposed theories of the origin of the traps imply either a
direct or indirect role of faulting. First theory relates the emplacement of
the Rajmahal traps to lithospheric thinning and continental rifting (e.g.,
Mukhopadhyay, 2000; Mukhopadhyay et al., 1986). This theory directly
implies the significance of extensional faulting in the emplacement of
the traps. The second theory is that the traps originated from the Ker­
guelen hotspot (e.g., Curray and Munasinghe, 1991; Müller et al., 1993;
Subrahmanyam et al., 1999). Notably, the rise of the magma plume is
also usually accompanied by extensional faulting (Maruyama, 1994; Su
et al., 2011). The second theory of the origin of the Rajmahal Traps,
thus, also indicates the role of extensional faulting in their emplacement.
The present results, for the first time, reveal the influence of the
extensional faulting on the emplacement of Rajmahal Traps. Faulting
not only affected the paleomagnetic directions, but most likely, also the
cooling rates and the emplacement temperatures. We argue that, pene­
contemporaneous faults may have provided conduits for the movement
of fluids that would decrease the emplacement temperature and increase
the cooling rates.
Some previous studies have attributed the lower emplacement tem­
peratures to mixing with the continental crust (Kent et al., 1997). Which
is evident from the high silica content >68 wt% (Ghose et al., 2017).
Similar crustal mixing with only heat supplied by the basaltic magma
has also been demonstrated in parts of the Deccan basalts (Chatterjee
and Bhattacharji, 2001; Sheth et al., 2011).
The geochemical studies of the Rajmahal Traps have revealed a po­
tential mantle temperature of about 1350 ◦ C (Kent et al., 1997) and two-
pyroxene geothermometer temperature of about 1120 ◦ C (Sarkar et al.,
1989). Present results show that the emplacement temperature basalts
were lower than 600 ◦ C and the cooling rate at some sites was faster than
11 ◦ C / min. These cooling rates are fast for basalts, even though natural
cooling rates of pyroclastic and hyaloclastic fragments span over several
orders of magnitude, from 106 to 10− 2 ◦ C s− 1 (Helo et al., 2013; Nichols
et al., 2009; Potuzak et al., 2008; Wilding et al., 1996).
Rajmahal traps contain intertrappean layers of clastic sedimentary
and volcaniclastic rocks, pockets and lenses of bentonite, and thin black
shale/mudstone and oolitic beds, which were attributed to subaqueous
eruptive phases in parts of the Rajmahal traps (e.g., Ghose et al., 2017;
Pascoe, 1973). Interaction with water caused high temperature deuteric
oxidation of titanomagnetite to titanohematite and pseudobrookite in
some parts of the traps (Sherwood and Malik, 1996). In our samples the
deuteric oxidation is most likely evidenced by homogeneous C1-C3 and
R1-R3 subhedral, skeletal to anhedral magnetite and ilmenite particles.
Interaction of water with basaltic magma may lead to magmatic
explosivity, contact-surface steam explosivity, bulk interaction steam
explosivity, or cooling-contraction granulation (Kokelaar, 1986). In fact,
the high viscosity magma of Rajmahal traps led to the explosive erup­
tions in the north-central and the northeastern margin (Ghose et al.,
2017). These locations are close to the present sampling sites.
6. Conclusions
The paleomagnetic poles of 113.6 ± 0.4 My flow of the Rajmahal
8
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 424 (2022) 107496
Traps, varies from 15◦ S to 3◦ N and 106◦ E to 134◦ E (Table 2, Fig. 9).
However, individual sites have suffered up to 11◦ of clockwise, and 17◦
of counter-clockwise rotation, which indicates both right and left lateral
movement. Owing to the absence of pervasive deformation and faulting
in the traps, it is safe to conclude that the faulting was
penecontemporaneous.
Our results showed that the emplacement temperature for Rajmahal
traps was lower than 600 ◦ C and the cooling rate were faster than 11 ◦ C /
min. These temperatures and cooling rates may be due to mixing of
basalts with the continental crust (e.g., Kent et al., 1997), and interac­
tion with fluids traversing through the faults at the time of emplace­
ment. However, sensitivity towards composition of titanomagnetites
and different redox conditions in basalt flows as compared to ignim­
brites may render some degree of uncertainty to these estimates.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Amar Agarwal: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis.
L.M. Alva-Valdivia: Conceptualization, Methodology, Funding acqui­
sition. Arnaldo Hernández-Cardona: Formal analysis, Investigation.
Roshan A. Shukla: Formal analysis, Investigation. Gaurav Joshi:
Formal analysis, Investigation. K.K. Agarwal: Funding acquisition.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
National Autonomous University of Mexico and Department of Ge­
ology (CAS program phase II), Lucknow University are thanked for
supporting the fieldwork. Dr. S.K. Patil of I.I.G.M., Allahabad provided
access to drilling facilities. Ms. S. Tiwari processed the UnMix curves.
IITK initiation grant is thanked for financial support for the analysis. Dr.
Ranjit Singh of the Department of Geology, Sahibganj College, is
thanked for his guidance during the fieldwork. Dr. Jesús Roberto Vidal-
Solano and Dr. Mike Jackson are thanked for their constructive reviews
that improved the manuscript. Prof. Heidy M Mader provided editorial
guidance.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2022.107496.
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