Nilotpal Ghosh co-authors Laurentia-Gondwana collision study in Palaeo3
Geochemistry specialist Dr. Nilotpal Ghosh co-authored a paper titled “Sandstone petrographic and mudstone REE and Nd-isotopic evidence for Middle Pennsylvanian arrival of Gondwana sediments in the Fort Worth Basin” in the journal Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology. The study utilized petrographic and geochemical/isotopic data of Paleozoic sandstone and mudstone sediments from the Fort Worth Basin, Texas to determine sediment provenance of the Ouachita orogen. The research study used sandstone petrography and mudstone rare earth element concentrations and 143Nd/144Nd isotope ratios, in conjunction with detrital zircon U-Pb ratios, to show the arrival of Middle Pennsylvanian Peri-Gondwana sediments during the collision of Laurentia and Gondwana that formed the supercontinent of Pangea. The Rare Earth Element (REE) concentrations and Nd isotope ratios of these sedimentary rocks were measured in the department’s Analytical Geochemistry labs using ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) and the TIMS (Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry) facilities. The study was conducted in collaboration with researchers from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Here is the link to the paper:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018221003758#s0090