Palynostratigraphy of the tertiary sediments in north-east India with comments on the terminal eocene events

Abstract

The Tertiary rocks in North-East India rest unconformably on the granitic basement. They represent more or less a continuous sequence except a post Barail unconformity. The palynological assemblage is more or less known from all the formations. The assemblage by and large is dominated by the pteridophytic spores in all the formations followed by the angiospermic pollen. The gymnospermic pollen are rare in Palaeocene-Middle Eocene and are found in Late Eocene onwards and occur in good numbers in Miocene-Pliocene rocks. The index fossils for each formation have been marked. The Terminal Eocene events have been analysed. It has been observed that during that time India was enjoying a tropical climate and there was no cooling effect as has been advocated from the other parts of the world.