Seismic Imaging of Mahanadi Delta and its Tectonic Significance

Mahanadi Delta is an important sedimentary basin of India rich in hydrocarbon and mineral wealth, motivated several geological and geophysical studies since four decades. The present work however, mainly deals with imaging shallow basement and deep-crustal structures down to the Moho and provides a detailed subsurface structural, velocity and density image corroborated from well lithology, modeling of seismic refraction, wide-angle reflection of DSS data, Bouguer gravity data, other geological and geophysical informations to comprehend the tectonic and geodynamic processes involved in the Delta. The integrated interpretation deciphers basement configuration with horsts and grabens by imaging of thick low-velocity Gondwana sediments, which are anisotropic and potential for hydrocarbon accumulation in the graben hidden below high-velocity volcanics. The mid-crustal low-velocity layer indicates the Delta has undergone intensive deformation due to magmatism related to rifting and drifting of the Indian Plate during breakup of the Gondwanaland with evidence of underplating in the base of lower-crust and significant Moho upwarping. This book is very useful for exploration geoscientists.