From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Geological Survey of India
Geological Survey of India
Geological Survey of India of the first surveyors for the British Geological Survey,
was appointed ’Surveyor of coal districts and superinten-
overview dent of coal works, Bengal’ on 3rd Dec 1845 and arrived
Formed 1851 in India the following February. The phrase "Geological
Survey of India" was first used in a report by one of such
Jurisdiction Republic of India
committees in a report in the year 1848-49. On 4 Febru-
Headquarters Kolkata, India ary 1848, Williams was appointed the Geological Survey-
or of the Geological Survey of India but he fell off his ele-
Parent Government of India
phant and, soon after, died with his assistant, a Mr F. B.
Child Ministry of Mines Jones, of ’jungle fever’ on 15th Nov 1848[1], after which
Website John McClelland took over as the "Officiating Surveyor"
until his retirement on 5 March 1851.
[1] The work of the Geological Survey remained primari-
ly exploration for coal, mainly for powering steam trans-
Geological Survey of India (GSI), established in 1851 is a port, and later oil reserves, and ore deposits. In 1852, Sir
government organization in India which is an attached Thomas Oldham, father of Richard Dixon Oldham, broad-
office to the Ministry of Mines of Union Government of ened the ambit of the scope of functioning of the Geo-
India for conducting geological surveys and studies. It is logical Survey of India, by advancing the argument with
one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and the government that it was not possible to find coal with-
the second oldest survey in the country. GSI is the prime out first mapping the geological structure of India. Thus,
provider of basic earth science information to the gov- the Geological Survey commenced to map the rock struc-
ernment, industry and the general public, as well as re- tures and strata, and their age and relationships in India.
sponsive participant in international geoscientific fora. Because the method of Radiometric dating wasn’t devel-
The vibrant steel, coal, metals, cement and power indus- oped at that time, the age of rock strata had to be es-
tries. timated from the presence of index fossils, and conse-
quently, much of the geologists’ effort was spent in find-
History ing these index fossils.
The Geological Survey of India made important con-
tributions to seismology by its meticulous investigations
and studies and detailed reports on numerous Indian
earthquakes of the 19th and early 20th century. Richard
Dixon Oldham, who worked for the Geological Survey like
his father, first correctly identified p- and s-waves, and
hypothesized and calculated the diameter of the Earth’s
core.
Research
Analytical studies
The GSI in 1870. Standing: Ferdinand Stoliczka, R. B. Foote, Wil- 1. Initiated U-Pb Dating technique (on zircon and other
liam Theobald, F. R. Mallet, Valentine Ball, W. Waagen, W. L. U/Th-bearing accessory minerals). The oldest age of
Willson; Sitting: A. Tween, W. King, Thomas Oldham, Henry
an Indian rock (Tonalite from the base of the Kotri
Benedict Medlicott, C. A. Hackett
belt, Bastar, central India), gave U-Pb (zircon) age of
3,562 ±2 Ma. A U-Pb zircon age of a migmatite, from
The roots of the Geological Survey of India may be traced
the Nellore migmatitic domain, was determined to
to 1836 when a Committee, named Coal Committee, fol-
be ~1,700 Ma indicating a new age for migmatization
lowed by more such committees, was formed by the East
in the Nellore belt.
India Company to study and explore availability of coals
in the eastern parts of India. David H(iram) Williams, one
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Geological Survey of India
2. Foliated charnockite from Filchnerfjella, part of the aspects of gold deposits of Karnataka through fluid
Orvin Mountains in central Dronning Maud Land, inclusion studies has revealed the presence of two
east Antarctica, yielded a Rb-Sr whole-rock isochron types of gold deposits, – vein-associated deposits
age of 536±56 Ma, a new date which constrains the mainly in metavolcanic rocks and
major tectonothermal event (D2) in the area. stratiform–stratabound deposits in banded iron
3. Zircon grain from a charnockitic suite of rock from formation.
central Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, indicated a
207Pb/206Pb age of 520 to 600 Ma. The age data Paleontology
indicates a Pan - African emplacement event of the 1. Continued search for dinosaur remains in the late
charnockitic suite. Cretaceous Mahadek Formation around Dirang,
4. In Nellore Schist Belt, U-Pb of granitoids gave ages Meghalaya resulted in unearthing of more
between 1.8-1.7 Ga while meta-volcanic rocks gave dinosaurian postcranial bones including ilium,
1989 and 2041- Ma ages though samples of meta- scapula and fibula.
felsic volcanics yielded Nd model ages 2280 and 2220 2. Continued research work on the fossil-bearing
Ma. Lameta Formation and the intertrappeans of central
5. Pb-isotope analyses of zircons from the granitic India unearthed dinosaur nests with megalolithic
rocks occurring in the intervening area between the eggs attributable to the genus Titanosaurus and an
Cuddapah basin and NSB, indicate a late Archaean - axis of titanosauriforms – the latter being the first
Palaeoproterozoic age of the granitoids (ca. 2500 report of its kind.Glimpses of Geoscience Research in
Ma). India 294 14. Most significant discovery is the snake
6. A total of 10 marl samples pertaining to Kotla Dahar fossil in association with dinosaur eggs and hatchling
Lake deposits and lake deposits in the northern from the late Cretaceous Lameta Formation of Kheda
margin of Thar Desert, Haryana dated by district, Gujarat.
radiocarbon method gave age ranging from 4884± 3. Multivariate statistics and discriminant analysis of
35yBP to 6169±36 yBP. the Middle Jurassic brachiopod population of
7. The XRF faciiltiy: At present 27 elements, 10 major Jaisalmer Basin, Rajasthan, revealed two new species
and 17 trace elements are being determined at level of the fleeting genus Cryptorhyncia in the
of 1 or 2 ppm by XRF techniques. With anticipated Bathonian. Another brachiopod genus
upgradation, several other trace elements can also Plectoidothyris, so far reported from the Bajocian of
be determined at a level of <1-ppm level. Great Britain only, has been recorded from the
8. Several petrological investigations such as ore Bathonian in this basin.
petrological work on selected metalliferous deposits
for unravelling the environment for ore-forming Other studies
process, analysis of subsurface sediments and water
1. All-India earthquake database has been updated up
in arsenic-affected areas to mitigate the arsenic
to the year 2001 incorporating 1347 events. A total of
pollution problem are some of the studies being
17,483 events have been registered so far in the
pursued in the Department.
database within the territory covered by latitude
9. Study of equilibrated foreign chondrites based on
0-37° N and longitude 68°-98° E.
petrography and mineral phase chemistry reveals
2. Study of fluorosis endemicity was carried out in
that Estacado and Dokachi are strongly
parts of Jhansi and Sonbhadra districts, U.P. and
metamorphosed chondrites. Study of formational
assessment of As incidence in Bhojpur dt., Bihar.
history of chondrules in unequilibrated chondrites
3. Detailed glaciological studies on Hamta glacier,
in early solar system has been attempted.
Lahaul and Spiti districts (H.P) have been carried out
10. Petrology, petrogenesis and P – T studies of host-
to monitor the maximum and minimum ablation. In
rock- specific Mn-ore minerals of the Sausar Belt,
general the bare ice shows about 19% higher ablation
central India was a topic study. Detailed petro-
than the covered ice, both at lower and middle
mineralogical studies of the Nellore Schist Belt and
altitudes. Glacier inventory of Thatte, Saltoro,
Cuddapah (?) cover rocks have been done. Mass
Sumdo, Fasten Nubra and Rangdo basins of Ladakh
balance studies were carried out across zones of
district of J&K, have identified 108 glaciers in Saltoro
alteration, greisenisation, sericitisation and
basin, 366 glaciers in Sumdo basin and 82 glaciers in
chloritisation within the rocks of Tosham prospect,
Fasten basin. The total glaciated areas are 40.5%,
Bhiwani district, Haryana.
14.02% and 6.89% in Saltoro, Fasten and Sumdo
11. CBM study on samples of coal seams intersected at
basins, respectively.
different boreholes in Rajmahal – Birbhum Master
4. Studies in the Bhagirathi River delta were
Basin has indicated that the gas content ranges from
undertaken to understand the distribution pattern of
1.39 to 8.6 cum/ton. Comparative study of genetic
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Geological Survey of India
arsenic in the shallow-aquifer sediments. The studies
reveal several small curvilinear patches of flood
plains that always yield high arsenic value in shallow
aquifers. The other areas such as flood plains of
other rivers occasionally yield higher arsenic value
in shallow aquifer.
5. Global warming has become an issue which is
worrying mankind across the world. Reports of
recession of glaciers, changes in volume of water
flowing along major rivers have sent warning signals
to scientists and administrators. Geological Survey of
India is actively engaged in the field of glacier
regimes studies involving glacier mass balance,
glacier flow, hydrometry, suspended-sediment
transport, microclimatic parameters, secular Life-sized model of the extinct Elephant of Siwalik Hills at the
Saketi Fossil Park. Its tusk measures 18 feet.
movement and geomorophology of selected
representative glaciers in the states of Jammu &
Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh. These Saketi Fossil Park is 5 km from Kala Amb, (its 85 km from
studies would help to monitor the possible effects of Chandigarh, 65 km from Ambala, 22 km from Nahan,
warming, if any. Detailed glaciological studies for last 110 km from Dehradun) There is a small fossil museum
six years (2000–2006) on Hamtah glacier, Lahaul- showcasing fossilized remnants (skulls, teeth, jaws etc.)
Spiti district, H.P. indicated that it has evacuated an of various animal groups like mammals, reptiles, fishes
area of 0.0259 km2 with an average value of and esp mammals that lived around Siwalik Hills area
0.0043 km2/year. about 2.5 to 1 million years ago. The park also displays (in
open) nicely made life size fiber glass models of six pre-
historic animals which roamed around Siwalik Hills area,
Information processing and including 18 feet tusked elephant, 3 meter giant land tur-
dissemination tle among others.
1. GSI Net remains one of the thrust areas in the field of
IT. Local Area Network (LAN) is under progress at all See also
the Regions and Central Headquarters. • Survey of India is India’s central agency in charge of
2. The project GSI Portal envisaged knowledge mapping and surveying.
management and business process integration • Archaeological Survey of India is responsible for
through intranet and extranet. archaeological studies and the preservation of
3. GSI Web site (www.gsi.gov.in) disseminates updated historical and cultural monuments.
information including recent findings. • Paleontology the study of fossils
• Timeline of geography, paleontology, biology
Human resource development • Important publications in paleontology
• Synchrotron X-ray tomographic microscopy
Training programmes encompassing Orientation Course • Fossil Parks of India
for Geologists, Basic Courses, Refresher Courses, work- • Fossil Parks
shops, Advanced Course, INDIGEO Programmes, and • Geology
ISRO- and DST-sponsored programmes were successfully • Dinosaurs
completed. GSI also coordinates Indian activities related • Rajasaurus
to IGCP programmes and uses this as a vehicle to enhance • International Network of Geoparks
the human resource potential of the country. • Botanical Survey of India (BSI)
• Survey of India (SI)
Geological parks • Zoological Survey of India (ZSI)
• Saketi Fossil Park, Saketi, H.P.
• Nehru Park, Hyderabad, A.P. The park displays life References
size figures of dinosaurs like T-Rex. [1] Allen’s Indian Mail Vol VII No 117 London Monday,
22 January 1849 p41
Saketi Fossil Park
Main article: Saketi Fossil Park
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Geological Survey of India
External links • GSI Geological Park, Saketi H.P.
• GSI on Banglapedia
• GSI - Official website
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Categories:
• Geography of India
• National geological agencies
• Geology of India
• Geological surveys
• Organizations established in 1851
• Organisations based in Kolkata
• Geographic history of India
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• 1851 establishments in India
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