Facies and depositional sequence of the Mesoproterozoic Rohtas Limestone: Eastern Son valley, Vindhyan basin

Paleogeography and process-related facies analysis of the shelf-originated Rohtas Limestone of early Mesoproterozoic age has been attempted. Lithology, structure, microfabric and TOC are the mainstay of facies classification. The Rohtas Limestone consists of seven facies; out of which the organic-rich black shale and the crinkle laminated limestone facies dominates the basal part, reveal distinctive fabric of microbial mat origin and represents outer shelf products. With gradual shoaling, the crinkle laminated limestone facies gains importance and locally turns into the nodular limestone facies through early diagenetic modification. The grey shale facies, poor in organic content, replaces them further upward. The other three facies, viz., the thinly laminated heterolithic facies, typified by close alternations between black shale and limestone, the planar laminated limestone facies and the wavy laminated limestone facies alternate with the grey shale facies, progressively dominating the top part of the succession. While the heterolithic facies records deposition across the paleochemocline, the planar laminated and the wavy laminated limestone facies document deposition in shallow agitated shelf. Confined between a condensed zone below and an unconformity above, the overall coarsening upward Rohtas Limestone records development of a HST.