Dykes signify crustal extension and are important indicators of crustal stabilisation events, supercontinental assembly and dispersal, crust-mantle interaction and play a significant role in the delineation of crustal provinces as well as in deciphering crustal evolution events.
The Indian Peninsular Shield is an amalgamation of cratons, mobile belts, several Proterozoic 'Purana' sedimentary basins, Phanerozoic rift valleys, the Deccan volcanic province and Himalayan mountain belt. A variety of dyke rocks of different ages (Precambrian to Tertiary) are well exposed in all these distinct geological domains. Whilst the earlier studies on Indian dykes were largely of descriptive nature, the subsequent ones have been mostly sporadic and as such very few compilations exist. The principal purpose of this volume on "Indian Dykes" is to provide state-of-the-art information on the geochemistry, geophysics and geochronology (G3) of the dyke rocks of India in space and time.