#deccan traps

I. Introduction: The Rhythms of Life and Death in Deep Time The story of life on Earth isn’t a smooth, steady climb. Instead, it’s a dramatic tale with five major, catastrophic events called mass extinctions. These are different from the normal, everyday extinction that happens naturally. While the usual rate is about one to five species lost per year, a mass extinction is a rapid and huge drop…

"In India, the Deccan Traps were caused by volcanic explosions that erupted periodically throughout the last few million years of the Cretaceous. Spewing out vast amounts of lava over the continent of India, some 550,000 sq km (350,000 sq miles) were covered, reaching in places, a thickness of 3,000 m (9,150 ft). Possibly the largest volcanic event of the Cretaceous, the Deccan Traps may have polluted the atmosphere and changed the world's climate, thereby contributing to the Cretaceous extinction."

Because old cartoons always had a “go to another country episode” and they are eventually getting a plane.

Brach: You know this place is a lot nicer than I remember. Without all the lava.

Around the same time, on the other side of the planet, erupting volcanoes were busy covering much of the Indian subcontinent with lava, forming the Deccan Traps.

The group found that global temperatures were much lower around the time of the extinction than they should have been if volcanoes were expelling large amounts of carbon dioxide. The volcanism, Dr. Hull explained, stopped seeping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere some 200,000 years before the Cretaceous ended and the age of mammals began. That means any harmful warming caused by carbon dioxide was already over by the time the asteroid hit.

Volcanoes can erupt lava without emitting large amounts of gases, “suggesting carbon dioxide and lava aren’t necessarily coupled,” said Michael Henehan, a geochemist at GFZ Helmholtz Center in Potsdam, Germany, a co-author of the study who led a team last year that discovered that the oceans acidified right after the asteroid hit.

“Like, more than 1/6th of home is is submerged in lava”

“Yeah but at least the air is clear”.

“Yeah but its almost entirely on fire.”

Artist: Deccan Traps

Title: Terminal

Record Label: Self-Released

Release Date: 1st November 2019

Rating: 8.0/10

Don’t you just love it when a band tells it how it is and in the case of Deccan Traps, they’re something of a paradox. This is a three piece that play intricate, shape-shifting post-rock, where tracks can pivot from eerily atmospheric to blunt instrument-like bludgeoning’s over the course of 4 minutes but when it comes to their Facebook page and its ‘about’ section, there’s no hyperbole, no over egging of the pudding, just “strongly influenced by the angular aggression of Shellac and the complexities of Battles. Deccan Traps are Gaz Wills, Andy Bradford and Matt Woolman-Alexander”. I mean, those two sentences have done the job of this review in a very succinct way; we’ll just leave it there…. not really!

Following on from their debut self-titled EP, the triple headed math-rock behemoth has readied a follow up effort that goes by the name ‘Terminal’. This EP is a continuation of what’s come before, as Deccan Traps wrestle with ever morphing soundscapes to produce something that’s as unpredictable as it is heavy, as it is awkward. Sonic manipulation is key to the Bristol based trio; fidgeting alt-rock pushed through a math-rock mincer is how best to describe opening track ‘Detective Inspector Tambo Ford LAPD’, while ‘Drazic Park’ lurches and chugs with a menacing gait. There’s a heaviness that flirts with metal as the song’s earlier staccato bounce evolves into something altogether more guttural and abrasive. Weird voiceless chants usher in ‘I Am Quentin Bespoke’ before the track gallops to a juddering, off kilter strut. Volatile bursts of scuzz merge with high wire shoegaze static as ‘Tuvok’ reveals itself via layers of textured noise. Guitar moans and groans give way to a dirty rock mid-section, as the song squirms with a delightful awkwardness. ‘Terminal’ is capped off by ‘Danalog’s horror movie-esque pummeling. The song’s dark, guttural heart pumps out thick black blood as Deccan Traps straddle the fine line between dirty metal and strung out rock. Waves of warped surf rock brings the song to a close, as if the sea has turned into thick, glutinous crude oil.

To take a leaf out of Deccan Traps book and to cut to the chase; ‘Terminal’ is angular, complex and unflinchingly aggressive.

Pre-order from: https://deccantrapsband.bandcamp.com/album/terminal

For more on Deccan Traps:

https://deccantrapsband.bandcamp.com/

I think these are Deccan traps lavas, Kerala, India

ketan_kamat

Chaav Hai Kabhi, Kabhi Hai Dhoop Zindagi... Track - Kal ho Na Ho (Instrumental)

Music - Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy / Sony Music Pvt.in

Special Mention:

The flood basalt of Deccan Traps

At the end of the Cretaceous period starting around 60 million years ago an enormous flood basalt erupted from fissures in west Central India. More than 40 separate flow units of low viscosity (= little resistance to flow) poured out from long fissures creating so-called beds which covered an area of 1,000,000 square km. However, this was not a continuous eruption of basalt since there were multiple flow units that could erupt at different times. Individual flow units could have lasted years, decades or centuries. Overall, multiple episodes of basalt emission occurred over a period of approximately 30,000 years. You can imagine that the amount of sulfur dioxide that was released during this time frame caused large scale climate change (an average drop in temperature of 2°C). Nowadays, the multiple layers of basalt cover an area of 500,000 square km, with a maximum thickness of 3300m and an average thickness of a 1000m.

In general geologists discern three phases of lava emission at Deccan Traps occurring 67 million years ago and two between 65.5 – 65 million years ago. During the eruptive phase Pāhoehoe (basaltic lava with a ropy and smooth surface) was emitted on a regular basis and in early formation periods 'a'ā lava (a rough and jagged type of lava). Thus, layer upon layer of basalt was deposited forming broad plateaus. Nowadays, different types of fossils can be found in between these layers, such as the toothed frog and freshwater mollusks. With time some layers eroded and other layers formed on top. The majority of the flood basalt is deeply buried. The image shows the exposed parts of the flood basalt.

So why are is the area known as Deccan Traps? In geology a trap, which is Dutch for stairs (NASA and USGS mention it is the Swedish word for stairs, this is however trappa or trappan) refers to a step like rock formation. These step-like features are due to the different compositions of the basalt as well as weathering/erosion.

It is not completely clear what caused this enormous eruption, known as the fourth largest plateau flood basalt on the planet. Historically, it was thought to have been caused by a hotspot fueled by a deep mantle plume upwelling under India in the late Cretaceous. This in turn was associated with rifting episodes during the breakup of the Seychelles micro continent from India. Due to the movement of the plates the hotspot moved under India. Nowadays the hotspot is situated under the very volcanically active Reunion Island which is part of the Seychelles. However, in recent time this model has lost a lot of ground amongst some scientist. Nevertheless there are also no viable alternatives at the moment. Models that are still investigated and seem feasible are continental rifting, seafloor spreading, combinations of these and other models of plate tectonics. Other less viable models suggest there is a very large magma chamber under the Indian peninsula or that the impact of a meteorite or an asteroid triggered the flood basalt eruption.

The basalt formation of Deccan contains a very important Buddhist site. At the Ajanta caves which rises above the meander of the Waghora river, richly decorated Buddhist temples and monasteries were carved out of the basalt as early as 220 BCE. The cave temples display carvings and paintings of the life of Buddha and are considered the beginnings of classical Indian art. Each cave was linked to the underlying water by a stairway. Also, the caves hold around 24 monasteries which at the time housed some 200 monks and artisans. The 5th and 6th centuries saw the foundation of additional temples and monasteries. Shortly after this, the caves became abandoned and were covered by a thick blanket of jungle until they were rediscovered by the English in 1819. Since 1983 Ajanta has been a UNESCO world Heritage Site. For pictures of the carvings and art click here: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/242/gallery/.

--BO

Image: Copyright Subhash Ranjan.

References:

http://www.mantleplumes.org/Deccan.html

http://www.mantleplumes.org/Deccan2.html

http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/geomorphology/GEO_3/GEO_PLATE_V-23.shtml

http://www.largeigneousprovinces.org/12may