— The composite nappe of the Spongtang ophiolite is thrust over Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments of the North-Indian margin and shelf. The ophiolitic peridotiles tectonic-ally overlie a sedimentary melange, the detailed stratigraphy of which reveals the evolution of the South-Tethyan margin from its opening to its closure. The matrix of the melange is dated as Upper Campanian to Lower Eocene. Volcano-sedimentary olistoliths indicate carbonate platform sedimentation associated with alkaline lavas in the Permian, followed by more pelagic sedimentation of Upper Triassic and mid- Cretaceous age. They derived from external platforms near to the Indian shelf, but separated from it. Composite olistoliths of mid to late Cretaceous age, containing Permian elements, are found in the upper Cretaceous to lower Eocene wildflysch. Primary contacts of melange upon serpentinites indicates that the deeply eroded oceanic crust served partly as a substratum for the melange.
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Reuber et al. (1987) studied this question.