Hello & welcome!

I'm Souradeep Mahato. As a marine/structural geologist, I investigate the tectonic and deformational processes that shape the young oceanic lithosphere. My recent work is concentrated on magma-starved, ultraslow-spreading mid-oceanic ridges, where I use geological and geophysical data to understand the evolution of large-scale detachment faults.

This website is a curated collection of my publications, conference abstracts, current and past research activities.
Thank you for visiting.

Education

2023: PhD in Earth & Environmental Science (Marine Geology)
Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Université Paris Cité, France

2019: Master of Technology in Exploration Geosciences
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, India

2017: Master of Science in Geology
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, India

Recent Update

Check out our recent article in @AGU_GCubed :Footwall Geology and Deformation at Flip-Flop Mid-Ocean Ridge Detachment Faults: 64°35′E Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR), from @univ_paris_cite @IPGP_officiel
Link: https://t.co/UysYBVkZqM pic.twitter.com/PWTsfKhtp1
— Souradeep Mahato (@SouradeepMahato) January 26, 2025

Research Focus

Locally at the slow (<4 cm. yr-1) and ultra slow-spreading (<2 cm. yr-1) mid-oceanic ridges (MOR), axial valley bounding walls develop corrugated surfaces. These surfaces are formed by large offset (between 9-30 km) normal faults, called detachment faults. These faults exhume mantle-derived rocks (peridotite, serpentinized peridotite, gabbro) to the seafloor.

My research focuses on the structure, lithology, and strain localization at active detachment fault by using HR bathymetry, submersible dive videos, and rock samples to understand better the tectonic, deformation and fluid-rock interaction processes associated with the formation and evolution of the young oceanic lithosphere in context of magma starved ultraslow seafloor spreading.

Mid-Oceanic Ridges Detachment Faults Tectonics Marine Geology Fault Rock Microstructure Bathymetry

PhD Thesis

Anatomy of detachment fault zones...

Read Thesis →

Webinar Talk

A talk for the SerpentineDays Webinar series.

Watch on YouTube →

View of the SWIR 64°E Ridge Area

Marjanović, M., Besançon, S., Mahato, S., Hautemayou, D., & Luc, T.: How do we make a scan of Earth’s oceanic crust?, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4799

Mahato, S., Cannat, M., Martinez, I.: Strain Localization in the Brittle Domain During Nearly Amagmatic Flip-Flop Detachment Faulting at the Southwest Indian Ridge, under review @Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.

Cannat, M., Mahato, S., Martinez, I., Früh-Green, G., Bernasconi, S., Agrinier, P., Bickert, M., Vitale Brovarone, A. Brunelli, D., Hamelin, C., Lecoeuvre, A., Lie Onstad, S., Maia, M., Prampolini, M., Rouméjon, S., Fontaine, F.J.: The Old City Serpentinization-based Hydrothermal Field, Southwest Indian Ridge, to be submitted to Nature Geoscience, in prep.

Tominaga, M., Cannat, M., Mahato, S., and Maia, M.: High-resolution near-bottom magnetic characterization of ultramafic seafloor at ultra-slow spreading 64.5 E, Southwest Indian Ridge, to be submitted to Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR) , in prep.

4Mahato, S., & Cannat, M. (2025). Footwall geology and deformation at flip-flop mid-ocean ridge detachment faults: 64°35’E Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR). Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 25, e2023GC011384.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GC011769

3Sequeira, N., Mahato, S., Rahl, J.M., Sarkar, S., and Bhattacharya, A., (2020). The anatomy and origin of a synconvergent Grenvillian-age metamorphic core complex, Chottanagpur Gneiss Complex, eastern India. Lithosphere, 2020(1).https://doi.org/10.2113/2020/8833404

2Mahato, S., Mukherjee, S., Bose, N. (2019). Documentation of brittle structures (back shear and arcparallel shear) from Sategal and Dhanaulti regions of the Garhwal Lesser Himalaya (Uttarakhand, India). In Tectonics and Structural Geology: Indian Context. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99341-6_15

1Babar, M.D., Kaplay, R.D., Mukherjee, S., Mahato, S., and Gurav, C, (2019). NE-SW strike-slip fault in the granitoid from the margin of the Southeast Dharwar Craton, Degloor, Nanded district, Maharashtra, India. In Tectonics and Structural Geology: Indian Context. (pp. 115–134)https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99341-6_5

Talk MM Marjanovic, M., Besançon, S., Hautemayou, D., Mahato, S., and Luc, T. (2025). How do we make an X-ray scan of Earth’s oceanic crust?, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-6769.https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-6769

Poster SM Mahato, S. & Cannat, M. (2024). More magmatic versus less magmatic oceanic detachment fault zone anatomy, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-17664.https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-17664

Talk SM Mahato, S. & Cannat, M. (2023). Anatomy of a detachment fault damage zone at a nearly amagmatic mid-ocean ridge: observations from outcrop to map scale, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 April 2023, EGU22-5911, EGU23-6200.https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU23/EGU23-6200.

Talk SM Mahato, S. & Cannat, M. (2022). Early stages of evolution of an axial detachment fault at the ultraslow spreading mid-ocean ridge (64°40’E SWIR), EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-5911.https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-5911

Poster SM Mahato, S. & Cannat, M. (2021). Strain localization during detachment faulting: evidence from the Southwest Indian Ridge. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, (Vol. 2021, pp. V35A-0124).https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm21/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/853743

Talk MCCannat, M., Mahato, S., Martinez, I., Frueh-Green, G.L., Bernasconi, S.M., Lecoeuvre, A., Brovarone, A.V., Brunelli, D., Fontaine, F.J., Prampolini, M., Agrinier, P., Bickert, M., Hamelin, C., Onstad, L., Maia, M., and Rouméjon, S. (2021). Carbonate-Brucite Chimneys At The Southwest Indian Ridge: The Old City Hydrothermal Field. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts , (Vol. 2021, pp. V33A-09).https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm21/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/928535

Poster SM Mahato, S. & Cannat, M. (2020). A window into magma-starved upper oceanic lithosphere: Structure and geomorphology of a young active mid-ocean ridge detachment fault footwall at the Southwest Indian Ridge. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, (Vol. 2020, pp. T026-0012).https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm20/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/680054

Cannat M., Prampolini M., Mahato, S., Boutbien, M. (2024). Processed shipboard bathymetry and high resolution bathymetry acquired during the ROVSMOOTH, 2016-2017 cruise of RV Pourquoi Pas?. SEANOE.https://doi.org/10.17882/103743

Cannat M., Wheeler B., Mahato, S., Sarradin, P.-M., Matabos, M., Sarrazin, J. (2021). Autonomous temperature probes data from the EMSO-Azores observatory, 2020–2021. SEANOE.https://doi.org/10.17882/80940

Cannat M., Matabos M., Van Audenhaege L., Gayet, N., Wheeler, B., Mahato, S., Sarradin, P.-M., Sarrazin,. J., Legrand, J. (2021). Array of Ocean Bottom Tilt Current Meters: data from the EMSO-Azores observatory, 2019–2021. SEANOE.https://doi.org/10.17882/76001

Gallery

© Copyright notice at the bottom.

(1) moMarsat-2021

Entering the Nautile submersible for the mission of deploying and recovering temperature probes from hydrothermal vent fields at the Lucky Strike area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (1741 metres of depth).

(2) Deployment

The submersible is being prepared for the final stage of deployment.

Nautile submersible on the deck of the ship

(3) Deck view

She is in the water.

(4) Hydrothermal vent

View of a hydrothermal chimney, a black smoker here (venting temperature about 329°C), preparing to deploy the temperature probe and collect fluid samples.

A detailed view of the mineral deposits of a hydrothermal vent

(5) Vent Close-up

A temperature probe is attached to a hydrothermal vent, where it will remain for a year to record temperatures continuously.

(6) Back to the mothership

After spending 5 hours and 46 minutes at the bottom of the sea, Hatch reopened.

(7) The Sea

...at midday was calm and bright.

(8) The Sea

...colours during sunset

(9) The Sea

...a stormy day out on the sea

(10) The Sea

...another golden hour painted the sky

(11) The Sea

...a calm morning by the sea

All photographs on this website are the copyrighted works of Souradeep Mahato, a permanent resident of India. All rights reserved. No copying, reproduction, distribution, public display, transmission, or adaptation is permitted without prior written permission. Licensed use (if granted) must include clear attribution: “© 2024 Souradeep Mahato” and, for online use, a live link to https://souradeep.mahato.me/. Removal of watermarks or metadata is prohibited, and images must not be altered in a manner prejudicial to the author’s honor or reputation. Unauthorized use may result in civil and/or criminal liability under the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 and applicable international laws and treaties. For permissions, contact souradeep.mahato@pm.me.

Contact Information

Address

Geodynamics Lab, Department of Earth Sciences Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay Powai, Mumbai- 400 076, Maharashtra, INDIA

souradeep.mahato(at)iitb.ac.in

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