Dr. Arun Kumar Ojha

Senior Scientist , Geochemistry

Dr. Arun Kumar Ojha

ojhaarun323@ngri.res.in

Academic Identity
           

Specialization

Structural Geology and Tectonics

Research Area

Dr. Arun Kumar Ojha received both M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. Dr. Ojha, extensively involved in Himalayan shear zones to understand the evolutionary history using a multi-proxy approach that includes structural geology, fluid inclusion microthermometry, geochronology, and numerical simulations during his Ph.D. After the submission of his Ph.D. in 2019, Dr. Ojha joined the Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University with Prof. Gordon Lister in a ‘Slab Modelling’ project to model the subducting Pacific slab. The aim of the slab modelling work was to understand the slab geometry and its role in upper plate tectonics and deformation. Dr. Ojha joined NGRI in April 2021 as a scientist.

Ongoing Research Projects

1. SERB-StartUp grant (Dec. 2022 to June. 2025)- Revisiting the Himachal Himalaya to test different tectonic models and their implications to Himalayan geodynamics (27.4 Lakhs).

Honors & Awards

  • 1. Future Research Talent Award 2019 by the Australian government.
  • 2. Prof. D.N Wadia Prize for best oral presentation in 2nd National Geo-Research Scholar Meet, 2017, held in WIHG, India.
  • 3. ANUX Summer School Fellowship 2015 (Australia).

Publications

  • 17. Satyakumar, A.V.*, Mrinal, A., Ojha. A. K., Ashok, J., Venkateshwarlu, M. (2025) Effect of local topography/structure on lava flow direction: A view from Ananthagiri Hills from Deccan Basalts, India. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 108408. Doi: 10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2025.108408.
  • 16. Kumar, D.*, Ojha, A. K., Maurya, V. D., Satyanarayanan, M., Dhakate, R., Kumar, P., Kumar, D., Rathore, J. S. (2025). New insight into the shallow sub-surface for geothermal prospection of Puga valley, Ladakh, India from Electrical Resistivity Tomography. Geothermics. 131, 103409. Doi: 10.1016/j.geothermics.2025.103409.
  • 15. Agarwal, A.*, Ojha, A. K., Kenkmann, T., Poelchau, M. H., Gairola, P., Bhatt, S. (2025). Effect of layering on brittle deformation: results from hypervelocity impact experiments on gneiss. International Journal of Impact Engineering. 206, 105406. Doi: 10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2025.105406.
  • 14. Ojha, A. K.* Srivastava, D. C., Forster, M., Lister, G. (2024). Evidence of back-folding in the Beas Valley puts Himalayan tectonic models on trial. Journal of Structural Geology. 186. Doi: 10.1016/j.jsg.2024.105217.
  • 13. Behera, S. S., Tiwari, S., Pandey, A. K., Agarwal, A.*, Ojha, A. K. (2024). Direction of impact at Dhala impact structure, India deciphered from microfracture intensity and X-ray diffraction: A new potential impact direction indicator. Earth, Planets and Space. 76 (83). Doi: 10.1186/s40623-024-02028-1.
  • 12. Jamir, I., Kumar, V., Ojha, A. K., Gupta, V., Martha, T. P., Griffiths, D. V.* (2024). Evaluating failure regime of an active landslide using instability and rockfall simulation, NW Himalaya. Environmental Earth Sciences. 83:256, 19. Doi: 10.1007/s12665-024-11540-2.
  • 11. Ojha, A. K.*, Monika Saini, D. P., Agarwal, A., Pandey, A. K. (2024). Tectonic development in Singhbhum Craton, NE India decrypted from dyke swarms: A window to understand magma dynamics in Archean-Proterozoic supercontinents. Physics of Earth and Planetary Interiors. 350, 107169. Doi: 10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107169.
  • 10. Joshi, G.*, Agarwal, A., Kenkmann, T., Ojha, A. K. (2024). Kink-bands as indicators of shock-wave propagation direction: results from experimental impact cratering on gneiss. Journal of Structural Geology. Doi: 10.1016/j.jsg.2024.105082.
  • 9. Joshi, G., Phukon, P., Agarwal, A., Ojha, A.K., (2023). On the emplacement of the impact melt at the Dhala impact structure, India. Journal of Geophysical Research Planets, 128(7), 1-14. doi: 10.1029/2023JE007840.
  • 8. Sahoo, A. K., Krishnamurthi, R., Dinkar, G. K., Rao, N.V. Chalapathi, Ojha, A. K., Raghuvanshi, S., Bhunia, S., (2023). Gold-Sulfide Mineralization in Banded Iron Formation at Girar, Bundelkhand Craton, India: Inferences from Field Observations and Petrography. Journal of Geological Society of India, 99 (1), 13-22.
  • 7. Pradhan, R.M.*, Singh, A., Ojha, A.K. and Biswal, T.K., (2022). Structural controls on bedrock weathering in crystalline basement terranes and its implications on groundwater resources. Scientific Reports. 12(1), 1-22. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-15889-x.
  • 6. Ojha, A.K.*, Srivastava, D.C. and Sharma, R. (2022). Fluctuation in the fluid and tectonic pressures in the South Almora Thrust Zone (SATZ), Kumaun Lesser Himalaya; paleoseismic implications. Journal of Structural Geology, 1.4631. doi: 10.1016/j.jsg.2022.104631. 
  • 5. Rai, S.R., Sachan, H.K.*, Spencer, C.J., Kharya, A., Singhal, S., Ojha, A.K., Chattopadhaya, P. and Pati, P., (2022). Zircon geochronology and Hf isotopic study from the Leo Pargil Dome, India: implications for the palaeogeographic reconstruction and tectonic evolution of a Himalayan gneiss dome. Geological Magazine. 1-18. doi: 10.1017/S0016756822000449. 
  • 4. Ojha, A.K.*, Sharma, R. and Srivastava, D.C., (2019). Polyphase development of chocolate-tablet boudins in the SAT zone, Kumaun Lesser Himalaya, India. Journal of Structural Geology. 127, 103863. Doi: 10.1016/j.jsg.2019.103863. 
  • 3. Ojha, A.K.* and Srivastava, D.C., (2018). Effect of grain packing tightness on strain estimation from the Fry method. Journal of Earth System Science. 127(5), 1-12. Doi: 10.1007/s12040-018-0961-0. 
  • 2. Chakraborty, D. and Ojha, A.K.* (2017). Structural geometry of Nidar ophiolite, Ladakh: evidence from volcanic-sedimentary bands. HIMALAYAN GEOLOGY. 38(1), 91-99. 
  • 1. Kumar, R., Srivastava, D.C.* and Ojha, A.K., (2014). A comparison of the methods for objective strain estimation from the Fry plots. Journal of Structural Geology. 63, 76-90. Doi: 10.1016/j.jsg.2014.03.002.

Books

NIL

Research Scholars

Doctoral

  1. Deepak Bisen (July 2024-Present). Geodynamics of the eastern Dharwar craton (tentative title). Co-supervisor

Educational Qualification

Ph.D. (IIT Roorkee), M.Sc. (IIT Roorkee)

Proffessional Experience

5. 7th April 2025 to present: Senior Scientist, CSIR- National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, India.

4. 2024 to present: Assistant Professor, Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR).

3. April 2021 to April 2025: Scientist, CSIR- National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, India.

2. 2019 to 2020: Postdoc fellow at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

1. 2013 to 2019: Doctoral candidate at the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India.

Proffessional Affiliations