Sedimentology
Navid Qavim; Najmeh Etemad-Saeed; Mahdi Najafi
Abstract
The Mahneshan Basin is one of the syntectonic Neogene sub-basins of the Central Iran. The basin is filled by about 4 km of the Miocene Upper Red Formation deposits, showing a combination of halokinetic and growth strata patterns. To assess the provenance evolution of sediments in north of the Mahneshan ...
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The Mahneshan Basin is one of the syntectonic Neogene sub-basins of the Central Iran. The basin is filled by about 4 km of the Miocene Upper Red Formation deposits, showing a combination of halokinetic and growth strata patterns. To assess the provenance evolution of sediments in north of the Mahneshan basin named the Hesar section, we conducted remote sensing mapping, field survey, as well as petrographical and modal analyses of sandstones. Our results reveal that the sandstones are fine to medium-grained sedarenites (Q46F10Rf44) and mainly derived from fine-grained siliciclastics, metamorphic, carbonate, chert and andesitic volcanic rocks, which were exposed in an orogenic tectonic setting (Qm34F10Lt56 and Qt49F10L41). The combination of provenance data and northeastward paleocurrent direction, reflect that the sediments mainly supplied from basement rocks of the Takab Complex and Qom Formation in southwest of Mahneshan Basin. The unchanged provenance of sediments along the studied succession, indicate that regional shortening and uplift of parent rocks has begun before deposition of the Upper Red Formation (Miocene) and continued during deposition of these sediments. This is in agreement with previous age assumption for exhumation of Takab Complex during Oligocene time.
Sedimentology
Najmeh Etemad-Saeed; Mahdi Najafi; Navid Zeinolabedin Qavim; Ghods Abdolreza
Abstract
The present study provides a detailed facies and depositional environment analyses of the Neogene sediments in the northern Dezful embayment, footwall of the Zagros Mountain Front fault. The Neogene sediments in this area, including the Mishan, Aghajari, and Bakhtyari formations, constitute the thickest ...
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The present study provides a detailed facies and depositional environment analyses of the Neogene sediments in the northern Dezful embayment, footwall of the Zagros Mountain Front fault. The Neogene sediments in this area, including the Mishan, Aghajari, and Bakhtyari formations, constitute the thickest Zagros foreland succession, with more than 5 km of thickness. As these sediments were deposited synchronous with the main phase of the Zagros orogeny, they have recorded the history of deformation events. During the current study, 9 lithofacies have been identified on the basis of lithology, grain size, sedimentary structures, and bed geometry, which can be classified into three facies assemblages including: gravel dominated (Gm, Gp), sand dominated (Sh, St, Sp, Sr), and mud dominated (Fm, Fl). Furthermore, two major marine ichnofacies, the skolithos and the Cruziana ichonafacies, have been identified at the base of the Aghajari Formation. As the results indicated, the vertical stacking of facies represents an overall shallowing-upward succession that was deposited in marginal marine (Mishan), siliciclastic shoreline (base of Aghajari), meandering river (top of Aghajari) and braided river (Bakhtyari) depositional environments, from base to top respectively. Considering eustatic sea-level fluctuations in the deposition period (13 to 3 Ma), these results propose that evolution of the Neogene sedimentary basin in the North Dezful likely controlled by tectonic folding and faulting.
Tectonics
Ali Taghavy; Mahdi Najafi; Najmeh Etemad-Saeed; Mohammad Seddigh
Abstract
A synthesis of 2-D seismic interpretation, exploration well data and field survey permit us to decipher the structural evolution history in the front of Fars paleo-high area, located in SE Zagros fold-and-thrust belt. In the current study, a structural evolution model is proposed for the region, according ...
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A synthesis of 2-D seismic interpretation, exploration well data and field survey permit us to decipher the structural evolution history in the front of Fars paleo-high area, located in SE Zagros fold-and-thrust belt. In the current study, a structural evolution model is proposed for the region, according to a sequential restoration, which was performed based on the growth stratal unit’s pattern, together with constant length and area assumptions. The result of the sequential restoration indicated that in the late Eocene time, Tanbak anticline incepted on the hangingwall of the inverted mountain front basement fault, as an out of sequence forced fold. Although, thin-skinned detachment folding initiated in the lower Miocene, shortening and amplification of anticlines did not accelarated until the late Miocene time, when thrust faults formed on the limb of growing anticlines while Dashtak middle detachment thickened in the fold crestal areas, likely due to an intensified regional shortening.
N Etemad-Saeed; M Hosseini-Barzi; M.H Adabi; A Sadeghi
Abstract
The Kahar Formation at its type locality in the KaharMountain, 75 km NW of Tehran, consists of about 1000 m of siliciclastic rocks (mainly mudrocks). This study focuses on the mineralogical and geochemical composition of these mudrocks to identify possible source areas and their tectonic setting. The ...
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The Kahar Formation at its type locality in the KaharMountain, 75 km NW of Tehran, consists of about 1000 m of siliciclastic rocks (mainly mudrocks). This study focuses on the mineralogical and geochemical composition of these mudrocks to identify possible source areas and their tectonic setting. The optical microscopy and XRD studies suggest that the mudrocks are rich in quartz and feldspar (especially plagioclase) and have low phyllosilicates (mostly illite and chlorite). SEM-EDX petrographic investigation of mudrocks reveals that platy illite and chlorite may have formed during the diagenesis (illitization and chloritization). Classification of studied mudrocks based on the maturity index, indicate that they are tectic and phyllo-tectic types, deposited in basins related to an (continental) island arc tectonic setting. The Chemical Index of Alteration (average 70) and A–CN–K parameters indicate that a moderate chemical weathering has taken place in the source region of the Kahar mudrocks. In addition, the chemical composition of mudrocks suggests that the amount of sediment recycling is very low in the Kahar deposits. The geochemical discrimination diagrams, immobile trace element ratios and Rare Earth Elements of mudrocks suggest that the Kahar mudrocks were derived mainly from the felsic sources and deposited in the basins related to an island arc tectonic setting. The resulting model for the tectonic setting of the Kahar basin during the Late Neoproterozoic can be best explained by recently models that considered Iran as part of Peri-Gondwanan terranes, similar to the Avalonia and Cadomia arc terranes, occupying the northern margins of Gondwana.
M. Hosseini-Barzi; N. Etemad Saeed
Abstract
The Early Cambrian Lalun Formation in Poshte- Badam block has been studied in Bahmoo section with 550 m thickness, to illuminate its sedimentary environment and sea level changes. The field investigations, collection of 110 paleocurrent data, petrography, study of SEM images and XRD analysis of shale ...
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The Early Cambrian Lalun Formation in Poshte- Badam block has been studied in Bahmoo section with 550 m thickness, to illuminate its sedimentary environment and sea level changes. The field investigations, collection of 110 paleocurrent data, petrography, study of SEM images and XRD analysis of shale samples have been used for facies analysis, paleocurrent recognition and sedimentary environment reconstruction. The facies analyses imply 5 silisiclastic coarse grained (Gm), medium grained (Sp, St, Sh) and fine grained (Fl) lithofacies and 1 carbonate (dolomite) microfacies. The lithofacies, bipolar bimodal paleocurrent pattern and petrographic evidences such as the existence of glauconitic sandstones with high textural and compositional maturity imply deposition of these sediments in a Tidal Flat environment. Studying the relative sea level changes of Lalun deposits in this area imply two sequences which have been bounded between SB1 unconformities.