| 1. |
- Abdelmaksoud, Ahmed, et al.
(författare)
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Petroleum system of the fold-and-thrust belt of the United Arab Emirates : New insights based on 1D and 2D basin modeling
- 2023
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Ingår i: Marine and Petroleum Geology. - : Elsevier. - 0264-8172 .- 1873-4073. ; 158
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The hydrocarbon potential of the fold-and-thrust belt (FTB) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-Oman mountains has received limited attention to date, leading to a poor understanding of the petroleum systems in this region. Despite the existence of hydrocarbon fields within the FTB, the source rock potential has not been adequately studied. This study aims to address this knowledge gap using 1D and 2D basin modeling approaches to evaluate the petroleum system of the FTB. In addition, gas chromatographs are also used to correlate hydrocarbon occurrences with their source rock. This study's findings identify the Silurian, Upper Cretaceous, Paleocene-Eocene, and Oligocene formations as the primary source rocks in the study area. Silurian shales, encountered in a well in the northern UAE, are currently considered overmature. The Cenozoic source rocks exhibit a spectrum of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) content, ranging from less than 1 to as high as 2 wt%, leading to variable degrees of expulsion efficiency. The maturity of these rocks varies based on their position in relation to the FTB and foredeep, with increasing maturity towards the north. The Upper Cretaceous sequences display low TOC and Hydrogen Index, indicating very low expulsion efficiency. The present-day distribution of maturity is largely influenced by Late Cretaceous and Oligocene-Miocene compressional events that affected the northern and northeastern Arabian Plate. This analysis shows that hydrocarbon expulsion from the Silurian source rocks was initiated during the Middle-Late Jurassic. These hydrocarbons are presumed to have migrated through Upper Permian, Jurassic, and Lower and middle Cretaceous reservoirs. Westward hydrocarbon migration, towards a regional bulge, may have also occurred following compressional events that resulted in lithospheric flexure and formation of the foreland basin. Notably, certain exceptions to migration towards the bulge include structural entrapment of hydrocarbons beneath the main frontal thrust zone of FTB and some structural traps beneath the Lower Fiqa Formation.
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| 2. |
- Ahmadi, Omid, et al.
(författare)
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Seismic signatures of complex geological structures in the Cue-Weld range area, Murchison domain, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia
- 2016
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Ingår i: Tectonophysics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0040-1951. ; 689, s. 56-66
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Murchison domain forms the northwest part of the Youanmi Terrane, a tectonic unit within the Neoarchean Yilgarn Craton in Western Australia. In the Cue-Weld Range area the Murchison domain has experienced a complex magmatic and deformation history that resulted in a transposed array of greenstone belts that host significant iron, gold, and base metal deposits. In this study, we interpret the upper 2 s (about 6 km) of a deep crustal seismic profile TOGA-YU1, near the town of Cue, and correlate rock units and structures in outcrop with corresponding reflections. We performed 3D constant velocity ray-tracing and calculate the corresponding travel times for the reflectionsfor time domain pre-stack and post-stack seismic data. This allows us to link shallow reflections with mafic volcanic rocks of the Glen Group and basaltic rocks of the Polelle Group in outcrop. Based on our interpretation and published geological maps and data, we propose a model in which the local stratigraphy represents a refolded thrust system. To test our hypothesis, we applied 2D acoustic finite difference forward modeling. The corresponding synthetic data were processed in the same way as the acquired data. Comparisons between the acquired and the synthetic data show that the model is consistent with observations. We propose a new model for the subsurface of the Cue-Weld Range area and argue that some of the lithologies in the area are repeated structurally at different levels. Our approach highlights the benefit of imaging and modeling of deep seismic transects to resolve local structural complexity in Archean granite-greenstone terrains.
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| 3. |
- Al-Qayim, Basim, et al.
(författare)
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Tectonostratigraphic overview of the Zagros Suture Zone, Kurdistan Region, Northeast Iraq
- 2012
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Ingår i: GeoArabia. - 1025-6059. ; 17:4, s. 109-156
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The northwestern segment of the Zagros Orogenic Belt of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq includes the Zagros Suture Zone which is consisting of allochthonous Tethyan Triassic-Eocene thrust sheets. The zone is bounded by the Zagros Main Reverse Fault in the northeast, and the Zagros Thrust Front in the southwest. Parts of this zone's rocks are represented by stacks of thrust mega-sheets obducted over the autochthonous Cretaceous-Cenozoic sequence of the Arabian Plate margin. Each sheet represents a specific Tethyan tectonostratigraphic facies, and includes (from older to younger): isolated Triassic carbonate platforms (Avroman Limestone), Jurassic carbonate imbricates (Chia Gara, Sargelu and other formations), radiolarites (Qulqula Group), sedimentary melange (sedimentary-volcanic units of the Qulqula Group), ophiolites (Mawat and Penjwin ultramafics complexes), and Cenozoic fore-arc volcano-sedimentary sequences (Walash Group). Petrography, facies interpretation and lithostratigraphic correlation of these allochthons along four traverses across the Zagros Suture Zone of the examined area indicate that they evolved during the closure of the Neo-Tethys Ocean. Their stacking pattern and tectonic association resulted from two important events: the Late Cretaceous obduction processes, and the Late Miocene Pliocene collision, uplift, folding and suturing between the Arabian Plate and the Sanandaj-Sirjan Block of Iran. Based on these field observations and by using the model of the Iranian Zagros evolution, a tectonic scenario is proposed to explain the history and evolution of the Zagros Suture Zone in this area.
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| 4. |
- Ali, Moamen, et al.
(författare)
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Geometry and kinematics of the Middle to Late Miocene salt tectonics, central Egyptian Red Sea margin
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Structural Geology. - : Elsevier. - 0191-8141 .- 1873-1201. ; 176
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Red Sea basin includes a thick Middle to Late Miocene evaporitic succession that underwent halokinesis and caused intensive reshaping of the seafloor and the development of salt-tectonic structures. However, the ge-ometry and kinematics of these structures are still poorly understood. This study uses 2D and 3D seismic surveys and well data of the northern Egyptian Red Sea to systematically describe the distribution and morphology of salt structures, discuss their initiation, and construct a kinematic model for their origin. Our results indicate that the massive salt layer developed into five major NW-SE to NNE-SSW trending salt walls, characterized by relatively irregular crests and moderately dipping flanks. In addition, several symmetrical and asymmetrical folds and two categories of normal faults (subsalt and suprasalt) have been recognized. Based on our observations, salt mobilization in the study area started in the Late Miocene, during the precipitation of layered evaporites, and continued until the present day. In the northern Egyptian Red Sea, seismic interpretation indicates that hal-okinesis was triggered by a combination of thin-and thick-skinned systems, where the latter played a major role. The salt layer was welded during the Quaternary as several sags and grabens developed above the salt diapirs. Thick-skinned physical models are compatible with our observations, supporting the impact of basement faulting on Red Sea diapirism.
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| 5. |
- Almqvist, Bjarne, et al.
(författare)
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Bulk strain in orogenic wedges based on insights from magnetic fabrics in sandbox models
- 2018
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Ingår i: Geology. - 0091-7613 .- 1943-2682. ; 46:6, s. 483-486
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) analysis is used as a petrofabric indicator for a set of four identical-setup sandbox models that were shortened by different amounts and simulate contraction in a fold-and-thrust belt. During model shortening, a progressive reorientation of the initial magnetic fabric occurs due to horizontal compaction of the sand layers. At the early stages of shortening, magnetic lineation (k(1) axis) rotates parallel to the model backstop with subhorizontal orientation, whereas the minimum susceptibility (k(3) axis) is subvertical, which indicates a partial tectonic overprint of the initial fabric. With further shortening, the k(3) axis rotates to subhorizontal orientation, parallel to shortening direction, marking the development of a dominant tectonic magnetic fabric. A near-linear transition in magnetic fabric is observed from the initial bedding to tectonic fabric in all four models, which reflects a progressive transition in deformation from foreland toward hinterland. Model results confirm a long-held hypothesis where the AMS pattern and degree of anisotropy have been suggested to reflect the amount of layer-parallel shortening, based on field observations in many mountain belts. Results furthermore indicate that grain rotation may play a significant role in low-grade compressive tectonic regimes. The combination of analogue models with AMS enables the possibility to predict magnetic fabrics in different tectonic settings and to develop quantitative links between AMS and strain.
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| 6. |
- Amini, Samar, et al.
(författare)
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Tomographic upper-mantle velocity structure beneath the Iranian Plateau
- 2012
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Ingår i: Tectonophysics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0040-1951 .- 1879-3266. ; 554-557, s. 42-49
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Iranian plateau is one of the most structurally complex and tectonically inhomogeneous regions in the world. In this study, we analyze Pn arrival-times from regional seismicity in order to resolve lateral velocity variations within the uppermost-mantle under the Iranian Plateau. More than 48,000 Pn first arrival times selected from the EHB catalog were used with epicentral distances of 200 to 1600 km. We used regularized isotropic and anisotropic damped least-squares inversion to image lateral velocity variations in the upper mantle. Our velocity model, with high lateral resolution, shows positive anomalies in the Zagros mountain belt with a distinct transition approximately along the Main Zagros Thrust to the lower mantle velocity zone of Central Iran. Anomalously low velocities are observed predominantly beneath NW Iran and eastern Turkey, suggesting a zone of relatively weak mantle. Low velocity region under the Damavand volcano reveals the hot upper mantle beneath the central Alborz mountains.
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| 7. |
- Amri, Zayneb, et al.
(författare)
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Mechanical relationship between strike-slip faulting and salt tectonics in the Northern Tunisian Atlas : The Bir-El-Afou salt structure
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Structural Geology. - : Elsevier. - 0191-8141 .- 1873-1201. ; 154
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wide variety of salt structures -from typical diapirs to large allochthonous salt sheets- are recognized in the Northern Tunisian Atlas. In this study, we present for the first time the presence of a diapiric structure, Bir-ElAfou Salt Structure (BEASS), which has formed in response to strike-slip tectonics. Structural mapping, mesoscale field observations, fault kinematic analysis, and interpretation of gravity data are used to interpret BEASS, which is currently associated with a restraining bend. The present-day NNE- trending restraining stepover is formed as a result of E-W dextral fault system. We assume that the restraining stepover is a product of the inversion of a pre-existing pull-apart basin that formed during the Cretaceous South Tethyan extension. Tectono-sedimentary relationship is used to argue for an early Cretaceous NW-SE regional extension and local transtension. During the opening of the pull-apart basin, salt movement took place in the southwestern corner of the basin which must have thinned due to its extension facilitating diapiric emplacement. Diapir growth during Aptian was followed by brief salt flow from the diapir crest towards the basin forming a salt sheet. A period of Tertiary contraction resulted in the inversion of the pull-apart basin and consequently, squeezing of BEASS.
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| 8. |
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| 10. |
- Aswad, Khalid J. A., et al.
(författare)
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Cr-spinel compositions in serpentinites, and their implications for the petrotectonic history of the Zagros Suture Zone, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
- 2011
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Ingår i: Geological Magazine. - 0016-7568 .- 1469-5081. ; 148:5-6, s. 802-818
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Accessory chrome spinels are scattered throughout the serpentinite masses in two allochthonous thrust sheets belonging to the Penjween–Walash sub-zone of the northwestern Zagros Suture Zone in Kurdistan. Based on field evidence, the serpentinites are divided into two groups: (1) highly sheared serpentinites (110–80 Ma), which occupy the lower contact of the ophiolitic massifs of the Upper Allochthonous sheet (Albian–Cenomanian age), and (2) ophiolitic mélange serpentinites of mixed ages (150 and 200 Ma) occurring along thrust faults on the base of the volcano-sedimentary segment (42–32 Ma) of the Lower Allochthonous sheet. The Cr-spinels of both groups show a wide range of YCr (Cr/(Cr + Al) atomic ratio) from 0.37 to 1.0, while the XMg (Mg/(Mg + Fe2+) atomic ratio) ranges from 0.0 to 0.75. Based on the Cr-spinel compositions of the entire dataset and in conjunction with back-scattered electron imaging, from core to rim, three spinel stages have been recognized: the residual mantle stage, a Cr-rich stage and a third stage showing a very narrow magnetite rim. These three stages are represented by primary Cr-spinel, pre-serpentinization metamorphosed spinel and syn- or post-serpentinization spinel, respectively. The chemical characteristics of primary (first-stage) Cr-spinels of both serpentinite groups indicate a tectonic affinity within a fore-arc setting of peridotite protoliths. The second stage indicates that Cr-spinels have undergone subsolidus re-equilibration as a result of solid–solid reaction during pre-serpentinization cooling of the host rock. Here the primary Cr-spinel compositions have been partly or completely obscured by metamorphism. During the third stage, the Cr-spinels have undergone solid–fluid re-equilibration during syn- or post-serpentinization processes. Both the second and third stages point to diachronous metamorphic paths resulting from continuous tectonic evolution influenced by either slow or fast uplift of mantle protoliths. In the fast metamorphic paths, the primary chrome spinels are flanked by a very narrow magnetite rim. The presence of two groups of distally separated serpentinites with different emplacement ages and fore-arc tectonic affinity could indicate that the closure of the Tethys Ocean culminated in two fortuitous subduction processes.
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