Eocene Red Beds from NE Iraq: Constraints from Framework Petrography Muatasam M
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University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health 2014 Provenance of Paleocene - Eocene red beds from NE Iraq: constraints from framework petrography Muatasam M. Hassan University of Wollongong, [email protected] Brian Jones University of Wollongong, [email protected] Solomon Buckman University of Wollongong, [email protected] Ali Ismael Al-Jubory Mosul University Fahad M. Al Gahtani University of Wollongong, [email protected] Publication Details Hassan, M. Mahmood., Jones, B. G., Buckman, S., Al-Jubory, A. & Al Gahtani, F. Mubarak. (2014). Provenance of Paleocene - Eocene red beds from NE Iraq: constraints from framework petrography. Geological Magazine, 151 (6), 1034-1050. Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Provenance of Paleocene - Eocene red beds from NE Iraq: constraints from framework petrography Abstract The er d-bed deposits in northern Iraq are situated in an active foreland basin adjacent to the Zagros Orogenic Belt, bound to the north by the Iranian plate thrust over the edge of the Arabian plate. The er d-bed successions are composed of alternating red and brown silty mudstones, purplish red calcareous siltstone, fine- ot coarse- grained pebbly sandstone and conglomerate. The er d beds in the current study can be divided into four parts showing a trend of upward coarsening with fine-grained deposits at the top. A detailed petrographic study was carried out on the sandstone units. The clastic rocks consist mainly of calcite cemented litharenite with rock fragments (volcanic, metamorphic and sedimentary), quartz and minor feldspar. The petrographic components reflect the tectonic system in the source area, laterally ranging from a mixed orogenic and magmatic arc in Mawat-Chwarta area to recycled orogenic material rich in sedimentary rock fragments in the Qandel area. The rC etaceous-Palaeogene foreland basin of northern Iraq formed to the southwest of the Zagros Suture Zone and the Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone of western Iran. During Palaeogene time deposition of the red beds was caused by renewed shortening in the thrust sheets overlying the Arabian margin with uplift of radiolarites (Qulqula Formation), resulting in an influx of radiolarian debris in addition to continuing ophiolitic detritus. Mixed sources, including metamorphic, volcanic and sedimentary terranes, were present during deposition of the upper part of the red beds. Keywords Palaeogene, palaeogeography, subduction complex, suture zone Disciplines Medicine and Health Sciences | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication Details Hassan, M. Mahmood., Jones, B. G., Buckman, S., Al-Jubory, A. & Al Gahtani, F. Mubarak. (2014). Provenance of Paleocene - Eocene red beds from NE Iraq: constraints from framework petrography. Geological Magazine, 151 (6), 1034-1050. This journal article is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/2425 Geol. Mag. 151 (6), 2014, pp. 1034–1050. c Cambridge University Press 2014 1034 doi:10.1017/S0016756813001064 Provenance of Paleocene–Eocene red beds from NE Iraq: constraints from framework petrography ∗ ∗ ∗ MUATASAM MAHMOOD HASSAN ‡†, BRIAN G. JONES , SOLOMON BUCKMAN , ∗ ALI ISMAEL AL-JUBORY§ & FAHAD MUBARAK AL GAHTANI ∗ School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia ‡Department of Geology, General Commission for Groundwater, Kirkuk, Iraq §Department of Geology, College of Science, Mosul University, Mosul, Iraq (Received 26 June 2013; accepted 26 November 2013; first published online 24 January 2014) Abstract – The red-bed deposits in northern Iraq are situated in an active foreland basin adjacent to the Zagros Orogenic Belt, bound to the north by the Iranian plate thrust over the edge of the Arabian plate. The red-bed successions are composed of alternating red and brown silty mudstones, purplish red calcareous siltstone, fine- to coarse-grained pebbly sandstone and conglomerate. The red beds in the current study can be divided into four parts showing a trend of upward coarsening with fine-grained deposits at the top. A detailed petrographic study was carried out on the sandstone units. The clastic rocks consist mainly of calcite cemented litharenite with rock fragments (volcanic, metamorphic and sedimentary), quartz and minor feldspar. The petrographic components reflect the tectonic system in the source area, laterally ranging from a mixed orogenic and magmatic arc in Mawat–Chwarta area to recycled orogenic material rich in sedimentary rock fragments in the Qandel area. The Cretaceous– Palaeogene foreland basin of northern Iraq formed to the southwest of the Zagros Suture Zone and the Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone of western Iran. During Palaeogene time deposition of the red beds was caused by renewed shortening in the thrust sheets overlying the Arabian margin with uplift of radiolarites (Qulqula Formation), resulting in an influx of radiolarian debris in addition to continuing ophiolitic detritus. Mixed sources, including metamorphic, volcanic and sedimentary terranes, were present during deposition of the upper part of the red beds. Keywords: Palaeogene, palaeogeography, subduction complex, suture zone. 1. Introduction ents in the Mawat–Chwarta sections, both laterally and vertically, indicates that the red beds in this part of the A sedimentological investigation of six exposed sec- basin were supplied by more or from different thrust tions through the Iraqi red beds led to the recogni- sheets. In contrast, on other side of the basin towards tion of four main units in the Kurdistan region of the Suwais and Merga sections, the main source was ra- northern Iraq. Four sections were investigated in the diolarian chert minor contributions from volcanic and Mawat–Chwarta area located north of Sulaymaniya metamorphic sources. city, while the Suwais and Merga sections lie in the Petrographic and mineralogical studies show that Qandel area in NW Iraq. The red-bed succession forms source rocks supplied detritus to the red beds, reflecting part of a foreland basin consisting of Mesozoic and uplift of older rocks coupled with intensive orogenic Tertiary rocks thrown into anticline and syncline struc- movements during red-bed deposition. Red beds are tures that are mostly well exposed. The red beds occur divided into two parts: (1) a lower unit is dominated in the imbricated zone of the foreland basin associ- by radiolarian chert detritus with a minor component ated with post-Eocene subduction between the Arabian of ophiolitic detritus; and (2) an upper unit lacks ra- and Iranian plates (Fig. 1). Because of the complexity diolarian chert and has a mixed provenance of volcanic, of the tectonic activities, the red-bed basin is broken metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. into several parts making correlation and palaeogeo- graphic research difficult. The red-bed sandstones show intra-formational variations in framework composition 2. Geological setting caused by changes in provenance. The NE Iraq study area has been subjected to strong tectonic influences – The Zagros Mountains are geologically part of the ex- the Zagros Orogenic Belt was formed by the collision tensive Alpine mountain belt. They form a narrow strip between the Arabian and Iranian–Turkish plates – and along the border between Iraq and Iran and include two hence source rock variability has the greatest influence main zones: the Zagros Simply Folded Belt in the SW on sediment composition. The mineralogical compon- and the Zagros Suture Zone in the NE. These zones are included in the Zagros Orogen. A foreland basin occurs SW of the Zagros Mountains. The tectonic de- †Author for correspondence: [email protected] velopment of the Zagros Mountains indicates that the http://journals.cambridge.org Downloaded: 18 Jan 2015 IP address: 130.130.37.84 NE Iraq Paleocene–Eocene red beds 1035 Figure 1. (Colour online) Location of the study area. foreland basin was initiated during Late Cretaceous division is of Maastrichtian age. The Shiranish Forma- ophiolite obduction along the Zagros Suture Zone fol- tion is overlain to the northeast by the Tanjero Forma- lowed by continental collision of the Arabian Plate with tion. In most areas, the upper contact of the Shiranish Eurasia during Cenozoic time (Alavi, 2004; Agard et al. Formation is conformable with the overlying Tanjero 2011). The deposits of Late Cretaceous and Palaeo- Formation. However, low-angle unconformable con- gene foreland basin have been folded and are therefore tacts between these units have been documented from now part of the Zagros Simply Folded Zone. In NE the Suwais and Do Awan sections in NE Iraq (Karim Iraq, the former Zagros foreland basin includes Creta- et al. 2011; Fig. 3). ceous shallow-marine deposits of the Shiranish and The palaeogeographic distribution and the relation- Tanjero formations overlain by continental deposits of ships of the Shiranish Formation with other rocks indic- the Palaeogene red beds (Fig. 2). In order to clarify the ate that this formation was deposited in an open sea with tectonics of northern Iraq, stratigraphic relationships various littoral and sublittoral clastic deposits and ner- between the Late Cretaceous and Palaeogene succes- itic reef-type and associated limestone. Abdel-Kireem sions and their relationships with equivalent succes- (1983) studied the palaeoecology and bathymetry of sions in Iran are considered.