Migration of the foreland basin during the main phase of Zagros Orogeny: A case study in the Balarud Area (north of the Dezful Embayment)
Subject Areas : Structural geologymohammad seraj 1 * , fariba zahmati 2 * , iraj iabdollahie fard 3 * , Seyd Morteza Moussavi 4 *
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Keywords: Foreland basin fluvial facies, Zagros foreland system, foreland basin migration, depocenter migration rate.,
Abstract :
A foreland basin is an elongated depression situated between a mountain belt and a stable craton, formed alongside the deformation from plate convergence. The Dezful Embayment, as a part of the Neogene foreland basin related to the Zagros orogen, illustrates this interaction. The compressional tectonic regime resulted from the convergence of the Arabian and Iranian plates, and significantly affected the sedimentary facies developed in the basin. This study investigates the migration trend of the foreland basin’s depocenter during the deposition of the Aghajari Formation, utilizing integrated well data and 3D seismic cube to analyze thickness variations in the stratigraphic units. In the Balarud area, north of the Dezful Embayment, three sedimentary units were identified: the lower Aghajari Formation, characterized by more coarse-grained deposits; the upper Aghajari Formation (Lahbari Member), which is primarily composed of fine-grained sediments; and the Bakhtiari Conglomerate, consisting of gravel to cobble-sized clasts. The results indicate that the thickness of the lower Aghajari Formation decreases from northeast to southwest, while the thickness of the upper Aghajari Formation increases in the same direction.Since the deposition of the Aghajari Formation around 14 million years ago, the depocenter of fluvial sediment accumulation has shifted approximately 20 kilometers to the southwest, driven by the ongoing shortening of the Zagros belt. This process of shortening has intensified folding and erosion within the anticlines of the folded belt, ultimately giving rise to the significant deposition of the post-orogen Bakhtiari Conglomerate Formation. This dynamic geological evolution underscores the intricate interplay between tectonic forces and sedimentary processes in shaping the landscape.
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