MESOZOIC TETHYAN RADIOLARITE AGE DETERMINATION, ZAGROS SUTURE ZONE, KURDISTAN, NE IRAQ

Abstract

A regional belt of Mesozoic Tethyan radiolarites extends along the northeastern Arabian plate's margin. Outcrops of this radiolarite were documented from Hawasina series in Oman, and northeastwards to Pichakun Series of southern Iran, to Kermanshah of northwest Iran passing onto the Qulqula Group of northeast Iraq up until the Kocali Series of Turkey. The age of most of these radiolarite suites was already constrained. It is the purpose of this work to investigate the age of the radiolarite Suites in northeast Iraq using Radiolarian microfossils chronostratigraphy. Patches of the Mesozoic radiolarite suites are exposed at the Zagros suture zone in Kurdistan Region of northeast Iraq and known as the Qulqula Group. It consists of complexly deformed and thick slices of pelagic radiolarian chert and siliceous limestone, radiolarian red claystone and siliceous mudstone, and reddish-green mudstone and limestone. These units were sampled from three areas (Naurabab, Penjween, and Hawraman) located to the south and east of Sulaimani city in Kurdistan, for radiolarian micropaleontological analysis. Radiolaria microfossils identification and age determination is done at specialized laboratories. Results of the radiolarian age constraint show that these sediments range from Bajocian to the end of the Cenomanian.