Modern alluvial fan and deltaic sedimentation in a foreland tectonic setting: the Lower Mesopotamian Plain and the Arabian Gulf

Abstract

The Arabo-Persian Gulf, generally considered as a classical carbonate basin, in fact also includes important terrigenous systems whose nature and geometry are related closely to the tectonic framework. The Gulf is bordered along its northeastern periphery by an active alpine system which constitutes a major source of both siliceous and calcareous detritus. There are four types of terrigenous discharge which are classified according to their structural relationships. Numerous alluvial fans terminate ephemeral consequent streams draining the flanks of anticlines forming the external parts of the Zagros Mountain belt. Alluvial-fan deltas studied in detail in southeastern Iran terminate semi-permanent streams which flow along major synclinal axis. They are composed mainly of fine carbonate detritus, part of which accumulates as spectacular marine mud banks. Two major types of delta occur. Relatively small marine deltas, associated with permanent antecedent streams which cross the Zagros fold system, are scattered along the Persian shoreline. The other is the a major deltaic complex which is associated with the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers. This system has prograded along the main axis of the Gulf, the resulting Mesopotamian Plain filling at least half of the original basin which, in early Quaternary times, extended from Hormuz to Syria.