Sedimentary Environment and Sequence Stratigraphy of the Asmari Formation at Khaviz Anticline, Zagros Mountains, Southwest Iran

Abdolhosein Kangazian,Mohammad Pasandideh

doi:10.4236/ojg.2016.62009

Abstract

The Oligocene-Miocene Asmari Formation is a thick sequence of shallow water carbonates of the Zagros Basin. Khaviz Anticline outcrop [near Behbahan city/Iran] was studied in this research in order to interpret the facies, depositional environment and sequence stratigraphy of the Asmari Formation succession. In this study, twelve different microfacies types have been recognized, which can be grouped into five (micro) facies associations: peritidal, lagoon, shoal, semi restricted marine and open marine. The Asmari Formation represents sedimentation on a carbonate ramp. According to the fauna data, the Asmari Formation is Oligocene (Rupelian/Chattian) to Early Miocene (Burdigalian) in age at the study area. Eight third-order depositional sequences are identified on the basis of deepening and shallowing patterns in the microfacies. The depositional sequences 0 and 1 (Rupelian-Chattian), 2, 3 and 4 (Chattian) were referred to the lower while sequences 5 and 6 (Aquitanian) were referred to the middle and sequence 7 (Burdigalian) was referred to the upper Asmari Formation. The relative sea-level curve of the Asmari basin and its matching with the global sea-level curves documented that Global eustatic phenomena affected this basin.

Highlights

Carbonate platform deposits that form the Asmari Formation contain some of the largest oil reservoirs in theHow to cite this paper: Kangazian, A. and Pasandideh, M. (2016) Sedimentary Environment and Sequence Stratigraphy of the Asmari Formation at Khaviz Anticline, Zagros Mountains, Southwest Iran
More recent studies of the Asmari Formation have been conducted on biostratigraphic criteria (e.g. [7]-[9]), microfacies and depositional environments (e.g. [7] [10] [11]), depositional environment and sequence stratigraphy (e.g. [3]-[5])
Methods and terminology which were planned by Catuneanu et al [16] and Martin-Chivelet [17] were used for description and analyze of the sequence stratigraphy

Summary

Introduction

Carbonate platform deposits that form the Asmari Formation contain some of the largest oil reservoirs in theHow to cite this paper: Kangazian, A. and Pasandideh, M. (2016) Sedimentary Environment and Sequence Stratigraphy of the Asmari Formation at Khaviz Anticline, Zagros Mountains, Southwest Iran. Carbonate platform deposits that form the Asmari Formation contain some of the largest oil reservoirs in the. How to cite this paper: Kangazian, A. and Pasandideh, M. (2016) Sedimentary Environment and Sequence Stratigraphy of the Asmari Formation at Khaviz Anticline, Zagros Mountains, Southwest Iran. This formation crops out in a 1200 km long by 200 km wide belt extending from northeast Iraq to southwest Iran [2]. The Asmari deposition took place on a carbonate platform at the margin of a NW-trending foreland basin in the Zagros orogenic belt [5] [6]. [7] [10] [11]), depositional environment and sequence stratigraphy More recent studies of the Asmari Formation have been conducted on biostratigraphic criteria (e.g. [7]-[9]), microfacies and depositional environments (e.g. [7] [10] [11]), depositional environment and sequence stratigraphy (e.g. [3]-[5])

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion