Stratigraphic and paleogeographic development of a deep-marine foredeep: Central Pindos foreland basin, western Greece

Abstract

This research presents a sedimentological, stratigraphic and paleocurrent analysis of the Upper Eocene to Lower Oligocene submarine fan deposits that occur in the central part of Pindos foreland basin, western Greece. Facies analysis suggests that the studied succession includes thirteen sedimentary facies and ten facies and sub-facies associations. The environments of deposition comprise abyssal plain, outer fan and inner fan deposits. Outer fan sediments are subdivided into lobe-axis, lobe off-axis, lobe-fringe and distal lobe-fringe deposits whereas, inner fan deposits include channel-fill, crevasse-splay, internal and external levee deposits. The stratigraphic analysis documents an upward transition from abyssal plain to outer and eventually to inner fan deposits suggesting progradation of the submarine fan system and progressive infilling of a deep-water sediment depocenter. The sediments were accumulated in the foredeep province of the Pindos foreland system and correspond to the underfilled stage of the system. They suggest deposition close to the onset of Pindos orogen, when sedimentation was unable to exceed the accommodation space created by lithospheric flexure. Paleocurrent data from sole marks reveal a NE-SW direction, suggesting that axial flows were dominant during the sediment deposition. The objectives of this study are to provide an updated facies model for these submarine fans and offer a robust correlation framework for the different stratigraphic units in the central Pindos foreland basin. Further, this study links for the first time the stratigraphic evolution of the deep-sea fan deposits with the evolutionary stages of the Pindos foreland system and provides new insights into the paleogeographic conditions in the Pindos foreland basin.