Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Aref Shamszadeh, Khalil Sarkarinejad, Oriol Ferrer, Soumyajit Mukherjee, Mohammad Seraj
Summary: In this study, a multidisciplinary approach was used to investigate the structural evolution of the Gachsaran Anticline. The results show that the thickness of the sedimentary cover decreases along the fault direction, and the eastern sector exhibits smaller folds and a tear fault that accommodates differential deformation. The study suggests that the mechanism and timing of deformation along pre-existing basement structures are important for hydrocarbon accumulation.
MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yaser Noorian, Reza Moussavi-Harami, John J. G. Reijmer, Asadollah Mahboubi, Ali Kadkhodaie, Armin Omidpour
Summary: This study analyzed the facies and sequence stratigraphy of the Oligo-Miocene Asmari carbonate platform in the Zagros Basin, SW Iran. It identified six depositional sequences and discussed the influence of eustatic sea-level changes and tectonic processes on sediment deposition. The research highlighted the variations in facies and depositional settings within the Asmari Formation, providing new insights into the sedimentary development in the Dezful Embayment.
MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Islam Tavakolian, Ali Yassaghi, Mahdi Najafi
Summary: This study investigates the structural decoupling in the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt in SW Iran, which is controlled by intermediate detachment horizons within the stratigraphic column. The effectiveness of these detachment horizons varies across the Zagros, influencing the folding style and the formation of structural traps. The study combines field mapping, seismic interpretation, and well data to analyze the complex structural style at six large-scale anticlines in the Central Zagros region. The results show that the efficiency of the detachment horizons is mainly controlled by the thickness of the formation, the salt content within it, and the amount of structural shortening.
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Ali Yaghoubi, SeyedBijan Mahbaz, Maurice B. Dusseault, Yuri Leonenko
Summary: This study uses well data and earthquake focal mechanisms to determine the orientation and magnitude of present-day stresses in the Dezful Embayment in Iran's Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt. The results show a compressional stress state in the basement, while a normal/strike-slip regime exists in the shallow state of stress, possibly due to stress decoupling caused by salt layers.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Majid Alipour
Summary: The Zagros fold and thrust belt (ZFTB) in Iran serves as a natural laboratory for studying the kinematics of Arabia-Eurasia convergence/collision and has economic significance. This orogenic belt exhibits variations in stratigraphic makeup and structural style, as well as occurences of ophiolites along the Zagros suture line. The tectonostratigraphic attributes of the ZFTB are shaped by the irregular pre-collisional geometry at the northeastern edge of the Arabian Plate, as proposed in this paper.
MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Hossein Mohammadkhani, Mahboubeh Hosseini-Barzi, Abbas Sadeghi, Luis Pomar
Summary: Integrated sedimentological and petrographical analyses were used to reconstruct the paleoenvironment of the Mishan Formation (late Burdigalian-Serravallian) in the Dezful Embayment of the Zagros foreland basin. The results suggest the presence of a tide-dominated mixed siliciclastic-carbonate homoclinal ramp with the development of organic buildups in a tropical to subtropical warm water environment. These findings provide important insights into the Middle Miocene climate transition and the geological history of the Dezful Embayment.
MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geology
Nazanin Mahmoudzadeh, Farajollah Fardoust, Reza Ghavami Riabi, Mahdi Jafarzadeh
Summary: The organic geochemistry of the Pabdeh Formation in northern Dezful Embayment, SW Iran, was studied using geochemical measurements. The results show that most of the analyzed samples have high total organic carbon (TOC) content and low volatile hydrocarbons (S1) content, indicating autogenic hydrocarbons. The Pabdeh Formation is classified as a fair to excellent source rock and the kerogen belongs to type II. Comparing with data from the southern parts of Dezful Embayment, differences in characteristics are found. The maturity of the Pabdeh samples is higher than determined by pyrolysis results.
BOLETIN DE LA SOCIEDAD GEOLOGICA MEXICANA
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Forooz Keyvani, Ihsan S. Al-Aasm, Howri Mansurbeg, Sadoon Morad
Summary: The Lower Cretaceous carbonates of the Fahliyan Formation in the Dezful Embayment, SW Iran, are prolific reservoir rocks that have undergone significant diagenetic alteration. This study investigates the impact of diagenetic processes on reservoir quality using integrated petrographic, geochemical, and sedimentological analyses. The results highlight the importance of constraining the diagenetic history in order to predict the spatial and temporal distribution of reservoir quality.
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Juhwan Woo, Chul Woo Rhee
Summary: The Zagros fold-thrust belt, formed from the collision of the Arabian and Eurasian plates during Cenozoic periods, contains significant petroleum reserves mainly in the frontal anticline traps. The large oil reserves are mainly from Middle Cretaceous to Early Miocene petroleum systems, with the Asmari and Bangestan reservoir rocks playing a crucial role. The exploration potential in the Dezful Embayment area contributes to a better understanding of the petroleum system in the Zagros fold-thrust belt. So far, only some anticlines have been drilled into, while others remain unexplored.
JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN EARTH SCIENCE SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
M. Ford, J. Verges
Summary: The study reinterprets the narrow eastern North Pyrenean Zone in France as an inverted salt-rich transtensional rift system, with evidence of extension, salt tectonics, and basin formation. The research suggests a transtensional regime along the Iberia-Europe plate margin during the late Early and early Late Cretaceous, characterized by deep faults, discontinuous crustal domains, and 'hot' pull-apart basins.
JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
David Cruset, Jaume Verges, Antonio Benedicto, Enrique Gomez-Rivas, Irene Cantarero, Cedric M. John, Anna Trave
Summary: The study reconstructs the fluid flow evolution of a portion of the inverted Pyrenean rift, emphasizing on the movement of different types of fluids in fractures at different evolution stages, which could have significant implications on the occurrence of mineralization.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lucia Struth, Daniel Garcia-Castellanos, Laura Rodriguez-Rodriguez, Marc Viaplana-Muzas, Jaume Verges, Alberto Jimenez-Diaz
Summary: This study investigates the factors influencing the erosion and landscape evolution of internally-drained basins when they are captured by external drainage, finding that basin elevation, topographic barrier width, erodibility, and lithosphere rigidity all play a significant role in the process. The research demonstrates that transient landscape evolution can persist for tens of millions of years even without tectonic activity or changes in base level or climate.
BSGF-EARTH SCIENCES BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Mohammadhossein Mohammadnia, Mahdi Najafi, Zahra Mousavi
Summary: This study utilized InSAR technique and remote sensing structural mapping to investigate the active surficial deformation of eight salt diapirs in the Kalut basin in central Iran. The results revealed that these salt diapirs are one of the most active diapiric systems in the world, all rising without subsidence. Vertical displacements play a significant role in the deformation of salt structures in this basin.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Najmeh Etemad-Saeed, Andrew H. Knoll, Mahdi Najafi, Kristin D. Bergmann, Nicole Haseley, Soroush Karimi
Summary: The mixed siliciclastic-carbonate rocks in the Kahar and Soltanieh formations from Chopoghlu, northern Iran, provide an expanded stratigraphic record of Ediacaran to lower Cambrian life and environments. A high-resolution carbon isotope chemostratigraphic record was used to independently assess correlation to other successions worldwide. The integrated bio- and chemostratigraphy suggest that deposition in the Chopoghlu area began during the late Ediacaran Period, supporting the placement of the Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary near the top of the Lower Dolomite Member and a Terreneuvian age for the overlying Soltanieh beds.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Islam Tavakolian, Ali Yassaghi, Mahdi Najafi
Summary: This study investigates the structural decoupling in the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt in SW Iran, which is controlled by intermediate detachment horizons within the stratigraphic column. The effectiveness of these detachment horizons varies across the Zagros, influencing the folding style and the formation of structural traps. The study combines field mapping, seismic interpretation, and well data to analyze the complex structural style at six large-scale anticlines in the Central Zagros region. The results show that the efficiency of the detachment horizons is mainly controlled by the thickness of the formation, the salt content within it, and the amount of structural shortening.
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geology
Najmeh Etemad-Saeed, Mahdi Najafi, Negar Nasirizadeh
Summary: The Central Iranian Basin has developed during a multi-episodic collision between the Arabian and Eurasian continents since the late Eocene-early Oligocene. Detailed sedimentological and provenance data of the Oligocene-upper Miocene synorogenic strata in the Yengejeh syncline in the NW termination of Central Iran reveal a five-stage evolution of the sedimentary system, coeval with regional deformational and volcanic events.
JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Wentao Zhang, Ivone Jimenez-Munt, Montserrat Torne, Jaume Verges, Estefania Bravo-Gutierrez, Ana M. Negredo, Eugenio Carminati, Daniel Garcia-Castellanos, Manel Fernandez
Summary: This study presents a geophysical-geochemical integrated model of the thermochemical structure of the lithosphere and uppermost mantle along a transect from the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea to the Pannonian Basin, crossing the northern Apennines, the Adriatic Sea, and the Dinarides fold-thrust belt. The objectives are to image crustal thickness variations and characterize the different mantle domains. The results show a more complex structure and slightly higher average crustal density of Adria compared to Tisza microplate. Two opposed subducting slabs beneath the Apennines and Dinarides have largely controlled the geodynamic evolution of the study region in the last 30 My.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Daniel Munoz-Lopez, David Cruset, Jaume Verges, Irene Cantarero, Antonio Benedicto, Vinyet Baques, Xavier Mangenot, Richard Albert, Axel Gerdes, Aratz Beranoaguirre, Anna Trave
Summary: This study applies U-Pb dating and geochemical analysis to fracture-filling calcite veins and host carbonates from the Boixols-Sant Corneli anticline in the Southern Pyrenees. The analysis provides insights into the absolute timing of fracturing and mineralization, the age and duration of fold evolution, and the variations and implications of fluid behavior across the anticline.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
J. B. Ruh, L. Valero, M. Najafi, N. Etemad-Saeed, J. Vouga, A. Mohammadi, F. Landtwing, M. Guillong, M. Cobianchi, N. Mancin
Summary: This study presents the magnetostratigraphic section and U-Pb zircon ages of the Karvandar Basin, revealing a depositional age of approximately 24-17 Ma and the Makran volcanic arc as the source of the clastic sequence. The results provide new constraints on the initiation of arc volcanism related to the Makran subduction zone.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Giulio Casini, Jaume Verges, Peter Drzewiecki, Mary Ford, David Cruset, Wayne Wright, David Hunt
Summary: The reinterpretation of the Organya Basin highlights the importance of Upper Triassic evaporites in the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the South-Central Pyrenees. The study integrates new field observations and subsurface data to create a restored cross-section that shows the template of the northern Iberian salt-rich rifted margin. The diapiric activity along this margin is divided into three stages: early salt mobilization in the Jurassic, main diapiric evolution from the late Jurassic to the middle Albian, and diapiric reactivation during basin inversion from the Campanian to the Miocene.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Jordi Diaz, Sergi Ventosa, Martin Schimmel, Mario Ruiz, Albert Macau, Anna Gabas, David Marti, Ozgenc Akin, Jaume Verges
Summary: In this study, ambient seismic noise acquired in the Cerdanya Basin was used to evaluate the capability of different methodologies to map the geometry of a small-scale sedimentary basin. The results from various techniques, including autocorrelations, ambient noise Rayleigh wave tomography, HVSR, and band-pass-filtered ambient noise amplitude mapping, consistently showed that the deeper part of the basin is located in its central part, reaching depths of 600-700 m close to the Tet fault trace. The overall consistency between the results provides solid constraints to the basement depth estimation and helps improve the geological characterization of the Cerdanya Basin.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Mary Ford, Emmanuel Masini, Jaume Verges, Raphael Pik, Sebastien Ternois, Julien Leger, Armin Dielforder, Gianluca Frasca, Arjan Grool, Constance Vinciguerra, Thomas Bernard, Paul Angrand, Antoine Cremades, Gianreto Manatschal, Sebastien Chevrot, Laurent Jolivet, Frederic Mouthereau, Isabelle Thinon, Sylvain Calassou
Summary: This paper provides an overview of the formation and evolution of the Pyrenees, focusing on the early convergence stage. It highlights the contributions of the OROGEN project and the integration of its results with other collaborative projects. The paper also discusses the role of salt tectonics in the region.
BSGF-EARTH SCIENCES BULLETIN
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Mahdi Najafi, Elisabet Beamud, Jonas Ruh, Frederic Mouthereau, Alireza Tahmasbi, Gilen Bernaola, Ali Yassaghi, Hossein Motamedi, Shahram Sherkati, Mohammad Ghasem Hassan Goodarzi, Jaume Verges
Summary: The integration of biostratigraphy, strontium isotope stratigraphy, and magnetostratigraphy provided precise dating of sedimentary evolution in the Fars arc, revealing the migration of sedimentary belts and propagation of folding. High rates of folding propagation suggest an efficient detachment level at the base of the deformed Arabian sedimentary cover, influencing the deformation propagation within the cover sequence and understanding the in-sequence deformation of the Zagros Simply Folded Belt.
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN
(2021)