Crustal evolution of the northern Arabian platform in Syria
- Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
- Syrian Petroleum Co., Damascus (Syria)
Analysis of available geological and geophysical data within Syria has allowed for further understanding of the geologic history of the northern Arabian platform from Proterozoic to present. Elements of the history involve: Proterozoic convergence and suturing of at least two distinct microplates, minor Cambrian extension and associated magmatism, development of a failed intracratonic rift in the early Mesozoic, and inversion of that sedimentary trough that began in the Late Cretaceous. The diverse Phanerozoic tectonic features in Syria may be due to reactivation along older zones of weaknesses in the northern Arabian plate; the proposed Proterozoic suture zone lies along strike of the present day Palmyride intracratonic mountain belt. The construction of isopach maps of the Ordovician through Quaternary sections in Syria based on regional well control and seismic reflection data demonstrates regional structural-stratigraphic relationships. Basement deformation maps, derived from superposition of the formation isopachs, indicate the transformation of an east-directed Paleozoic margin into a well-directed Mesozoic margin (Levantine margin). Contemporaneous with this margin transformation was the development of an east-northeast-trending rift (Palmyride trough) toward the craton interior. Finally, Cenozoic eastward tilting of the Arabian plate, associated with loading of the plate along the Mesopotamian foredeep and uplift of the plate along the Red Sea margin is observed across the southern Arabian platform. Eastward tilting is also observed across the southern Arabian platform. Eastward tilting is also observed on the northern platform with respect to the top of the crystalline basement, indicating a similarity in response of the entire Arabian plate to loading and uplift along its margins.
- OSTI ID:
- 5694886
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-910403-; CODEN: AABUD
- Journal Information:
- AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Vol. 75:3; Conference: Annual meeting of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), Dallas, TX (United States), 7-10 Apr 1991; ISSN 0149-1423
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Seismic reflection structure of intracratonic palmyride fold-thrust belt and surrounding Arabian platform, Syria
Bouguer gravity trends and crustal structure of the Palmyride Mountain belt and surrounding northern Arabian platform in Syria