Stratigraphy, sedimentary facies and tectonic setting of sandstones of the middle part of the Upper Red Formation at Chehrabad deposit section, northwest of Zanjan

رخساره‌های رسوبی

Article 5, Volume 12, Issue 1 - Serial Number 22, July 2019, Pages 75-90   

Document Type: مقالات پژوهشی

DOI: 10.22067/sed.facies.v12i1.67349

Authors

Ali Rajabzadeh; Hossein kouhestani; Mir Ali Asghar Mokhtari; Afshin Zohdi^*

University of Zanjan

Abstract

Introduction
The Upper Red Formation (URF), with the age of Miocene, is mainly composed of clastic sediment including interbedded marl, sandstones and slightly conglomerate layers as well as some evaporate layers mostly in lower parts of the formation. The lithology, color and thickness of this formation are variable in a different locality (Aghanabati, 2004). This formation is the only cap rock for the Qum Formation in the Central Iran zone especially into the Sarajeh and Alborz gas-fields (e.g., Morley et al., 2008). The URF has significant distribution in the northwestern of Iran and hosts significant Cu and Pb-Zn deposits (e.g.; Sadati et al., 2016). The constituents of this formation, particularly in the sandstone layers, provide valuable information in relation to the sedimentary environment and the geodynamic location of this formation (Rieser et al., 2005). In this research, based on the facies analysis (Miall, 1996, 2000), modal analysis and geochemical data, sedimentary environment and tectonic setting of these clastic layers in the Chehrabad deposit section, northwest of Zanjan, are interpreted.
 
Materials and methods
This research is based on a detailed study of lithology, sedimentology and geochemical data of the URF. During field observations, the thickness of sandstone layers and their colors were clearly defined. In order to interpret the sedimentary environments of this formation, a detailed lithofacies have been analyzed during this study. Lateral and vertical variations in all layers have been considered. About 23 thin sections from collected samples are studied by polarizing microscope at the University of Zanjan. In each thin section, the 250-points, based on the Gazzi-Dickinson method, were counted. To investigate the tectonic setting of these sandstones, 9 samples with the least amount of weathering and calcium carbonate were selected for geochemical analyses by XRF methods.
 
Discussion
Chehrabad area is located in the northeast of Mahneshan, approximately 75 km, northwest of Zanjan. Rock units exposed in this area belong to the Lower Red, Qom and Upper Red formations. The thickness of the URF in this area is about 980 m and consists mainly of three main units. These units, from bottom to top, consist of evaporate layers, alternation of mudstone and grey to red sandstone and finally mudstone with interbedded gypsum layers with a thickness of 235, 590, and 155 m respectively. The studied sequence is a part of the middle portion of the URF, with 231 m thickness and has the highest amounts of sandstone layers. Based on the field observation, the middle parts of the formation including 7 gray to red color sandstone, which is alternate with the red mudstones. The sandstones in the Chehrabad area are grey to red and have poor imbrication. According to the sorting and roundness parameters of the grains and also the low amounts of clay matrix (less than 5%), these sandstones are perhaps to be mature in terms of texture maturity. Based on the types of sandstone grains and the Folk (1980) classification, the URF sandstones in the study area is classified as feldspathic litharenite to litharenite. Facies analyses, the color of layers, presence of cross-bedding and plant fragments, lack of gravel grains, all represent an oxidized continental environment, such as a fluvial system with a highly sinuous channel (meandering river). Also, the presence of symmetric ripple marks and marine trace fossils indicate that the sedimentation of some parts of this formation has taken place to a tidal condition and most likely close to the coastal environment. In addition, based on field studies and facies analysis, identified lithofacies in Chehrabad area include Fl, Sm, Sh, Sr, Sp, St and Fm. According to the characteristics of each facies and based on the method of Miall (1996), these sandstones were deposited in fluvial and tidal depositional systems. The results of petrography and geochemical studies have been used to interpret the tectonic setting of sandstones in the middle parts of the URF. Based on triangular diagrams of Dickinson and Suczek (1979) (Qt-F-L) and Ingersoll and Suczek (1979) (Qp-Lvm-Lsm and Lv-Lm-Ls), also using binary variables graphs of Bhatia (1983) and Roser and Korsch (1986), the tectonic setting of these sandstones is active continental margins and probably foreland basin.
 
Conclusion
The URF in the Chehrabad area consists of 3 parts and the thickness of the middle part of this formation is about 231 m, with 7 sandstone layers, which alternation with red mudstone beds. Based on microscopic studies, these sandstones are classified as feldspathic litharenite to litharenite. Based on field evidence and the presence of cross-bedding, plant fragments, lack of gravel grains, symmetric ripple marks, presence of trace fossils and also the type of facies, seven lithofacies (including Fl, Sm, Sh, Sr, Sp, St, and Fm) are recognized. The data obtained from point-count and geochemical studies clearly show that the tectonic setting of these sandstones in the Chehrabad area is an active continental margin.
 
Acknowledgment
The authors are grateful to the University of Zanjan Grant Commission for research funding. We acknowledge their support. Constructive reviews by three Sedimentary Facies reviewers greatly benefited the paper.
 
Keywords; Sedimentary facies; tectonic setting; sandstone; Upper Red Formation; Chehrabad; Zanjan.
 
References
Aghanabati, A., 2004. Geology of Iran. Geological Survey of Iran, 606 pp. (in Persian).
Bhatia, M.R., 1983. Plate tectonics and geochemical composition of sandstones. Journal of Geology, 91: 611–627.
Dickinson, W.R., & Suczek, C., 1979. Plate tectonics and sandstone composition. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 63: 2164–2182.
Folk, R.L., 1980. Petrology of Sedimentary Rocks. Austin, Texas, Hemphill, 159 p.
Ingersoll, R.V., & Suczek, C.A., 1979. Petrology and provenance of Neogene sand from Nicobar and Bengal fans. DSDP sites 211 and 218. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 49: 1217–1228.
Ingersoll, R.V., Bulard, T.F., Ford, R.L., Grimn, J.P., Pickle, J.P., & Sares, S.W., 1984. The effect of grain size on detrital modes: a test of Gazzi-Dickinson point counting method. Journal of sedimentary Petrology, 54: 103–116.
Miall, A.D., 1996. The Geology of Fluvial Deposits: Sedimentary Facies, Basin Analysis, and Petroleum Geology. Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 582 p.
Miall, A.D., 2000. Principle of sedimentary basin analysis, 3rd edition. Springer-Verlag, NewYork, 668 p.
Morley, C.K., Kongwung, B., Waples, D., Warren, J., Julapour, A.A., Abdolghafourian, M., Hajian, M., Otterdoom, H., Srisuriyon, K., Kazemi, H. & Rawanchaikul, M., 2008. Impact of structural history and style on the petroleum system of the Central Basin in the Saveh-Qom area, Iran. 8th Middle East Geosciences Conference, GEO 2008, Geo-Arabia, 13, 206.
Rieser, A.B., Neubauer, F., Liu, Y., & Ge, X., 2005. Sandstone provenance of north-western sectors of the intra-continental Cenozoic Qaidam basin, western China: Tectonic and climate control. Sedimentary Geology, 177: 1–18.
Roser, B.P., & Korsch, R.J., 1986. Determination of tectonic setting of sandstone-mudstone suites using SiO2 content and K2O/Na2O ratio. Journal of Geology, 94: 635–650.
Sadati, S.N., Yazdi, M., Mao, J., Behzadi, M., Adabi, M.H., Lingang, X., Zhenyu, C., & Moktari, M.A.A., 2016. Sulfide mineral chemistry investigation of sediment-hosted stratiform copper deposits, Nahand-Ivand area, NW Iran. Ore Geology Reviews, 72: 760–776.

Keywords

sedimentary facies; tectonic setting; Sandstone; Upper Red Formation; Chehrabad; Zanjan

References

لطفی، م.، 1380. نقشه‌ی زمین‌شناسی 1:100000 ماه‌نشان. سازمان زمین‌شناسی و اکتشافات معدنی کشور، تهران.

موسوی حرمی، ر.، 1391. رسوب‌شناسی. انتشارات آستان قدس رضوی، به‌نشر، 476 صفحه.

Akarish, A.I.M. and El-Gohary, A.M., 2008. Petrography and geochemistry of lower Paleozoic sandstones, East Sinai, Egypt: Implication for provenance and tectonic setting. Journal of African Earth Science, 52: 43–54.

Allen, J.R.L., 1984. Sedimentary structures: their character and physical basis. Developments in sedimentology, Amsterdam, Elsevier, 663 p.

Allen, J., 1982. Mud drapes in sand-wave deposits: a physical model with application to the Folkescone Beds (early Cretaceous, southeast England). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A, 306: 291–345.

Ballato, P., Cifell, F., Heidarzadeh, G., Ghassemi, M.R., Wickert, A.D., Hassanzadeh, J., Dupont-Nivet, G., Balling, P., Sudo, M., Zeilinger, G., Schmitt, A. K., Mattei, M. and Strecker, M.R., 2016. Tectono-sedimentary evolution of the northern Iranian Plateau: Insights from middle-late Miocene foreland-basin deposits. Basin Research, 29: 417–476.

Bhatia, M.R., 1983. Plate tectonics and geochemical composition of sandstones. Journal of Geology, 91: 611–627.

Bhatia, M.R. and Crook, K.A.W., 1986. Trace element characteristics of graywackes and tectonic setting discrimination of sedimentary basin. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 92: 181–193.

Boothroyd, J.C. and Ashley, G.M., 1975. Processes, bar morphology, and sedimentary structures on braided outwash fans, northeastern Gulf of Alaska. Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Special Publication, 23: 193–222.

Catuneanu, O., 2003. Sequence stratigraphy of clastic systems. Geological Association of Canada, Short Course Notes, 248 p.

Catuneanu, O., 2006. Principles of sequence stratigraphy. Amsterdam, Elsevier, First Edition, 375 p.

Dalrymple, R.W., Zaitline, B.A. and Boyd, R., 1992. Estuarine facies models: Conseptual basis and stratigarphic implications. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 62: 1130–1146.

Dapples, E.C., Krumbein, W. C. and Sloss, L.L., 1948. Tectonic Control of lithologic associations: Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 32: 1924–1947.

Dickinson, W.R., 1974. Plate tectonics and sedimentation. In Dickinson, W.R. (Ed.), Tectonics and sedimentation. Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Special publication, 22: 1–27.

Dickinson, W.R., 1985. Interpreting provenance relation from detrital modes of sandstone. In: Zuffa, G.G., (Ed.), Provenance of Arenites. Reidel Publishing Company, 407: 333–363.

Dickinson, W.R. and Suczek, C., 1979. Plate tectonics and sandstone composition. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 63: 2164–2182.

Folk, R.L., 1980. Petrology of sedimentary Rocks. Austin, Texas, Hemphill, 159 p.

Gani, R.M. and Alam, M.M., 2004. Fluvial facies architecture in small scale river system in the Upper Dupi Tila formation, North east Bengal basin, Bangladesh. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 24: 225–236.

Ghosh, P., Sarkar, S. and Maulik, P., 2006. Sedimentology of a muddy alluvial deposit, Triassic Denwa Formation, India. Sedimentary Geology, 191: 3–36.

Harms, J.C., Southard, J.B. and Walker, R.G., 1982. Structures and sequence in clastic rock. Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Short Course, Chapter 1, 55 p.

Higgs, K.E., King, P.R., Raince, J.I., Sykes, R., Browne, G.H., Grouch, E.M. and Baur, J,R., 2012. Sequence stratigraphy and controls on reservoir sandstone distribution in an Eocene marginal marine-coastal plain fairway, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 32: 110–137.

Ingersoll, R.V. and Suczek, C.A., 1979. Petrology and provenance of Neogene sand from Nicobar and Bengal fans. DSDP sites 211 and 218. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 49: 1217–1228.

Ingersoll, R.V., Bulard, T.F., Ford, R.L., Grimn, J.P., Pickle, J.P. and Sares, S.W., 1984. The effect of grain size on detrital modes: a test of Gazzi-Dickinson point counting method. Journal of sedimentary Petrology, 54: 103–116.

Jo, H.R., Rhee, C.W. and Chough, S.K., 1997. Distinctive characteristics of a stream flow-dominated alluvial fan deposit, Sanghori area, Kyongsang Basin (Early Cretaceous), southeastern Korea. Sedimentary Geology, 110 (1-2): 51–79.

Khalifa, M.A. and Catuneanu, O., 2008. Sedimentology of the fluvial and fluvio- marine facies of the Bahariya Formation, Bahariya oasis, Western Desert, Egypt. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 51 (2): 89–103.

Krumbein,W.C. and sloss, L.L., 1963. Stratigraphy and sedimentation: 2nd edition, San Francisco, W.H. Freeman and Co, 660 p.

Kumar, R., Suresh, N., Sangode, S.J., Kumaravel, V., 2007. Evolution of the Quaternary alluvial fan system in the Himalayan foreland basin, Implications for tectonic and climatic decoupling. Quaternary International, 159: 6–20.

Lee, H.S. and Chough, S.K., 2006. Lithostratigraphy and depositional environments of the Pyeongan Super group (Carboniferous-Permian) in the Taebaek area Mideast Korea. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 26: 339–352.

Maizels, J.K., 1989. Sedimentology, paleoflow dynamics and flood history of Jökulhlaup deposits: Paleohydrology of Holocene sediment sequences in southern Iceland Sandur deposits. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 59: 204–223.

McLennan, S.M., Taylor, S.R., McCulloch, M.T. and Maynard, J.B., 1990. Geochemical and Nd–Sr isotopic composition of deep-sea turbidites: Crustal evolution and plate tectonic association. Geochimical et Cosmochimcal Acta, 54: 2015–2050.

Miall, A.D., 1985. Architectural-element analysis: a new method of facies analysis applied to fluvial deposits. Earth Science Review, 22: 261–308.

Miall, A.D., 1996. The Geology of Fluvial Deposits. Sedimentary Facies, Basin Analysis, and Petroleum Geology, Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 582 p.

Miall, A.D., 2000. Principle of sedimentary basin analysis. 3rd edition, Springer-Verlag, NewYork, 668 p.

Miall, A.D., 2006. The Geology of fluvial deposits: Sedimentary facies, basin analysis, Petroleum Geology (4th printing). Springer-Verlag, New York, 582 p.

Mork, M.B.E. and Moen, K., 2007. Compaction microstructures in quartz grains and quartz cement in deeply buried reservoir sandstones using combined petrography and EBSD analysis. Journal of Structural Geology, 29: 1843–1854.

Morley, C.K., Kongwung, B., Waples, D., Warren, J., Julapour, A.A., Abdolghafourian, M., Hajian, M., Otterdoom, H., Srisuriyon, K., Kazemi, H. and Rawanchaikul, M., 2008. Impact of structural history and style on the petroleum system of the Central Basin in the Saveh-Qom area, Iran. 8th Middle East Geosciences Conference, GEO 2008, Geo-Arabia, 13, 206.

Nichols, G.J., 1999. Sedimentology and stratigraphy. Oxford, United Kingdom, Blackwell Science, 355 p.

Oplustil, S., Martinek, K. and Tasaryova, Z., 2005. Facies and architectural analysis of fluvial deposits of the Nýřany Member and the Týnec Formation (Westphalian D–Barruelian) in the Kladno-Rakovnik and Pilsen basins. Bulletin of Geosciences, 80 (1): 45–66.

Quasim, M.A., Ahmad, A.H.M., Ghosh, S.K., 2017. Depositional environment and tectono-provenance of Upper Kaimur Group sandstones, Son Valley, Central India. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 10: 1–22.

Reading, H.G. and Collinson, J.D., 1996. Clastic coasts: In Reading, H.G., (Ed.), Sedimentary Environment. 3rd edition, Blackwell, Oxford, 154–232.

Reading, H., 1996. Sedimentary Environments: Processes, Facies and Stratigraphy, Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell, 704 p.

Reinson, G.E., 1984. Barrier Island and associated strand-plain systems. In: Walker, R.G. (Ed.), Facies Models, 2nd edition, Journal of the Geological Association of Canada, 119–141.

Rieser, A.B., Neubauer, F., Liu, Y. and Ge, X., 2005. Sandstone provenance of north-western sectors of the intra-continental Cenozoic Qaidam basin, western China: Tectonic and climate control. Sedimentary Geology, 177: 1–18.

Roser, B.P. and Korsch, R.J., 1986. Determination of tectonic setting of sandstone-mudstone suites using SiO2 content and K2O/Na2O ratio. Journal of Geology, 94: 635–650.

Roser, B.P. and Korsch, R.J., 1988. Provenance signatures of sandstone-mudstone suites determined using discriminant function analysis of major-element data. Chemical Geology, 67: 119–139.

Sadati, S.N., Yazdi, M., Mao, J., Behzadi, M., Adabi, M.H., Lingang, X., Zhenyu, C. and Moktari, M.A.A., 2016. Sulfide mineral chemistry investigation of sediment-hosted stratiform copper deposits, Nahand-Ivand area, NW Iran. Ore Geology Reviews, 72: 760–776.

Stocklin, J., 1968. Structural history and tectonics of Iran. A review. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 52: 1229–1258.

Tewari, P., Chinmoy Rajkonwar, C., Lalchawimawii, Lalnuntluanga, P., Malsawma, J., Z., Ralte, V.Z. and Patel, S.J., 2011. Trace fossils from Bhuban Formation, Surma Group (Lower to Middle Miocene) of Mizoram India and their palaeoenvironmental significance. Journal of Earth System Science, 120: 1127–1143.

Therrien, F., 2005. Palaeoenvironments of the Latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) dinosaurs of Romania: insights from fluvial deposits and paleosols of the Transylvanian and Hateg Basins. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 218: 15–56.

Therrien, F., 2006. Depositional environment sand fluvial system changes in the dinosaur-bearing Sânpetru Formation (Late Cretaceous, Romania): Post-orogenic sedimentation in an active extensional basin. Sedimentary Geology, 192: 183–205.

Todd, S. P., 1989. Stream-driven, high-density gravelly traction carpets; possible deposits in the Trabeg conglomerate formation, SW Ireland and some theoretical considerations of their origin. Sedimentology, 36 (4): 513–530.

Tucker, M. E., 2001. Sedimentary petrology. 3rd edition, Blackwell, Oxford, 260 p.

Whitney, D.L. and Evans, B.W., 2010. Abbreviations for names of rock-forming minerals. American Mineralogist, 95: 185‒187.