Continental accretion and incremental deformation in the thermochronologic evolution of the Lesser Caucasus

Cavazza, William; Albino, Irene; Galoyan, Ghazar; Zattin, Massımılıano; Cattò, Silvia

doi:10.1016/j.gsf.2019.02.007

Cited by 21 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…The final collision of the AR-EU plates and formation of the present intracontinental mountainous edifice of the Caucasus occurred in the Neogene-Quaternary (Cavazza et al, 2017(Cavazza et al, , 2018(Cavazza et al, , 2019. The collision between the AR-EU plates caused a topographic uplift (inversion), and the fold-and-thrust belts of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus were formed (Mosar et al, 2010;Cavazza et al, 2019). Associated with the orogenic climax during the Late Miocene (9-7 Ma) to Pleistocene (e.g., Adamia et al, 2010aAdamia et al, , 2017, the central part of the region is subject to and (e) Early Cenozoic (modified after Adamia et al, 2011).…”

Section: Geology and Geodynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tectonic stresses induced by the northward motion of the Arabian plate are absorbed to a considerable degree in the Peri-Arabian ophiolitic suture zone and the Zagros fold-thrust belt. North of these structures the tectonic stresses are propagated towards the Central Caucasus by means of a relatively rigid block (Albino et al, 2014;Adamia et al, 2017aAdamia et al, , 2017bSosson et al, 2017;Cavazza et al, 2017Cavazza et al, , 2018Cavazza et al, , 2019.…”

Section: Active Tectonics and Tectonic Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geodynamics, seismicity, and seismic hazards of the Caucasus

Ismail‐Zadeh

Adamia

Chabukiani

et al. 2020

Earth-Science Reviews

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Being a part of ongoing continental collision between the Arabian and Eurasian plates, the Caucasus region is a remarkable site of moderate to strong seismicity, where devastating earthquakes caused significant losses of lives and livelihood. In this article, we survey geology and geodynamics of the Caucasus and its surroundings; magmatism and heat flow; active tectonics and tectonic stresses caused by the collision and shortening; gravity and density models; and overview recent geodetic studies related to regional movements. The tectonic development of the Caucasus region in the Mesozoic-Cenozoic times as well as the underlying dynamics controlling its development are complicated processes. It is clear that the collision is responsible for a topographic uplift / inversion and for the formation of the fold-and-thrust belts of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus. Tectonic deformations in the region is influenced by the wedge-shaped rigid Arabian block indenting into the relatively mobile region and producing near N-S compressional stress and seismicity in the Caucasus. Regional seismicity is analysed with an attention to sub-crustal seismicity under the northern foothills of the Greater Caucasus, which origin is unclearwhether the seismicity associated with a descending oceanic crust or thinned continental crust. Recent seismic tomography studies are in favour of the detachment of a lithospheric root beneath the Lesser and Greater Caucasus. The knowledge of geodynamics, seismicity, and stress regime in the Caucasus region assists in an assessment of seismic hazard and risk. We look finally at existing gaps in the current knowledge and identify the problems, which may improve our understanding of the regional evolution, active tectonics, geodynamics, shallow and deeper seismicity, and surface manifestations of the lithosphere dynamics. Among the gaps are those related to uncertainties in regional geodynamic and tectonic evolution (e.g., continental collision and associated shortening and exhumation, lithosphere structure, deformation and strain-stress partitioning) and to the lack of comprehensive datasets (e.g., regional seismic catalogues, seismic, gravity and geodetic surveys).

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Section: Geology and Geodynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Active Tectonics and Tectonic Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geodynamics, seismicity, and seismic hazards of the Caucasus

Ismail‐Zadeh

Adamia

Chabukiani

et al. 2020

Earth-Science Reviews

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“…The Middle Eocene outcrop samples collected for this study may previously have been buried to a depth of 1-2 km prior to uplift and large-scale erosion in the Late Miocene to Pliocene. Although apatite fissiontrack data is available from the Greater Caucasus (Avdeev and Niemi, 2011) and the Lesser Caucasus (Cavazza et al, 2017(Cavazza et al, , 2019Gusmeo et al, 2021) to constrain the amount of uplift, no relevant data is available to quantify the amount of missing section in the sampling area. Future fission track analytical studies in the Kartli Basin are needed to address this uncertainty, which has a direct impact on the reservoir quality at depth.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eocene Volcaniclastics in the Kartli Basin, Georgia: A Fractured Reservoir Sequence

Tari

Vrsic

Gumpenberger

et al. 2021

Journal of Petroleum Geology

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In the broader Caucasus region, multiple extrusive volcanic units are present within the Jurassic, Cretaceous, Eocene and Miocene sedimentary successions. Partial reworking of volcanic material from various provenance areas into Eocene, Oligocene and Miocene reservoir units is commonly observed in the Eastern Black Sea and in the Rioni, Kartli and Kura Basins of onshore Georgia. Reservoir quality has in general been negatively affected by volcanic rock fragments which may have undergone complex diagenetic alteration. However, despite concerns regarding reservoir quality, oil at the Samgori field, the largest field in Georgia (~200 MM brl recovered), is hosted in altered Middle Eocene volcaniclastic sandstones interbedded with deep-water turbidites. Previous studies of core material from numerous wells in this field showed that most of the oil is contained in altered, microfractured, laumontite-rich tuffs which have fracture and cavernous net porosities averaging 12% and average permeability of 15 mD. The laumontite tuffs comprise only up to 20% of a tuffaceous sandstone section and occur as isolated lenses or pods on a sub-seismic scale (i.e. 5-10 m thick), causing highly variable oil productivity from one well to another.The petrographic analysis of samples of Middle Eocene volcaniclastic sandstones from outcrops in the central part of the Kartli Basin around Tbilisi broadly confirms the main conclusions of studies completed some 30 years ago which were based on the analysis of subsurface samples. However, the surface samples analysed show that zeolitization events typically did not improve, but actually reduced, reservoir quality due to extensive zeolite cementation. The poor reservoir properties of the plug samples, which are age-equivalent to the proven subsurface Middle Eocene reservoir interval, highlight fracturing as a key factor controlling the presence of exceptional producers (up to 9000 b/d) in the Samgori field complex. The study therefore underlines the critical role of fracturing of the Middle Eocene volcaniclastic reservoir sequence in the Kartli Basin.

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“…It is noteworthy that processes like lithospheric mantle delamination, slab break-off and upwelling of hot mantle materials are dated back to ∼10-15 Ma (Keskin, 2003(Keskin, , 2007Şengör et al, 2003;Faccenna et al, 2013 and references therein) as well as the onset of most of the volcanic activity, which started at ∼11 Ma (Keskin, 2003;Rabayrol et al, 2019). Moreover, at the same age an acceleration in exhumation rate has been observed in the Lesser Caucasus, Eastern Pontides and Talesh Mts (Cavazza et al, 2019;Chu et al, 2021;Gusmeo et al, 2021;Madanipour et al, 2017). 3.…”

Section: The Northern Sector (Kura Arax ҫOruh Drainage Systems)mentioning

confidence: 97%

The Uplift of an Early Stage Collisional Plateau Unraveled by Fluvial Network Analysis and River Longitudinal Profile Inversion: The Case of the Eastern Anatolian Plateau

Molin,

Sembroni,

Ballato

et al. 2023

Tectonics

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Orogenic plateaus of continental collision zones exhibit landforms and fluvial networks that retain first‐order information on their topographic evolution and vertical growth. The inversion of river longitudinal profiles allows to reconstruct the base level fall history of plateaus, supporting the study of landscape evolution in the frame of geodynamic models. The Eastern Anatolian Plateau (EAP) of the Arabia‐Eurasia collision zone is a plateau at an early stage of development. It stands at ∼2,000 m, presents endorheic basins, and is drained by three main river networks. Seismic data indicate a thinned lithospheric mantle that explains the late Cenozoic volcanic activity. Despite the number of studies on the EAP uplift, its history is still debated. In this study we investigated the EAP hydrography and topography, and we inverted the longitudinal profile of one of the main rivers: the Arax River. The results describe a high‐standing, low‐relief plateau drained by a hydrography, controlled by active tectonics. Longitudinal profiles and χ‐plots illustrate rivers in disequilibrium with channel steepness increasing downstream. The elevation of marine deposits indicates a surface uplift of ∼2,000 m, ∼500 m of which are of residual topography. This upheaval occurred by two increases: the first one at 10–11 Ma with the opening of a slab window and the arrival of a mantle flow from Arabia and the second one at ∼5 Ma with the continued inflow coupled with isostasy. Our results describe the early stage of collisional plateau development, distinguishing the contribution of deep processes and isostasy to the topographic growth.

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Continental accretion and incremental deformation in the thermochronologic evolution of the Lesser Caucasus

Cited by 21 publications

References 56 publications

Geodynamics, seismicity, and seismic hazards of the Caucasus

Geodynamics, seismicity, and seismic hazards of the Caucasus

Eocene Volcaniclastics in the Kartli Basin, Georgia: A Fractured Reservoir Sequence

The Uplift of an Early Stage Collisional Plateau Unraveled by Fluvial Network Analysis and River Longitudinal Profile Inversion: The Case of the Eastern Anatolian Plateau

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