SYRIA - The Tectonic Background.Syria lies in the western continental margin of the Arabian Plate The Arabian Plate is made up of three tectonic plates (the African, Arabian and Indian crustal plates) which have been moving northward over millions of years toward an inevitable collision with Eurasia. . In pre-Mesozoic times, this Levantine Le·vant 1 The countries bordering on the eastern Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to Egypt. Le margin developed along a subsidiary arm of the spreading Tethys in the north (not far from the Ionian Sea Ionian Sea, part of the Mediterranean Sea, S Europe, between Greece and S Italy. It is connected with the Adriatic Sea by the Strait of Otranto. The Gulf of Taranto and the Gulf of Corinth are its chief arms. The Ionian Islands lie in its eastern part. of our time) where a seaway was linked to the Indian Ocean Indian Ocean, third largest ocean, c.28,350,000 sq mi (73,427,000 sq km), extending from S Asia to Antarctica and from E Africa to SE Australia; it is c.4,000 mi (6,400 km) wide at the equator. It constitutes about 20% of the world's total ocean area. . Several tectonic developments during the Paleozoic and great earth movements in the Early Mesozoic era brought about elevations in Syria called paleohighs. Fragments of the Early Paleozoic caused the Rutbah and Aleppo Highs. The former was an extension of the Hail-Jawf swell of Saudi Arabia and the latter extended from the Khleissia High of Iraq. In later times the two paleohighs were separated by the Euphrates graben in a cross-plate shear zone across Syria and Iraq. Subsequently mobile zones developed between these highs. A thick Palmyrid aulacogene separated the Rutbah and Aleppo highs, as well as the Sinjar trough which today extends to Iraq. A shear zone along the Euphrates, together with a trough, developed at later times. Several major movements during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras introduced new tectonic features in various parts of Syria, including the Levant Levant (ləvănt`) [Ital.,=east], collective name for the countries of the eastern shore of the Mediterranean from Egypt to, and including, Turkey. Fracture trending from the Gulf of Aqaba Noun 1. Gulf of Aqaba - a northeastern arm of the Red Sea; between the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt) and Saudi Arabia Gulf of Akaba Red Sea - a long arm of the Indian Ocean between northeast Africa and Arabia; linked to the Mediterranean at the north end by the into Turkey. Among these was basaltic ba·salt n. 1. A hard, dense, dark volcanic rock composed chiefly of plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine, and often having a glassy appearance. 2. A kind of hard unglazed pottery. volcanism volcanism or vulcanism Any of various processes and phenomena associated with the surface discharge of molten rock or hot water and steam, including volcanoes, geysers, and fumaroles. spread on both sides of the fracture zone during the Late Neogene and Pleistocene. A plateau of basalt basalt (bəsôlt`, băs`ôlt), fine-grained rock of volcanic origin, dark gray, dark green, brown, reddish, or black in color. Basalt is an igneous rock, i.e., one that has congealed from a molten state. developed from north-western Jordan to the Houran region in southern Syria in an area of 45,000 sq km. This is where Total of France encountered a 500-metre thick layer of black basalt before it found oil from further drilling. It is in view of such tectonic developments that geologists now are concentrating on pre-Mesozoic horizons. The Paleozoic: There are several interesting Paleozoic sequences in Syria, as well as in Turkey, Iraq and Jordan. Important among these are the older sequences in Jordan, from Ordovician to Silurian/Devonian layers which have sourced gas and condensate. But in Syria and Iraq, there are major unconformities between the Lower and Upper Paleozoic. Some of the Upper Silurian and all of the Devonian are missing in Syria. Only a partial section of the Carboniferous developed in the Euphrates graben and the Mesopotamian Foredeep. In Iraq, the outcrop section consisting of the Zagros mountain range exposes a good development of Ordovician sediments. But all the Silurian, most of the Devonian and a major part of the Carboniferous and Lower Permian sequences are missing. An Upper Devonian shale sequence and a Lower Carboniferous carbonate sequence have been encountered in western Iraq. Lower Silurian shales, widely believed to have sourced the huge gas reserves of the Late Permian Khuff in the Persian Gulf, are being examined in Syria. Apart from finds in Jordan, a Devonian light oil discovery made in the 1980s in southern Turkey is said to be sourced by these shales. Most of the Fertile Crescent (Levant) region has a favourable distribution of Silurian source rock and the potential for extensive hydrocarbon generation. The region to the west of the Jawf-Ga'ara-Khleissia axis, i.e., a major part of Syria, has good oil prospectivity because of shallow depth and relatively easy access for the drill. |
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