Validating far-field deformation styles from the Adjara-Trialeti fold-and-thrust belt to the Greater Caucasus (Georgia) through multi-proxy thermal maturity datasets

Sveva Corrado; Thomas Gusmeo; Andrea Schito; Victor Alania; Onise Enukidze; Enrico Conventi; William Cavazza

doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2021.105141

Validating far-field deformation styles from the Adjara-Trialeti fold-and-thrust belt to the Greater Caucasus (Georgia) through multi-proxy thermal maturity datasets

Sveva Corrado, Thomas Gusmeo^*, Andrea Schito, Victor Alania, Onise Enukidze, Enrico Conventi, William Cavazza

^*Corresponding author for this work

Geology and Geophysics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Thermal history reconstructions can help to better characterise the geological history of areas that experienced a polyphase tectonic evolution. The integration of published stratigraphic/structural data with new and pre-existing data on thermal maturity (clay mineralogy, Raman spectroscopy, vitrinite reflectance, and pyrolysis) of both surface and subsurface sedimentary successions of a wide region of Georgia including -north to south-the southern Greater Caucasus, the western Kura Basin, and the Adjara-Trialeti fold-and-thrust belt (FTB) provides cogent constraints on its late Mesozoic-Cenozoic tectono-sedimentary evolution. Overall, thermal maturity spans from the low diagenesis (60–80 °C) in the Upper Miocene section of the Kura Basin to anchizone-epizone (about 400 °C) in the central Greater Caucasus axial zone. In more detail, different maturity trends and thermal histories point to the existence of two domains formed by positive tectonic inversion: (i) the Adjara-Trialeti FTB from an Eocene rift basin and (ii) the Greater Caucasus from a Mesozoic rift basin. Multiple thermal indicators, along with stratigraphic/structural evidence, show that the Paleocene section of the Adjara-Trialeti basin fill reached the upper oil window (ca. 115 °C) during maximum sedimentary burial and that the whole basin was then exhumed starting from the late Middle Miocene. A positive correlation between thermal maturity and stratigraphic age points to a limited thermal effect of tectonic loading. In the southern Greater Caucasus, thermal maturity increases progressively with stratigraphic age, from ca. 100 °C (Upper Eocene) to 400 °C (Lower Jurassic), in broad agreement with the reconstructed thickness of the basin-fill succession, thus indicating that most of the thermal maturity was again induced by sedimentary burial. As to the flexural western Kura Basin, its Maikopian (Oligocene-Early Miocene) section reached the oil window (up to ca. 110 °C) whereas the Middle-Late Miocene one is immature. The Kakheti ridge -a highly tectonised portion of the Kura Basin-reached immature to early mature conditions.

Original language	English
Article number	105141
Number of pages	18
Journal	Marine and Petroleum Geology
Volume	130
Early online date	20 May 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2021.105141
Publication status	Published - Aug 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
MUR-PRIN 2017–2021; MUR-Department of Excellence Science Roma Tre; Roma Tre Post-doc grant to A. Schito; ALBA Laboratory funds; MUR PhD grant to T. Gusmeo. Funding sources only provided financial support and did not in any way influence the study design, data interpretation, the writing process or the decision to submit this manuscript.

Acknowledgements
Organic petrography and XRD analyses of fine-grained sediments were performed in ALBA (Academic Laboratory of Basin Analysis) of the Department of Science of “Roma Tre” University. Raman analyses and interpretation have been performed in EVPL (Experimental Volcanology and Petrology Laboratory) of the Department of Science of “Roma Tre” University. Pyrolysis data were kindly provided by Georgia Oil and Gas Company.
Warm acknowledgments to Sergio Lo Mastro for XRD diffractogram acquisition.
Tamar Beridze and Luca Aldega are warmly acknowledged for fruitful discussions on Georgia regional geology and thermal evolution of sedimentary basins.
Constructive comments made by Jocelyn Barbarand and Gabor Tari improved an earlier version of the manuscript. We also thank Associate Editor Johannes Wendebourg for careful handling of the manuscript.

Keywords

Alpine orogeny
Caucasus
Intra-continental deformation
Kura basin
Maikop
Thermal indicators

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title = "Validating far-field deformation styles from the Adjara-Trialeti fold-and-thrust belt to the Greater Caucasus (Georgia) through multi-proxy thermal maturity datasets",

abstract = "Thermal history reconstructions can help to better characterise the geological history of areas that experienced a polyphase tectonic evolution. The integration of published stratigraphic/structural data with new and pre-existing data on thermal maturity (clay mineralogy, Raman spectroscopy, vitrinite reflectance, and pyrolysis) of both surface and subsurface sedimentary successions of a wide region of Georgia including -north to south-the southern Greater Caucasus, the western Kura Basin, and the Adjara-Trialeti fold-and-thrust belt (FTB) provides cogent constraints on its late Mesozoic-Cenozoic tectono-sedimentary evolution. Overall, thermal maturity spans from the low diagenesis (60–80 °C) in the Upper Miocene section of the Kura Basin to anchizone-epizone (about 400 °C) in the central Greater Caucasus axial zone. In more detail, different maturity trends and thermal histories point to the existence of two domains formed by positive tectonic inversion: (i) the Adjara-Trialeti FTB from an Eocene rift basin and (ii) the Greater Caucasus from a Mesozoic rift basin. Multiple thermal indicators, along with stratigraphic/structural evidence, show that the Paleocene section of the Adjara-Trialeti basin fill reached the upper oil window (ca. 115 °C) during maximum sedimentary burial and that the whole basin was then exhumed starting from the late Middle Miocene. A positive correlation between thermal maturity and stratigraphic age points to a limited thermal effect of tectonic loading. In the southern Greater Caucasus, thermal maturity increases progressively with stratigraphic age, from ca. 100 °C (Upper Eocene) to 400 °C (Lower Jurassic), in broad agreement with the reconstructed thickness of the basin-fill succession, thus indicating that most of the thermal maturity was again induced by sedimentary burial. As to the flexural western Kura Basin, its Maikopian (Oligocene-Early Miocene) section reached the oil window (up to ca. 110 °C) whereas the Middle-Late Miocene one is immature. The Kakheti ridge -a highly tectonised portion of the Kura Basin-reached immature to early mature conditions.",

keywords = "Alpine orogeny, Caucasus, Intra-continental deformation, Kura basin, Maikop, Thermal indicators",

author = "Sveva Corrado and Thomas Gusmeo and Andrea Schito and Victor Alania and Onise Enukidze and Enrico Conventi and William Cavazza",

note = "Funding Information: MUR-PRIN 2017–2021; MUR-Department of Excellence Science Roma Tre; Roma Tre Post-doc grant to A. Schito; ALBA Laboratory funds; MUR PhD grant to T. Gusmeo. Funding sources only provided financial support and did not in any way influence the study design, data interpretation, the writing process or the decision to submit this manuscript. Acknowledgements Organic petrography and XRD analyses of fine-grained sediments were performed in ALBA (Academic Laboratory of Basin Analysis) of the Department of Science of “Roma Tre” University. Raman analyses and interpretation have been performed in EVPL (Experimental Volcanology and Petrology Laboratory) of the Department of Science of “Roma Tre” University. Pyrolysis data were kindly provided by Georgia Oil and Gas Company. Warm acknowledgments to Sergio Lo Mastro for XRD diffractogram acquisition. Tamar Beridze and Luca Aldega are warmly acknowledged for fruitful discussions on Georgia regional geology and thermal evolution of sedimentary basins. Constructive comments made by Jocelyn Barbarand and Gabor Tari improved an earlier version of the manuscript. We also thank Associate Editor Johannes Wendebourg for careful handling of the manuscript. ",

year = "2021",

month = aug,

doi = "10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2021.105141",

language = "English",

volume = "130",

journal = "Marine and Petroleum Geology",

issn = "0264-8172",

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T1 - Validating far-field deformation styles from the Adjara-Trialeti fold-and-thrust belt to the Greater Caucasus (Georgia) through multi-proxy thermal maturity datasets

AU - Corrado, Sveva

AU - Gusmeo, Thomas

AU - Schito, Andrea

AU - Alania, Victor

AU - Enukidze, Onise

AU - Conventi, Enrico

AU - Cavazza, William

N1 - Funding Information: MUR-PRIN 2017–2021; MUR-Department of Excellence Science Roma Tre; Roma Tre Post-doc grant to A. Schito; ALBA Laboratory funds; MUR PhD grant to T. Gusmeo. Funding sources only provided financial support and did not in any way influence the study design, data interpretation, the writing process or the decision to submit this manuscript. Acknowledgements Organic petrography and XRD analyses of fine-grained sediments were performed in ALBA (Academic Laboratory of Basin Analysis) of the Department of Science of “Roma Tre” University. Raman analyses and interpretation have been performed in EVPL (Experimental Volcanology and Petrology Laboratory) of the Department of Science of “Roma Tre” University. Pyrolysis data were kindly provided by Georgia Oil and Gas Company. Warm acknowledgments to Sergio Lo Mastro for XRD diffractogram acquisition. Tamar Beridze and Luca Aldega are warmly acknowledged for fruitful discussions on Georgia regional geology and thermal evolution of sedimentary basins. Constructive comments made by Jocelyn Barbarand and Gabor Tari improved an earlier version of the manuscript. We also thank Associate Editor Johannes Wendebourg for careful handling of the manuscript.

PY - 2021/8

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N2 - Thermal history reconstructions can help to better characterise the geological history of areas that experienced a polyphase tectonic evolution. The integration of published stratigraphic/structural data with new and pre-existing data on thermal maturity (clay mineralogy, Raman spectroscopy, vitrinite reflectance, and pyrolysis) of both surface and subsurface sedimentary successions of a wide region of Georgia including -north to south-the southern Greater Caucasus, the western Kura Basin, and the Adjara-Trialeti fold-and-thrust belt (FTB) provides cogent constraints on its late Mesozoic-Cenozoic tectono-sedimentary evolution. Overall, thermal maturity spans from the low diagenesis (60–80 °C) in the Upper Miocene section of the Kura Basin to anchizone-epizone (about 400 °C) in the central Greater Caucasus axial zone. In more detail, different maturity trends and thermal histories point to the existence of two domains formed by positive tectonic inversion: (i) the Adjara-Trialeti FTB from an Eocene rift basin and (ii) the Greater Caucasus from a Mesozoic rift basin. Multiple thermal indicators, along with stratigraphic/structural evidence, show that the Paleocene section of the Adjara-Trialeti basin fill reached the upper oil window (ca. 115 °C) during maximum sedimentary burial and that the whole basin was then exhumed starting from the late Middle Miocene. A positive correlation between thermal maturity and stratigraphic age points to a limited thermal effect of tectonic loading. In the southern Greater Caucasus, thermal maturity increases progressively with stratigraphic age, from ca. 100 °C (Upper Eocene) to 400 °C (Lower Jurassic), in broad agreement with the reconstructed thickness of the basin-fill succession, thus indicating that most of the thermal maturity was again induced by sedimentary burial. As to the flexural western Kura Basin, its Maikopian (Oligocene-Early Miocene) section reached the oil window (up to ca. 110 °C) whereas the Middle-Late Miocene one is immature. The Kakheti ridge -a highly tectonised portion of the Kura Basin-reached immature to early mature conditions.

AB - Thermal history reconstructions can help to better characterise the geological history of areas that experienced a polyphase tectonic evolution. The integration of published stratigraphic/structural data with new and pre-existing data on thermal maturity (clay mineralogy, Raman spectroscopy, vitrinite reflectance, and pyrolysis) of both surface and subsurface sedimentary successions of a wide region of Georgia including -north to south-the southern Greater Caucasus, the western Kura Basin, and the Adjara-Trialeti fold-and-thrust belt (FTB) provides cogent constraints on its late Mesozoic-Cenozoic tectono-sedimentary evolution. Overall, thermal maturity spans from the low diagenesis (60–80 °C) in the Upper Miocene section of the Kura Basin to anchizone-epizone (about 400 °C) in the central Greater Caucasus axial zone. In more detail, different maturity trends and thermal histories point to the existence of two domains formed by positive tectonic inversion: (i) the Adjara-Trialeti FTB from an Eocene rift basin and (ii) the Greater Caucasus from a Mesozoic rift basin. Multiple thermal indicators, along with stratigraphic/structural evidence, show that the Paleocene section of the Adjara-Trialeti basin fill reached the upper oil window (ca. 115 °C) during maximum sedimentary burial and that the whole basin was then exhumed starting from the late Middle Miocene. A positive correlation between thermal maturity and stratigraphic age points to a limited thermal effect of tectonic loading. In the southern Greater Caucasus, thermal maturity increases progressively with stratigraphic age, from ca. 100 °C (Upper Eocene) to 400 °C (Lower Jurassic), in broad agreement with the reconstructed thickness of the basin-fill succession, thus indicating that most of the thermal maturity was again induced by sedimentary burial. As to the flexural western Kura Basin, its Maikopian (Oligocene-Early Miocene) section reached the oil window (up to ca. 110 °C) whereas the Middle-Late Miocene one is immature. The Kakheti ridge -a highly tectonised portion of the Kura Basin-reached immature to early mature conditions.

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KW - Caucasus

KW - Intra-continental deformation

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DO - 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2021.105141

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VL - 130

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Validating far-field deformation styles from the Adjara-Trialeti fold-and-thrust belt to the Greater Caucasus (Georgia) through multi-proxy thermal maturity datasets

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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