A Paleogeographic and Depositional Model for the Neogene Fluvial Succession, Pishin Belt, Northwest Pakistan: Effect of Post Collisional Tectonics on Sedimentation in a Peripheral Foreland Setting

摘要

Detailed facies analysis of the Neogene successions of the Pishin Belt(Katawaz Basin) has enabled documentation of successive depositional systems and paleogeographic settings of the basin formed by the collision of the northwestern continental margin of the Indian Plate and the Afghan Block. During the Early Miocene, subaerial sedimentation started after the final closure of the Katawaz Remnant Ocean. Based on detailed field data, twelve facies were recognized in Neogene successions exposed in the Pishin Belt. These facies were further organized into four facies associations i.e. channels, crevasse splay, natural levee and floodplain facies associations. Facies associations and variations provided ample evidence to recognize a number of fluvial architectural components in the succession e.g., low-sinuosity sandy braided river, mixed-load meandering, high-sinuosity meandering channels, single-story sandstone and/or conglomerate channels, lateral accretion surfaces(point bars) and alluvial fans. Neogene sedimentation in the Pishin Belt was mainly controlled by active tectonism and thrusting in response to the oblique collision of the Indian Plate with the Afghan Block of the Eurasian Plate along the Chaman-Nushki Fault. Post Miocene deformation of these formations successively caused them to contribute as an additional source terrain for the younger formations.