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3D structural modelling of the southern Zagros fold-and-thrust belt diapiric province

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2011

VINCENT TROCMÉ ,
EMILY ALBOUY ,
JEAN-PAUL CALLOT ,
JEAN LETOUZEY ,
NICOLAS ROLLAND ,
HASSAN GOODARZI  and
SALMAN JAHANI
VINCENT TROCMÉ*
Affiliation:
GDF SUEZ, 92930, Paris La Défense, France
EMILY ALBOUY
Affiliation:
GDF SUEZ, 92930, Paris La Défense, France
JEAN-PAUL CALLOT
Affiliation:
IFP-EN, 9852 Rueil-Malmaison, France
JEAN LETOUZEY
Affiliation:
IFP-EN, 9852 Rueil-Malmaison, France UPMC Université Paris 06, UMR 7193, ISTeP, F-75005, Paris, France
NICOLAS ROLLAND
Affiliation:
GDF SUEZ, 92930, Paris La Défense, France
HASSAN GOODARZI
Affiliation:
NIOC, Exploration Directorate, Tehran, Iran
SALMAN JAHANI
Affiliation:
NIOC, Exploration Directorate, Tehran, Iran
*
†Author for correspondence: vincent.trocme@gdfsuez.com
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Abstract

3D modelling of geological structures is a key method to improve the understanding of the geological history of an area, and to serve as a drive for exploration. Geomodelling has been performed on a large 60000 km2 area of the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt of Iran, to reconcile a vast but heterogeneous dataset. Topography, geological surface data and dips, outcrop surveys, and well and seismic data were integrated into the model. The method was to construct a key surface maximizing the hard data constraints. The Oligo-Miocene Top Asmari layer was chosen, as this formation was regionally deposited before the main Zagros collision phase and because the numerous outcrops allow proper control of the bed geometry in the fold cores. Interpreted seismic data have been integrated to interpolate the surfaces at depth within the synclines. Several conceptual models of fold geometry have been applied to estimate the best way to convert seismic time signal to depth. Several deeper horizons down to Palaeozoic strata were deduced from this key horizon by applying palaeo-thickness maps. During the construction, the 3D interpolated surfaces could be reconverted to time, using a velocity model, and compared with previous seismic interpretations. This exercise obliged us to revise some early interpretations of seismic lines that were badly tied to wells. The 3D modelling therefore clearly improves regional interpretation. In addition, the 3D model is the only tool that allows drawing consistent cross-sections in areas where there are no seismic lines. Emerging Hormuz salt diapirs were added to the model. Dimensions and shapes of the individual diapirs were modelled using a statistical survey on the cropping out Hormuz structures. Modelling reliably demonstrated that the diapirs, when piercing, show a constant mushroom shape whose diameter depends on the stratigraphic depth of observation. This observation allowed us to exemplify relations between the pre-existing diapirs and the anticlines of the area, and to highlight the morphological changes from the inner onshore areas to the coastal and offshore areas. In addition, one of the surprising results of this study was the observation of the increasing diameter of the diapirs at the time of the Zagros collision and folding event, with growth strata and overhangs on the flanks of the diapirs.

Keywords

salt tectonicssalt diapirfoldthrust3D structural modellingZagrosFars ArcIran
Type
THE ZAGROS FOLD-THRUST BELT: FOLDS AND FRACTURES
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 148 , Issue 5-6: THEMATIC ISSUE: Geodynamic evolution of the Zagros , November 2011 , pp. 879 - 900
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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