Palynological and Stratigraphical Evidences on the Age of the Outcropped Khabour Formation near Chalki Nasara Village, Kurdistan Region, Northern Iraq

Volume 1 , Issue 1 , January 2016 , Pages 293-318

Authors

¹ University of Sulaimani - School of Science - Department of Geology, Kirkuk Street, Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan Region/Iraq

The siliciclastic predominate sequence of the Khabour Quartzite-Shale

Formation crops out in Kurdistan Region within a narrow strip which runs semi-parallel

to Iraq/Turkey border line, within the Imbricated and Thrusted Ora Zone, in front of the

Bitlis Suture Zone which resulted from the collision of the Arabian and Anatolian plate.

The studied samples from Chalki Nasara section appeared to be deposited within shallow

marine environment and considered as a part of the Tectono- megasequence Ap.2.

The identified seventy nine palynomorphs within the prepared palynological

slides were all acritarchs with no observation of other known Lower Paleozoic

palynomorphs like chitinozoa, scolecodonts, and graptolites. The identified acritarch

species are among those which well documented in Cambrian and Ordovician periods

such as Acanthodiacrodium angustum, Dactylofusa squama, Cristallinium cambriense,

Saharidia fragilis, Acanthodiacrodium ubuii, Polygonium gracile, Acanthodiacrodium

achrasii, Gonisphaeridium tener, Actinotodissus formosus, Polygonium pungens,

Actinotodissus spinutisus, Cymatiogalea membranispina, Polygonium symbolum,

Actinotodissus crassus. Accordingly and depending on the three distinguished acritarch

assemblage palynozones and the stratigraphic position, the age of the lower unit of

Khabour Formation in the studied area determined as Late Cambrian-Tremadocian.

The dark brown and black colors of the identified palynomorphs within the

formation indicated to thermally post mature condition of the organic matters. On the

other hand, kerogen type I appeared to be the dominated quality of the existed organic

matters and that based on the ratio between the different organic matter components.

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