Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Geology and Geophysics
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
The stratigraphic response in adjacent foreland basins to mountain building has motivated decades of research in the geosciences. This contribution adds to this body of literature by incorporating numerous methods to better understand and constrain the role of Greater Caucasus Mountain building on the stratigraphic response of the adjacent foreland basin(s). Chapter 1 calculates basin response times by conducting paleogeographic reconstructions and depositional environmental and stratigraphic correlations across the Kura-Fold Thrust Belt. Ultimately, basin response times can be used as a proxy to determine which types of signals are likely to be preserved by the basin stratigraphy. Results from this indicate that the Pliocene sediments of the Kura Basin and Kura Fold-Thrust Belt will likely preserve tectonic signals. Younger Caspian stages can preserve climatic signals, or possibly both tectonic and climatic signals. Chapter 2 presents some of the first detrital zircon U-Pb-Hf data from the Greater Caucasus to test if Hf isotopes can act as a viable provenance fingerprint. Results show an along-strike gradient in εHf values in the Greater Caucasus Siliciclastics that are exposed throughout the modern Greater Caucasus. This along-strike gradient allows for more refined sediment provenance analysis as it helps to constrain whether sediment was sourced from the eastern or western Greater Caucasus Siliciclastics. Chapter 3 presents one of the first multi-proxy sediment provenance analyses from the Kartli Basin, the southern-central foreland basin of the Greater Caucasus. Results from this highlight that the Dzirula Massif, a Variscan-aged granitoid body within the Transcaucasus, was a prominent sediment source in the Early Miocene. The results also indicate that the sediment provenance of the Kartli Basin has shifted from being sourced from the Dzirula Massif and Adjara-Trialet in the Early to Middle Miocene to being sourced from the Greater Caucasus, which had become a significant sediment source for the Kartli Basin at least since ~9.5 Ma.
Date
11-1-2024
Recommended Citation
Fowler, Kristoffer Colton, "The Sedimentary Response of Foreland Basins to Mountain Building: Insights from Basin Response Time and Multi-Proxy Provenance Analyses in the Pro-Foreland Basin of the Greater Caucasus" (2024). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 6642.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/6642
Committee Chair
Forte, Adam
Included in
Geology Commons, Sedimentology Commons, Stratigraphy Commons, Tectonics and Structure Commons