Advanced Applied Geology

Advanced Applied Geology

Stratigraphy of the Pleistocene marine deposits in the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf and introduction of a reference section for the Khark Formation in the Qeshm Island

Authors
Hossein Gholamalian 1
Mohammad Javad Hassani 2
Mahmood Khorramin 3
1 Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, I.R. Iran
2 Department of Ecology, Institute of Sciences and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, I.R. Iran.
3 Qeshm Cement Company, Qeshm Island, Hormozgan Province, I.R. Iran.
10.22055/aag.2025.50726.2536
Abstract
Pleistocene marine deposits in the southern coastal belt and islands of Iran have been reviewed from the lithostratigraphy point of view. In addition to the Qeshm Island, these strata also existed in Bandar Lengeh, Kangan, Dayyer and Kish and Khark Islands and were reported as “Bakhtiari Formation” in the most maps and references. This naming is not consistent with the data obtained from the field observations and new stratigraphic studies, because the mentioned beds have carbonate composition and are very different from the Bakhtiari conglomerate Formation in terms of lithology and paleontology. In order to name these deposits correctly, the Khark Formation with the lithology of massive limestone, marl, calcareous marl and sandstone has previously been proposed, but its type section is not easily accessible and the report is not published formally. In order to resolve this problem, the mentioned deposits have recently been studied in several sections in the Qeshm Island and the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf and a section is proposed as the reference section. The reference section of the Khark Formation with a thickness of 5.2 meters is located near the Mesen town (southwest of Qeshm city). This formation is placed between the Aghajari Formation at the base and the Holocene marine sediments at the top with two continuous boundaries. The Khark Formation has the late Pleistocene age (252ky±35ky to 100ky±9ky) as indicated by radiometric dating.
Keywords: Stratigraphy, Khark Formation, Pleistocene, Persian Gulf, Zagros.
Keywords
Stratigraphy
Khark Formation
Pleistocene
Persian Gulf
Zagros
Subjects
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Advanced Applied Geology
Volume 15, Issue 3
Autumn 2025
Pages 222-240