Tertiary stratigraphic correlation of the Al Watiyate Region, Al Jabal Al Akhdar (Cyrena ica, NE Libya): An integration from previous studies.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37376/ljst.v15i2.7638Keywords:
Lithostratigraphic correlation, Middle Eocene-Up per Miocene, paleotopography, Uplift, Al Watiyate region, Al Jabal Al Akhdar, NE LibyaAbstract
This paper provides a lithostratigraphic correlation of the Middle Eocene to Upper Miocene rock
units of the Al Watiyate region of Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Cyrenaica, NE Libya. Data from this study
were derived from measured vertical stratigraphic logs in six main studied areas: Daryanah-Al
Abyar road cut, Wadi Al Kuf, Wadi Sidi Yossef, Wadi Al Juibiyah, Wadi Al Sukinyah, and Wadi Sidi
Mohamed. This study needed to concentrate on the intricate details of the Tertiary carbonate
rocks and how local structural or strato-structural disturbances may have shaped their spatial
variations. In this regard, the main aim of this work is to establish a local lithostratigraphic cor
relation among the investigated stratigraphic sections and to offer some insight into the com
plexity of the Middle Eocene–Upper Miocene sequence concerning the stratigraphic framework.
A method used for distinguishing rock units according to lithological characteristics is known as
lithostratigraphic correlation. Based on the lithostratigraphic correlation, the Middle Eocene car
bonate rock unit (Darnah Formation) is changed to Oligocene rock units (Al Bayda Formation)
laterally in a SW to NE direction in the study region. In the southwest, the Darnah and Al Bayda
formations disappear while the thickness of the Al Abraq Formation decreases. Furthermore the
Al Faidiyah, Benghazi, and Wadi Al Qattarah formations, which are representative of the Miocene
rock units, thickened more southwestward. The thickness variations are most likely related to
paleotopography, where the rate of deposition differs from NE (high relief area) to SW (low relief
area). The outcome of the northeastern uplift is due to tectonic movements. Regressive se
quences characterize the Middle Eocene to Upper Miocene, indicating a periodic fall in sea level
across geological time. The absence of Oligocene rock units in the Wadi Zazah and Wadi Belgares
areas suggests tectonic uplift during the Early Eocene to Middle Miocene time. However, in Wadi
Al Kuf, Wadi Azzad, and Wadi Al Backour, the terrain is gradually subsiding, and it appears that
the sea was transgressed to continue the accumulation of Oligocene-Miocene sediments on top
of the Eocene Formation.
Lithostratigraphic correlation, Middle Eocene-Up
per Miocene, paleotopography, Uplift, Al Watiyate
region, Al Jabal Al Akhdar, NE Libya.
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