Traces of paleogeodynamic processes in the zone junctions of the Middle and Lower Kura depressions

Abstract

The territory of Azerbaijan covers the southeastern part of the Greater Caucasus meganticlinorium, the northeastern parts of the mountain systems of the Lesser Caucasus and Talysh, i.e., basins of the Lower and Middle Kura, as well as the southwestern and western zones of the Middle and South Caspian depressions, respectively. The combination of these large structural elements determines the very complex tectonic structure of the territory of Azerbaijan, including the Middle and Lower Kura basins.

The article presents the results of a study conducted to study the paleotectonic processes that took place in the Cenozoic in the junction zone of the Middle and Lower Kura depressions, according to modern (2017—2018) seismic survey data using the common depth point method. The geological structure of the constituent parts of these depressions is considered, and paleotectonic processes are described that played an important role in their formation and led to the divergence of the geological sections of these depressions in the interval from the end of the Cretaceous to the end of the Lower Pliocene. When comparing the seismic wave pattern representing the geological sections of the Middle and Lower Kura depressions, it becomes clear that the compensation of the volumes of sedimentary material is carried out by Pliocene terrigenous deposits in the Lower Kura and Paleogene sediments in the Middle Kura depressions. At the same time, here, the hypsometry of the Miocene-Maikop interval of the section differs by 1300—1500 m.

The article presents the author’s positions on the post-Cretaceous tectonic processes of the evolutionary development of the geological structure of these basins in the zone of their junction, where the Mingacheir-Saatli-Talysh transverse Mesozoic uplift (Saatly-Geokchay zone of Mesozoic uplifts) occupies an important place.