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Depositional environment reconstruction of the Maragheh Formation, East Azarbaijan, Northwestern Iran

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Abstract

The Maragheh Formation is an important deposit, which yields the savanna-type large mammal assemblage known as the “Pikermian Fauna.” Our high-resolution facies analysis of the interval between the Lower Pumice and the White Tuff demonstrated that debris-flow deposits and paleosols are dominant in the studied sequence. Fluvial channel-fill and small pond facies are the subordinate components in this interval. Most of the channel-fill deposits are interpreted as having been accumulated from ephemeral streams. The wide distribution of the Middle Pumice, the fact that it contains grains with older ages than those of the Lower Pumice, and the presence of “traction carpet” deposits allow the interpretation of the pumice interval as having been deposited from a hyperconcentrated flow probably caused by crater-lake destruction around the peak of Mt. Sahand, which supplied older rocks to the flow. The internal architecture of fluvial channel-fill deposits and the structures of paleosols (rhizoliths, cracks and slickensides: probable Vertic Inceptisols) imply a seasonal climate during deposition of the studied interval. This is consistent with previous environmental reconstructions based on mammal fossils (woodland-dominated savannah) as well as the results of phytolith analysis and δ18O data obtained from northern Iran. However, flood deposits covering the paleosols, showing sheet-like geometry, may not have been affected by large trees on the flood plain: the extent of woodland around the study site appears to have been limited.

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Acknowledgements

The Department of Environment (environment protection organisation) of the Government of Iran permitted and facilitated this study. We would like to express our gratitude to the former and present heads of the “natural environment division” of this organisation as well as those of the “office of natural history museum and genetic resources” for their support. We also appreciate assistance by Maragheh governor, mayor, city council, DOE office and participants of the field workshops held in Maragheh during 2007–2009. TS and YS were supported by Grant-in-aid from the MEXT, Japanese Government (project no. 18255006). MMA, MF and field work in Maragheh were partially supported by the Academy of Finland, RHOI project and the Sasakawa Foundation. This manuscript was largely improved based on comments by two journal reviewers, Dr. Anu Kaakinen (University of Helsinki) and Dr. Daniel Peppe (Baylor University). The discussions about paleosols are largely improved by the comments from Dr. Peppe.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geoscience, Shimane University, Matsue, 690-8504, Japan

    Tetsuya Sakai & Yoshihiro Sawada

  2. Department of Environment Office, Maragheh, Islamic Republic of Iran

    Gholamreza Zaree

  3. Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, 45371/38791, Islamic Republic of Iran

    Majid Mirzaie Ataabadi

  4. Department of Geosciences and Geography, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 64, Helsinki, FIN-000114, Finland

    Mikael Fortelius

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  1. Tetsuya Sakai
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Correspondence to Tetsuya Sakai.

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This article is a contribution to the special issue “The late Miocene Maragheh mammal fauna; results of recent multidisciplinary research”.

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Sakai, T., Zaree, G., Sawada, Y. et al. Depositional environment reconstruction of the Maragheh Formation, East Azarbaijan, Northwestern Iran. Palaeobio Palaeoenv 96, 383–398 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-016-0238-z

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