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Sedimentology and basin-fill history of the Cenozoic succession of the Sylhet Trough, Bengal Basin, Bangladesh

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Abstract

The Sylhet Trough, a petroleum province of the Bengal Basin, accommodates a huge thickness of Eocene to Recent sedimentary successions. However, the basin-fill history of the trough is poorly understood; specifically, constrains on timing of deposition of the individual units are yet to be established. Therefore, we aimed at establishing sedimentation and basin-fill history of the Sylhet Trough based on detailed lithofacies analysis of the outcropping Cenozoic succession. We have divided the entire Cenozoic succession into three megasequences which can be further sub-divided into nine lithostratigraphic units based on bounding discontinuities, such as transgressive erosion surface, regressive erosion surface, transgressive surface, marine flooding surface, and incised valley floor. The oldest is the Megasequence 1, comprised of shallow marine shelfal deposits overlain by shallow marine to nearshore deposits. In the middle, the Megasequence 2 is representing tide-dominated marine to coastal (deltaic) depositional systems with evidence of cyclic marine regression and transgression. Repetitive occurrence of incised channel, tidal inlet, tidal ridge/shoal, tidal flat and other tidal deposits are separated by shelfal deposits. The top of the Megasequence 2 is marked by a pronounced erosion surface interpreted as an incised valley floor indicating the final phase of marine regression followed by the gradual establishment of the overlying continental-fluvial depositional systems (i.e., the Megasequence 3). This youngest megasequence is characterized by stacked braided river sand bars that pass up-sequence into meandering river deposits. Based on the Cenozoic eustatic sea level curve, we suggest that the upper boundaries of the Megasequence 1 and Megasequence 2 are approximately at 39.5 Ma and 5.0 Ma, respectively.

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Acknowledgements

This research work is a part of the Doctoral thesis of the first author (Farida Khanam). We are grateful to ‘Banggabandu Fellowship Program’, Ministry of Science and Technology Bangladesh, for financial support. We thank Dr. Asghar A.A.D. Hakro and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments and suggestions to improve the manuscript. We also thank Professor Wolf-Christian Dullo, Editor in Chief and Professor Wenjiao Xiao, Editor, International Journal of Earth Sciences for their support in the review processes. Especial thanks to Professor Joan Esterle, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Australia, for her valuable suggestions in improving the discussion section.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geophysical Division, Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd. (BAPEX), Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Farida Khanam

  2. Department of Geological Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, 1342, Bangladesh

    M. Julleh Jalalur Rahman & Rashed Abdullah

  3. Department of Geology, Dhaka University, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh

    M. Mustafa Alam

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  1. Farida Khanam
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  2. M. Julleh Jalalur Rahman
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  3. M. Mustafa Alam
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  4. Rashed Abdullah
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Correspondence to Farida Khanam.

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Khanam, F., Rahman, M.J.J., Alam, M.M. et al. Sedimentology and basin-fill history of the Cenozoic succession of the Sylhet Trough, Bengal Basin, Bangladesh. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 110, 193–212 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-020-01946-1

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