Progressive versus paroxysmal alpine folding in SInjar anticline Northwestern Iraq

Abstract EN

Analysis of contoured stereographic pi-diagrams for lower hemisphere equal area projections for poles to the bedding planes in the Shiranish, Sinjar/Aliji, Jaddala, Serikagni and Jeribi formations ofSinjar anticline has been carried out.

The considerable discrepancy between the pi-diagrams for the Shiranish formation and the Tertiary formations indicate a Late Maastrichtian Alpine folding phase recognized in earlier work.

However, the near perfect coincidence between the pi-diagrams for the Tertiary foliations is discussed with respect to two possibilities for the nature and timing of folding.

Firstly, that folding took place during the Tertiary in progression with deposition of the different formatons.

Secondly, that folding took place as paroxysmal phase of Alpine folding in the pliocene times.

Circumstantial evidence from the field supports the second possibility.-