BIOSTRATIGRAPHY AND PALEOECOLOGY OF UPPER CRETACEOUS TO PALEOGENE ROCKS OF HAZARA AND AZAD KASHMIR

Title of Thesis
BIOSTRATIGRAPHY AND PALEOECOLOGY OF UPPER CRETACEOUS TO PALEOGENE ROCKS OF HAZARA AND AZAD KASHMIR

Author(s)
Munir ul Hassan Munir

Institute/University/Department Details
University of the Punjab, Lahore

Session
2003

Subject
Geology

Number of Pages
345

Keywords (Extracted from title, table of contents and abstract of thesis)
paleogene rocks, hazara, azad kashmir, upper cretaceous, kawagarh formation, hangu formation, lockhart limestone, patala formation, margala hill limestone, chorgali formation, kuldana formation

Abstract
The Hazara-Azad Kashmir area lies in the northwest Himalayas of Pakistan. The Upper Cretaceous to Paleogene rocks are exposed in the fossiliferous sedimentary coyer sequence of the Indian plate. The Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene rock sequence of the Kawagarh Formation, Hangu Formation, Lockhart Limestone, Patala Formation, Margala Hill Limestone, Chorgali Formation and Kuldana Formation has been investigated for micropalaeontological and paleoecological studies. In Hazara area, the Cenomanian to Campanian marine transgressive cycle Deposited the micritic limestoncs of Kawagarh Formation on the north shelf of the Neotethys ocean below the Kohistan Island arc. The presence of planktonic foraminiferal. genera such as Globotruncana, Rugoglobigerina, Hetcrohclix, Planularia, Lcnticulina, Globorotalitcs, Buliminclla and Vaginulina in Kawagarh Formation suggests that the formation deposited in shelf outer neritic conditions. This transgressive cycle ended before the Maastrichtian as a result the regressive to partially transgressive facies of Early Paleocene Hangu Formation deposited unconformably on the Kawagarh Formation. This regressive cycle occurred between the Maastrichtian to lower Danian (?). This regressive gap is marked by the aerial, tropical and sub tropical brecciated quartzite, laterite and bauxite facies of the lower Danian (?) basal part of the Hangu Formation. However, the upper part of the Hangu Formation deposited partially transgressive restricted shallow marine to lagoonal facies as carbonaceous shales, coal seams, sandstones and siltstone in upper Danian (?). The Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary on the basis of fossils cannot be marked in Hazara and Azad Kashmir, as there is no record of Maastrichtian and Danian fauna. However, the K-T Boundary can be placed at the basal residual part of the Hangu Formation.

The second transgressive cycle deposited the Upper Paleocene-Early Eocene shallow marine limestone and shale sequence that includes the Lockhart Limestone, Patala Formation, Margala Hill Limestone and Chorgali Formation. The Middle Eocene Kuldana Formation records the transitional environments and marks the closing of the Neotethys Ocean and initiation of Middle Eocene to Miocene continental molasse of the Murrce Formation.

In this study 23 sections were measured from Hazara and Azad Kashmir. More than 1000 outcrop samples were analysized for microfossils, microfacies and paleoecology of the Upper Cretaceous to Paleogene sequence.

The Paleogene of Hazara and Kashmir includes the genera of larger and smaller benthic foraminiferas such as Lockhartia, Operculina, Miscellanea; Ranikothalia, Assilina, Nummulites, Alveolina, Clavulina, Quinqueloculina, Spiroloculina and Thalmannita. The microfacies and faunal analyses represent warm shallow marine inner shelf or inner neritic environments during Paleogene transgression cycle. The Paleocene-Eocene Boundary is marked on the basis of disappearance of Operclunia salas and Miscellanea miscella and the appearance of Nummulites atacicus and Nummulites mammillatus in the upper part of the Patala Formation and basal part of the Margala Hill Limestone respectively.

 

 

 

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