Changes

===Eocene-Oligocene Boundary (about 34 Ma)===

===Eocene-Oligocene Boundary (about 34 Ma)===

The opening of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans was coupled with the movement of Africa toward the southern boundary of Eurasia and with the gradual closure of the Neo-Tethys Ocean (Figure 11). The rapid northward flight of India was responsible for the continental collision and the development of the Himalayas, following the complete closure of the eastern Neo-Tethys. The former complex puzzle of microplates that was present north of the Mesogea and south of the Neo-Tethys was sandwiched in the collision zone along an area stretching from the Alps to India (e.g., Dercourt et al., 1993; Barrier and Vrielynck, 2008; Moix et al., 2008). This time-transgressive collision gave rise to the orogenic belts from the Alps to Himalaya, including the Serbo-Pelagonian area, the Pontides, and the Taurus. North of the collision belt, basins such as the Carpathian Flysch Basin, the Black Sea, and the Caspian developed. After the collisions, recorded by this complex assemblage of microplates, the continued compressional regime related to the counterclockwise rotation of Africa produced the development of the northward subduction of the Mesogea Ocean (evolving into the Eastern Mediterranean Basin) below the newly accreted terranes on the southern border of Eurasia. The Peri-Arabian Massif was approaching Laurasia, which initiated development of the Zagros deformation front (Barrier and Vrielynck, 2008). The emerged area of the north-eastern side of the Arabian plate can be interpreted as the peripheral bulge of the lower plate. The docking of Arabia to Eurasia led to partial separation between the Indian Ocean to the east and the Eastern Mediterranean Basin to the west. The Arabian plate was significantly uplifted, so that the former shelf area was almost entirely exposed. Sedimentation (shallow marine carbonate passing to deep-water clastics, Kirkuk Basin) was reduced to a narrow belt along the future Mesopotamia and Persian Gulf. Northern Africa was still characterized by a passive margin facing north toward the Eastern Mediterranean Basin. Deep marine clastics were deposited in the Sirt Gulf, whereas continental deposits accumulated in present-day Egypt, Libya, and Sudan. Close to the time of the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, intense magmatic activity was recorded in the Afar area (Afar Traps). Volcanics were also deposited along the western margin of the Arabian Plate, where a rift valley, in which alluvial-lacustrine sediments were deposited, marked the beginning of the opening of the future Red Sea. A complex network of rift basins developed along the future Aden Gulf, and volcanic activity was recorded within the orogenic belts of southern Eurasia (mainly Lut Block, Central Iran, and Armenia; Barrier and Vrielynck, 2008).

The opening of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans was coupled with the movement of Africa toward the southern boundary of Eurasia and with the gradual closure of the Neo-Tethys Ocean ([[:file:M106Ch01Fig11.jpg|Figure 11]]). The rapid northward flight of India was responsible for the continental collision and the development of the Himalayas, following the complete closure of the eastern Neo-Tethys. The former complex puzzle of microplates that was present north of the Mesogea and south of the Neo-Tethys was sandwiched in the collision zone along an area stretching from the Alps to India (e.g., Dercourt et al., 1993; Barrier and Vrielynck, 2008; Moix et al., 2008). This time-transgressive collision gave rise to the orogenic belts from the Alps to Himalaya, including the Serbo-Pelagonian area, the Pontides, and the Taurus. North of the collision belt, basins such as the Carpathian Flysch Basin, the Black Sea, and the Caspian developed. After the collisions, recorded by this complex assemblage of microplates, the continued compressional regime related to the counterclockwise rotation of Africa produced the development of the northward subduction of the Mesogea Ocean (evolving into the Eastern Mediterranean Basin) below the newly accreted terranes on the southern border of Eurasia. The Peri-Arabian Massif was approaching Laurasia, which initiated development of the Zagros deformation front (Barrier and Vrielynck, 2008). The emerged area of the north-eastern side of the Arabian plate can be interpreted as the peripheral bulge of the lower plate. The docking of Arabia to Eurasia led to partial separation between the Indian Ocean to the east and the Eastern Mediterranean Basin to the west. The Arabian plate was significantly uplifted, so that the former shelf area was almost entirely exposed. Sedimentation (shallow marine carbonate passing to deep-water clastics, Kirkuk Basin) was reduced to a narrow belt along the future Mesopotamia and Persian Gulf. Northern Africa was still characterized by a passive margin facing north toward the Eastern Mediterranean Basin. Deep marine clastics were deposited in the Sirt Gulf, whereas continental deposits accumulated in present-day Egypt, Libya, and Sudan. Close to the time of the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, intense magmatic activity was recorded in the Afar area (Afar Traps). Volcanics were also deposited along the western margin of the Arabian Plate, where a rift valley, in which alluvial-lacustrine sediments were deposited, marked the beginning of the opening of the future Red Sea. A complex network of rift basins developed along the future Aden Gulf, and volcanic activity was recorded within the orogenic belts of southern Eurasia (mainly Lut Block, Central Iran, and Armenia; Barrier and Vrielynck, 2008).

==Paleogeography and petroleum plays==

==Paleogeography and petroleum plays==