Large Geological Features Model Depending on Constructing Regional Seismic Transect Section Crossing Southern Central Iraq.

A regional seismic section extending about 530 km is constructed using data from fourteen local seismic lines obtained from various surveys conducted between 1978 and 1990. This section traverses central Iraq from west to east. Generally, the seismic data quality is poor in the western part and improves in the central and eastern parts of the regional seismic section. Seven reflectors are identified along the regional seismic section, corresponding to geological ages ranging from the Lower Triassic to the Mid Miocene. These reflectors are represented by Mirga Mir (Lower Triassic), Geli Khana (Middle Triassic), Kurra Chine (Upper Triassic), Najmah (Upper Jurassic), Mauddad (Middle - Cretaceous), Shiranish (Upper Cretaceous), and Fatha (Lower Fars) (Mid-Miocene) formations. This study shows the existence of two sedimentary basins, one in western Iraq associated with the Paleocene formation and the other in the Miocene-Pliocene formations towards the east. These two basins are separated by an uplifted area in the central part of the regional seismic section, a finding that is supported by anomalies in gravity and magnetic data. Many faults are identified along the regional seismic section, most of them, extend predominantly from deeper to shallower formations.