Formation in Marine Conditions of the Ophiolite Olistostrome of the Bazum Sector of the Planetary Anatolian-South Caucasus Ophiolite Belt in Northern Armenia

Abstract

The ophiolites of the Bazum horst are represented only by an olistostrome mixt, the matrix of which is composed of a flyschoid sequence of rhythmic alternation of black mudstones, siltstones and Urasar sandstones. The ratio of olistoliths to the matrix indicates a synsedimentary mode of formation. In contrast to the Sevan-Akera part of the belt, the ophiolites of the Bazum horst do not have serpentinite melange. These features indicate the formation of the olistostrome in marine conditions, during obduction within the sea basin adjacent to the collision suture. The Dzoraget memamorphic complex of garnet-quartz-bimica crystalline schists and garnet amphibolites is the result of heating at the base of an obducted peridotite sheet.