Subsurface Lithofacies Analysis of the Fluvial Early Permian Warchha Sandstone, Potwar Basin, Pakistan

Authors

  • Shahid Ghazi
     Institute of Geology, Punjab University, Quaid-i-Azam Campus, Lahore-54590
  • Nigel P. Mountney
     School of Earth and Environment, Earth Science Building, the University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT

Keywords:

Cyclicity, Gamma-Ray Log, well Cuttings, Facies, Fluvial.

Abstract

The Early Permian Warchha Sandstone is well preserved in subsurface in the Potwar Basin and the Punjab Plain of Pakistan. However, this succession is only exposed in the Salt Range, and within this region, only a modest number of the many outcrops are of sufficient quality to enable the preparation of lateral and vertical log profiles. From the subsurface, data from five wells drilled in the Salt Range and Potwar Basin have been analysed. Although they are of restricted coverage, these subsurface data - which take the form of gamma ray logs and well cuttings - provide a valuable addition to the outcrop dataset of the Warchha Sandstone as they provide useful information about vertical textural changes, type and thickness of bedding and the nature of sandbody contacts with underlying strata. Overall, the Warchha Sandstone succession is composed of repeated fining-upwards cycles indicative of a meandering fluvial succession. Sub-components of each cycle are themselves classified into six subsurface sedimentary facies. Through comparison with outcropping parts of the succession, the origin and significance of these subsurface facies can be related to specific architectural elements within the meandering fluvial system responsible for generating the Warchha Sandstone succession.

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Issue

Volume 76, Issue 5, November 2010

Section

Research Articles

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Published

2010-11-12

How to Cite

Ghazi, S., & Mountney, N. P. (2010). Subsurface Lithofacies Analysis of the Fluvial Early Permian Warchha Sandstone, Potwar Basin, Pakistan. Journal of Geological Society of India, 76(5), 505–517. Retrieved from http://www.geosocindia.com/index.php/jgsi/article/view/58839

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