Pre- and post-Messinian deformational styles along the northern Nile Delta Basin in the framework of the Eastern Mediterranean tectonic evolution

Abstract

The present work is focused on the structural deformation styles of the pre- and post-Messinian sequences of the Nile Delta Basin. The structural interpretations presented in this study shed critical insight about the evolution of the Nile Delta Basin through pre- and post-Messinian times, provides high reliability about its origin and development in the context of the Eastern Mediterranean tectonic history. The explanation for the seismic data covering three different gas fields (Baltim Field, Temsah Field and North Sinai Field) extend along the northern offshore portion of the Nile Delta Basin revealed significant variations in the deformational styles between the pre- and the post-Messinian sequences. The pre-Messinian rocks were mainly compressed in northwest-southeast direction creating folding-related compressional deformations which gradually decline eastward. The post-Messinian sequence exhibits differences in the deformational models between the examined fields. In Baltim field, it shows extensional features caused by the bulk northeast-southwest extensional deformation. However, in Temsah and North Sinai fields, this post-Messinian succession exposes north–south compressional deformation. These interpreted deformational directions are extremely well-matched with the regional structure configuration of the Nile Delta Basin and the eastern Mediterranean regions.