Hossain H. M. Zakir (Bangladesh)

Email: zakir_kln @yahoo.com,
s049220 @matsu.shimane-u.ac.jp

Thesis title:  Petrographic and geochemical characterization of the Tertiary succession in the Sylhet Basin, Bangladesh.

Supervisor:  Dr. Barry Roser (2004-2006).

The Bengal basin is situated in the eastern part of the Indian sub-continent, occupying all of Bangladesh, and West Bengal, Myanmar, and Tripura, as well as part of the Bay of Bengal. The basin had its origin during the collision of India with Eurasia and Myanmar, building the extensive Himalayan and Indo-Burman Ranges. The Bengal Basin constitutes one of the thickest Tertiary sedimentary sequences in the world.

The Sylhet Basin is a rapidly subsiding sub-basin of the Bengal Basin, and is a tectonically complex province in northeastern Bangladesh. The basin contains hydrocarbon reserves which are the only natural energy resource discovered in Bangladesh to date. Topographically it is characterized by low rounded hillocks with cliffs and scarps. My thesis research will examine the petrography and geochemistry of Tertiary sediments in the Sylhet basin within the age range of Mid Eocene to Mio-Pliocene. The results of this study may contribute to solving problems associated with the development and production of hydrocarbon resources, and also characterize the nature of strata in this region.

Aim and Objectives:

• Mineralogical characterization and petrographic classification of sandstones and any vertical variation within the succession.
• Geochemical characterization of both sandstone and shale, and any variation with geologic time.
• To examine diagenetic characteristics and possible effects on porosity and permeability.
• To determine the nature of the source rock.
• To infer depositional and tectonic setting of the basin and the source area
• To interpret climatic and weathering history of the source.
• Petrographic and geochemical evolution of the sediments deposited in the basin.