US-Bangladesh Cooperative Research Basin-Wide Stratigraphy of Cenozoic Sequences in the Bengal Basin

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0117405UddinDescription: This project is to support a cooperative research project by Dr. Ashraf Uddin, Department of Geology, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama and Dr. M. Mustafa Alam, Department of Geology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh. These scientists plan to conduct field research and to collect representative sediment samples in order to investigate Eocene through Quaternary sequences of the Bengal basin for mineralogical and geochronological evidence for basin-wide correlation and of the tectonic history of the adjacent mountain belts. They will identify techniques with the best potential for constraining basin-wide correlation. The techniques will include fission-track analysis of materials, magentostratigraphic study on several sections, and heavy-mineral studies. The resulting stratigraphic framework will be used to evaluate the Bengal basin history, with implications for both petroleum potential and a valuable record of the ongoing continental collision.Scope: Dr. Ashraf Uddin is a recent Ph.D. graduate who has made significant research on the sedimentology of the Himalayan-Bengal basin evolutionary history. In this project he will be collaborating with several senior scholars with extensive experience in some of the techniques to be used. One is Neil Opdyke, who will be working on the magnetostratigraphy, and who has also used this worked on the western Himalayas study. Another is John Garver, who will supervise the fission-track analysis, has extensive, recent experience in the rather complicated area of fission-track analysis that relates detrital grain ages to source terranes. One US graduate student from the University of Alabama and at least one from the University of Dhaka will also participate in this research and will gain experience in international scientific collaboration. The Department of Geology at the U. of Dhaka will provide facilities and support for the project. The project will benefit from the complementary expertise and facilities available to the two sides. This project meets INT criteria for supporting meritorious collaborative research of mutual benefit to the US and the foreign country. This project is funded by the Division of International Programs and the Division of Earth Sciences.