Table of Contents
Introduction
Data processing steps
References
Geologic provinces in Iran, sorted by province code
Geologic provinces in Iran, sorted by province name
Map showing faults, oil and gas fields, and geologic provinces of Iran
Map showing geology, oil and gas fields and geologic provinces of Iran

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I.  INTRODUCTION
This digitally compiled map includes geology, oil and gas field centerpoints, geologic provinces, and major faults of Iran with some of these components extended into geographically adjacent areas. This digital compilation is an interim product of the U.S. Geological Survey's World Energy Project (WEP) and part of a series on CD-ROM. The goal of the WEP is to assess the undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources of the world and report the result of this assessment in the year 2000. For data management purposes, the world was divided into eight energy regions corresponding approximately to the economic regions of the world as defined by the U.S. Department of State.

Each world energy region was then further divided into geologic provinces on the basis of natural geologic entities and may include a dominant geologic structural element or a number of contiguous elements. Some provinces contain multiple, genetically-related basins. Geologic province boundaries for Iran were delineated using data from different geologic maps, publications, and other tectonic and geographic data. Each province was assigned a unique number; the first digit is the region number. An attempt was made to number the provinces in geographical order or groups with numbering starting at the Arabian Shield (see Pollastro and others, 1998). The list of provinces sorted by number is shown to the right of the map.

Centerpoints of oil and gas fields are shown and were plotted with permission from Petroconsultants International Data Corporation, 1996 worldwide oil and gas field database. Allocation of field data to geologic provinces provided a ranking of the provinces by total known petroleum volume (see Klett and others, 1997). The WEP further characterizes the geologic provinces by petroleum system and assessment units in order to assess the undiscovered petroleum volume.

Specific details of map and data sources, and the procedure used in the compilation of this geologic map of Iran are given in the metadata file and described briefly in the text below. Stratigraphic subdivisions of Phanerozoic rocks were combined to simplify the geology and maintain consistency with other maps in this series. Precambrian rocks are undivided. This map was compiled using Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.(ESRI) ARC/INFO software. Political boundaries and cartographic representations are used, with permission, from ESRI's ArcWorld 1:3M digital coverages, have no political significance, and are displayed for general reference only.

II. Data processing steps
This map has been digitally compiled and abstracted from The Geological Map of Iran, (1985) Compiled by A. Haghipour and A. Aghanabati, Ministry of Mines and Metals, Geological Survey of Iran, Scale 1:2,500,000.

The projection information written on the original map is ".. adjusted from Polyconic Projection of International 1:1000000 Map of the Earth". Because such projection is not directly supported by ESRI's ARC/INFO software, it was necessary to georeference the map to the one of known projections. This was done as follows:

1. The latitude/longitude grid with cell size 2 * 2 degrees was projected to Lambert Conformal Conic projection and then used to create ARC/INFO point coverage. That point coverage was used to create "to - from" links by ARC/INFO CONTROLPOINTS program.

2. A gray-scale scanned image of the original paper map was transformed to Lambert Conformal Conic projection by ARC/INFO GRIDWARP program (polynomial of the second order) using the "to - from" links created by CONTROLPOINTS program.

3. Geologic polygon boundaries from the source map were initially transfered to mylar and then scanned to produce a binary image.

4. The binary image from step 3 with geologic boundaries was vectorized by ARC/INFO GRIDLINE utility and then supplemented by hands-on digitization.

5. Polygon boundaries and geologic attributing of the ARC/INFO coverage from step 4 were verified and corrected by using gray-scale image from step 2 as a background guide.

6. A series of piecewise "rubbersheet" transformations was applied to the final ARC/INFO coverage. The ARC/INFO coverages that were used for transformation were ESRI's ArcWorld 1:3M GIS cartographic layers (RIV3M, CTRY3M). Overall RMS error of that transformation is equal to 1,500 meters (0.6 mm on original paper map).

III.  REFERENCES

Alsharhan,A.S., and Nairn, A.E.M., 1997, Sedimentary Basins and Petroleum Geology of the Middle East, Elseveir, Amsterdam, 942 p ..

Beydoun,Z.R., 1991, Arabian plate hydrocarbon geology and potential -- A plate tectonic approach: Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geologists, Studies in Geology 33, 77 p.

Environmental Systems Research Institute,Inc.,1992, ArcWorld 1:3M, Environmental System Research Institute (ESRI). Digital database available from ESRI, 380 New York Street, Redlands, CA 92373-8100.

Haghipour,A., and Aghanabati,A (compilers),1985, Geologic Map of Iran: Ministry of Mines and Metals, Geological Survey of Iran, one plate.

International Geologic Map of Africa, 1959, Plate 3, 1:5,000,000, International Geologic Congress, Association of Geologic Services of Africa, Paris, France.

Klett, T.R., Ahlbrandt T.S., Schmoker, J.W., and Dolton, G.L., 1997, Ranking of World's oil and gas provinces by known petroleum volume: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 97-463, one CD-ROM.

Petroconsultants, 1996, Petroleum exploration and production database: Petroconsultants, Inc., Houston, Texas (database available from Petroconsultants, Inc., P.O. Box 740619, Houston, Texas 77274-0619).

Pollastro R.M., Karshbaum A.S, and Viger R.J. , 1998, Map showing geology, oil and gas fields, and geologic provinces of the Arabian peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 97-470B, one CD-ROM.

Persits F.M., Ulmishek G.F., and D.W. Steinshouer., 1997, Map showing geology, oil and gas fields, and geologic provinces of the Former Soviet Union: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 97-470E, one CD-ROM.
 
 

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