1. Geology of Iraq (Kurdistan) BSc. Third Year Syllabus
Soran University
Faculty of Science and Engineering
Department of Petroleum Geoscience
Geology of Iraq (Kurdistan)
BSc. Third Year Syllabus
Module Specification
Theoretical Part
Academic Year :
Asst. Prof. Dr. Sardar M. Balaky

2. Module Specification 1. Module Title Geology of Iraq (Kurdistan)
2. Module Code
PGE 301
3. Module Level
Third year students
4. Module Leader
Asst. Prof. Dr. Sardar M. Balaky
Majaz Abdulrahman Malko
5. Teaching Semester
Fall Semester/2014
6. Credit Rating for the module
three

3. 7. Prerequisites and co-requisites
The prerequisites include: Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Mineralogy, Rocks, Petrology, Paleontology, Structural Geology, Historical Geology, and Physical Geology; and no co-requisites

4. 8. Module Summary
This module abridges all the general information students need to guide them during the third stage of their selected course at department of Petroleum Geosciences at Soran University. This brochure also designates in details the content of Geology of Kurdistan (Iraq) course, the names of academic staff who will teach the course, and what students will be likely to do to make indisputable their success in this unit. We hope students enjoy the unit and that students will find the work inspiring and challenging.
The work enclosed in this unit, will provide a good source for all students’ upcoming studies in Petroleum Geosciences accordingly that the energy students put in will surely be worth it.
Good attendance at lectures and tutorials is important to give students a good basis for work throughout the course. If any students may experience difficulty with this unit, is important to sort things out as soon as possible.

5. 9. Module Aims
The geology of Kurdistan (Iraq) is a topic which attempts to define and divide the outcropped and subsurface rock column. Dividing the layers into small stratigraphic units enable one to better understand and deal with rock beds. These small units (formations) can be grouped according to tectonic development and depositional history of the area.

6. 10. Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, the students will be familiar to:
identify the tectonic zones of Kurdistan and Iraq;
- understand geological history of the region;
- recognize rock units (formations);
- use geological map;
- prepare geological reports about the area;
- guess seismic risk of the area;
- predict groundwater accumulation of an area;
- predict oil and gas accumulation of an area;
- Find raw material for cement, marble, and gypsum;
- understand the engineering properties of formations.
work safely in the field; and
use suitable equipment and instruments.

7. 11. Syllabus Academic Week Lecture Title and Content 1
Plate Tectonic Back Ground
Introduction
Continental drift
Erath interior
Plate tectonic theory and plate boundaries
Pangaea before and future Glossary 2
Arabian Plate Boundaries and Tectonic units and Iran Plate
Arabian shield
Basement
Proterozoic history
Infracambrian, Iran
Iran Microplates 3
Tectonic subdivisions of Iraq and Kurdistan region
Tectonic unit classifications
Rutba – Jezira sub zone, Salman sub zone, Mesopotamian sub zone
Low Folded Zone, High Folded Zone, Imbricated Zone
Zagros Suture Zone (Qulqula –Khwakurk, Penjween, walash, Shalair). 4
Tectonic Scenarios Arabian Plate, Iraq and Kurdistan region
Intraplate, rifting, Pre–Collisional and collision Plate setups. Para Tethys, Plaeo Tethys, Neo Tethys. Kurdistan Foreland Basin
First Field Trip
Nazdur Area
North East Zakho

8. Shawur and Balak valleys Rawanduz and Rania Subdistricts5
Tectonic megasequence. Stratigraphy and paleogeography during the Paleozoic Part.1
TMSAP2: Early Cambrian
TMSAP3: Late Ashgilian 6
Assessment # 1 (1 hour)
Tectonic megasequence. Stratigraphy and paleogeography during the Paleozoic Part.2
TMSAP4: Early Famennian
TMSAP.5: Late Stepanian 7
Tectonic megasequence. Stratigraphy and paleogeography during the Mesozoic Part.1 (Triassic)
TMSAP6: Mid-Permian to early Jurassic ( Ma) 8
Tectonic megasequence. Stratigraphy and paleogeography during the Mesozoic Part.2 (Jurassic)
TMSAP7: Early Jurassic to Late Jurassic ( Ma)
Second Field Trip
Shawur and Balak valleys
Rawanduz and Rania Subdistricts

9. 9
Tectonic megasequence. Stratigraphy and paleogeography during the Mesozoic Part.3 (Cretaceous)
TMSAP8: Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous (149-65Ma
TMS9: Late Cretaceous to Early Paleogene (92-63Ma) 10
Tectonic megasequence. Stratigraphy and paleogeography during the Cenozoic Part.1 (Paleogene)
TMS10 Paleocene-Late Eocene 11
Assessment # 2 (1 hour)
Tectonic megasquence. Stratigraphy and paleogeography during the Cenozoic Part 2 (Neogene)
TMS 11 Neogene
Third Field Trip
Hujran Valley
Shaqlawa Subdistrict

10. 12
New tectonic and geological hazards in Kurdistan Region and Iraq
Seismic swarm in Kurdistan
Rock sliding in Kurdistan
Shifting of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
Vertical quaternary Deposits 13
Main surface water Resource
Aquifer Types in Kurdistan region 14
Hydrocarbon resources in Kurdistan region
Oil and Gas fields in Kurdistan 15
Raw Materials and ore deposits in Kurdistan
Construction raw materials (limestone, Marble, sand, clay gypsum, cement. Ore deposits)

11. 12. Assessment Strategy Theoretical (60% of total course marks)
The average of three written examinations will stand for 15% of the total course marks.
The weekly quizzes will stand for 6% of the total course marks.
The report and power point presentation will stand for 3% of the total course marks.
A Final examination will stand for the remaining 36% of the total course marks.
Practical (40% of total course marks)
The average of two examinations will stand for 8% of the total course marks.
The reports about field trips which be prepared by a groups of 3-4 students have to be submitted (at least three field trips) will stand for 3% of the total course marks.
The average grade of several practical reports will account for 5 % of the total course marks. Each group of 3-4 students or individual student has to submit a report about the laboratory work.
A final examination will stand for 24% of the total course marks.

12. 13. Summary description of assessment items
Assessment Type
Description of Item
% Weighting
Grading
Tariff
Week due
Theoretical (60% of total course marks)
EXM 15
% excellent
1 hour
4th
Quizzes 6
80-89 % very good
15 minutes
weekly
PRS 3
70-79 % good
CWK
Final 36
60-69 % moderate
2 hours
last
Practical (25% of total course marks)
GWK/Field
50-59 % pass
N/A
3 per semester 8
<49 % fail
Weekly Rep. 5 _ 24

13. 14. Learning Session Structure
The students attend two hours lecture every week.
The practical part includes lab work and field trips. The duration of lab work is three hours and the minimum of three field trips will be arranged per semester.

14. 15. Learning and Teaching Methods
The theoretical material would be transferred by power point presentation, black board, posters, movies, etc.
The students will be examined every week for 15 minutes (quiz). The students will be asked to do homework every week besides, two paper exams per semester. There will be one open book exam to help students to use different available resources such as library, internet, personnel communication, etc. to answer questions. A power point presentation (10 slides) and a report (500 words) will be another task that students will be asked to prepare by the end of semester.
The practical material will be also transferred by brief presentation. The material includes redrawing paleogeography maps, indicating source area, geographic distribution of formations and their equivalents and etc.
The students will be examined every week for 10 minutes and will be asked to work within a group and write reports. Furthermore there will be two general paper exams.

15. 16. Bibliography
Buday, T., 1980: The regional geology of Iraq, v. 1, stratigraphy and paleogeography: Mosul, Iraq, Dar Al-Kutub Publishing House, University of Mosul, 445 p.
Bellen, R.C. van, H.V. Dunnington, R. Wetzel, and D.M. Morton, eds., 1959, Lexique stratigraphic international: Paris, v. III, Asie, Fascicule 10a Iraq, 333 p.
Alsharhan, A.S., and A.E.M. Nairn, 2003, Sedimentary basins and petroleum geology of the Middle East: Amsterdam, Netherlands, Elsevier Science B. V., 843 p.
Jassim, S.Z., and J.C. Goff, eds., 2006: Geology of Iraq, first edition: Brno, Czech Republic, Prague and Moravian Museum, 345 p.
Different PhD dissertations and MSc thesis inside and outside of department. The dissertations, thesis, and papers are available on internet, library of faculty, Journal of Geological Society of Iraq, Journal of Zankoy Sulaimani, Journal of Kurdistan Academician etc.

16. 17. Authored by Asst. Prof. Dr. Sardar M. Balaky