This is a project to plan for long-term U.S.-Azerbaijan collaborative research on the geochemistry and sequence stratigraphy of the Maikop series in Azerbaijan. The principal investigators are Cari Johnson from the University of Utah and Malakhat Efendiyeva from the Geological Institute of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences.
The Maikop series is a set of shales, which are likely the source rock for one of the most prolific petroleum resources of the 20th & 21st centuries, the South Caspian Basin. If we can explain why the South Caspian Basin contains the most rapidly deposited and thickest sedimentary successions anywhere and one that contains substantial source and reservoir rocks for petroleum, this would be a major advancement in our understanding of sedimentary basins everywhere.
This project in earth sciences research fulfills the program objectives of bringing together leading experts in the U.S. and Central/Eastern Europe to combine complementary efforts and capabilities in areas of strong mutual interest and competence on the basis of equality, reciprocity, and mutuality of benefit.
