Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Parisa GholamiZadeh, Xiumian Hu, Eduardo Garzanti, Mohammad Hossein Adabi
Summary: This paper investigates the sedimentary successions from the Upper Cretaceous to Pliocene in the Neyriz region, providing important insights into the evolution of the Zagros orogeny. By documenting provenance changes and polyphase magmatism, the study sheds light on the progressive accretion, uplift, and exhumation processes of the Zagros orogen.
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN
(2022)
Article
Geology
Farhad Ahmadnejad, Giovanni Mongelli
Summary: Iranian's karst bauxites, part of the Irano-Himalayan bauxite belt, are associated with the Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt (ZFTB) and exhibit different compositions reflecting varied paleoenvironmental conditions. The composition of ooidal concretions in the bauxites indicates periods of humid tropical climate followed by intermittent dry-to-wet conditions. Ce/Ce* distribution in the bauxites suggests paleoredox evolution during bauxitization, with different patterns observed in different deposits. The provenance proxies indicate a UCC-like protolith for the ZFTB bauxite deposits, derived primarily from bedrock argillaceous sediments.
SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Fulong Cai, Lin Ding, Houqi Wang, Andrew K. Laskowski, Liyun Zhang, Bo Zhang, Ali Mohammadi, Jinxiang Li, Peiping Song, Zhenyu Li, Qinghai Zhang
Summary: The study of sandstone petrology, detrital zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopic and trace element analysis, and Cr-spinel electron microprobe geochemical analysis of samples from Paleocene to Miocene peripheral foreland strata in southern Iran suggests that ophiolite obduction occurred before the upper Maastrichtian-lower Paleocene Sachun Formation in an intra-oceanic setting. Furthermore, the presence of detrital zircon with varied eHf(t) values in the upper Oligocene-lower Miocene Razak and Agha Jari formations indicates sedimentary overlap with Eurasia. Analysis of SSZ-affinity Cr-spinel in all samples suggests that ophiolitic rocks have been a continual source of detritus in the foreland basin since the Paleocene.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Mahdi Najafi, Elisabet Beamud, Jonas Ruh, Frederic Mouthereau, Alireza Tahmasbi, Gilen Bernaola, Ali Yassaghi, Hossein Motamedi, Shahram Sherkati, Mohammad Ghasem Hassan Goodarzi, Jaume Verges
Summary: The integration of biostratigraphy, strontium isotope stratigraphy, and magnetostratigraphy provided precise dating of sedimentary evolution in the Fars arc, revealing the migration of sedimentary belts and propagation of folding. High rates of folding propagation suggest an efficient detachment level at the base of the deformed Arabian sedimentary cover, influencing the deformation propagation within the cover sequence and understanding the in-sequence deformation of the Zagros Simply Folded Belt.
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Seyedabolfazl Hosseini, Marc Andre Conrad, Pascal Kindler
Summary: A regional sequence-stratigraphic framework is proposed for the Berriasian-Barremian shallow platform succession in the Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt, supported by biostratigraphic results and calibrated by Sr-isotope data. Four large-scale sequences and sixteen small-scale sequences were identified and described, representing different depositional environments and platform growth architectures in different stages of the Berriasian-Barremian succession.
MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Majid Alipour
Summary: The Zagros fold and thrust belt (ZFTB) in Iran serves as a natural laboratory for studying the kinematics of Arabia-Eurasia convergence/collision and has economic significance. This orogenic belt exhibits variations in stratigraphic makeup and structural style, as well as occurences of ophiolites along the Zagros suture line. The tectonostratigraphic attributes of the ZFTB are shaped by the irregular pre-collisional geometry at the northeastern edge of the Arabian Plate, as proposed in this paper.
MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geology
Alireza Zarasvandi, Zahra Fereydouni, Bahram Alizadeh, Nurul Absar, Anil Dutt Shukla, Mohd Qaim Raza, M. Ashok, Marcos Zentilli
Summary: The Zagros phosphogenic horizon, located in Iran, is an important and high-grade phosphatic resource formed along the Tethyan Realm over 50 million years. The paleoenvironmental conditions during its formation varied from oxic-suboxic to anoxic states in a shallow marine setting. The petrographic and geochemical studies provide insights into the evolution and depositional paleoenvironment of these phosphorites.
ORE GEOLOGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
G. Behzad Zamani
Summary: Stress measurement is crucial in Earth and petroleum sciences. This paper determines the stress state in the Zagros Mountains using analytical techniques and identifies stress patterns and structural control in different zones.
MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Peiping Song, Lin Ding, Liyun Zhang, Fulong Cai, Qinghai Zhang, Zhenyu Li, Houqi Wang, Morteza Khalatbari Jafari, Morteza Talebian
Summary: Two well-dated paleomagnetic poles were discovered in the Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic arc in Central Iran, indicating that Iran was situated around 3.7 to 3 degrees of latitude south of its present position between 40 to 23 million years ago. The paleomagnetic declination data suggests that the Central Iran block may have undergone an approximately 11.6-degree clockwise rotation since the Late Eocene. The integration of the new data with the retrodeformed margins of the Zagros collision zone and contemporaneous Arabia positions provides a better understanding of the age and configuration of the Arabia and Eurasia assembly process, supporting the Arabia-Eurasia collision as a significant driver of global cooling and regional geological changes.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Ying-Hui Yang, Xiaoyun Li, Jyr-Ching Hu, Jiawei Song, Jingjin Zhao, Ali Yassaghi, Erwan Pathier, Qiang Xu, Qiang Chen
Summary: A doublet earthquake event occurred on 1 July 2022 in the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt in southeast Iran, involving two main shocks with a magnitude larger than M-w 6.0. The InSAR deformation field revealed significant surface uplift caused by fault-related folding in the seismic zone. The preferred faulting model suggests that higher dip angle and overlying gentle dipping faults were responsible for the two main shocks, with the first main shock triggering the second one.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Review
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Mohsen Rezaei, Alireza Zarasvandi, Ali Azhdari, Majid Heidari
Summary: This study conducted a regional-scale reconnaissance of 11 brine springs in the ZFTB, revealing their hypersaline nature and potential economic lithium recovery. Some of the springs already have lithium concentrations reaching economic extraction levels, and there is concern about the adverse environmental effects on water resources ecosystem.
APPLIED GEOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Geology
Michael H. Darin, Paul J. Umhoefer
Summary: The timing of the initial Arabia-Eurasia collision has been debated for decades, but a new plate tectonic reconstruction that includes the entire Arabian microcontinent and surrounding regions provides new insights. The study suggests that the collision began around 42 million years ago in the eastern Bitlis suture zone and gradually propagated towards central Anatolia and the Zagros Mountains.
INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGY REVIEW
(2022)
Article
Geology
Zhin S. Abdulrehman, Ahmed M. Aqrawi, Renas I. Koshnaw
Summary: This study investigates the geochemical properties of the shallow marine Govanda Formation in the Arabia-Eurasia suture zone. The results reveal the depositional environment and diagenetic characteristics of the carbonate rocks in this formation, suggesting their origin in a passive margin tectonic setting.
CARBONATES AND EVAPORITES
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yasamin Ebrahimi, Shahram Shafieibafti, Reza Derakhshani, Sara Esmaeilian
Summary: In the Bazargan area, heterogeneous deformation occurred in two stages from the Late Triassic to the Miocene, with slip partitioning affecting the structural evolution. The compressive axes remained consistent throughout the deformation, showing a NNE-SSW trend and indicating the area evolved under the influence of continuous deformation phases related to contraction, dip slip, and strike slip components.
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Zhiyong Zhang, Thomas Zack, Barry Kohn, Marco G. Malusa, Lin Wu, Mahnaz Rezaeian, Nan Wang, Dunfeng Xiang, Chao Guo, Rasoul Esmaeili, Bo Wan, Wenjiao Xiao
Summary: The intrusion rocks in northwest Iran provide an ideal opportunity for studying geothermochronology and recording the tectonic evolution of the Tethys Ocean. Multiple magmatic events during the Late Carboniferous, mid-Cretaceous, and middle Eocene suggest subduction and ridge subduction processes. The results also highlight the significance of subduction and collision in post-magmatic cooling and exhumation processes.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Maximilian Franzel, Stuart J. Jones, Neil Meadows, Mark B. Allen, Ken McCaffrey, Tim Morgan
Summary: The relationships between large-scale depositional processes and the stratigraphic record of alluvial systems, particularly the impact of Tethyan marine transgression on fluvial facies and architecture, remain relatively poorly understood. The study highlights the importance of chemostratigraphy and detailed sedimentological analysis in understanding the temporal and spatial prediction of fluvial architecture and their transition during a marine transgression.
Article
Engineering, Geological
Yueren Xu, Jing Liu-Zeng, Mark B. Allen, Weiheng Zhang, Peng Du
Summary: This study focuses on the 8 M similar to the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake, analyzing its effects on the Loess Plateau in China. The research highlights that the collapse of housing due to ground shaking was the main cause of the significant death toll, with landslides being a secondary factor. The findings suggest a revised distribution pattern of landslides and damage, extending the isoseismal intensity IX line south of previous locations and identifying dammed lakes created by co-seismic landslides.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Georgios-Pavlos Farangitakis, Ken J. W. McCaffrey, Ernst Willingshofer, Mark B. Allen, Lara M. Kalnins, Jeroen van Hunen, Patricia Persaud, Dimitrios Sokoutis
Summary: Pull-apart basins are structural features associated with the interaction of strike-slip and extensional tectonics, with their evolution influenced by various factors. Changing the plate motion direction impacts the structure of these basins, affecting fault patterns and sediment distribution. Analogous modelling experiments show good agreement with natural examples, suggesting a role for oblique extension and fault rotation in the evolution of pull-apart basins.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Zimu Wu, Ling Chen, Morteza Talebian, Xu Wang, Mingming Jiang, Yinshuang Ai, Haiqiang Lan, Yifan Gao, Mohammad Mahdi Khatib, Guangbing Hou, Sun-Lin Chung, Xiaofeng Liang, Liang Zhao, Nasser Naimi-Ghassabian, Wenjiao Xiao, Rixiang Zhu
Summary: By studying the lithosphere-asthenosphere system in the northeastern to eastern Iranian plateau, it was found that the LAB boundary varies at different depths, which may be a response to the complex lithospheric deformation caused by the Arabia-Eurasia collision and earlier Neo-Tethyan subduction.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Jimin Sun, Morteza Talebian, Chunsheng Jin, Weiguo Liu, Zhiliang Zhang, Mengmeng Cao, Brian F. Windley, Morteza Sheykh, Reza Shahbazi, Shengchen Tian
Summary: The Iranian Plateau is located in the middle of the Neotethys tectonic domain and underwent land/sea changes and tectonic uplift in response to the Arabia-Asia plate collision. Research indicates that the marine environment in Central Iran ended around 17 million years ago, with the final seawater retreat occurring around 16.8 million years ago, leading to increased aridification in the region.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Jimin Sun, Morteza Sheykh, Nahid Ahmadi, Mengmeng Cao, Zhiliang Zhang, Shengchen Tian, Jingeng Sha, Zhimin Jian, Brian F. Windley, Morteza Talebian
Summary: The closure of the Tethyan Seaway in the Miocene influenced global climatic changes, and the Northwest segment closed permanently around 12.8 million years ago. Global climatic change controlled marine transgressions and regressions in the region through its impact on ice sheets and sea level changes. Analyses of the sedimentary sequences suggest that Earth's eccentricity cycles controlled the marine fluctuations between 15.0 and 12.8 million years ago.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Zahra Mousavi, Morteza Fattahi, Mohammad Khatib, Morteza Talebian, Erwan Pathier, Andrea Walpersdorf, R. Alastair Sloan, Alexander L. Thomas, Ed Rhodes, Fynn Clive, Nicholas Dodds, Richard T. Walker
Summary: This study compares slip rate estimates using geodesy and geomorphology for the Doruneh left-lateral strike-slip fault in NE Iran. The analysis shows that less than 4 mm/yr of slip accumulates across the fault, with a stable rate of 2.5 mm/yr over the past 100 kyr.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Yifan Gao, Ling Chen, Morteza Talebian, Zimu Wu, Xu Wang, Haiqiang Lan, Yinshuang Ai, Mingming Jiang, Guangbing Hou, Mohammad Mahid Khatib, Wenjiao Xiao, Rixiang Zhu
Summary: This study investigates the seismic anisotropy of the northeastern and eastern Iranian plateau to understand the intracontinental deformation during the early stage of Arabia-Eurasia collision. The results reveal complex anisotropic features related to the nature and structural heterogeneities of the lithosphere, and suggest that tectonic boundaries and deep regions significantly impact the lithospheric deformation and anisotropy. Moreover, the study indicates that the Arabia-Eurasia convergence may be preferentially accommodated along tectonic boundaries and at depth.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Fatemeh Nouri, Ali Reza Davoudian, Nahid Shabanian, Mark B. Allen, Yoshihiro Asahara, Hossein Azizi, Ryo Anma, Mahnaz Khodami, Motohiro Tsuboi
Summary: The Ediacaran-early Cambrian magmatic rocks in the Ardakan region of central Iran consist of deformed granites and dolerites. The geochemical characteristics of these rocks provide insights into the magma sources, formation processes, and geological events.
JOURNAL OF ASIAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Jinran Qiao, Jie Dong, Shuguang Song, Chao Wang, Mark B. Allen, Li Su
Summary: Ocean-ridge subduction and induced slab windows play a crucial role in the formation of arc magmatism and growth of crust. A study in Northwestern China found low Sr/Y rhyodacites and associated ophiolites, which were formed through partial melting of normal mid-ocean-ridge basalts and exhibited characteristics of blow-torch effect during ocean-ridge subduction. Harzburgites in the area were similar to abyssal peridotites and formed through the obduction of hot asthenospheric mantle. These findings provide important insights into the petrogenesis of low Sr/Y rhyodacites and shed light on the processes occurring during ridge subduction.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Jimin Sun, Morteza Sheykh, Brian F. Windley, Morteza Talebian, Mengmeng Cao, Nahid Ahmadi, Jingeng Sha
Summary: The timing of tectonic deformation in the Zagros foreland basin provides important information about the tectonic propagation process driven by the Arabia-Eurasia convergence. The integrated analyses of Miocene strata in the Dezful Embayment show that the transition from marine to non-marine occurred around 12.8 Ma, with cyclic marine transgressions and regressions driven by eustatic sea level fluctuations. Tectonic deformation caused by the Arabia-Eurasia collision had propagated to the Dezful Embayment by 11 Ma.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nicholas Schliffke, Jeroen van Hunen, Mark B. Allen, Valentina Magni, Frederic Gueydan
Summary: Spreading centre jumps are a common feature of oceanic back-arc basins. This study presents 3D numerical models showing that these jumps can occur naturally in a homogeneous subduction system without any trigger event. The distance between the trench and spreading centre plays a key role in determining when and where the jumps occur, with the ratio of transform fault strength to overriding plate strength controlling the process.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Haiqiang Lan, Ling Chen, Sebastien Chevrot, Morteza Talebian, Xu Wang, Yifan Gao, Jianyong Zhang, Zimu Wu, Mehdi Shokati, Mingming Jiang, Yinshuang Ai, Guangbing Hou, Mulin Mao, Thanh-Son Pham, Wenjiao Xiao, Rixiang Zhu
Summary: This study reveals the structure of the Jaz Murian Basin in Southeast Iran through multiple measurement methods, identifying a sedimentary cover with an average thickness of approximately 3 kilometers and unconsolidated recently deposited sediments in the basin.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Fei Zhang, Mathieu Dellinger, Robert G. Hilton, Jimin Yu, Mark B. Allen, Alexander L. Densmore, Hui Sun, Zhangdong Jin
Summary: Seasonal changes in seawater lithium isotopes (ΔLi-7) were observed in Tibetan and Pamir rivers, with higher ΔLi-7 values during dry seasons compared to wet seasons. This global pattern is negatively correlated with annual runoff, suggesting a hydrological control on ΔLi-7 values. The study proposes that hydrological changes can affect river ΔLi-7 and calls for a reconsideration of its use in studying past weathering intensity and flux, offering a new approach to reconstruct hydrological conditions.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Xu Wang, Ling Chen, Morteza Talebian, Yinshuang Ai, Mingming Jiang, Huajian Yao, Yumei He, Abdolreza Ghods, Farhad Sobouti, Bo Wan, Yang Chu, Guangbing Hou, Qi-Fu Chen, Sun-Lin Chung, Wenjiao Xiao, Fu-Yuan Wu, Rixiang Zhu
Summary: The study successfully imaged the shallow crustal S-wave velocity structure in the Iranian Plateau using a joint inversion method. The results revealed high- and low-velocity anomalies, which are likely associated with magmatic activity and marl/shale layers, respectively. These findings provide important insights into sedimentary deformation in the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt and the variations in compositions and forming-environments of magmatic rocks in the Iranian hinterland.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH
(2022)