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Madjid ABBASI

محمد ويسي، فرهاد ثبوتي و مجيد عباسي
Lithosphere and upper-mantle structure in the NW of Zagros collision zone inferred from 3D teleseismic tomography
مطالعه ساختار لیتوسفر و گوشته بالایی در شمال‌غرب زون برخوردی زاگرس با استفاده از توموگرافی دورلرز سه‌بعدی
Abstract


We performed a 3D teleseismic tomography to image the lithosphere and upper mantle structures in the northwest of the Zagros collision zone and the Iranian plateau. The Iranian Plateau is a high relief region that has formed as a result of continental collision between the Arabian plate and Eurasia in the latter part of the Cenozoic. The Zagros and Alborz active tectonic belts are situated on the southwestern and northern margins of the Plateau, respectively. Our aim was to investigate the lithospheric structure and the geometry of the subducted oceanic slab in a region encompassing the Zagros and Alborz mountain ranges in NW Iran. For this purpose teleseismic data recorded at two temporary networks in NW Iran and several stations of the Iranian permanent networks were used in the ACH tomography scheme developed by Aki et al. (1977). A total number of 8164 seismic rays where used in the tomography. Checkerboard synthetic tests were performed to insure that the tomography had adequate resolution power in order to have reliable interpretation of the results. Our seismic tomograms distinguish three major anomalous regions in terms of velocity variation with adequate resolution in the study area. They are: 1) a high velocity anomaly corresponding to the Zagros lithosphere, 2) two low velocity anomalies underneath the Sahand and Sabalan volcanos in NW Iran, 3) and a deep high velocity perturbation delineating position and geometry of the subducted oceanic slab in the upper mantle. Our results show the lithosphere beneath the Zagros Mountains has a thickness almost twice as that in central Iran and the Alborz Mountains. NW Iran shows no high velocity character at shallow depths, indicating a thin and possibly warm lithosphere. In NW Iran the lithosphere reaches its minimum thickness anywhere throughout the Iranian Plateau. Two low velocities in our model indicate anomalously warm crust beneath the Sahand and Sabalan volcanos. These crustal anomalies link with deeper low velocity regions in the lithosphere and shallow upper mantle. The presence of low velocities at this depth range in NW Iran can either be related to partial melting associated with the mantle wedge region above the subducted slab, or to the possibility of lithospheric delamination. We have traced the Tethyan slab down to 650 km depth in the central part of the model. A discontinuity in the structure of the subducted slab has been mapped in the depth range of 250 km at the base of the Zagros lithosphere, which can be the location of a slab detachment in the central part of the model. The location and depth of the velocity discontinuity point to a post-collisional and relatively young slab breakoff of 10-5 Ma age in NW Zagros

 

 

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