Evaluation of active tectonism by means of geomorphic indices has provided crucial semi-quantitative data for evaluating seismic hazards in a fault zone in a semiarid area of the Zagros Mountains of Iran where tectoni...
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Evaluation of active tectonism by means of geomorphic indices has provided crucial semi-quantitative data for evaluating seismic hazards in a fault zone in a semiarid area of the Zagros Mountains of Iran where tectonic rates are low-to-moderate and there are few Quaternary dates. Quaternary activity along the seismically active but poorly understood Sabzpushan fault zone (SFZ) has been investigated. The SFZ consists of two dextral strike-slip faults, the Zafarabad and Kafari faults. Geomorphic indices including mountain front sinuosity, valley asymmetry factor, hypsometric integral, valley floor width to valley height ratio and stream length gradient index were used to assess the effects of active reverse faults which control the topographic relief and Quaternary activity. Geomorphometric and field evidence reveal that the Quaternary activity and topographic relief of the study area are controlled by two reverse faults, the North and South Sabzpushan reverse faults, which have formed a pop-up structure in the contractional step-over area between the Zafarabad and Kafari dextral strikeslip faults as a consequence of oblique convergence between the Afro-Arabian and Iranian plates accommodated by the North and South Sabzpushan thrust faults.
A large-scale pop-up structure occurs at the front of the northern Dabashan thrust belt (NDTB), bound by the NNE-dipping Chengkou fault to the south, and the SSW-dipping Gaoqiao fault to the north. The pop-up struct...
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A large-scale pop-up structure occurs at the front of the northern Dabashan thrust belt (NDTB), bound by the NNE-dipping Chengkou fault to the south, and the SSW-dipping Gaoqiao fault to the north. The pop-up structure shows different features along its strike as a direct reflection of the intensity of tectonic" activity. To the northwest, the structure is characterized by a two-directional thrust system forming a positive flower-like structure. In contrast, the southeastern part is composed of the vertical Chengkou fault and a series of N-directed backthrusts, showing a semi-flower-like structure. We present results from Ar-Ar dating of syntectonic microthermal metamorphic sericite which show that the Chengkou fault experienced intense deformation during the mid-Mesozoic Yanshanian epoch (about 143.3 Ma), causing rapid uplift and thrusting of the northern Dabashan thrust belt. During the propagation of this thrust, a series of backthrusts formed because of the obstruction from the frontier of Dabashan thrust belt, leading to the development of the pop-up structure.
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