salt tectonics and tear faulting in the central part of the zagros fold thrust belt iran abstract the central part of the zagros fold thrust belt is characterized by a series of right lateral and left lateral transverse tear fault systems some of them being ornamented by salt diapirs of the late precambrian early cambrian hormuz evaporitic series many deep seated extensional faults mainly along n s and few along nw se and ne sw were formed or reactivated during the late precambrian early cambrian and generated horsts and grabens the extensional faults controlled deposition distribution and thickness of the hormuz series salt walls and diapirs initiated by the early paleozoic especially along the extensional faults long term halokinesis gave rise to thin sedimentary cover above the salt diapirs and aggregated considerable volume of salt into the salt stocks they created weak zones in the sedimentary cover located approximately above the former and inactive deep seated extensional faults the n s to nne ssw direction of tectonic shortening during the neogene zagros folding was sub parallel with the strikes of the salt walls and rows of diapirs variations in thickness of the hormuz series prepared differences in the basal friction on both sides of the precambrian cambrian extensional faults which facilitated the zagros deformation front to advance faster wherever the salt layer was thicker consequently a series of tear fault systems developed along the rows of salt diapirs approximately above the precambrian cambrian extensional faults therefore the present surface expressions of the tear fault systems developed within the sedimentary cover during the zagros orogeny although the direction of the zagros shortening could also potentially reactivate the basement faults as strike slip structures subsurface data and majority of the moderate large earthquakes do not support basement involvement this suggests that the tear fault systems are detached on top of the hormuz series from the deep seated precambrian cambrian extensional faults in the basement

a model for planetesimal meltdown by 26al and its implications for meteorite parent bodies the melting of planetesimals heated by 26 al has been modelled using a new finite difference method that incorporates convection as an example we consider a planetesimal with a radius of 64 km which accretes instantaneously at t 0 75 myr after the formation of calcium aluminum rich inclusions from cold 250 k nebular dust with 50 porosity at t 0 9 myr t 700 k the planetesimal shrinks to a radius of 50 km due to sintering at t 1 2 myr t 1425 k the fully insulated interior deeper than a few kilometers starts to melt and at t 1 5 myr t 1725 k with 50 melting convection starts by t 2 myr the planetesimal is a globe of molten convecting slurry inside a thin residual crust from about t 2 5 myr the crust thickens rapidly as the power of 26 al fades planetesimals probably melt in this manner when they accrete before t 1 3 myr and are large enough to insulate themselves r 20 km for accretion at t 0 rising to 80 km at t 1 3 myr melting behavior will also be affected by the level of 60 fe in nebular dust by the extent of devolatilization reactions and basalt segregation during heating and by gradual accretion the model suggests that a the parent bodies of differentiated meteorites had accreted before about t 1 5 to 2 myr and before most chondritic parent bodies had formed and b that molten planetesimals may be a source for chondrule melt droplets

importance of the accretion process in asteroid thermal evolution 6 hebe as an example widespread evidence exists for heating that caused melting thermal metamorphism and aqueous alteration in meteorite parent bodies previous simulations of asteroid heat transfer have assumed that accretion was instantaneous for the first time we present a thermal model that assumes a realistic incremental accretion scenario and takes into account the heat budget produced by decay of 26al during the accretion process by modeling 6 hebe assumed to be the h chondrite parent body we show that in contrast to results from instantaneous accretion models an asteroid may reach its peak temperature during accretion the time at which different depth zones within the asteroid attain peak metamorphic temperatures may increase from the center to the surface and the volume of high grade material in the interior may be significantly less than that of unmetamorphosed material surrounding the metamorphic core we show that different times of initiation and duration of accretion produce a spectrum of evolutionary possibilities and thereby highlight the importance of the accretion process in shaping an asteroid s thermal history incremental accretion models provide a means of linking theoretical models of accretion to measurable quantities peak temperatures cooling rates radioisotope closure times in meteorites that were determined by their thermal histories

interpreting the geologic map expression of contractional fault related fold terminations lateral oblique ramps versus displacement gradients abstract fault related folds in contractional settings do not extend indefinitely but rather commonly terminate as plunging anticlines near the tips of the genetically related fault geologists often attribute the formation of such terminations to loss of slip on the underlying fault i e a displacement gradient to changes in fault geometry in which the fault laterally changes stratigraphic position along strike i e a lateral oblique ramp or to some combination of these mechanisms discerning between these formative mechanisms solely through the interpretation of the geologic map expression of the termination can be difficult because of the subjective nature of the criteria used e g lateral oblique ramps often are interpreted at terminations where folds plunge at steep angles where hanging wall cutoff lines trend at high angles to fault strike where stratigraphic contacts trend at high angles to fault strike etc we created pseudo three dimensional model terminations of individual fault related folds using both displacement gradients and lateral oblique ramps to determine if unique characteristics in their map expressions exist we show that map patterns of folds produced by a displacement gradient along a thrust fault of constant geometry are similar to map patterns of folds produced by constant slip on a thrust fault with a lateral oblique ramp specifically our modeling results suggest that 1 simple fault bend folds that plunge less than 20 and simple fault propagation folds that plunge less than 50 at their terminations can be created by both displacement gradients and lateral oblique ramps angles greater than these values suggest that a lateral oblique ramp may be involved in forming the termination 2 hanging wall cutoff lines at terminations that trend at angles less than about 35 to fault strike for simple fault bend and fault propagation folds also may be produced by both displacement gradients and lateral oblique ramps higher angles likely indicate the presence of a lateral oblique ramp at the termination 3 the angle at which stratigraphic contacts trend to the fault strike cannot be used to uniquely identify displacement gradients or lateral oblique ramps for simple fault related folds 4 stratigraphic separation diagrams can indicate the presence of ramps in the thrust sheet but do not uniquely differentiate between frontal ramps with displacement gradients and lateral oblique ramps and 5 actual changes in fault orientation after topographic influences have been taken into account by definition indicate a lateral oblique ramp in reality most natural fault related fold terminations probably share components of both displacement gradients and lateral oblique ramps with each structure possessing contributions from each mechanism

explosive volcanism and the compositions of cores of differentiated asteroids eleven iron meteorite groups show correlations between ni and siderophile trace elements that are predictable by distribution coefficients between liquid and solid metal in fractionally crystallizing metal magmas these meteorites are interpreted to be fragments of the fractionally crystallized cores of eleven differentiated asteroids many of these groups crystallized from s depleted magmas which we propose resulted from removal of the first partial melt the fe nifes cotectic melt by explosive pyroclastic volcanism of the type envisaged by wilson and keil 8 we show that these dense negatively buoyant melts can be driven to asteroidal surfaces due to the presence of excess pressure in the melt and the presence of buoyant bubbles of gas which decrease the density of the melt we also show that in typical asteroidal materials veins will form which grow into dikes and serve as pathways for migration of melt and gas to asteroidal surfaces since cotectic fe nifes melt consists of about 85 wt fes and 15 wt fe ni removal of small volumes of eutectic melts results in major loss of s but only minor loss of fe ni thus leaving sufficient fe ni to form sizeable asteroidal cores

revised model calculations for the thermal histories of ordinary chondrite parent bodies recent measurements of ordinary chondrite physical and thermal properties along with new geothermometry studies have provided the necessary parameters for updating a previously proposed model miyamoto et al 1981 for the thermal evolution and internal structure of ordinary chondrite parent bodies model calculations assumed a heat source term derived from the decay of 26al justification is provided differences from the previous model include varying the thermal diffusivity parameter with increasing temperature and decreasing porosity using variable physical and thermal parameters to provide end member models and incorporating a shortened thermal history of 60 ma obtained from new pb pb chronology of phosphates rather than 100 ma times of isotopic closure in chondrite phosphates overlap the thermal model estimates and postmetamorphic cooling rates from the model approximately coincide in both trend and magnitude with metallographic and fission track cooling rate data model calculations attempt to match peak metamorphic conditions in the central portions of these bodies and yield accretion ages between 1 4 to 3 1 ma after calcium aluminum inclusion cai formation model calculations also predict that both the h and the l chondrite parent asteroids consisted of 80 equilibrated and 20 unequilibrated chondritic material and that their original radii ranged from 80 to 95 km

water storage and early hydrous melting of the martian mantle abstract we report an experimental investigation of the near solidus phase equilibria of a water saturated analog of the martian mantle experiments were performed at low temperatures 700 920 c and high pressure 4 7 gpa using multi anvil apparatus and piston cylinder device 4 gpa the results of this study are used to explore the role of water during early melting and chemical differentiation of mars and to further our understanding of the near solidus behavior in planetary mantle compositions at high pressure water has a significant effect on the temperature of melting and therefore on accretion and subsequent differentiation processes experiments locate the wet solidus at 800 c and is isothermal between 4 gpa and 7 gpa the martian primitive mantle can store significant amounts of water in hydrous minerals stable near the solidus humite group minerals and phase e represent the most abundant hydrous minerals stable in the 4 7 gpa pressure range the amount of water that can be stored in the mantle and mobilized during melting ranges from 1 to up to 4 wt near the wet solidus we discuss thermal models of mars accretion where the planet formed very rapidly and early on in solar system history we incorporate the time constraint of dauphas and pourmand 2011 that mars had accreted to 50 of its present mass in 1 8 myr and include the effects of 26al radioactive decay and heat supplied by rapid accretion when accretion has reached 30 of mars current mass 70 of its present size melting starts and extends from 100 to 720 km depth below this melt layer water can still be bound in crystalline solids the critical stage is at 50 accretion 80 of its size where mars is above the wet and dry solidi with most of its interior melted this is earlier in the accretion process than what would be predicted from dry melting we suggest that water may have promoted early core formation on mars and rapidly extended melting over a large portion of mars interior

compositional trends among iid irons their possible formation from the p rich lower magma in a two layer core group iid is the fifth largest group of iron meteorites and the fourth largest magmatic group i e that formed by fractional crystallization we report neutron activation data for 19 of 21 known iid irons these confirm earlier studies showing that the group has a relatively limited range in ir concentrations a factor of 5 this limited range is not mainly due to incomplete sampling instead it seems to indicate low solid liquid distribution coefficients reflecting very low s contents of the parental magma the same explanation responsible for the limited range in group iva despite this similarity these two groups have very different volatile patterns group iva has very low abundances of the volatile elements ga sb and ge whereas in group iid ga and sb abundances are the highest known in a magmatic group of iron meteorites and ge abundances are the second highest after group iiab group iid appears to be the only large magmatic group having high volatile abundances but low s in the volatile depleted groups iva and ivb it is plausible that s was lost as a volatile from a chondritic precursor material because group iid seems to have experienced minimal loss of volatiles we suggest that s was lost as an early melt having a composition near that of the fe fes eutectic 315 mg g s when temperatures had risen 400 500 k higher p rich melts formed became gravitationally unstable and drained through the first melt to form an inner core that was parental to the iid irons as discussed by kracher a wasson j t 1982 the role of s in the evolution of the parental cores of the iron meteorites geochim cosmochim acta46 2419 2426 it is plausible that a metal rich inner core and a s rich outer core could coexist metastably because stratification near the interface permitted only diffusional mixing the initial liquidus temperature of the inner p rich core is estimated to have been 1740 k after 60 crystallization the increase in p and the decrease in temperature may have permitted immiscibility with the s rich outer core we have not recognized samples of the outer core

accretion timescales and style of asteroidal differentiation in an 26al poor protoplanetary disk the decay of radioactive 26al to 26mg half life of 730 000 years is postulated to have been the main energy source promoting asteroidal melting and differentiation in the nascent solar system high resolution chronological information provided by the 26al 26mg decay system is therefore intrinsically linked to the thermal evolution of early formed planetesimals in this paper we explore the timing and style of asteroidal differentiation by combining high precision mg isotope measurements of meteorites with thermal evolution models for planetesimals in detail we report mg isotope data for a suite of olivine rich al mg 0 achondritic meteorites as well as a few chondrites main group pyroxene and the zinder pallasites as well as the lodranite all record deficits in the mass independent component of 26mg 26mg relative to chondrites and earth this isotope signal is expected for the retarded ingrowth of radiogenic 26mg in olivine rich residues produced through partial silicate melting during 26al decay and consistent with their marginally heavy mg isotope composition relative to ordinary chondrites which may reflect the early extraction of isotopically light partial melts from the source rock we propose that their parent planetesimals started forming within 250 000 years of solar system formation from a hot 500 k inner protoplanetary disk region characterized by a reduced initial 26al 27al 0 abundance 1 2 10 5 relative to the 26al 27al 0 value in cais of 5 25 10 5 this effectively reduced the total heat production and allowed for the preservation of solid residues produced through progressive silicate melting with depth within the planetesimals these non carbonaceous planetesimals acquired their mass throughout an extended period 3 myr of continuous accretion thereby generating onion shell structures of incompletely differentiated zones consisting of olivine rich residues overlaid by metachondrites and undifferentiated chondritic crusts in contrast individual olivine crystals from eagle station pallasites record variable 26mg excesses suggesting that these crystals captured the 26mg evolution of a magmatic reservoir controlled by fractional crystallization processes during the lifespan of 26al similar to previous suggestions based on isotopic evidence we suggest that eagle station pallasites formed from precursor material similar in composition to carbonaceous chondrites from a cool outer protoplanetary disk region characterized by 26al 27al 0 2 7 10 5 protracted planetesimal accretion timescales at large orbital distances with onset of accretion 0 3 1 myr post cais may have resulted in significant radiative heat loss and thus efficient early interior cooling of slowly accreting carbonaceous planetesimals

multiple parent bodies of ordinary chondrites abstract thermal histories of chondrite parent bodies are calculated from an initial state with material in a powder like form taking into account the effect of consolidation state on thermal conductivity the very low thermal conductivity of the starting materials makes it possible for a small body with a radius of less than 100 km to be heated by several hundred degrees even if long lived radioactive elements in chondritic abundances are the only source of heat the maximum temperature is determined primarily by the temperature at which sintering of the constituent materials occurs the thermal state of the interior of a chondrite parent body after sintering has begun is nearly isothermal near the surface however where the material is unconsolidated and the thermal conductivity is much lower the thermal gradient is quite large this result contradicts the conventional onion shell model of chondrite parent bodies but because the internal temperature is almost constant through the whole body it supports a multiple parent bodies model according to which each petrologic type of chondrite comes from a different parent body

a reappraisal of earthquake focal mechanisms and active shortening in the zagros mountains of iran summary the zagros mountains of sw iran are one of the most seismically active intra continental fold and thrust belts on earth and an important element in the active tectonics of the middle east surface faulting associated with earthquakes is extremely rare and so most information about the active faulting comes from earthquakes we use long period teleseismic p and sh body waves to determine the orientation and depth of faulting in 16 new earthquakes and then evaluate and synthesize all the available teleseismic data on earthquake source parameters in the zagros we use this information to investigate the style and distribution of active faulting in the zagros and how it contributes to the n s shortening of the arabia eurasia collision when the data are ranked in quality and carefully evaluated simple patterns are seen that are not apparent when routine catalogue data are taken at face value an important change in the fault configuration occurs along strike of the belt in the nw overall convergence is oblique to the trend of the belt and the surface anticlines and is achieved by a spatial separation partitioning of the orthogonal strike slip and shortening components on separate parallel fault systems by contrast in the se overall convergence is orthogonal to the regional strike and achieved purely by thrusting in the central zagros between these two structural regimes deformation involves parallel strike slip faults that rotate about vertical axes allowing extension along the strike of the belt the overall configuration is similar to that seen in other curved shortening belts such as the himalaya and the java sumatra trench all the zagros earthquakes we have been able to check have centroids shallower than 20 km and are confined to the upper crust many of the larger earthquakes are likely to occur in the basement beneath the sedimentary cover which is active even beneath areas of known shallow structural decollement such as the dezful embayment the dominant style of shortening is high angle reverse faulting with dips 30 though some lower angle thrusting occurs in places active thrust and reverse faulting is relatively confined to the lower topography on the sw edge of the belt today and only strike slip faulting affects the higher topography profound vertical changes in structural and stratigraphic level indicate that a similar style of deformation was once active across the width of the simple folded belt but has progressively migrated sw over the last 5 ma there is no evidence for a seismically active structural decollement such as a low angle thrust beneath the zagros nor is there any seismic evidence for active subduction either beneath the zagros or beneath central iran instead the arabian margin seems to have shortened by distributed thickening of the basement only in the syntaxis of the oman line at the se end of the zagros is there any evidence for a low angle thrust of regional extent here earthquakes continue 50 km north of the zagros thrust line the geological suture between the arabian margin and central iran reaching depths of 30 km and may represent thrusting of arabian basement beneath central iran to this extent

seismotectonics of the zagros continental collision zone and a comparison with the himalayas accurate focal depths of 16 medium to large zagros earthquakes were determined from identification of surface reflected phases by comparing observed long period p waves with synthetic seismograms all events are shallow 6 12 km and show no tendency to deepen toward the main zagros thrust geological and geophysical evidence suggests that most of these earthquakes probably occurred within the uppermost precambrian basement because the focal mechanisms of these events indicate high angle reverse faulting the events do not occur on a single detachment surface but rather reflect horizontal shortening of the basement on numerous short segmented 8 probably occurred along this detachment a comparative study of the zagros with the himalayas suggests that the active tectonics of the zagros continental collision zone and the iranian blocks arc similar to those of the himalayas and the tibetan terranes in oligocene time

aspects of the three dimensional structure of the alberta foothills and front ranges ever more detailed subsurface images of the alberta foothills and front ranges obtained from improving seismic techniques coupled with an ever expanding base of information from deep wells and improved structural analysis techniques have produced an understanding of fold thrust deformation that is probably applicable to other fold thrust belts comprehensive subsurface data obtained by the petroleum industry are used to outline and analyze the three dimensional configuration of fold thrust deformation of paleozoic carbonate strata these data indicate that displacement changes smoothly along individual thrusts but displacement changes along strike may be large marked by considerable horizontal rotation 20 30 or more of hanging wall stratigraphic cutoffs relative to the footwalls stacking of thrusts with varying displacements has produced summed horizontal rotations of hanging wall cutoffs of as much as 45 50 the three dimensional trajectories of the thrusts through the stratigraphy are smooth for large distances interrupted by abrupt offsets at lateral and oblique ramps these are more common than previously realized the intersections of these ramps with other thrusts produce complex three dimensional links between thrusts with concomitant abrupt displacement changes some simple examples of these linkages are examined with a three dimensional geometric analysis the predictions of the analysis are consistent with structural geometries observed in two case studies of subsurface structures the links at lateral ramps imply simultaneous displacement on parts of the thrusts connected by the ramps since the ramps extend downdip 20 km or more displacement occurred simultaneously on structures occupying relatively interior and exterior positions in the thrust belt the smooth and long radius of curvature folding of many upper detachments indicated by reflection seismic data also is consistent with simultaneous or overlapping periods of motion on groups of thrusts distributed along regional dip most major alberta foothills thrust sheets terminate southward at lateral ramps at the paleozoic level the abrupt southwest northeast offsets at these features are most clearly apparent on a palinspastic reconstruction these offsets cause the paleozoic deformation front to step out east and northeast around the southern and eastern margins of the main arc of the foothills in contrast northward thrust terminations at the paleozoic level commonly occur at both tip lines and lateral ramps subsurface data reveal that there have been some misconceptions regarding large scale structural relationships for example the mcconnell and livingstone sheets are actually portions of the same thrust sheet as are the bighorn and nikanassin sheets when corrected for these misconceptions the data from the alberta foothills suggest that maximum displacement has a nonlinear relationship to thrust length although a linear relationship cannot be ruled out

accommodation of the different structural styles in the foreland fold and thrust belts northern dezful embayment in the zagros belt iran structural styles in the zagros foreland fold and thrust belt vary spatially differential lateral propagation of folds causes to create tear faults in this belt in this research tear faults are studied in northern dezful embayment tear faults have been accommodated the different structural styles in sedimentary cover during the compressional regime in the zagros fold and thrust belt different structural styles indicate a difference in intensity deformation these faults originated as the pre existing inverted reactive deep seated faults or which activate in the sedimentary strata during the compressional regime investigation of the structural style of folds in the sedimentary cover is a key point to recognize tear faults in this research the structural style of the kabood qale nar bala rud and lab e safid subsurface anticlines in the northern dezful embayment has been studied the interpretation of seismic profiles balanced cross sections restoration and 3d structural modeling is investigated to study the structural style of mentioned anticlines the area of the studied region is 92 20 km2 two tear faults with nne trending have been separated qale nar and bala rud anticlines in the central part from lab e safid and kabood anticlines in eastern and western parts respectively the intensity of deformation in the lab e safid anticline is less than the qale nar and bala rud anticlines on its western side displacement and deformation of the kabood anticline are more than the qale nar anticline in its eastern side kabood anticline is multi bend fault bend fold qale nar and bala rud are fault bend folds and lab e safid is detachment fold tear faults have been accommodated by these different structural styles in this region

late cretaceous to recent deformation related to inherited structures and subsequent compression within the persian gulf a 2d seismic case study abstract the persian gulf is part of an asymmetric foreland basin related to the zagros orogen few published studies of this basin and associated onshore areas include seismic reflection data we present a seismic stratigraphic interpretation based on marine 2d seismic data which reveals the presence of two types of compressional structures within the basin 1 faulted domes related to salt movement and the offshore trace of a nne ssw trending dextral basement fault the kazerun fault 2 long wavelength 16 km low amplitude 60 ms two way travel time folds relating to the advancing deformation front associated with the orogen thinning of age constrained stratal units across structures related to the offshore trace of the kazerun fault implies a distinct pulse of uplift on this fault during the maastrichtian the geometry of growth strata across other intra basin structures suggests a second later stage of deformation which began in the middle miocene thickening and folding of post middle miocene stratal units towards the ne i e towards the zagros orogen is interpreted to reflect rapid loading subsidence and compression related to southwestwards advance of the orogen the results of this study have implications for the interaction between pre existing structures and later compressional events both within the persian gulf and elsewhere

structural framework of the zagros fold thrust belt iran abstract data gleaned from the literature on the zagros have been compiled and used in conjunction with new interpretations to provide a better picture of the structures sedimentation history and deformation of this hydrocarbon rich mountain belt the belt parallel mountain front the n s trending kazerun izeh and e w trending bala rud fault zones are defined as the master structural elements of the belt these fault zones divide the zagros basin into zones with different stratigraphic successions and different rheological profiles this resulted in different structural styles developing along the belt during the subsequent collision the kazerun and izeh fault zones acted as the depositional system transition zone between the lurestan and fars regions in jurassic cretaceous time and partly controlled the distribution of the kazhdumi formation one of the major source rocks by the end of the cretaceous the nw se trending mountain front fault divided the present folded belt of the zagros into a major foreland basin to the southwest and a piggyback basin to the northeast activity along other major transfer fault zones including the izeh kazerun and bala rud fault zones occurred at this time and controlled the sedimentation and subsidence of the dezful embayment the main target region for hydrocarbon exploration these fault zones controlled the thickness of the asmari formation one of the main reservoirs and also the considerable thickness and facies changes of the gachsaran formation the major seal to the asmari formation the present morphology of the mountain belt is interpreted as being mainly related to the pinning of the mountain front fault to the northwest of the dezful embayment and to the north of the strait of hormuz

numerical simulations of the differentiation of accreting planetesimals with 26al and 60fe as the heat sources numerical simulations have been performed for the differentiation of planetesimals undergoing linear accretion growth with 26al and 60fe as the heat sources planetesimal accretion was started at chosen times up to 3 ma after ca al rich inclusions cais were formed and was continued for periods of 0 001 1 ma the planetesimals were initially porous unconsolidated bodies at 250 k but became sintered at around 700 k ending up as compact bodies whose final radii were 20 50 100 or 270 km with further heating the planetesimals underwent melting and igneous differentiation two approaches to core segregation were tried in the first labelled a the core grew gradually before silicate began to melt and in the second labelled b the core segregated once the silicate had become 40 molten in a when the silicate had become 20 molten the basaltic melt fraction began migrating upward to the surface carrying 26al with it the 60fe partitioned between core and mantle the results show that the rate and timing of core and crust formation depend mainly on the time after cais when planetesimal accretion started they imply significant melting where accretion was complete before 2 ma and a little melting in the deep interiors of planetesimals that accreted as late as 3 ma the latest melting would have occurred at 10 ma the effect on core and crust formation of the planetesimals final size the duration of accretion and the choice of 60fe 56fe initial were also found to be important particularly where accretion was late the results are consistent with the isotopic ages of differentiated meteorites and they suggest that the accretion of chondritic parent bodies began more than 2 or 3 ma after cais

the role of salt in fold and thrust belts davis d m and engelder t 1985 the role of salt in fold and thrust belts in n l carter and s uycda editors collision tectonics deformation of continental lithosphere tectonophysics 119 67 88 the style of deformation in thin skinned fold and thrust belts is critically dependent upon the resistance to sliding along the detachment between the mass of deforming sediments and the underlying rocks evaporites can provide an extremely weak horizon within which a basal detachment can form and along which only a relatively small shear traction can be supported fold and thrust belts that form atop a salt layer such as the appalachian plateau the franklin mountains in northwestern canada and the jura of the alps among others share several readily observable characteristics as predicted by a simple mechanical model for fold and thrust belts a detachment in salt permits a thrust belt to have an extremely narrow cross sectional taper in addition predicted orientations of the principal stress axes over a salt dtcollement are consistent with the commonly observed lack of a consistently dominant vergence direction of structures within the thrust belt other common attributes of salt basal thin skinned deformation include the presence of several widely but regularly spaced folds and abrupt changes in deformational style at the edge of the salt basin

variation of structural style and basin evolution in the central zagros izeh zone and dezful embayment iran abstract structural style and its relationship to sedimentary facies and the evolution of sedimentary depocenters since late cretaceous times have been studied on the basis of one regional balanced transect and several updated isopach maps in the izeh zone and the dezful embayment central zagros this study relies on fieldwork data existing geological maps seismic data and well information a new structural classification for part of the zagros sedimentary cover is presented to highlight the different mechanical behavior of the formations in the stratigraphic column it shows the existence of several local decollement levels activated during folding these decollement levels separate lithotectonic units which accommodate shortening in different ways the lower paleozoic is the basal decollement level throughout the studied area triassic evaporites albian shales eocene marls and miocene evaporites can act as intermediate decollement levels and present variable facies in the central zagros lateral facies and thickness variations the sedimentary overburden and the close relationship with inherited fault patterns influenced the wavelength amplitude and style of folding in the study area furthermore surface structures do not necessarily coincide with deeper objectives where these disharmonic levels are involved in folding the evolution of sedimentary depocenters from the late cretaceous obduction episode until early miocene collision is described based on updated isopach maps and tectonic subsidence curves this analysis shows continuous compression and movements along n s and nw se trending faults in the zagros basement which predate the neogene zagros folding and influence sedimentation history it also indicates a southwestward migration of the depocenters through time in addition to the basement involvement below some folds during the zagros orogeny

core formation in asteroids chemical arguments based on the s concentrations in the metallic magmas that formed magmatic iron meteorites and on the lack of pyroxene in pallasites suggest that core formation in asteroids was accompanied by 40 melting of the associated silicates the existence of plagioclase free residues from partial melting such as lodranite meteorites indicates that metal did not segregate from silicates when the amount of partial melting was only 15 thus core formation in asteroids requires substantial melting of an asteroid high interfacial energies between metallic melts and silicates require that metallic spherules sink through partially molten silicates to form cores in asteroids and planetesimals the globule sinking mechanism is not very efficient because silicate crystal liquid mixtures have high yield strengths making it difficult for the globules to sink calculations suggest that the melt fraction must reach 50 before globules can sink alternatively porous flow of molten metal is possible when the amount of metal is high enough to form an interconnected network about 50 this can be achieved by high initial abundances of metal or by gradual removal of silicate melt thereby enriching the residue in the metal sulfide assemblage this also requires removal of 50 silicate partial melt though not necessarily all at once such high amounts of melting were not always attained in asteroids so many asteroids probably consist of partially differentiated silicates and metallic masses that did not segregate to a core s asteroids might represent such partially differentiated bodies

tectonics of the zagros orogenic belt of iran new data and interpretations abstract the zagros orogenic belt of iran is the result of the opening and closure of the neo tethys oceanic realm and consists from northeast to southwest of three parallel tectonic subdivisions 1 1 the urumieh dokhtar magmatic assemblage 2 2 the sanandaj sirjan zone and 3 3 the zagros simply folded belt recent detailed and reconnaissance mapping and stratigraphie structural analyses in various parts of the belt indicate that the tectonics of the sanandaj sirjan zone is dominated by either large scale composite duplex structures or low and high angle ne dipping imbricate systems these thrust systems have transported numerous horses and sheets nappes of metamorphosed and non metamorphosed phanerozoic rocks for tens or possibly hundreds of kilometers stratigraphic evidence and synorogenic conglomerates indicate that thrusting was initiated in the late cretaceous and has continued episodically since that time shear sense indicators in various parts of the zone reveal a ne sw direction of transport thrust systems generated in each episode are superimposed upon the previous structures cutting across and displacing them and producing complicated stacks of thrust sheets southwestward transport and stacking of the thrust sheets has resulted in an increase of about 10 15 km in the thickness of the continental crust in the southwestern part of this zone the so called z main zagros thrust which has been traditionally considered as the boundary between the sanandaj sirjan zone and the zagros simply folded belt is by no means a single high angle reverse fault nor is it a narrow zone of crushed rocks but a series of low angle thrusts locally cut by normal faults these thrusts are indistinguishable from those mapped in the sanandaj sirjan zone and are geometrically part of the sanandaj sirjan zone structures there is no single thrust among them that can be singled out and referred to as the main one the boundary of the sanandaj sirjan zone with the urumieh dokhtar magmatic assemblage to the northeast is characterized by a series of structural depressions formed by compression rock sequences including ophiolite complexes exposed along this boundary are strongly dismembered sheared and mylonitized shearing planes and foliations are either subvertical or dipping at high angles to the northeast this zone is suggested to be the suture between the afro arabian and the iranian plates overall the intensity of deformation increases northeastward from the persian gulf mesopotamian basin where strata are undeformed and horizontal through the zagros simply folded belt which is characterized by en echelon doubly plunging flexural slip folds gentle to open in the southwest and close to locally sw overturned in the northeast the intensity of deformation continues to increase further northeastward through the sanandaj sirjan zone where thrust faulting is dominant this pattern suggests that the deformational front has migrated through time from the northeastern part of the sanandaj sirjan zone i e the suture zone to its present position in the central portion of the persian gulf mesopotamian foreland basin

chronology of the angrite parent body and implications for core formation in protoplanets abstract angrites formed by some of the earliest igneous activity in the solar system and provide insights into the early stages of planetary melting and differentiation moreover they are pivotal reference points for early solar system chronology in order to study the processes and timescales of metal segregation in early protoplanets and to assess the distribution of short lived radionuclides in the early solar system the 182 hf 182 w system was applied to a comprehensive suite of angrites 182 hf 182 w isochron ages for angrites are in excellent agreement with previously reported 207 pb 206 pb and 53 mn 53 cr results but are 1 myr older than ages obtained from 26 al 26 mg chronometry these inconsistencies probably reflect a disturbance of the al mg system in the angrite feldspars but could alternatively be explained by a heterogeneous distribution of 26 al in the early solar system based on the hf w results four texturally and temporally resolved groups of angrites can be identified that were derived from at least two distinct mantle sources these mantle sources are the result of separate events of core formation both of which took place within 2 myr of cai formation thus core formation in the angrite parent body did not occur as a single event of metal segregation from a global magma ocean but rather took place under varying conditions by several more local events the disparate hf w systematics of the two distinct angrite source regions indicate that convection in the magma ocean was inefficient in homogenizing the composition of the mantle possibly as a result of a continuous bombardment with small planetesimals during ongoing core formation such impacts could have constantly removed primordial and earlier formed crust facilitating rapid cooling of the magma ocean which solidified as early as 3 6 0 7 myr after cai formation

seismic reflection imaging of karst in the persian gulf implications for the characterization of carbonate reservoirs karstification positively and negatively affects the quality of carbonate reservoirs for example dissolution and brecciation can increase porosity and permeability whereas cavern collapse or cementation driven by postkarstification fluid flow may occlude porosity and reduce permeability karst may also pose challenges to drilling because of the unpredictable and highly variable porosity and permeability structure of the rock and the corresponding difficulty in predicting drilling mud weight when combined outcrop petrographic and geochemical data can constrain the style distribution and origin of seismic scale karst which may provide an improved understanding of carbonate reservoir architecture and allow development of safer drilling programs however relatively few studies have used seismic reflection data to characterize the regional development of seismic scale karst features in this study we use time migrated two dimensional seismic reflection data to determine the distribution scale and genesis of karst in a 3 km thick 9800 ft thick jurassic miocene carbonate dominated succession in the persian gulf we map 43 seismic scale karst features which are expressed as vertical pipe columns of chaotic reflections capped by downward deflected depressions that are onlapped by overlying strata the columns are up to 2 km 6500 ft tall spanning the upper jurassic to upper cretaceous succession and are up to 5 5 km 18 000 ft in diameter we interpret these pipes to have formed in response to hypogene karstification by fluids focused along preexisting faults with hypogene generated depressions enhanced by epigene processes during key intervals of exposure our study indicates that seismic reflection data can and should be used in conjunction with petrographic and geochemical techniques to determine the presence of hypogene karst plays and to help improve the characterization of carbonate reservoirs and associated drilling hazards

182w and 187re 187os systematics of iron meteorites chronology for melting differentiation and crystallization in asteroids w isotopic compositions measured by n tims in five iron meteorite groups are used in conjunction with 187re 187os isotopic data to constrain the timing of metal segregation and crystallization respectively in the iron meteorite parent bodies fractionation of the parent isotope 182hf half life 9 2 ma from the daughter 182w likely occurred during segregation of metal from silicate in the iron meteorite parent bodies if w isotopic equilibrium was achieved between silicate and metal during metal segregation then the w isotopic compositions in the irons should record the timing of this event samples were taken from the five largest iron meteorite groups including the four magmatic groups iiab iiiab iva and ivb and the nonmagmatic iab iiicd group together these groups comprise approximately 90 by weight of iron meteorites classified so far with the exception of the iva group the groups have well defined 187re 187os isochron ages which are interpreted as the time of crystallization of the metal of their parent bodies within each magmatic group samples that crystallized both early and late in the sequence of each core were analyzed to evaluate possible evolution of the w isotopic composition during crystallization all the samples examined display very similar w values within a narrow range of compositions between 5 1 and 3 1 witzation began less than a few percent of additional metal was segregated to the cores moreover the average w values for the five groups have no resolvable difference ranging from 4 08 0 69 iva to 3 30 0 15 iab iiicd these data indicate that all of the iron meteorite parent bodies underwent metal segregation within 5 ma of each other apparently independent of their composition size and time of crystallization of the metal in all groups except the iiiab group there is a resolvable time interval between the timing of metal segregation as constrained by the w isotopic data and the initiation of core crystallization as given by the re os isotopic systematics

the early thermal evolution of mars hf w isotopic systematics of martian meteorites have provided evidence for the early accretion and rapid core formation of mars we present the results of numerical simulations performed to study the early thermal evolution and planetary scale differentiation of mars the simulations are confined to the initial 50 myr ma of the formation of solar system the accretion energy produced during the growth of mars and the decay energy due to the short lived radio nuclides 26al 60fe and the long lived nuclides 40k 235u 238u and 232th are incorporated as the heat sources for the thermal evolution of mars during the core mantle differentiation of mars the molten metallic blobs were numerically moved using stoke s law toward the center with descent velocity that depends on the local acceleration due to gravity apart from the accretion and the radioactive heat energies the gravitational energy produced during the differentiation of mars and the associated heat transfer is also parametrically incorporated in the present work to make an assessment of its contribution to the early thermal evolution of mars we conclude that the accretion energy alone cannot produce widespread melting and differentiation of mars even with an efficient consumption of the accretion energy this makes 26al the prime source for the heating and planetary scale differentiation of mars we demonstrate a rapid accretion and core mantle differentiation of mars within the initial 1 5 myr this is consistent with the chronological records of martian meteorites

structural styles in the zagros simple folded zone iran arabia eurasia convergence is achieved in the nw zagros by a combination of shortening on nw se trending folds and thrusts mainly in the simple folded zone and by right lateral strike slip on the nw se trending main recent fault a balanced and restored cross section across this part of the range indicates c 49 km of shortening this probably occurred since c 5 ma providing an estimate of the long term shortening rate across the simple folded zone of c 10 mm a 1 the geometries of exposed structures suggest both basement thrusts and thin skinned decollement levels with major folds possibly nucleated above basement faults fold geometries indicate several decollement horizons shale units are candidates as well as evaporites in the neogene mesozoic lower palaeozoic and upper proterozoic successions the se part of the simple folded zone deforms by north south shortening on broadly east west trending folds and thrusts the link between these regions occurs via a set of fault blocks c 400 km wide in total each bounded by north south right lateral faults incremental changes in the strike of some of the folds occur across these right lateral faults with more east west orientations to the east

role of transverse faulting in along strike termination of limestone mountain culmination rocky mountain thrust and fold belt alberta canada abstract surface geology well data and 100 km of 2d seismic reflection data delineate the 3d geometry of limestone mountain culmination lmc the lower lithotectonic package of the culmination is a se plunging antiformal stack of four thrust sheets of paleozoic platform carbonates that is detached from and folds the upper package of ne verging thrust sheets of mesozoic siliciclastics tilting these imbricates toward the foreland lmc abruptly loses 1 5 km of structural relief along strike in less than 2 km across a ne striking blind transverse fault that changes from a nw dipping lateral ramp in the southwest to a steep tear fault in the northeast it soles into the brazeau thrust and merges upward into the roof thrust of lmc an extension fault that soles into the steepest portion of the transverse fault cuts moderately sw dipping mesozoic rocks that drape over the tear fault thereby juxtaposing mesozoic siliciclastics against paleozoic carbonates of the brazeau sheet synchronous thrusting is suggested by preferential imbrication over the forelimb of the antiformal stack by offset of the roof thrust and by folded and unfolded thrust segments in the stack a precambrian basement structure beneath this transverse fault may have acted as a buttress during the laramide orogeny

a re assessment of focal depth distributions in southern iran the tien shan and northern india do earthquakes really occur in the continental mantle summary we investigate the depth distribution of earthquakes within the continental lithosphere of southern iran the tien shan and northern india by using synthetic seismograms to analyse p and sh body waveforms in the zagros mountains of southern iran earthquakes are apparently restricted to the upper crust depths of 20 km whereas in the tien shan and northern india they occur throughout the thickness of the continental crust to depths of 40 45 km we find no convincing evidence for earthquakes in the continental mantle of these regions in spite of previous suggestions to the contrary and question whether seismicity in the continental mantle is important in any part of the world in some regions such as iran the aegean tibet and california seismicity is virtually restricted to the upper continental crust whereas in others including parts of east africa the tien shan and northern india the lower crust is also seismically active although usually less so than the upper crust such variations cannot reliably be demonstrated from published catalogue or bulletin locations even from ones in which depth resolution is generally improved in contrast to the oceanic mantle lithosphere in which earthquakes certainly occur the continental mantle lithosphere is we suggest virtually aseismic and may not be significantly stronger than the lower continental crust these variations in continental seismogenic thickness are broadly correlated with variations in effective elastic thickness suggesting that the strength of the continental lithosphere resides in the crust and require some modification to prevalent views of lithosphere rheology

partial melting and melt migration in the acapulcoite lodranite parent body we review petrologic evidence that the acapulcoites and lodranites formed by 1 vol to probably 20 vol whole rock partial melting of a chondritic precursor material at low degrees of partial melting only fe ni fes cotectic melting occurred migration distances for partial melts were short resulting in the formation of acapulcoites with essentially chondritic troilite and plagioclase contents but achondritic textures at high degrees of partial melting both fe ni fes and basaltic plagioclase pyroxene partial melts formed and the melts may have migrated out of the source rock the partial melt residues which are more or less depleted in fe ni fes and plagioclase are the lodranites melt migration was complex most acapulcoites which experienced relatively low degrees of partial melting lost little if any of the partial melt one acapulcoite lew 86220 represents a unique case in which fe ni fes and basaltic partial melts appear to have migrated from a lodranite source region into a cooler acapulcoite region where they were trapped in cases of the relatively high degrees of partial melting experienced by lodranites melts may have been partly selectively or totally removed from the rocks and fe ni fes and or basaltic partial melts may have been removed to different degrees and may in fact have been trapped on occasion in greater than chondritic proportions we model vein and dike formation and melt migration by calculating the excess pressures and vein and dike sizes for varying degrees of partial melting our calculations are broadly consistent with observations indicating that melt migration is inefficient at low degrees of partial melting and extremely efficient at high degrees of partial melting although the size of the acapulcoite lodranite parent body and the volatile contents of the chondritic precursor rocks are poorly constrained the lack of basaltic rocks in the world s meteorite collections complementary to the lodranites suggests that basaltic partial melts may have been accelerated off the body by explosive volcanism of the type envisioned by wilson and keil 1991 and ejected into space the diversity of rocks from the acapulcoite lodranite parent body may provide a basis for better understanding the diverse range of spectral subtypes recognized among the s type asteroids

tectonic evolution of the zagros foreland basin since early cretaceous sw iran regional tectonic implications from subsidence analysis abstract subsidence analysis of 42 exploration wells in the zagros foreland basin indicates the tectonic evolution of the basin since early cretaceous the impact of inherited basement structures on the basin evolution is documented in this study subsidence maps show that the architecture of the basin dramatically changed during the cretaceous in the central zagros the hercynian palaeo high i e wadi al batin palaeo high which affected sedimentation until the early cretaceous time gradually disappeared and the south pars palaeo high within the central persian gulf started to show more impact on sedimentation the palaeo highs in the zagros basement have different geometrical characteristics and origin the hercynian and south pars are wide wavelength palaeo highs with a regional scale impact on subsidence in contrast the hendijan kharg mish and kazerun palaeo highs with different orientations and quite smaller wavelengths show different impact on the subsidence pattern these kinds of palaeo highs could be related to re activation of pre existing basement faults whereas south pars and hercynian paleo highs are possibly related to thermal expansion or contraction of the crust the hendijan and kharg mish palaeo highs with the ne sw orientation were intensively re activated during turonian time on the contrary the kazerun fault with the n s orientation became more active and considerably influenced sedimentation during the last 20 ma selective re activation of deep seated faults might have taken place as a result of changes in the orientation of the far field stress in the region understanding the complexities of inherited structures and their impact on reservoir characteristics can support future exploration activities in the zagros foreland basin

controls on the geometry of fold thrust belt salients salients convex to the foreland curves in the map traces of orogens typically involve fold thrust belts formed along the foreland margin of orogens an examination of the map view shape degree of asymmetry dimensions and structural trend line patterns i e the variation in fold trend and fault strike along the length of the belt of 20 fold thrust belt salients worldwide illustrates relationships between salient geometry and the geologic setting in which the salient formed in order to understand these relationships we used simple sandbox models to simulate the formation of three of the several types of salients specifically we examined indenter controlled salients the geometry of which reflects interaction of a fold thrust belt with a hinterland indenter basin controlled salients the geometry of which reflects lateral variations in the thickness of predeformational basin fill and detachment controlled salients the geometry of which reflects lateral variations in the strength of a detachment surface our models demonstrate that thrusts in these three types of salients initiate with a curved shape and that rocks within thrust sheets on the limbs of salients can undergo a vertical axis rotation in response to simple shear without requiring major rotation of the fault trace furthermore trend line patterns distinguish basin controlled from indenter controlled salients specifically structural trend lines in basin controlled salients converge at the end points of the curve while in indenter controlled salients they diverge at the end points of the curve the asymmetry of a salient correlates with the asymmetry of the predeformational basin and or of the indenter and with the convergence direction thus our results explain geometric characteristics of individual salients and address controversies concerning paleomagnetic data in salients they also may help prioritize petroleum exploration targets in salients foreland basin oil fields concentrate at the apex of basin controlled salients because the geologic factors that generate the salient also contribute to localizing oil fields

effect of overburden thickness on thrust belt geometry and development laboratory sand models simulating development of thrust belts indicate that 1 distance between the backstop and the first formed thrust is a linear function of initial sand layer thickness 2 spacing between the first two thrusts is most likely a nonlinear function of initial sand layer thickness 3 initial dip of successive ramps decreases progressively toward the foreland because of variations in principal stress directions with depth and or changes of mechanical properties of sand with increasing overburden 4 faults to the hinterland steepen and become less active as hinterland thrust sheets undergo penetrative shear during sand wedge growth and 5 new ramp initiation occurs to the hinterland of the basal detachment tip line these observations can be interpreted both in context of area balance considerations and soil mechanics theory if initial sand layer thicknesses in our models represent syntectonic overburden in natural thrust belts i e distance between the ground surface and the detachment then our results suggest that locations of some thrust belt salients are controlled by along strike variations in stratigraphic thicknesses and that initial thrust spacing decreases progressively to the foreland if the thrust belt involves a foreland tapering basin furthermore our sand model observations suggest that the concept of a fixed rigid backstop in the hinterland of thrust belts may be misleading as a consequence of thickening the hinterland portion of the thrust belt becomes stabilized and effectively becomes the backstop itself

ejecta megaregolith accumulation on planetesimals and large asteroids megaregolith accumulation can have important thermal consequences for bodies that lose heat by conduction as vacuous porosity of the kind observed in the lunar megaregolith lowers thermal conductivity by a factor of 10 i have modeled global average ejecta accumulation as a function of the largest impact size with no explicit modeling of time in conjunction with an assumed cratering size distribution exponent b the largest crater constrains the sizes of all other craters that significantly contribute to a megaregolith the largest impactor mass ratio is a major fraction of the catastrophic disruption mass ratio and in general the largest crater s diameter is close to the target s diameter total accumulation is roughly 1 5 of and proportional to the target s radius global accumulations estimated by this approach are higher than in the classic housen et al 1979 study by a factor of roughly 10 this revision is caused mainly by higher typical largest crater size for b 2 the single largest crater typically contributes close to 50 of the total of new nonrecycled ejecta megaregolith can be destroyed by sintering a process whose pressure sensitivity makes it effective at lower temperature on larger bodies planetesimals 100 km in diameter may be surprisingly well suited about as well suited as bodies two to three times larger in diameter for attaining temperatures conducive to widespread melting a water rich composition may be a significant disadvantage in terms of planetesimal heating as the shallow interior may be densified by aqueous metamorphism and will have a low sintering temperature

are catch up reefs an artefact of coring drill cores through modern coral reefs commonly show a time lag in reef initiation followed by a phase of rapid accretion to sea level from submerged foundations the so called catch up response but because of the difficulty of drilling in these environments core distribution is usually restricted to accessible areas that may not fully represent reef history especially if the reef initiated in patches or developed with a prograde or retrograde geometry as a consequence core data have the potential to give a misleading impression of reef development particularly with respect to the timing of initiation and response to sea level rise here we use computer models to simulate keep up reef development and from them quantify variations in the timing of reef initiation and accretion rate using mock cores taken through the completed simulations the results demonstrate that cores consistently underestimate the timing of reef initiation and overestimate the reef accretion rate so that statistically a core through a keep up reef will most likely produce a catch up pattern an initiation lag followed by a phase of rapid accretion to sea level this implies that catch up signatures may be an artefact of coring and that keep up reefs are significantly more common than previous core studies claim

hf w evidence for rapid differentiation of iron meteorite parent bodies abstract new high precision w isotope data on iron meteorites are presented that provide important constraints on the timing of silicate metal segregation in planetesimals magmatic iron meteorites all have e 182 w within error or less radiogenic than initial e 182 w estimated by studies of chondritic meteorites at face value this implies that iron meteorites are as old and older than refractory calcium aluminium rich inclusions cai which are widely thought to be the oldest solar system objects moreover different meteorites from the same magmatic groups believed to be derived from the same planetissimal core display a range of e 182 w we suggest that the paradoxical e 182 w values more negative than initial solar system initial ssi are most readily explained as a result of secondary spallation reactions with cosmic rays during transit between parent body and the earth this is supported by the most negative e 182 w being found in meteorites with the oldest exposure ages and the magnitude of the effect is shown to be consistent with known nuclear reactions on the other hand it is also striking that none of the magmatic iron group meteorites have e 182 w analyses outside error more radiogenic than the estimated solar system initial ratio this suggests that core formation in parent bodies of magmatic iron meteorites occurred 1 5 myr after the formation age of cai y amelin a n krot i d hutcheon and a a ulyanov lead isotopic ages of chondrules and calcium aluminum inclusions science 297 1678 1683 2002 this extremely early metal silicate differentiation is coeval with the first chondrules m bizzarro j a baker and h haack mg isotope evidence for contemporaneous formation of chondrules and refractory inclusions nature 431 275 278 2004 a n krot y amelin p cassen and a meibom young chondrules in cb chondrites from a giant impact in the early solar system nature 436 989 992 2005 formation of later chondrules and hence the parent bodies of some chondritic meteorites must therefore have occurred in the presence of planetesimals large enough to possess iron cores we conclude that early planetary accretion and differentiation was sufficiently fast for 26 al decay to be an important heat source non magmatic iron meteorites however display more radiogenic and varied w isotope signatures this is in keeping with them being generated later by impact melting during which the metal partially re equilibrated with the then more radiogenic silicate fraction

structural evolution of the piqiang fault zone nw tarim basin china abstract the piqiang fault is a prominent strike slip tear fault that laterally partitions the keping shan thrust belt in the nw tarim basin china in satellite images the piqiang fault appears as a sharp nw trending lineament that can be traced for more than 70 km it is oblique to the general structural trend of the thrust belt and subparallel to the thrust transport direction this paper presents a structural analysis of the piqiang fault based on satellite image interpretation and field data a net loss of late paleozoic sediment across the fault zone implies that it was initiated as a major normal fault during the early permian and corresponds to widespread extension and magmatism during this period differential erosion across the fault resulted in the subsequent removal of sediment from the east relative to the west during the middle to late cenozoic contraction of the nw tarim basin and the formation of the keping shan thrust belt resulted in reactivation of the piqiang fault as a strike slip tear fault the fault has accommodated lateral differences in thrust density and spacing which have arisen due to the abrupt pre existing change in stratigraphic thickness across it the piqiang fault provides an insight into the formation of oblique strike slip tear faults in contractional belts and demonstrates the importance of inherited basement structures in such settings

physical properties of ordinary chondrites physical properties intrinsic and bulk densities porosity compressional and shear wave velocities thermal diffusivity and conductivity are measured on 11 ordinary chondrites one carbonaceous chondrite and two achondritic clasts of a mesosiderite with the previously reported results from antarctic ordinary chondrites the data are useful in clarifying the difference between h and l chondrites for example the intrinsic density of h chondrites 3800 kg m3 is generally higher than that of l chondrites 3600 kg m3 the sample porosity less than 20 strongly controls its elastic wave velocities thermal diffusivity and conductivity the variations of elastic wave velocities and thermal properties with porosity show that as with lunar rocks chondrites contain many cracks these cracks are thought to be created on their parent bodies by the cumulative effects of many mutual collisions and impacts thermal properties are linear functions of elastic wave velocities for both h and l chondrites the difference between h and l chondrites can be attributed to the content of metallic fe ni correlations between petrologic types which roughly represent metamorphic temperature and porosity are less obvious for l chondrites than for h chondrites since porosity is not changed significantly by impact events it appears that the sintering process for l chondrites is independent of the metamorphic events represented by petrologic type

aftershocks properties of the 2013 shonbe m w 6 3 earthquake central zagros iran abstract the spatial and temporal seismicity parameters stress state as well as the partitioning of the seismic energy of the shonbe earthquake sequence have been investigated the geodetic data and the stress tensor inversions of the focal mechanisms before and after the shonbe main shock indicate the same ne sw trend of the greatest principal stress this stress orientation demonstrates a non heterogeneous stress state in that region of the central zagros which can be confirmed by the fractal dimension and the estimated p value the aftershock focal mechanisms show a diversity which may be associated with the approximately uniaxial stress field acting nearly perpendicular to the main shock fault plane in which the co seismic stress release is nearly complete the spatial distributions of the b and p values have been investigated and compared the high p value regions e g far to the southeast south and southwest of the main shock are approximately consistent with the high b value regions and the low p value regions e g the limited areas at the north northeast of the main shock are nearly consistent with the low b value regions the limited areas surrounding the main shock and also at the east southeast of the main shock the p values are not in agreement with the b values which may be attributed to the local tectonic features in those regions the seismic moment ratio and the bath s law have been used to constrain the energy partitioning between the main shock and the aftershocks it is found that a high fraction of the energy is released by the shonbe main shock and nearly one third of the energy released by the aftershocks this may be associated with the high stress imparted by the blind thrust main shock to the overlying crust in which promotes failure in the surrounding area and is often relieved by secondary faults and typically produce a high number of aftershocks

folding style of the dezful embayment of zagros belt signatures of detachment horizons deep rooted faulting and syn deformation deposition abstract defining the governing factors on the geometry of the dezful embayment folds a major oil province in the zagros fold thrust belt in sw iran reduces the risks inherent in hydrocarbon exploration the goal of the current study is to find a reasonable relationship between folding and faulting in the northern part of the dezful embayment the role of major and minor detachment horizons and deep rooted faults on structural style is also a matter of investigations to achieve these goals geological surface information and the available well and 2d and 3d seismic data were used to construct a balanced structural cross section the area is subdivided into ne and sw sectors based on dissimilar physiographic features of the surface and structural and stratigraphic characteristics in the both sectors the miocene gachsaran formation acted as the upper detachment horizon in the ne sector the role of the gachsaran formation as major detachment horizon in decoupled folding styles of overlying and underlying units is prominent the gachsaran formation becomes less effective as a detachment horizon towards the sw as its thickness decreases and its facies change the triassic dashtak formation is most probably a major detachment horizon in the study area and evidence of another deeper detachment horizon such as the pre cambrian cambrian hormuz series is not apparent based on available data the lower cretaceous garau upper cretaceous gurpi and paleocene eocene pabdeh formations and the oligocene kalhur member are subordinate detachment horizons the role of major faults in the area such as the mountain front fault in driving thick skinned deformation is taken into account along with the dominant thin skinned deformation in the study area the kuh e asmari anticline is the only emergent anticline exposing the paleocene strata due to the activity of the deep rooted lahbari thrust this study reveals the commanding role of the upper detachment gachsaran formation and the overlying syn deformation fluvial clastics of the aghajari miocene and bakhtyari pliocene formations on disharmonic folding styles

fold patterns lateral ramps and seismicity in central pennsylvania abstract the susquehanna lateral ramp crosses the entire length of pennsylvania in a nne direction and extends into southern new york state its presence was first suspected because of a dramatic change in fold wavelength across the susquehanna river seen on both side looking airborne radar slar data and the geologic map of pennsylvania seismic reflection profiles confirm the presence of a ramp and show the detailed nature of structures associated with it these structures include antiformal stacks juxtaposed anticlines and synclines and folds beheaded by thrust faults the change in the fold pattern which led to recognizing the lateral ramp occurs above a rapid dropoff in depth to the basement suggesting that the ramp and the basement configuration may somehow be related in plan view eleven earthquakes are spatially related to the susquehanna lateral ramp although they are in the basement rocks rather than in the cover rocks which contain the lateral ramp itself the earthquakes are therefore not likely directly associated with the ramp though they may be affiliated with strike slip faulting in the basement which itself appears to be partly responsible for the formation of the ramp the initial age of the faulting along and in the vicinity of the susquehanna lateral ramp is presumably early to middle paleozoic however the presence of a surficially exposed mesozoic dike along the ramp and modern seismicity suggest that the susquehanna lateral ramp may be a zone of protracted and perhaps repeated tectonism which is currently being reactivated a preliminary evaluation of the distribution of modern earthquakes in the valley and ridge blue ridge and appalachian plateau shows that nearly half of the earthquakes are located under lateral ramps if this observation is true the presence of ramps may be a useful geological indicator of areas susceptible to seismicity

effect of spatial distribution of hormuz salt on deformation style in the zagros fold and thrust belt an analogue modelling approach scaled analogue models of thin skinned simultaneous shortening above adjacent viscous and frictional decollements simulate the effect of hormuz salt on the shortening in the zagros fold and thrust belt the models consisted of sand layers that partly overlay a viscous layer of silicone and were shortened from one end spatial distribution of the viscous decollement varied along strike and dip as occurs in part of the zagros fold and thrust belt in this belt phanerozoic sedimentary cover was shortened partly above the hormuz salt lying on the precambrian crystalline basement behaving as a basal viscous decollement model results display how the nature of the decollement affects the evolution of an orogenic belt using model results we explain the development of deflection zones and discuss strain partitioning formation of different topographic wedges and differential sedimentation along the zagros fold and thrust belt model results suggest the formation of a gentle taper consisting of both foreward and backward thrusts above a viscous decollement and a relatively steeper taper consisting only of forward vergent imbricates above a frictional decollement however in our models the steepest wedge with the highest topography formed where the viscous substrate had a limited extent with a transitional boundary pinch out perpendicular to the shortening direction shortening of this boundary led to development of frontal ramps associated with significant uplift of the area behind the deformation front

a thermal model for the differentiation of asteroid 4 vesta based on radiogenic heating a finite element code has been developed to model the thermal history of asteroid 4 vesta this is the first attempt to model the thermal history of a differentiated asteroid through core and crust formation and subsequent cooling until geochemical closure is attained the results of the simulation are consistent with chronological measurements and other constraints provided by cumulate and noncumulate eucrites believed to have been derived from vesta the work solves two major problems with the hypothesis of heating by decay of26al an extinct radionuclide postulated to be a plausible heat source in the early solar system first the model demonstrates that it is possible to keep the mantle of vesta hot for 100 ma thereby explaining the observed difference in ages between cumulate and noncumulate eucrites second the simulation offers a possible explanation of why detectable excesses of26mg the decay product of26al are not observed in noncumulate eucrites the simulation draws a model chronology of vesta and predicts times relative to cai formation for accretion at 2 85 myr core formation at 4 58 myr crust formation at 6 58 myr and geochemical closure at 100 myr for a h chondrite asteroidal bulk composition decay of60fe is found to cause no perceptible difference in the thermal history of vesta even when sequestered into a central core although chondritic xenoliths have not been described in hed igneous lithologies the thermal model suggests the possibility that a veneer of unmelted near surface material should remain

basement faulting and the focal depths of the larger earthquakes in the zagros mountains iran summary the present day seismicity of the zagros seems to occur on high angle reverse faults distributed across the whole width of the belt it does not indicate activity on a single inclined thrust surface and there do not seem to have been any well located events at intermediate depths modelling of the long period teleseismic body waves of seven large earthquakes presented here shows their focal depths to be in the range 8 15 km this is thought to indicate faulting in the uppermost basement beneath the sedimentary cover though the absence of published seismic refraction results renders the sediment thickness uncertain faulting of this type and depth may occur on inherited normal faults which have subsequently been reactivated as thrusts such reactivation allows considerable shortening to take place in the early stages of continental collision without the subduction or excessive thickening of continental crust

a study of fold characteristics and deformation style using the evolution of the land surface zagros simply folded belt iran abstract deformation styles within a fold thrust belt can be understood in terms of the spatial organization and geometry of the fold structures in young fold thrust belts such as the zagros this geometry is reflected topographically by concordant landform morphology thus the distribution of deformation structures can be characterized using satellite image analysis digital ele vation models the drainage network and geomorphological indicators the two distinct fold types considered in this study fault bend folds and detachment folds both trending nw se interact with streams flowing ne sw from the high zagros mountains into the persian gulf multiple abandoned stream channels cross fault bend folds related to deep seated thrust faults in contrast detachment folds which propagate laterally relatively rapidly are characterized by diverted major stream channels and dendritic minor channels at the fold tips thus these two fold types can be differentiated on the basis of their ge ometry fault bend folds being long linear and asymmetrical can be distinguished from detachment folds which tend to be shorter and symmetrical and on their associated geomorphological structures the spatial organization of these structures in the zagros simply folded belt indicates that deformation is the result of the interaction of footwall collapse and the associ ated formation of long linear fault bend folds and serial folding characterized by relatively short periclinal folds footwall collapse occurs first followed by serial folding to the ne i e in the hanging wall of the fault bend folds often on higher de tachments within the sediment pile 139

constraints on the role of impact heating and melting in asteroids received 1996 august 30 accepted in revised form 1997 january 30 abstract imaging of asteroids gaspra and ida and laboratory studies of asteroidal meteorites show that im pacts undoubtedly played an important role in the histories of asteroids and resulted in shock metamorphism and the formation of breccias and melt rocks however in recent years impact has also been called upon by numerous authors as the heat source for some of the major geological processes that took place on asteroids such as global thermal metamorphism of chondrite parent bodies and a variety of melting and igneous events the latter were proposed to explain the origin of ureilites aubrites mesosiderites the eagle station pallasites acapulcoites lodranites and the iab iiicd and iie irons we considered fundamental observations from terrestrial impact craters combined with results from laboratory shock experiments and theoretical consider ations to evaluate the efficiency of impact heating and melting of asteroids studies of terrestrial impact craters and relevant shock experiments suggest that impact heating of aster oids will produce two types of impact melts 1 large scale whole rock melts total melts not partial melts at high shock pressure and 2 localized melts formed at the scale of the mineral constituents mineral specific or grain boundary melting at intermediate shock pressures the localized melts form minuscule amounts of melt that quench and solidify in sifu thus preventing them from pooling into larger melt bodies partial melting as defined in petrology has not been observed in natural and experimental shock metamor phism and is thermodynamically impossible in a shock wave induced transient compression of rocks the total impact melts produced represent a minuscule portion of the displaced rock volume of the parent crater internal differentiation by fractional crystallization is absent in impact melt sheets of craters of sizes that can be tolerated by asteroids and impact melt rocks are usually clast laden thermal metamorphism of country rocks by impact is extremely minor experimental and theoretical considerations suggest that 1 single dis ruptive impacts cannot raise the average global temperature of strength or gravity dominated asteroids by more than a few degrees 2 cumulative global heating of asteroids by multiple impacts is ineffective for asteroids less than a few hundred kilometers in diameter 3 small crater size low gravity and low impact velocity suggest that impact melt volume in single asteroidal impacts is a very small 0 014 1 fraction of the total displaced crater volume 4 total impact melt volume formed during the typical lifetime of an asteroid is a small fraction 0 001 of the volume of impact generated debris and 5 much of the impact melt generated on asteroidal targets is ejected from craters with velocities greater than escape velocity and thus not retained on the asteroid the inescapable conclusion from these observations and calculations is that impacts cannot have been the heat source for the origin of the meteorite types listed above and we must turn to processes other than impact such as decay of short lived radionuclides or electromagnetic induction during an early t tauri phase of the sun to explain heating and melting of the parent bodies of these meteorites

earthquakes on the kazerun line in the zagros mountains of iran strike slip faulting within a fold and thrust belt summary the kazerun line is a transverse valley of about 200 km long that obliquely crosses the regular anticlines of the zagros fold belt in sw iran at its northern end it is a clear fault which can be mapped on the surface anticline axes die out or bend towards this valley but do not cross it six moderate sized earthquakes that occurred close the the kazerun line and within a 25 km area involved right lateral strike slip motion parallel to the strike of the valley they indicate that the kazerun line is the surface expression of a buried strike slip fault slip vectors in these strike slip earthquakes are different from those of neighbouring reverse fault earthquakes suggesting that the kazerun line accommodates some of the shortening between arabia and central iran by an elongation of the zagros mountains parallel to strike the centroid depths and the source dimensions of these earthquakes combined with the lack of seismogenic surface faulting in the zagros suggest to us that all these earthquakes involve faulting in the metamorphic basement beneath the sedimentary cover the sedimentary cover is almost certainly decoupled from the basement by several thick evaporite horizons the seismicity of the kazerun line thus demonstrates how lateral interruptions to the regularity of a fold belt can arise from faulting in the basement and not just from lateral ramps between the thrust sheets that deform the sedimentary cover

role of the kazerun fault zone in the formation and deformation of the zagros fold thrust belt iran 1 the kazerun fault is a n s trending fault zone which obliquely truncates the nw se trending zagros fold thrust belt this active fault zone is an ancient structural lineament which has controlled the structure sedimentation and subsidence of the central part of the zagros since the early cambrian and has had an influence on the formation of the hydrocarbon system of the belt the kazerun fault limited the distribution of the cambrian hormuz salt the major decollement horizon that separates the precambrian basement from the thick sedimentary cover to the west its later reactivation with other n s trending fault zones e g the izeh fault zone during the cretaceous resulted in major sedimentary thickness and facies variations along the belt this study presents a new interpretation for the evolution of the kazerun fault zone based on field evidence and a review of various published and unpublished data it is argued that at the surface the fault zone is delineated by four north south trending segments and that marked differences occur in the distribution of deformation on either side of the fault segments in the late tertiary during this time these segments acted as transfer faults lateral ramps linking different segments of the zagros deformation fronts