TY - JOUR A1 - Ballato, Paolo A1 - Cifelli, Francesca A1 - Heidarzadeh, Ghasem A1 - Ghassemi, Mohammad R. A1 - Wickert, Andrew D. A1 - Hassanzadeh, Jamshid A1 - Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume A1 - Balling, Philipp A1 - Sudo, Masafumi A1 - Zeilinger, Gerold A1 - Schmitt, Axel K. A1 - Mattei, Massimo A1 - Strecker, Manfred T1 - Tectono-sedimentary evolution of the northern Iranian Plateau: insights from middle-late Miocene foreland-basin deposits JF - Basin research N2 - Sedimentary basins in the interior of orogenic plateaus can provide unique insights into the early history of plateau evolution and related geodynamic processes. The northern sectors of the Iranian Plateau of the Arabia-Eurasia collision zone offer the unique possibility to study middle-late Miocene terrestrial clastic and volcaniclastic sediments that allow assessing the nascent stages of collisional plateau formation. In particular, these sedimentary archives allow investigating several debated and poorly understood issues associated with the long-term evolution of the Iranian Plateau, including the regional spatio-temporal characteristics of sedimentation and deformation and the mechanisms of plateau growth. We document that middle-late Miocene crustal shortening and thickening processes led to the growth of a basement-cored range (Takab Range Complex) in the interior of the plateau. This triggered the development of a foreland-basin (Great Pari Basin) to the east between 16.5 and 10.7Ma. By 10.7Ma, a fast progradation of conglomerates over the foreland strata occurred, most likely during a decrease in flexural subsidence triggered by rock uplift along an intraforeland basement-cored range (Mahneshan Range Complex). This was in turn followed by the final incorporation of the foreland deposits into the orogenic system and ensuing compartmentalization of the formerly contiguous foreland into several intermontane basins. Overall, our data suggest that shortening and thickening processes led to the outward and vertical growth of the northern sectors of the Iranian Plateau starting from the middle Miocene. This implies that mantle-flow processes may have had a limited contribution toward building the Iranian Plateau in NW Iran. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.12180 SN - 0950-091X SN - 1365-2117 VL - 29 SP - 417 EP - 446 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Erbello Doelesso, Asfaw A1 - Melnick, Daniel A1 - Zeilinger, Gerold A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Pingel, Heiko A1 - Strecker, Manfred T1 - Geomorphic expression of a tectonically active rift-transfer zone in southern Ethiopia JF - Geomorphology : an international journal on pure and applied geomorphology N2 - The Gofa Province and the Chew Bahir Basin of southern Ethiopia constitute tectonically active regions, where the Southern Main Ethiopian Rift converges with the Northern Kenya Rift through a wide zone of extensional deformation with several north to northeast-trending, left-stepping en-e & PRIME;chelon basins. This sector of the Southern Main Ethiopian Rift is characterized by a semi-arid climate and a largely uniform lithology, and thus provides ideal conditions for studying the different parameters that define the tectonic and geomorphic features of this complex kinematic transfer zone. In this study, the degree of tectonic activity, spatiotemporal variations in extension, and the nature of kinematic linkage between different fault systems of the transfer zone are constrained by detailed quantitative geomorphic analysis of river catchments and focused field work. We analyzed fluvial and landscape morphometric characteristics in combination with structural, seismicity, and climatic data to better evaluate the tectono-geomorphic history of this transfer zone. Our data reveal significant north-south variations in the degree of extension from the Sawula Basin in the north (mature) to the Chew Bahir Basin in the south (juvenile). First, normalized channel-steepness indices and the spatial arrangement of knickpoints in footwall-draining streams suggest a gradual, southward shift in extensional deformation and recent tectonic activity. Second, based on 1-k(m) radius local relief and mean-hillslope maximum values that are consistent with ksn anomalies, we confirm strain localization within zones of fault interaction. Third, morphometric indices such as hypsometry, basin asymmetry factor, and valley floor width to valley height ratio also indicate a north to south gradient in tectonic activity, highlighting the importance of such a wide transfer zone with diffuse extension linking different rift segments during the break-up of continental crust. KW - rift transfer zone KW - Ethiopia rift KW - renya Rift KW - morphometric indices KW - knickpoints Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2022.108162 SN - 0169-555X SN - 1872-695X VL - 403 PB - Elsevier Science CY - Amsterdam [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gao, Mingxing A1 - Zeilinger, Gerold A1 - Xu, Xiwei A1 - Tan, Xibin A1 - Wang, Qingliang A1 - Hao, Ming T1 - Active tectonics evaluation from geomorphic indices for the central and the southern Longmenshan range on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau, China JF - Tectonics N2 - We applied the geomorphic indices (hypsometry and stream length gradient) to evaluate the differential uplift of the central and southern Longmenshan, a mountain range characterized by rapid erosion, strong tectonic uplift, and devastating seismic hazards. The results of the geomorphic analysis indicate that the Beichuan-Yingxiu fault and the Shuangshi-Dachuan fault act as major tectonic boundaries separating areas experiencing rapid uplift from slow uplift. The results of the geomorphic analysis also suggest that the Beichuan-Yingxiu fault is the most active fault with the largest relative uplift rates compared to the rest of the faults in the Longmenshan fault system. We compared reflected relative uplift rates based on the hypsometry and stream length gradient indices with geological/geodetic absolute rates. Along-strike and across-strike variations in the hypsometry and stream length gradient correlate with the spatial patterns derived from the apatite fission track exhumation rates, the leveling-derived uplift rate, and coseismic vertical displacements during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. These data defined multiple fault relationships in a complex thrust zone and provided geomorphic evidence to evaluate the potential seismic hazards of the southern Longmenshan range. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2015TC004080 SN - 0278-7407 SN - 1944-9194 VL - 35 SP - 1812 EP - 1826 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gao, Mingxing A1 - Zeilinger, Gerold A1 - Xu, Xiwei A1 - Wang, Qingliang A1 - Hao, Ming T1 - DEM and GIS analysis of geomorphic indices for evaluating recent uplift of the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, China JF - Geomorphology : an international journal on pure and applied geomorphology N2 - The northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is a tectonically active region consisting of a series of faults with bounded intermountain basins and is located in the transition zone between the Tibetan Plateau and the Loess Plateau. Active deformation that may affect the topography in this region can be quantified using geomorphic indices. Therefore, we applied geomorphic indices such as the hypsometric integral and the stream length gradient index to infer neo-tectonics in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Different time-scaled geodetic leveling data and river incision rates were also integrated into the investigation. The results show that the hypsometric integrals are not significantly affected by lithology but spatially correspond to the hanging walls of thrust faults. The hypsometric integrals are also positively correlated with the leveling data. Although the stream length gradient index is influenced by lithology, its most pronounced anomalies of the stream length gradient are associated with the thrust faults. Consequently, the uplift in the northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau appeared to be concentrated along the hanging walls of the thrust faults. KW - Tectonic geomorphology KW - Hypsometry analysis KW - Stream length gradient KW - Active tectonics KW - Leveling data KW - Tibetan Plateau Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.02.008 SN - 0169-555X VL - 190 IS - 20 SP - 61 EP - 72 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ghani, Humaad A1 - Sobel, Edward A1 - Zeilinger, Gerold A1 - Glodny, Johannes A1 - Irum, Irum A1 - Sajid, Muhammad T1 - Spatio-temporal structural evolution of the Kohat fold and thrust belt of Pakistan JF - Journal of structural geology N2 - The Kohat fold and thrust belt in Pakistan shows a significantly different structural style due to the structural evolution on the double décollement compared to the rest of the Subhimalaya. In order to better understand the spatio-temporal structural evolution of the Kohat fold and thrust belt, we combine balanced cross sections with apatite (U?Th-Sm)/He (AHe) and apatite fission track (AFT) dating. The AHe and AFT ages appear to be totally reset, allowing us to date exhumation above structural ramps. The results suggest that deformation began on the frontal Surghar thrust at-15 Ma, predating or coeval with the development of the Main Boundary thrust at-12 Ma. Deformation propagated southward from the Main Boundary thrust on double de?collements between 10 Ma and 2 Ma, resulting in a disharmonic structural style inside the Kohat fold and thrust belt. Thermal modeling of the thermochronologic data suggest that samples inside Kohat fold and thrust belt experienced cooling due to formation of the duplexes; this deformation facilitated tectonic thickening of the wedge and erosion of the Miocene to Pliocene foreland strata. The spatial distribution of AHe and AFT ages in combination with the structural forward model suggest that, in the Kohat fold and thrust belt, the wedge deformed in-sequence as a supercritical wedge (-15-12 Ma), then readjusted by out-sequence deformation (-12-0 Ma) within the Kohat fold and thrust belt into a sub-critical wedge. KW - Balanced cross section KW - Fold and thrust belt KW - Duplex KW - Exhumation KW - Décollement Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2021.104310 SN - 0191-8141 VL - 145 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam [u.a.] ER - TY - GEN A1 - Ghani, Humaad A1 - Sobel, Edward A1 - Zeilinger, Gerold A1 - Glodny, Johannes A1 - Zapata, Sebastian A1 - Irum, Irum T1 - Palaeozoic and Pliocene tectonic evolution of the Salt Range constrained by low-temperature thermochronology T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The Salt Range in Pakistan exposes Precambrian to Pleistocene strata outcropping along the Salt Range Thrust (SRT). To better understand the in-situ Cambrian and Pliocene tectonic evolution of the Pakistan Subhimalaya, we have conducted low-temperature thermochronological analysis using apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He and fission track dating. We combine cooling ages from different samples located along the thrust front of the SRT into a thermal model that shows two major cooling events associated with rifting and regional erosion in the Late Palaeozoic and SRT activity since the Pliocene. Our results suggest that the SRT maintained a long-term average shortening rate of similar to 5-6 mm/yr and a high exhumation rate above the SRT ramp since similar to 4 Ma. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1368 KW - exhumation KW - fault bend fold KW - ramp KW - Salt Range Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-562567 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ghani, Humaad A1 - Sobel, Edward A1 - Zeilinger, Gerold A1 - Glodny, Johannes A1 - Zapata, Sebastian A1 - Irum, Irum T1 - Palaeozoic and Pliocene tectonic evolution of the Salt Range constrained by low-temperature thermochronology JF - Terra nova N2 - The Salt Range in Pakistan exposes Precambrian to Pleistocene strata outcropping along the Salt Range Thrust (SRT). To better understand the in-situ Cambrian and Pliocene tectonic evolution of the Pakistan Subhimalaya, we have conducted low-temperature thermochronological analysis using apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He and fission track dating. We combine cooling ages from different samples located along the thrust front of the SRT into a thermal model that shows two major cooling events associated with rifting and regional erosion in the Late Palaeozoic and SRT activity since the Pliocene. Our results suggest that the SRT maintained a long-term average shortening rate of similar to 5-6 mm/yr and a high exhumation rate above the SRT ramp since similar to 4 Ma. KW - exhumation KW - fault bend fold KW - ramp KW - Salt Range Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/ter.12515 SN - 0954-4879 SN - 1365-3121 VL - 33 IS - 3 SP - 293 EP - 305 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ghani, Humaad A1 - Zeilinger, Gerold A1 - Sobel, Edward A1 - Heidarzadeh, Ghasem T1 - Structural variation within the Himalayan fold and thrust belt BT - A case study from the Kohat-Potwar Fold Thrust Belt of Pakistan JF - Journal of structural geology N2 - The Kohat and Potwar fold thrust belts (KP-FTB) in Pakistan exhibit structural variations over 250 km along strike within the Himalayan fold and thrust system. Our 3D deformation model shows that Kohat surface structures evolved above an active roof thrust in Eocene evaporites. The ramp-forming duplexes in the Kohat were stacked and passively transported toward the foreland above new ramps, resulting in up to 5 km of thickening between the two decollements. Ramps from the Kohat extend into the Potwar as thrust tips of fault propagation folds. The basement slope changes from flat (beta < 1 degrees) below the northern part to north-dipping (beta > 1 degrees) below the southern part, corresponding to the change in structural style and complexity of the KP-FTB. The Kalabagh Fault Zone, linking the two belts, is interpreted as a zone of complex dextral strike-slip rotational faulting. Salt expulsed from the hanging walls of normal faults and under synclines in the Kalabagh Fault Zone moved toward the footwall of normal faults, accumulated in the cores of anticlines, and formed lobe structures at the deformation front. The fundamental reasons for the variable structural styles are changes in decollement strength, basement slope, preexisting normal faulting, presence of a secondary decollement and spatially-variable salt mobility and accumulation. KW - Fold and thrust belt KW - Decollement KW - Duplex KW - Rotational fault KW - Blind thrust Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2018.07.022 SN - 0191-8141 VL - 116 SP - 34 EP - 46 PB - Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd. CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Haghipour, Negar A1 - Burg, Jean-Pierre A1 - Kober, Florian A1 - Zeilinger, Gerold A1 - Ivy-Ochs, Susan A1 - Kubik, Peter W. A1 - Faridi, Mohammad T1 - Rate of crustal shortening and non-Coulomb behaviour of an active accretionary wedge - the folded fluvial terraces in Makran (SE, Iran) JF - Earth & planetary science letters N2 - We surveyed fluvial terraces to decipher the Quaternary increment of crustal shortening and shortening rate in the on-shore Makran Accretionary Wedge. We focused on three major catchment basins and associated fold systems. Terrace profiles reconstructed from differential GPS measurements combined with DEM revealed two regional dominant wavelengths, about 5 km in the northern part of the study area and about 15 km to the south. These two wavelengths suggest the existence of two active decollement layers at two rooting depths. The average shortening rate due to folding is estimated at 0.8-1.2 mm/a over the last 130 ka. This accounts for 10-15% of the shortening rate (similar to 8 mm/a) given by kinematic GPS measurements between Chabahar and Bazman and 3% of the convergence between Arabia and Eurasia, across the Makran subduction zone. Despite active deformation and a relatively high shortening rate, the geophysical record shows nearly absent seismic activity in Makran. We propose that strain accumulated in folds over intermediate decollement levels within a thick, incompletely lithified sedimentary cover explains the essentially aseismic, recent tectonics in this region. The importance of folds points to imperfect Coulomb behaviour of the wedge. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - fluvial terraces KW - Be-10 dating KW - accretionary wedge KW - shortening rate Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2012.09.001 SN - 0012-821X VL - 355 SP - 187 EP - 198 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hippe, Kristina A1 - Kober, Florian A1 - Zeilinger, Gerold A1 - Ivy-Ochs, Susan A1 - Maden, Colin A1 - Wacker, Lukas A1 - Kubik, Peter W. A1 - Wieler, Rainer T1 - Quantifying denudation rates and sediment storage on the eastern Altiplano, Bolivia, using cosmogenic Be-10, Al-26, and in situ C-14 JF - Geomorphology : an international journal on pure and applied geomorphology N2 - Denudation processes and sediment transfer are investigated in a high-elevation, low-relief environment (eastern Altiplano, Bolivia) using Be-10, Al-26, and in situ C-14 analysis in fluvial sediments. Concentrations of the long-lived nuclides Be-10 and Al-26 yield consistently low catchment-wide denudation rates of similar to 3-29 mm ky(-1) (integrating over 21-194 ky), which reflect the low geomorphic gradients and the discontinuity of fluvial transport along the eastern Altiplano margin. No significant correlation is recorded between denudation rates of individual catchments and morphological basin parameters (slope, area, elevation). This is attributed to the overall little variability in morphology. The agreement between the denudation rates and published modern sediment discharge data suggests steady landscape evolution of the eastern Altiplano from the latest Pleistocene until today. While Be-10 and Al-26 provide long-term estimates on sediment production, in situ cosmogenic C-14 is used to trace short-term sediment storage. In situ C-14 concentrations are comparatively low indicating that C-14 decayed during alluvial storage over at least the past similar to 11-20 ky. We assume storage at shallow depth (2 m) and consider the influence of soil-mantled hillslopes on the in situ C-14 concentration. Our results illustrate the importance of sediment storage even over short distances and demonstrate the potential of in situ C-14 to study sediment routing and transfer times within drainage systems. However, this study also demonstrates that the long-lived Be-10 and Al-26 nuclides can provide adequate estimates on long-term denudation rates even if sediment transport is not fast but interrupted by several thousands of years of storage. KW - Cosmogenic nuclides KW - Denudation KW - Sediment storage KW - In situ C-14 KW - Altiplano Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.07.031 SN - 0169-555X VL - 179 IS - 22 SP - 58 EP - 70 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER -