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The Arabian Continental Margin In Iran During The Late Cretaceous. the Arabian Continental Margin In Iran During The Late Cretaceous (1990)
| Content Provider | CiteSeerX |
|---|---|
| Author | Stoneley, R. |
| Description | In: A.H.F. Robertson, M.P. Searle And A.C. Ries (Eds), The Geology And Tectonics Of The Oman Region, The Geological Society |
| Abstract | Abstract: The events which affected the Iranian sector of the Southern Tethyan margin of the Arabian continent during the Cretaceous differed from those that took place in Oman, although they were clearly related to them. Extensional faulting, parallel to the shelf margin, commenced locally in the Cenomanian and culminated later in the Cretaceous with the expulsion of mantle material to the surface. This engulfed the shelf edge before gliding southwestwards over a complementary intra-shelf basin. These events took place progressively later towards the north-west, and are interpreted as an unsuccessful attempt to develop a spreading axis along the continental margin. They were followed by a return to shelf sedimentation at the southern edge of Tethys, which closed finally in the early Miocene. It is suggested that the Oman and Iranian sectors of the Arabian margin were offset some 300 km by a north-south transform fault, and that the differences between the two regions were therefore due to attempted spreading in different ectonic environ-ments in the late Cretaceous. In the Mesozoic, the northeastern margin of the Afro-Arabian continent extended north-westwards from Oman through Iran and Turkey to the Mediterranean. Whereas in Oman it has largely escaped later deformation, to the north-west it was involved in a Tertiary collision with Eurasia lying to the north. This has obliterated or modified many of the structures formed during the Mesozoic, generally making in-terpretation much more difficult. However, in at least three areas adjacent to the collision suture in Iran, it is possible to determine elements of its history. These suggest important differences in the events of the late Cretaceous from those that affected the Oman sector. This paper summarizes conclusions reached in earlier publications concerning these events in Iran, and includes some previously un-recorded observations. It is not necessary to repeat existing descriptions of the intricate evidence, or of involved discussions of its in-terpretation and its implications: the interested, or sceptical, reader is referred to Stoneley (1975, 1981), Hall (1984), and to papers by a joint F rench- Russian team (in Tectonophysics, |
| File Format | |
| Publisher Date | 1990-01-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
