On the use of displaced river terraces to characterize active tectonics of the Zagros orogenic belt, SW Iran

Investigating fault deformation in Late-Quaternary sediments provide valuable data to seismic hazard analysis especially relevant for the urban areas. Integration of displacement of geomorphic markers and ages of Quaternary sediment is needed to measure deformation rates accurately. In order to prod...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Iman Nezamzadeh, Ali Faghih, Behnam Oveisi, Timothy Kusky, Narges Khajavi, Masoumeh Soleimani, Jiannan Meng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Results in Earth Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211714824000323
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850250614306504704
author Iman Nezamzadeh
Ali Faghih
Behnam Oveisi
Timothy Kusky
Narges Khajavi
Masoumeh Soleimani
Jiannan Meng
author_facet Iman Nezamzadeh
Ali Faghih
Behnam Oveisi
Timothy Kusky
Narges Khajavi
Masoumeh Soleimani
Jiannan Meng
author_sort Iman Nezamzadeh
collection DOAJ
description Investigating fault deformation in Late-Quaternary sediments provide valuable data to seismic hazard analysis especially relevant for the urban areas. Integration of displacement of geomorphic markers and ages of Quaternary sediment is needed to measure deformation rates accurately. In order to produce data on intermediate-term deformation rates along the Sabzpoushan Fault Zone (SFZ) situated in the Zagros Mountains of south-west Iran, the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating technique was applied to the tectonically influenced terraces of the Mianrod River passing through the fault zone. Field evidence and satellite imagery revealed that geomorphic markers include strike-slip displacement of terraces, different levels of the fluvial markers, shifting in Bakhtiary Formation, fast change in trend of the river and expansion of erosional gully, deformed horizontally along the Fault Zone. These geomorphic indices suggest that Mianrod River deflected along the SFZ as a consequence of faulting during multiple faulting cycles. The OSL dates obtained from the study area indicate that strike-slip deformation rate along the Sabzpoushan Fault Zone is 1–2.8 ± 0.2 mm y−1 (for ∼100 ka). It is suggestive from the research that a significant part of this estimated rate of deformation results from aseismic crustal deformation, but the areas with the highest likelihood of the Sabzpoushan near-surface deformation, as well as the west parts of the city of Shiraz, should be considered as high seismic hazard areas.
format Article
id doaj-art-77c1c74e7ef44c3f97fcb4c567f0a942
institution OA Journals
issn 2211-7148
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Results in Earth Sciences
spelling doaj-art-77c1c74e7ef44c3f97fcb4c567f0a9422025-08-20T01:58:08ZengElsevierResults in Earth Sciences2211-71482024-12-01210004510.1016/j.rines.2024.100045On the use of displaced river terraces to characterize active tectonics of the Zagros orogenic belt, SW IranIman Nezamzadeh0Ali Faghih1Behnam Oveisi2Timothy Kusky3Narges Khajavi4Masoumeh Soleimani5Jiannan Meng6Department of Earth Sciences, College of Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, IranDepartment of Earth Sciences, College of Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran; Corresponding author.Department of Seismotectonics and Seismology, Geological Survey of Iran, Tehran, Iran; Terry Fox Dr., Ottawa, Ontario K2V 0J5, CanadaThree Gorges Research Center for Geo-hazard, Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, ChinaGHD Engineering Consultant, Brisbane, QLD 4000, AustraliaDepartment of Earth Sciences, College of Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, IranThree Gorges Research Center for Geo-hazard, Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, ChinaInvestigating fault deformation in Late-Quaternary sediments provide valuable data to seismic hazard analysis especially relevant for the urban areas. Integration of displacement of geomorphic markers and ages of Quaternary sediment is needed to measure deformation rates accurately. In order to produce data on intermediate-term deformation rates along the Sabzpoushan Fault Zone (SFZ) situated in the Zagros Mountains of south-west Iran, the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating technique was applied to the tectonically influenced terraces of the Mianrod River passing through the fault zone. Field evidence and satellite imagery revealed that geomorphic markers include strike-slip displacement of terraces, different levels of the fluvial markers, shifting in Bakhtiary Formation, fast change in trend of the river and expansion of erosional gully, deformed horizontally along the Fault Zone. These geomorphic indices suggest that Mianrod River deflected along the SFZ as a consequence of faulting during multiple faulting cycles. The OSL dates obtained from the study area indicate that strike-slip deformation rate along the Sabzpoushan Fault Zone is 1–2.8 ± 0.2 mm y−1 (for ∼100 ka). It is suggestive from the research that a significant part of this estimated rate of deformation results from aseismic crustal deformation, but the areas with the highest likelihood of the Sabzpoushan near-surface deformation, as well as the west parts of the city of Shiraz, should be considered as high seismic hazard areas.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211714824000323Deformation rateActive tectonicsOSLGeomorphic markerSabzpoushan Fault ZoneZagros
spellingShingle Iman Nezamzadeh
Ali Faghih
Behnam Oveisi
Timothy Kusky
Narges Khajavi
Masoumeh Soleimani
Jiannan Meng
On the use of displaced river terraces to characterize active tectonics of the Zagros orogenic belt, SW Iran
Results in Earth Sciences
Deformation rate
Active tectonics
OSL
Geomorphic marker
Sabzpoushan Fault Zone
Zagros
title On the use of displaced river terraces to characterize active tectonics of the Zagros orogenic belt, SW Iran
title_full On the use of displaced river terraces to characterize active tectonics of the Zagros orogenic belt, SW Iran
title_fullStr On the use of displaced river terraces to characterize active tectonics of the Zagros orogenic belt, SW Iran
title_full_unstemmed On the use of displaced river terraces to characterize active tectonics of the Zagros orogenic belt, SW Iran
title_short On the use of displaced river terraces to characterize active tectonics of the Zagros orogenic belt, SW Iran
title_sort on the use of displaced river terraces to characterize active tectonics of the zagros orogenic belt sw iran
topic Deformation rate
Active tectonics
OSL
Geomorphic marker
Sabzpoushan Fault Zone
Zagros
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211714824000323
work_keys_str_mv AT imannezamzadeh ontheuseofdisplacedriverterracestocharacterizeactivetectonicsofthezagrosorogenicbeltswiran
AT alifaghih ontheuseofdisplacedriverterracestocharacterizeactivetectonicsofthezagrosorogenicbeltswiran
AT behnamoveisi ontheuseofdisplacedriverterracestocharacterizeactivetectonicsofthezagrosorogenicbeltswiran
AT timothykusky ontheuseofdisplacedriverterracestocharacterizeactivetectonicsofthezagrosorogenicbeltswiran
AT nargeskhajavi ontheuseofdisplacedriverterracestocharacterizeactivetectonicsofthezagrosorogenicbeltswiran
AT masoumehsoleimani ontheuseofdisplacedriverterracestocharacterizeactivetectonicsofthezagrosorogenicbeltswiran
AT jiannanmeng ontheuseofdisplacedriverterracestocharacterizeactivetectonicsofthezagrosorogenicbeltswiran