the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Miocene evolution of the NW Zagros foreland basin reflects SE-ward propagating tear of the Neotethys slab
Abstract. Tectonic processes resulting from solid Earth dynamics control uplift and generate sediment accommodation space via subsidence. Unraveling the mechanism of basin subsidence elucidates the link between deep Earth and Surface processes. The NW Zagros fold-thrust belt results from the Cenozoic convergence and subsequent collision between the Arabian and Eurasian plates. The associated Neogene foreland basin includes ~4 km of syntectonic nonmarine clastic sediments, suggesting a strongly subsiding basin inconsistent with the adjacent topographic load. To explain such discrepancy, we assessed basin subsidence with respect to the effect of surface load and dynamic topography. The isopach map of the Fatha Formation during the middle Miocene displays a longitudinal depocenter aligned with the orogenic trend. In contrast, the maps of the Injana Formation and Mukdadiya Formation during the late Miocene illustrate a focused depocenter in the southern region of the basin. The rapid subsidence in the south during the late Miocene was coeval with the Afar plume flow northward beyond the Arabia-Eurasia suture zone in the northwestern segment of the Zagros belt. Based on isopach maps, subsidence curves, and reconstructions of flexural profiles, supported by Bouguer anomaly data and maps of dynamic topography and seismic tomography, we argue for a two-stage basin evolution. The Zagros foreland basin subsided due to the load of the surface and the subducting slab during the early-middle Miocene and was later affected by the Neothethys horizontal slab tear propagation during the late Miocene. This tear propagation was associated with a northward mantle flow above the detached segment in the NW and a focussed slab pull on the attached portion of the slab in the SE.
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RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2023-3123', Ali Mohammadi, 11 Feb 2024
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The manuscript “Miocene evolution of the NW Zagros foreland basin reflects SE-ward propagating tear of the Neotethys slab” by Koshnaw, Kley, and Schlunegger provides a set of new and important data about the Miocene foreland basin of the Iraqi part of Zagros Mountain range. The manuscript is well written and the multi-proxy data including isopach maps, subsidence curves, flexural profile modeling along with Bouguer gravity anomaly, tomography maps, and dynamic topography data, support the author's findings and their conclusions.
Adding a new chapter “Regional Tectonic Implications” and comparing and discussing some of the other foreland basins in the Tethyan belt makes it interesting for a wider community working on the collisional system of the Tethyan orogenic belt. For example, the Geological evolution of the South Sistan Basin (Sistan Suture Zone) and its Miocene foreland Basin (Karvandar Basin) in SW Iran are very similar to the author's studies foreland basin. The width of the foreland basin and sediment thickness increased toward the south and similar asthenosphere flow after the final collision occurred in the South Sistan Basin. Unlike Zagros, there are limited studies in the Sistan Basin. However, I think the brief discussion of similarities between Zagros and the Sistan Foreland Basin (Karvandar Basin) would further support the author's findings. These two papers would be helpful in this case.
Mohammadi, A., Burg, J.P., Bouilhol, P. and Ruh, J., 2016. U–Pb geochronology and geochemistry of Zahedan and Shah Kuh plutons, southeast Iran: Implication for closure of the South Sistan suture zone. Lithos, 248, pp.293-308.
Ruh, Jonas Bruno, Luis Valero, Mohammad Najafi, Najmeh Etemad‐Saeed, J. Vouga, Ali Mohammadi, Fabio Landtwing, Marcel Guillong, Miriam Cobianchi, and Nicoletta Mancin. "Tectono‐Sedimentary Evolution of Shale‐Related Minibasins in the Karvandar Basin (South Sistan, SE Iran): Insights From Magnetostratigraphy, Isotopic Dating, and Sandstone Petrology." Tectonics 42, no. 11 (2023): e2023TC007971.
In addition, please instead of review papers, cite the original papers. For example, in the caption of Fig. 9
“present-day width of the Makran accretionary wedge (~500-300 km; e.g., Burg et al. 2018)” Please cite:
McCall, G.J.H., 1997. The geotectonic history of the Makran and adjacent areas of southern Iran. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 15(6), pp.517-531.
Or Farhoudi, G. and Karig, D.E., 1977. Makran of Iran and Pakistan as an active arc system. Geology, 5(11), pp.664-668.
Some recent papers about the timing of the collision support the Late Oligocene Arabia-Eurasia continental collision. It's worth citing them too. For example:
Cai, F., Ding, L., Wang, H., Laskowski, A.K., Zhang, L., Zhang, B., Mohammadi, A., Li, J., Song, P., Li, Z. and Zhang, Q., 2021. Configuration and timing of collision between Arabia and Eurasia in the Zagros collision zone, Fars, southern Iran. Tectonics, 40(8), p.e2021TC006762.
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