Recent ICDP drilling and deep basin volcanic exploration of 3000m below the surface in the Songliao Basin (SB) have highlighted the 3-D delineation of the basin. The integrated new data led us to ...reevaluate the basin tectonics, for which the basin type, basin evolution and a number of geodynamic aspects have been controversial topics. We outline the position of a main lithospheric scale detachment fault beneath the SB, based on apparent crustal scale displacements, Moho breaks, the thinning of the Moho transition zone beneath the SB and the changing mantle thickness. This fault interpretation is consistent with simple shear as the rift mechanism.
Based on a comprehensive analysis of the tectonic setting, underlying crust, structural style, sequence stratigraphy, subsidence history and volcanism, we propose an active continental margin model for the SB which shows some similarities to aulacogens but also notable differences. Situated between two Late Mesozoic active continental margins, the northern/northwestern Mongol–Okhotsk and the eastern Sikhote-Alin orogenic belts, the Cretaceous basin evolved on a pre-Triassic structurally weak basement mosaic. Its development began with regional mega-rifting from 150 to 105Ma, followed by significant sagging between 105 and 79.1Ma and ended with regional uplift and basin inversion from 79.1 to 64Ma.
Three regional angular unconformities separate the basin fill into three respective tectono-stratigraphic sequences. (1) The syn-rift stage is characterized by widespread fault-bounded grabens and volcanogenic successions, corresponding upward to the Huoshiling, Shahezi and Yingcheng Formations. (2) The post-rift stage includes the Denglouku, Quantou, Qignshankou, Yaojia and Nenjiang Formations. It is a special feature that the subsidence rate is abnormally high (mean of 103m/Ma), and that flood basalt erupted along an axial wrench fault zone, associated with several marine intervals from the mid-Turonian to early Campanian (K2qn to K2n), possibly (not certainly) indicating incipient sea floor spreading characterized by Moho breaks along the basin axis in the SB around 88Ma. Stretching stopped abruptly at approximately 79.1Ma and was followed by uplift and rapid erosion (−145m/Ma). (3) Recorded by the Sifangtai and Mingshui Formations the structural inversion stage included a continuous depocenter migration to the northwest. The basin was shrinking to demise as a result of changing subduction parameters of the Pacific subduction zone.
In addition to the three tectonic basin cycles, a cyclic basin fill pattern exists with three volcanic basin fill intervals of Huoshiling, Yingcheng, and upper Qingshankou Formations that alternate with sedimentary basin fill intervals of Shahezi, Dengloukou-Quantou, and Yaojia-Nenjiang Formations.
When determining the subsidence rates, we observed not only anomalously fast subsidence but also found an intricate link between the subsidence rate and type of basin fill. After each volcanic interval, the subsidence rates increased in a cyclic fashion during the sedimentary intervals. Thus, there is a system of three different types of important, basin-wide geological cycles that controlled the evolution of the SB.
The subsidence rate was especially high (up to 199m/Ma) after the last volcanic episode at 88Ma. In addition to thermal subsidence and loading by the basin fill as causative processes, we also consider magmatic processes related to asthenospheric upwelling beneath the SB. They involve the roof collapse of shallow, depleted magma chambers, the igneous accretion of initially hot, dense, basic rocks, and lithospheric delamination beneath the SB. The difference in the subsidence rates during the volcanic and sedimentary intervals may in part also have been due to heating-related uplift during the volcanic intervals. The particularly high subsidence during the Late Cretaceous sedimentary cycles was partly increased by transtension.
We put forward a general model for active continental margin basins. They are generally similar to aulacogens but display the following differences. In active continental margin basins, rifting depends on the subduction parameters that may cause strong to mild extension in the giant marginal region. The geochemical composition of the volcanic rocks is more calc-alkaline in nature because they are suprasubduction-related. These basins will eventually enter a post-rift sag stage that involves thermal subsidence. However, the basin will still be near an active continental margin, and, thus, some dip- and/or strike-slip faulting may occur coevally, depending on the subduction parameters. Sag cycles in active continental margin basins will likely include volcanism. Basin inversion will after all affect active continental margin basins. Such basins strike parallel to the respective continental margin. Thus, basin inversion by subduction/collision may be more intense than in the case of aulacogens, which do not tend to strike parallel to the continental margin. Basin inversion may also precede a collision due to changing subduction parameters. Subsidence behavior may also differ because many aspects of subsidence may be at work. Subsidence curves in active continental margin basins may be fairly individual. The application of our model only requires settings with the presence of one Pacific margin type.
Listwaenite, a distinctive rock formed by carbonation of peridotite, is important for understanding carbon fluxes and storage in the deep Earth. In northern Oman, this lithology occurs near/at the ...base of the Semail Ophiolite and has been proposed to have formed in the mantle wedge during Late Cretaceous obduction and ophiolite emplacement. Listwaenite occurs as tabular sheets associated with post-obductional extensional faults. Specifically, listwaenite formed in (1) extensional duplexes bound by shallowly-dipping normal faults, (2) moderately- to steeply-dipping extensional faults, and (3) layers that overlie rocks of the metamorphic sole and unmetamorphosed platform carbonates. Two dolomite veins cutting listwaenite yield near-identical LA-ICP-MS U-Pb ages of 60.3 ± 15.4 and 55.1 ± 4.7 Ma (2 standard error). Thus, listwaenite formed prior to or is coeval with the ∼60-55 Ma veins. One carbonate listwaenite sample yields a LA-ICP-MS U-Pb age of 64.31 ± 6.28 Ma. Further six listwaenite samples yield imprecise ages of ∼33-3 Ma. Thus, listwaenite is interpreted to have formed during at least two post-obductional deformational events in the Oman Mountains. Hydrothermal circulation of carbon-rich fluids along upper crustal extensional faults facilitated listwaenite formation. Our results indicate that listwaenite formed during post-obductional extension, challenging models of listwaenite genesis in the mantle wedge during obduction.
•Listwaenite formed during extensional phases after Late Cretaceous obduction.•A U-Pb listwaenite age postdates the mantle wedge stage of ophiolite emplacement.•Listwaenite shows no obduction-style folds, precluding an early formation.•Listwaenite formed in extended upper crust and not in the mantle wedge.•Field cross-cutting criteria indicate that listwaenite formed after obduction.
The provenance and paleogeography of the Upper Triassic deep‐sea flysch Langjiexue Group (LG) of the Shannan Terrane in the northeastern Himalaya orogen, south of Yarlung Zangbo, have been disputed ...in recent years since its affinity to the Tethys Himalaya was suspected during the early 2000s. Based on the earlier discoveries of the Upper Permian–Triassic basalts and mafic dykes from the LG and of coeval detrital zircons from the Qulonggongba Formation (QF) in shallow shelf sediments of the Tethys Himalaya, the previous viewpoints on the basin and tectonics of the LG have been recently rejected. We compared the two units of the Upper Triassic, and our results reveal a number of differences, discrepancies, and inconsistencies in the debate, raising crucial questions on the postulation and provenance model of the remote Gondwanide Orogen for the LG. It is suggested that more observations and evidence are needed to further improve the paleogeographic understanding and relationship of the two units.
Eustatic sea level changes and vertical tectonic movements are producing uplifted paleoshorelines. Along subduction zones, uplifted terraces are used to study fault activities and, overall, allow to ...interpret the tectonic history of plate convergence. Northeastern Oman is experiencing plate convergence following the late Cretaceous obduction of the Semail Ophiolite. Post‐obduction shallow‐marine carbonates have been uplifted to different elevations from 133 to >2,000 m. The present study employs a multidisciplinary approach to elucidate the variability in relief and to introduce a geodynamic model that extends beyond the temporal constraints imposed by the late Quaternary age of the sediments found on the uplifted terraces. Stratigraphic and fault analyses produced a post‐obductional geodynamic model to advance the existing regional models in the framework of the subduction of the Arabian Plate in the Makran Zone. In addition, we rely on imaging geodesy, geomorphology and dating to explain the late Quaternary uplift scenario. Overall, analyses of geomorphology, stratigraphy, and fault patterns reveal spatially heterogeneous post‐late Cretaceous uplift in the region. Compartmentalization by major faults created individual blocks and relief variability. Within the timeframe of marine terrace formation (late Quaternary), we also observed spatially varied displacements. Ground displacements by Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar document an ongoing spatial heterogenous uplift at approximately 1.3 mm/a. Finally, temporal variability was evident during the late Quaternary by unusually high late Pleistocene (<40 ka) uplift rates averaging ≥2 mm/a in younger terraces, while for older terraces (>40 ka) the uplift rate is distinctly lower (<1 mm/a).
Plain Language Summary
Northeastern Oman is part of the down‐going Arabian plate due to the convergence between the Arabian and Eurasian plates. The Oman continental margin records the imprint of several tectonic events related to shortening between the Indian, Eurasian and Arabian plates. The Oman margin exhibits high uplift rates similar to that of an active plate margin with a subduction zone. In addition, the geomorphology of the Oman margin is diverse within a stretch of 150 km parallel to the coast. The landforms include planation surfaces at various elevations ranging from 133 and >2,000 m. We elaborate on the geomorphology, imaging geodesy, stratigraphy, dating and fault analysis to explain the observed relief heterogeneities. Our results show segmentation of the landscape consistent with the presence and activity of blind and surface‐breaking faults. Some of these faults are still active in response to the ongoing convergence of the Arabian Plate with the Eurasian and/or Indian plates. Our findings suggest that landscape segmentation is a long‐lasting process and that the faults accommodated various causes of uplift during the Cenozoic.
Key Points
High uplift rates are mapped in the currently down‐going plate of the northeastern Arabian margin
Post‐Campanian compartmentalized uplift is proposed for the northeastern continental margin
Blind and exposed faults control uplift along this margin driven by different uplift mechanisms
Display omitted
•The postobductional throw north of the Frontal Range may measure up to 7 km.•Extension affected the Frontal Range up to 2.5 km south of the Frontal Range Fault.•Extension was ductile ...and brittle, utilizing bedding and thrust surfaces.•Post-Eocene extension affected the Batinah Coast and eastern Frontal Range faults.
The Oman Mountains formed by late Cretaceous obduction of the Tethys-derived Semail Ophiolite. This study concerns the postobductional extension on the northern flank of the mountain belt. Nine sites at the northern margins of the Jabal Akhdar/Nakhl and Saih Hatat domes of the Eastern Oman (“Hajar”) Mountains were investigated. The northern margins are marked by a system of major interconnected extensional faults, the “Frontal Range Fault”. While the vertical displacements along the Saih Hatat and westerly located Jabal Nakhl domes measure 2.25–6.25 km, 0.5–4.5 km and 4–7 km, respectively, it amounts to 1–5 km along the Jabal Akhdar Dome. Extension had started during the late Cretaceous, towards the end of ophiolite emplacement. Two stages of extension can be ascertained (late Cretaceous to early Eocene and probably Oligocene) at the eastern part of the Frontal Range Fault System (Wadi Kabir and Fanja Graben faults of similar strike). Along the intervening and differently striking fault segments at Sad and Sunub the same two stages of deformation are deduced. The first stage is characterized again by extension. The second stage is marked by dextral motion, including local transtension. Probable Oligocene extension affected the Batinah Coast Fault while it also affected the Wadi Kabir Fault and the Fanja Graben. It is unclear whether the western portion of the Frontal Range Fault also went through two stages of deformation. Bedding-parallel ductile and brittle deformation is a common phenomenon. Hot springs and listwaenite are associated with dextral releasing bends within the fault system, as well as a basalt intrusion of probable Oligocene age. A structural transect through the Frontal Range along the superbly exposed Wadi Bani Kharous (Jabal Akhdar Dome) revealed that extension affected the Frontal Range at least 2.5 km south of the Frontal Range Fault. Also here, bedding-parallel shearing is important, but not exclusive. A late Cretaceous thrust was extensionally reactivated by a branch fault of the Frontal Range Fault. Extension may be ductile (limestone mylonites), ductile and brittle (ooid deformation, boudinaged belemnite rostra, shear bands) or brittle. Extension is heterogeneously distributed within the Frontal Range. Extension is mainly related to orogenic/gravitational collapse of the Oman Mountains. Collapse may have been associated with isostatic rebound and rise of the two domes. In the western part of the study area, the Frontal Range Fault has a listric morphology. It is probably horizontal at a depth of 15 km below the Batinah coastal area. The fault seems to use the clay- and tuff-bearing Aruma Group as shear horizon. The depth of 15 km may coincide with the brittle-ductile transition of quartz- and feldspar-rich rocks. Close to this depth, the listric Batinah Coast Fault curves into the Frontal Range Fault. Extension along the Frontal Range and Batinah Coast faults probably reactivated preexisting late Cretaceous thrust faults during post-late Eocene time. The latter fault is likely mechanically related to the Wadi Kabir Fault via the Fanja Graben Fault and the Sunub fault segment. Listwaenite and serpentinite cluster preferably around the extensional faults. The Semail Gap probably functioned as a sinistral transform fault or fault zone during the Permian.
The study improves the understanding of the basal part of the Eocene Seeb Formation of Oman, informally known as “Unit 1”, in terms of microfacies, lithostratigraphy and shale migration within the ...context of regional tectonics. We logged four sections bed-by-bed over a distance of 8.3 km, collected samples and analyzed thin-sections as well as XRD samples. For the first time, the microfacies and stratigraphic correlation of the lowermost part of the limestone-dominated Seeb Formation were studied in detail. In the analyzed area, Unit 1 is ~20 to 40 m thick, with the thickness increasing to the SE. In the upper part of Unit 1 is a laterally continuous shale horizon. The limestones of Unit 1 contain mostly packstones and grainstones. The dominant standard microfacies types are SMF 18-FOR and SMF 16. The former is dominated by benthic foraminifera, and the latter by peloids. Both SMFs indicate restricted lagoonal conditions. Foraminifera are common in Unit 1 and indicate a middle Eocene age. Considering the abundance of encountered foraminiferal bioclasts, it appears probable that the lagoon barrier was mainly composed of foraminiferal tests. Gutter casts, slumps and debrites indicate an active, partly unstable syndepositional slope, which was likely initially created by uplift of the Saih Hatat Dome and Jabal Nakhl Subdome. Differential regional uplift due to a more pronounced overall doming in the NW (Jabal Nakhl Subdome) than in the SE (Saih Hatat Dome) explains more accommodation space and greater thickness towards the SE. For the first time, we report visco-plastic shale migration/intrusion within the Seeb Formation, related to a shale horizon of Unit 1. This shale locally migrated as indicated by (1) local thickness variations, (2) detached limestone boulders floating in the shale, (3) limestone beds that have been cut-off by the shale and (4) dragged by the shale (5) an upward shale intrusion/injection which then spread parallelly to bedding similar to a salt tongue and (6) tilting overlying limestones. We suggest that shale migration is related to post-“mid”-Eocene E-W convergence between Arabia and India and to faulting or to the second, late Paleogene/early Neogene, faulting interval of the Frontal Range Fault. The shale horizon in the upper part of Unit 1 is a marker bed, which can be correlated across the study area.
For the first time, Quaternary thrusts are documented within the Central Oman Mountains to the northwest of the Jabal Akhdar Dome. Thrusts with a throw of up to 1.1 m displace Quaternary alluvial fan ...conglomerates. These conglomerates have an Optical Stimulate Luminescence (OSL) age of 159 ± 7.9 ka BP and were deposited during MIS 6 (Marine Isotope Stage). The thrusts occur in two sets. Sets 1 and 2 formed during NE/SW and NW/SE shortening, respectively. Set-1-thusts correlate with the present-day stress field of NE/SW shortening which is related to subduction in the Makran Subduction Zone, and they strike parallel to the main continuous fold axis of the Jabal Akhdar and Hawasina windows. Set-2-thrusts correspond to NW/SE shortening and Plio-Pleistocene contractional structures in the southwestern Jabal Akhdar Dome. Set-2-thrusts are probably related to local variations of the present-day stress field originating from the Musandam area which is a part of the Zagros Collision Zone. Both thrust sets mimic the main thrust directions (NW/SE and NE/SW) within the Permo-Mesozoic allochthonous units (Semail Ophiolite, Hawasina napps) of the larger study area. The investigated thrusts imply some reactivation of the Hawasina and Semail thrusts due to far-field stress either from the Makran Subduction Zone and/or the Zagros Collision Zone. The ongoing tectonic activity of this part of the Oman Mountains, which has been considered of moderate activity, is for first time identified by structural data as contractional.
A synoptic table, compiling the most important information of Flügel’s (2010) 1 complex standard microfacies and facies zone system, is shared with the public. On one page, it contains all standard ...microfacies (SMF) types, all facies zones (FZ) and which SMFs are associated with which FZs. This table provides the user with a quick and convenient reference/overview, serving students and professionals as an effective teaching/learning and research tool.
The Angudan Orogeny affected Cryogenian to earliest Cambrian sedimentary rock formations of the Jabal Akhdar Dome of the Oman Mountains. These rocks were folded and cleaved at 525 ± 5 Ma. We studied ...the Cambro-Ordovician (Terreneuvian to Darriwillian) Amdeh Formation of the neighboring Saih Hatat Dome to see whether this formation was also affected by the Angudan Orogeny. The Angudan deformation within the Jabal Akhdar Dome is known for its folds and cleavage. Due to age considerations (see above), we studied the folds and cleavages within the two oldest members of the Amdeh Formation (Am 1 and Am 2) in order to compare them with the ones that are known from the Jabal Akhdar Dome to possibly detect Angudan-related deformation in Am 1 and Am 2. Angudan folds of the Jabal Akhdar Dome display fold axes that are oriented NE/SW, but the two lowest members of the Amdeh Formation reveal one set of folds with subhorizontal fold axes that trend NW-NNW/SE-SSE. The lack of Angudan-related folds suggests that the lowest Amdeh Member (Am 1) postdates the Angudan Orogeny. The age of Am 1 is uncertain. Based on our structural results, we consider an upper Terreneuvian age (late stage 2) for Am 1. The folds in Am 1 and 2 are related to the Late Cretaceous–Cenozoic Semail Orogeny (term introduced here). The observed fold vergences (mainly to the W and SW) were caused by shear deformation during descent into the subduction zone by simple shear. The contact between the stratigraphically underlying Hiyam Formation and the Amdeh Formation is generally considered to be an unconformity. We observed a distinct NW/SE-striking deformation zone along the contact of both formations which is located in proximity to the largest observed fold. Tectonically, this contact is defined by the sinistral Wadi Amdeh Fault (name introduced here). The unconformity should be present in the subsurface of the southwestern fault block. Near the contact between the Hiyam and the Amdeh formations, a 20 cm thick unit of reddish cataclasite/tectonic breccia occurs within the basal part of Am 1 which represents a deformed acidic layer or sill. This rock unit could be the first evidence for Cambrian igneous activity.
The Songliao basin （SB） is a superposed basin with two different kinds of basin fills. The lower one is characterized by a fault-bounded volcanogenic succession comprising of intercalated volcanic, ...pyrodastic and epiclastic rocks. The volcanic rocks, dating from 110 Ma to 130 Ma, are of geochemically active continental margin type. Fast northward migration of the SB block occurred during the major episodes of the volcanism inferred from their paleomagnetic information. The upper one of the basin fill is dominated by non-marine sag-style sedimentary sequence of silicidastics and minor carbonates. The basin center shifted westwards from the early to late Cretaceous revealed by the GGT seismic velocity structure suggesting dynamic change in the basin evolution. Thus, a superposed basin model is proposed. Evolution of the SB involves three periods including （1） Alptian and pre- Aptian： a retroarc basin and range system of Andes type related to Mongolia-Okhotsk collisional belt （MOCB）; （2） Albian to Companian： a sag-like strike-slip basin under transtension related to oblique subduction of the Pacific plate along the eastern margin of the Eurasian plate; （3） since Maastrichtian： a tectonic inverse basin under compression related to normal subduction of the Pacific plate under the Eurasian plate, characterized by overthrust, westward migration of the depocenter and eastward uplifting of the basin margin.
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