Preliminary paleomagnetic constraints on vertical-axis rotations and tectonics of the Makran–Khojak Flysch Basin, Pakistan
Keywords:
Paleomagnetic analysis, Geodynamic analysis, Vertical axis rotations, Arabian Plate, Makran-Khojak Flysch Basin, Eurasian PlateAbstract
The Makran-Khojak Flysch Basin (MKFB), situated in the northwest of the Indian Plate in Pakistan, exhibits a comprehensive sandstone sequence. This sequence has experienced significant tectonic bending and rotation due to orogeny during plate convergence. The MKFB is a compelling case study for examining the geological characteristics of an active convergent plate boundary marked by the oceanic lithosphere subduction. This is a preliminary investigation with specimen limitations, and the vertical axis rotations (VARs) obtained from preliminary paleomagnetic (PMag) data and geodynamic investigations offer a first-order constraint on the tectonic deformation within the MKFB. The findings show that the east-west trend rotated clockwise (CW) due to the subducting Arabian Plate underneath the Makran. The north-south trend rotated counter-clockwise (CCW) due to the main stress-strain driven by the Chaman fault in association with the northwest advance of the Indian Plate. The exception of CCW rotation of the GA section with < 1° acts as a transition zone, which has been influenced by the interactions between the CRA, Afghan Block, Arabian Plate, Indian Plate, and the Chaman Faults’s strike-slip movement. Additionally, pre-depositional tectonic deformations occurred between the Arabian and Indian plates, with tranpressional interactions bringing up an NNE-SSW convergence zone without any tectonic deformation in the Makran arc-trench gap until the late Eocene. While the post-depositional tectonic deformations of the MKFB occurred since the late Eocene, presenting the tectonic interactions between Indian and Eurasian plates. Whereas the interactions between the Eurasian, Arabian, and Indian plates occurred throughout the Oligocene to late Miocene, which originated the Chaman Transform Fault. Moreover, the geodynamic results show that the MKFB formed as a minor symmetry typical of a Y-shaped junction similar to that of a horsetail structure during Oligocene to Miocene.
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