4 research outputs found
Evolution and dynamics of a fold-thrust belt: The Sulaiman Range of Pakistan
We present observations and models of the Sulaiman Range of western Pakistan that shed
new light on the evolution and deformation of fold-thrust belts. Earthquake source inversions
show that the seismic deformation in the range is concentrated in the thick pile of sediments
overlying the underthrusting lithosphere of the Indian subcontinent. The slip vectors of the
earthquakes vary in strike around the margin of the range, in tandem with the shape of the
topography, suggesting that gravitational driving forces arising from the topography play an
important role in governing the deformation of the region. Numerical models suggest that the
active deformation, and the extreme plan-view curvature of the range, are governed by the
presence of weak sediments in a pre-existing basin on the underthrusting Indian Plate. These
sediments affect the stress-state in the over-riding mountain range and allow for the rapid
propagation of the nose of the range and the development of extreme curvature and laterally
varying surface gradients.This study forms part of the NERC- and ESRC-funded project
âEarthquakes Without Frontiersâ. Our thanks go to Jerome Neufeld
for many interesting coffee-time discussions, and James Jackson
and Dan McKenzie, for comments on the manuscript. We thank
Chris Morley and one anonymous reviewer for helpful comments
on the manuscript.This article has been accepted for publication in in Geophysical Journal International ©: (2015) 201(2): 683-710, doi: 10.1093/gji/ggv005 , First published online March 9, 2015, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved