S. Naser Hashemi

In this paper, 2-D spatial variation of the frequency and length density and frequency–length relation of large-scale faults in the Zagros region (Iran), as a typical fold-and-thrust belt, were examined. Moreover, the directional analysis of these faults as well as the scale dependence of the orientations was studied. For this purpose, a number of about 8000 faults with L ≥ 1.0 km were extracted from the geological maps covering the region, and then, the data sets were analyzed. The overall pattern of the frequency/length distribution of the total faults of the region acceptably fits with a power-law relation with exponent 1.40, with an obvious change in the gradient in L = 12.0 km. In addition, maps showing the spatial variation of fault densities over the region indicate that the maximum values of the frequency and length density of the faults are attributed to the northeastern part of the region and parallel to the suture zone, respectively, and the fault density increases towards the central parts of the belt. Moreover, the directional analysis of the fault trends gives a dominant preferred orientation trend of 300°–330° and the assessment of the scale dependence of the fault directions demonstrates that larger faults show higher degrees of preferred orientations. As a result, it is concluded that the evolutionary path of the faulting process in this region can be explained by increasing the number of faults rather than the growth in the fault lengths and also it seems that the regional-scale faults in this region are generated by a nearly steady-state tectonic stress regime. © 2018, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature.

areas is completely accepted. This effect in triggering future events and spatial distribution of aftershocks can be explained using the Coulomb stress changes theory. Occurrence of April 93, 2013 earthquake with moment magnitude of 6.3 in Bushehr province that followed by an aftershock with 5.4 magnitude after 14 hours in its vicinity, convinced us to examine Coulomb stress change theory for this region of Iran related to this event using the Coulomb 3.4 software. We calculated Coulomb stress changes associated with the Kaki-Shonbe earthquake on surrounding faults and investigated the effect of transferred stress on spatial distribution of aftershocks. We also calculated the seismicity rate changes in the study area and investigated its correlation with Coulomb stress changes. For calculation of Coulomb stress changes, we used a half-space with Poison ratio equal 0.25 and shear modulus about of 800 kbar. The effective coefficient of friction in our calculations was 0.4 that is appropriate for these kinds of faults. We also used a number of about 1,100 earthquakes with magnitude more than 4, from 1913 to October 2016, to calculate the seismicity rate changes. The Kaki-Shonbe Mw 6.3 earthquake occurred on 9 April 2013 (11:53 UTC, 16:23 local time) in the Zagros Simply Folded Belt in south-western Iran and its largest aftershock was triggered after 14 hours. The epicenter location was 20 km northeast of the town of Kaki, and the earthquake resulted 40 fatalities and 860 injured. Reverse slip on two along-strike, southwest dipping fault segments were found by analyzing satellite interferometry data. The main shock rupture initiated at the lower northern end of the larger northwest segment and slip on the smaller southern segment is likely aseismic. At first, to investigate the effect of the Kaki-Shonbeh earthquake on occurred aseismic slip on the southeast fault plane, we calculated the Coulomb stress changes related to this event on this fault plane by applying slips on the parts of causative fault of main shock. Our results showed that the transferred stress on most part of this fault plane is positive especially in the places that experienced aseismic slip. The aseismic displacement on this fault can be due to the displacement on the causative fault of Kaki-Shonbe earthquake and it is acceptable because of the tectonics of the study area and prevailing stress system. Investigation of the effect of Coulomb stress changes on the distribution of aftershocks showed that more than 80 percent of aftershocks have occurred in places where stress changes were positive. In other word, lots of the aftershocks have occurred in places where the transferred stresses due to co-seismic slip on the northwest fault segment and aseismic slip on the southeast fault segment were increased. We calculated the Coulomb stress changes due to April 93 earthquake and aseismic slip on the southeast segment on the active faults in the study area. The obtained results indicate that the occurred slips on these fault segments increased the stress in some part of the Zagros Mountain Front Fault (MFF), Zagros Fore-deep Fault (ZFF), and the northern part of the Borazjan Fault. Coulomb stress changes due to these slips show a good correlation with calculated seismicity rate changes in the study area. The Borazjan earthquake epicenter, occurred on November 28th, 2013 with moment magnitude of 5.6, is located in the region that both Coulomb stress changes and seismicity rate changes increased and had positive amounts.

Numerical agglomerative hierarchical classification is fundamentally an unsupervised method of grouping individuals on which there are multivariate data so as to identify natural groups in them and perhaps in the populations from which they are drawn and where no prior classification exists or is assumed. We have used the technique to make a tectonic regionalization of the Zagros region and to see whether it can increase our understanding of the regional tectonics. We first identified 137 sub-areas as units for each of which we had recorded 18 quantitative variables; these formed our data, which we held in a data matrix of n = 137 rows and p = 18 columns. After data standardization, we computed the relationships among all pairs of sub-areas as Euclidean distances and then grouped them hierarchically using Ward’s method to form a dendrogram. Cutting the dendrogram at several levels of dissimilarity provided a series of tectonic zoning maps which matched the trends in tectonic evolution of the region. This sequence, obtained automatically, agrees well with our general understanding of the geology. However, in the present study some new findings about the tectonic nature of the region were obtained. For example, the role of the Kazerun-Qatar and Oman lines as two major structural features has been clearly demonstrated. In addition, a striking difference between the Minab zone and the other parts of the Zagros region has been observed. This study simply presents the necessity and usefulness of hierarchical cluster analysis, as an appropriate statistical pattern recognition technique, for increasing the degree of the objectivity of the regionalization researches in the Earth sciences. © 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

This paper presents the results of two multivariate analysis techniques-principal component and cluster analysis-as they are applied to the seismicity characterization of Iran. The seismic data used in this study covers a period of 50 years, from the beginning of 1957 to the end of 2006. The values of eight seismic variables were calculated on a grid of equally spaced points at one geographic degree spacing in both latitude and longitude. The data matrix was analyzed using principal component and cluster analysis. Principal component analysis identified two significant components, introduced in this study as the Seismic Frequency Index (SFI) and the Seismic Severity Index (SSI), responsible for the data structure. The SFI and SSI explain 34.34 % and 32.33 % of the total variance of the data set, respectively, and allowed grouping of the selected variables according to their common features. The standardized data matrix was analyzed using Ward's clustering method. The resulting seismicity pattern recognition maps of the region at three levels of similarity are presented. From these maps, differentiated seismic zones are outlined in detail and compared quantitatively. Comparison between the seismic zoning maps obtained in this analysis and the general tectonic map of the region indicates that the seismic zones are consistent with the tectonic zones of the region. This study presents the necessity and usefulness of multivariate analysis in evaluating and interpreting seismic data catalogues with the goal of obtaining more objective information about the seismicity pattern of regions. © 2013 International Association for Mathematical Geosciences.

The Isfahan fault system, a north-trending, dextral strike-slip fault across the Sanandaj-Sirjan zone, represents the boundary between the northwestern and the southeastern parts of the Sanandaj-Sirjan zone and it terminates in the north at the southern boundary of the Urumieh-Dokhtar zone. This paper focuses on the continuation of the Isfahan fault system across the Urumieh-Dokhtar zone north of Isfahan city. The Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic assemblage belt is located along the active margin of the Iranian plate and the Arabian plate. The Karkas fault strikes nearly north-south, has a length of about 40 km, a normal component of movement, and it truncates the Urumieh-Dokhtar zone. Due to the location of this fault and the mechanism similar to the Isfahan fault system, the Karkas fault can be considered a continuation of the Isfahan fault system that has been displaced dextrally by the southwestern bordering faults of the Urumieh-Dokhtar zone. The unique juxtaposition association of the Silurian volcanic rocks in the Urumieh-Dokhtar zone, near the Karkas fault, provides an important evidence regarding the major role of this fault in the geological evolution of the region. The Silurian volcanic rocks outcrop in two districts of the study area and generally are composed of basalts. The alkaline basalt composition is determined from mineralogy and immobile elements geochemistry. The geotectonic setting diagrams classified the Silurian volcanic rocks as the within plate basalts. Thus, an intracontinental rifting under extensional tectonic regime can be inferred as the setting that controlled formation of these volcanic rocks. They were created by an alkaline to transitional magmas generated due to low partial melting at depth. The alkaline basalts were most likely derived from an asthenosphere-dominated mantle source due to extension and partial melting. The north trending extensional faults affected thinned overlying continental lithosphere in the Paleozoic era, facilitating magma penetration and eruption. © 2012 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.