Upper mantle structure under the Zagros collision zone; insights from 3D teleseismic P-wave tomography

Abstract

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Segmented Up‐Bending of the Arabian Continental Plate Revealed by Pn Attenuation Tomography

“…The Arabian continental underthrusting followed the subduction of the Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere into the trench. Upper mantle P ‐ and S ‐wave velocity tomography revealed high‐velocity anomalies down to a 600 km depth beneath Iran (e.g., Alinaghi et al., 2007; Hafkenscheid et al., 2006; Mahmoodabadi et al., 2019; Manaman & Shomali, 2010; Rahmani et al., 2019; Veisi et al., 2021), where the shallower high‐velocity anomaly (<200 km) was interpreted as the Arabian mantle lithosphere and the high‐velocity anomaly below ∼200 km was interpreted as the remaining Neotethyan oceanic slab. Detached slabs were detected at depths exceeding 300 km beneath the northwestern and southeastern Zagros orogen.…”

“…Detached slabs were detected at depths exceeding 300 km beneath the northwestern and southeastern Zagros orogen. However, beneath the central Zagros, high‐velocity anomalies persisted at depths of 200–500 km, suggesting a connection to the shallower Arabian continental margin (Agard et al., 2011; Hafkenscheid et al., 2006; Rahmani et al., 2019; Veisi et al., 2021). Therefore, the subducted deep slab was proposed to be partially detached under the Iranian Plateau (red dashed lines in Figure 9a).…”

“…However, the inconsistent imaging results led to controversy over the detachment locations. The deep oceanic slab may have detached under the northwestern and southeastern Zagros orogen, avoiding the central Zagros (e.g., Agard et al., 2011; Alinaghi et al., 2007; Hafkenscheid et al., 2006; Rahmani et al., 2019; Veisi et al., 2021). Otherwise, an updated velocity model for the Iranian Plateau observed similar discontinuous high‐velocity anomalies under the central Zagros (Mahmoodabadi et al., 2019).…”

High‐Resolution Lithospheric Structure of the Zagros Collision Zone and Iranian Plateau

“…The margins of the surrounding stable Arabian Plate and Turan Platform are characterized by significantly higher V s of 4.5–4.9 km s −1 . In the Zagros, the subcrustal V s values are generally high ( V s > 4.2 km s −1 ), implying a high‐ V s uppermost mantle beneath the Zagros system (Koulakov, 2011; Mahmoodabadi et al., 2019, 2020; Motaghi et al., 2015, 2017; Priestley et al., 2012; Rahimi et al., 2014; Rahmani et al., 2019; Veisi et al., 2021). A low‐ V s zone under the southern Lorestan Arc (Figure 6, profile C) separates the central Zagros upper mantle from the northernmost Zagros.…”