Asbestiform and non-asbestiform morphologies in a talc and vermiculite mine from the province of Córdoba (Argentina): a case study

In this work, a talc and vermiculite mine from the province of Córdoba (Argentina) was investigated with special emphasis on the occurrence of asbestiform and non-asbestiform phases. The meta-ultramafic rock was studied by a multimethodological approach, complementing field studies with petrographic-mineralogical, compositional and morphological analyses. Samples were examined by stereomicroscopy, polarizing light microscopy, SEM–EDS, XRD, DSC-TGA and FTIR. Complementary, compositional and textural analyses were performed with FE-SEM–EDS and EPMA. Talc-rich veins with a laminar and fibrous appearance were at first recognized. However, the fibrous morphology observed both in the field and by microscopy is due to an apparent habit because of the sample orientation. To avoid erroneous interpretations, studies by secondary electron images (SEM) are fundamental to carrying out this type of analysis. Tremolite was identified in different zones of the outcrop; however, only ~40% of the crystals located in the vermiculite zone have dimensions to be considered as asbestiform fibres in the range of respirable particles. In these types of complex deposits affected by superimposed metamorphic, igneous and deformational events, multimethodological approaches are necessary to develop models of occurrence of asbestiform morphologies that may be applicable to other with similar characteristics.     

Genetic implications of a retransported loess profile near Córdoba,Argentina

This paper deals with a loess profile located southeast of Córdoba (64° 05′ 30 W to 31°30′ S) that was dated in Beijing University using the OSL method according to Simple Aliquot Regeneration Protocol. This study provides some inferences regarding climatic and environmental features, such as transport agents and probable sources of the materials.The profile, located inside Llanura Pampeana, is approximately 6.80 m in depth and comprises ages between 22.4 ± 3.2 and 9.9 ± 0.3 ka. Throughout the profile, and for all grain sizes, major minerals are quartz and feldspar, with micas, and opaques as subordinates. Illite and chlorite appear as traces, though the last one was not confirmed in the finest fraction analysis. Calcite is abundant in the uppermost sample and decreases downwards. In the base of the profile, and in the clay fraction, XRD showed illite, swellable clay minerals (smectite + mixed layers) and kaolinite traces. It was concluded that the profile would have been derived from the accumulation of sediments, along several events very similar in transport conditions, even though there are some indications that about 21 ka BP, water availability was slightly smaller than for the rest of the profile. This change was also established in some other places, allowing some regional correlations. According to the analyzed data, about 19 ka BP, water availability again increased.     

The megascopic and mesoscopic structure of La Cocha ultramafic body,Sierra Chica of Córdoba,Argentina

The serpentinized ultramafic body of La Cocha is located in the Sierra Chica of Córdoba (31° 36′ 40″ South and 64° 32′ 40″ West). The body is a spinel harzburgite composed of olivine, enstatite and spinel, almost completely hydrated to associations of serpentine minerals. The rock is dark green, foliated, rich in serpentinized olivine and grains or aggregates of enstatite, partially to totally altered to bastite, with spinel as inclusions and a general porphyritic appearance. The S₂ metamorphic foliation was determined by a compositional layering defined by the lengthening and concentration of irregular pyroxene layers that alternate with olivine layers. This foliation is affected by S₃, composed of serpentine, which is parallel or cut sharply with low angles to S₂. The main structure of La Cocha ultramafic body is a low cylindrical recumbent fold interpreted as an “a”-type domal structure which is part of a major sheath fold, currently cut off by erosion. La Cocha ultramafic body is interpreted as an obducted slice of oceanic mantle, probably part of a basal tectonite of an ophiolitic complex. This slice, after its emplacement, was metamorphosed and deformed together with the country rocks.     

Hydrochemistry and nutrients dynamic in the Suquía River urban catchment’s,Córdoba,Argentina

Suquía River is a medium-sized hydrological system (basin area of ~7,700 km²) that supplies fresh water to Córdoba city, a town of ~1,500,000 inhabitants in central Argentina. This paper examines the present-day hydrochemistry of Suquía River urban catchment analyzing its major and minor dissolved components, and the nutrients variability by means of QUAL-2K modeling software. The Suquía River has bicarbonate-type waters upstream the city and sulfate-type waters right downstream, whereas they exhibit a mixed-to-alkali-type cationic composition. The seasonal analysis of its major dissolved constituents clearly showed a dilution process during the wet season (i.e. austral summer). In the last 20 years, the Suquía River has modified its anionic composition, now showing higher relative concentrations of SO₄ ²⁻ as a consequence of urban activities. However, trace elements dissolved concentrations do not evidence a strong pollution effect. Nutrients [nitrogen species, total phosphorous (TP)] and related parameters, such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and dissolved oxygen (DO), evidence a clear influence of human activities. The QUAL-2K model was used to evaluate the spatial behavior of selected nutrients and associated variables, (i.e. TP, N–NH₄ ⁺, N–NO₃ ⁻, DO, BOD). Nutrient concentrations are affected by point sources of contaminants, particularly domestic waste and sewage, as well as by diffuse agricultural pollution. A calibrated QUAL-2K modeling exercise clearly shows the impact of the Córdoba city’s municipal wastewater treatment plant on the Suquía River water quality.     

Contrasting magmatic structures between small plutons and batholiths emplaced at shallow crustal level (Sierras de Córdoba,Argentina)

Processes like injection, magma flow and differentiation and influence of the regional strain field are here described and contrasted to shed light on their role in the formation of small plutons and large batholiths their magmatic structures. The final geometric and compositional arrangement of magma bodies are a complex record of their construction and internal flow history. Magma injection, flow and differentiation, as well as regional stresses, all control the internal nature of magma bodies. Large magma bodies emplaced at shallow crustal levels result from the intrusion of multiple magma batches that interact in a variety of ways, depending on internal and external dynamics, and where the early magmatic, growth-related structures are commonly overprinted by subsequent history. In contrast, small plutons emplaced in the brittle-ductile transition more likely preserve growth-related structures, having a relatively simple cooling history and limited internal magma flow. Outcrop-scale magmatic structures in both cases record a rich set of complementary information that can help elucidate their evolution. Large and small granitic bodies of the Sierra Pampeanas preserve excellent exposures of magmatic structures that formed as magmas stepped through different rheological states during pluton growth and solidification. These structures reveal not only the flow pattern inside magma chambers, but also the rheological evolution of magmas in response to temperature evolution.     

Morphotectonic study of two regions in the Centre-South Segment of Spain: Córdoba and Granada

The morphotectonics of Córdoba and Granada are differentiated using the Rantsman method [53]. Over 40 quantitative geomorphologic indicators are used in the systemic classification. Both areas are included in what are known as the macroblocks no. 1 (Southern) and no. 2 (Sub-Western 2A) of the Iberian Peninsula megablock. The qua ntities of the four lowest order Territorial Units defined for Córdoba/Granada are: mesoblocks (4/4), blocks (9/9), microblocks (15/35) and nanoblocks (64/83). The main lineaments/intersections determined in Córdoba total 16/1041 and in Granada 25/633, A series of seven morphostructural scarps is found in both areas, along with important modifications (inflections) in some river beds. Some of the structures described are seismicity-related. Córdoba displays less activity than Granada. Between the towns of Loja, Beas de Granada, and Lentejí a seismoactive sector (～820 km²) with blocks B2, B3, B5, and B6 forms the area where the deep earthquakes are concentrated.     

Historical mercury trends recorded in sediments from the Laguna del Plata,Córdoba,Argentina

The main carrying phases of mercury (Hg) were analyzed in a 120 cm sediment core taken at the Laguna del Plata (LP), a small lake connected to the main water body of Laguna Mar Chiquita (LMC) during highstands. LMC is considered to be one of the largest saline lakes in the world representing a sensitive climatic indicator due to its frequent lake level variations at millennial and interdecadal scale like the last ones that started early in the 1970s and after 2004. Total particulate Hg (Hg_TP) concentrations vary between ∼13 and ∼131 μg kg⁻¹ indicating a system with low pollution. Selective extractions with ascorbate, HCl and H₂O₂ were performed in the sediments and they revealed that Hg is associated mainly to reactive sulphides in the base of the core, while in the middle and upper part the organic matter seems to be the main Hg-bearing phase. The highest and most important peak was found in sediments accumulated between 1991 and 1995. More than a punctual source of pollution, this peak is likely related to two eruptive events occurred in the Andean Cordillera in this period: the eruption of Hudson volcano in southern Patagonia that occurred in 1991 and the one of the Láscar volcano in northern Chile that occurred in 1993. In both cases, the respective ash plumes were documented to have reached the Laguna del Plata region.     

U-Pb zircon and Sm—Nd geochronology of mafic and ultramafic rocks from the central part of the Tauern Window (eastern Alps)

Geochronological and geochemical analyses were carried out in order to identify the pre-Variscan basement of the Tauern Window (eastern Alps). Maficultramafic rocks from the central part of the Tauern window have been studied by REE-analysis and U-Pb and Sm-Nd isotopic analyses on whole rock, zircons, garnets and sphene. U-Pb and Sm—Nd zircon dating define both magmatic Pan-African and Cambro-Ordovician events from 650 Ma to 486 Ma within the Alpine fold belt. This indicates a time span of 150 Ma for magmatic activities in the Tauern Window of the eastern Alps. The ages of 657 Ma (U-Pb zircon) and 644 (Sm—Nd zireon) obtained from an amphibolite are the oldest dates of the Eastern Alps; they may be related to the Pan-African orogeny, and imply an early cycle of magmatic intrusion before major activity started at around 500 Ma. Sm-Nd whole rock analyses of the Precambrian rocks do not define an isochron, reflecting heterogenities within the mantle source. The initial _Nd values (+1.2 to +4.7) are very low, implying an enrichment of the magma source. The second main phase of magmatic activity (539 486 Ma) is characterized by the emplacement of mafic/ultramafic rock sequences. As no ophiolitic relies are observed in these domains, the Early Paleozoic magmatism was likely associated with extensional tectonics. Obtained ages of 301±3 and 314+4/-3 Ma point to a Variscan metamorphism. The first combined U-Pb zircon/Sm—Nd zircon data for an amphibolite from the Basal Amphibolite Formation (BAF) favoured the Sm-Nd zircon isochron age as a magmatic age, whereas the low initial _Nd value point to an enriched magma source as well as to heterogenities within the magma source. The obtained ages suggest that parts of the pre-Variscan basement within the Alpine fold belt were formed during the Pan-Africa cycle. The detection of Pre-Variscan ages within the Alpine basement must reffect a complex history involving significant pre-Variscan activity.     

U–Pb Zircon geochronology of the Cambro-Ordovician metagranites and metavolcanic rocks of central and NW Iberia

New U–Pb zircon data from metagranites and metavolcanic rocks of the Schist-Graywacke Complex Domain and the Schistose Domain of Galicia Tras-os-Montes Zone from central and NW Iberia contribute to constrain the timing of the Cambro-Ordovician magmatism from Central Iberian and Galicia Tras-os-Montes Zones which occurred between 498 and 462 Ma. The crystallization ages of the metagranites and metavolcanic rocks from the northern Schist-Graywacke Complex Domain are as follows: (a) in west Salamanca, 489 ± 5 Ma for Vitigudino, 486 ± 6 Ma for Fermoselle and 471 ± 7 Ma for Ledesma; (b) in northern Gredos, 498 ± 4 Ma for Castellanos, 492 ± 4 Ma for San Pelayo and 488 ± 3 Ma for Bercimuelle; (c) in Guadarrama, 490 ± 5 Ma for La Estación I, 489 ± 9 Ma for La Cañada, 484 ± 6 Ma for Vegas de Matute (leucocratic), 483 ± 6 Ma for El Cardoso, 482 ± 8 Ma for La Morcuera, 481 ± 9 Ma for Buitrago de Lozoya, 478 ± 7 Ma for La Hoya, 476 ± 5 Ma for Vegas de Matute (melanocratic), 475 ± 5 Ma for Riaza, 473 ± 8 Ma for La Estación II and 462 ± 11 Ma for La Berzosa; and (d) in Toledo, 489 ± 7 Ma for Mohares and 480 ± 8 Ma for Polán. The crystallization ages of the metagranites from the Schistose Domain of Galicia Tras-os-Montes Zone are 497 ± 6 Ma for Laxe, 486 ± 8 Ma for San Mamede, 482 ± 7 Ma for Bangueses, 481 ± 5 Ma for Noia, 480 ± 10 for Rial de Sabucedo, 476 ± 9 Ma for Vilanova, 475 ± 6 Ma for Pontevedra, 470 ± 6 Ma for Cherpa and 462 ± 8 Ma for Bande. This magmatism is characterized by an average isotopic composition of (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_485Ma ≈ 0.712, (ε_Nd)_485Ma ≈ ?4.1 and (T_DM) ≈ 1.62 Ga, and a high zircon inheritance, composed of Ediacaran–Early Cambrian (65 %) and, to a lesser extent, Cryogenian, Tonian, Mesoproterozoic, Orosirian and Archean pre-magmatic cores. Combining our geochronological and isotopic data with others of similar rocks from the European Variscan Belt, it may be deduced that Cambro-Ordovician magmas from this belt were mainly generated by partial melting of Ediacaran–Early Cambrian igneous rocks.     

U–Pb geochronology and geochemistry of late Palaeozoic volcanism in Sardinia (southern Variscides)

The latest Carboniferous to lower Permian volcanism of the southern Variscides in Sardinia developed in a regional continental transpressive and subsequent transtensile tectonic regime.Volcanism produced a wide range of intermediate-silicic magmas including medium-to high-K calc-alkaline andesites,dacites,and rhyolites.A thick late Palaeozoic succession is well exposed in the four most representative Sardinian continental basins(Nurra,Perdasdefogu,Escalaplano,and Seui-Seulo),and contains substantial stratigraphic,geochemical,and geochronological evidence of the area's complex geological evolution from the latest Carboniferous to the beginning of the Triassic.Based on major and trace element data and LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon dating,it is possible to reconstruct the timing of postVariscan volcanism.This volcanism records active tectonism between the latest Carboniferous and Permian,and post-dates the unroofing and erosion of nappes in this segment of the southern Variscides.In particular,igneous zircon grains from calc-alkaline silicic volcanic rocks yielded ages between299±1 and 288±3 Ma,thereby constraining the development of continental strike-slip faulting from south(Escalaplano Basin)to north(Nurra Basin).Notably,andesites emplaced in medium-grade metamorphic basement(Mt.Cobingius,Ogliastra)show a cluster of older ages at 332±12 Ma.Despite the large uncertainty,this age constrains the onset of igneous activity in the mid-crust.These new radiometric ages constitute:(1)a consistent dataset for different volcanic events;(2)a precise chronostratigraphic constraint which fits well with the biostratigraphic data and(3)insights into the plate reorganization between Laurussia and Gondwana during the late Palaeozoic evolution of the Variscan chain.     

Vertebrate tracks from the Paso Córdoba fossiliferous site (Anacleto and Allen formations,Upper Cretaceous), Northern Patagonia,Argentina: Preservational,environmental and palaeobiological implications

The Paso Córdoba fossiliferous site (Río Negro, Northern Patagonia) is one of the first Mesozoic fossiliferous localities studied in Argentina. There, turtle, crocodile and dinosaur remains as well as dinosaur and bird tracks have been recorded. Recently, a new locality with vertebrate tracks, the Cañadón del Desvío, has been discovered in Paso Córdoba. Six track-bearing layers were located in outcrops belonging to the Anacleto (lower to middle Campanian, Neuquén Group) and Allen (middle Campanian-lower Maastrichtian, Malargüe Group) formations. The Cañadón del Desvío locality reveals that vertebrate trace fossils are distributed in two distinct environments, floodplains of a meandering fluvial to shallow lacustrine system and a wet interdune deposit that is associated to an aeolian setting. Also, in the logged section several soft sediment deformation structures were found. In regard of this, a sedimentary facies analysis is provided in order to assess the palaeoenvironmental implications of this new record. The analysed tracks are preserved in cross-sections, on bedding-planes and as natural casts. When it is possible, the tracking surface, true tracks, undertracks and overtracks/natural casts have been identified and the track preservation and the formation history of the tracksite are discussed. Only two tracks preserve enough anatomical details to relate them with their trackmakers, in this case hadrosaurid dinosaurs. The stratigraphical, facial and palaeoenvironmental data of this study support the idea of a transitional passage between the Anacleto and Allen Formation in Paso Córdoba. The presence of hadrosaurid dinosaur tracks suggests that the upper part of the log, where this kind of tracks were found, likely belong to Allen Formation due to this dinosaurs appear in the Southern Hemisphere in this epoch. The sum of osteological and ichnological remains improve the Paso Córdoba palaeofaunistic knowledge. The presence of six different levels in which the trackmakers walked reflects the abundance of vertebrates in the transition between Anacleto and Allen formations.     

Foraging Behavior, Direct Interference and Habitat Use in Three Species of Flamingos (Phoenicopterus Chilensis, Phoenicoparrus Andinus and Phoenicoparrus Jamesi) in Mar Chiquita Lagoon, Córdoba, Argentina

正The Laguna Mar Chiquita,located northeast of the province of Córdoba in Argentina,is the only non-Andean place where three flamingo species regularly coexist in the southern part of South America.Two of these species,     

The distribution of calcareous nannofossils in the late Santonian–Late Maastrichtian deposits in the southwest of Iran (Khuzestan Province)

The first data on the distribution of calcareous nannofossils in the Behbehan section, the Kuh-e-Rish, are considered. According to the distribution of nannofossils, the Upper Cretaceous deposits of the section are subdivided into nine biostratigraphic zones. CC17 (Calculites obscurus zone) indicate the Late Santonian. Biozones CC18 (Aspidolithus parcus zone), CC19 (Calculites ovalis zone), CC20 (Ceratolithoides aculeus zone), CC21 (Quadrum sissinghii zone), and CC22 (Quadrum trifidum zone) represent the Campanian. Biozone CC23 (Tranolithus phacelosus zone) indicate the Late Campanian–Early Maastrichtian. Biozones CC24 (Reinhardtites levis zone) and CC25 (Arkhangelskiella cymbiformis zone) suggest the Middle and Late Maastrichtian, respectively. In the late Late Maastrichtian, due to decreasing in water depth at the study area, Nephrolithus frequens zone (CC26) defined in Tethysian domain was not recognized. The boundary between Gurpi–Pabdeh Formations represented a non-depositional period from the late Late Maastrichtian to the end of Early Paleocene. Also, it seems that predominant conditions of the sedimentary environment of Neotethys basin with the presence of index species calcareous nannofossils specified, which itself indicates that the warm climate and high depth of the basin in Late Santonian to Late Maastrichtian, in low latitudes has been prevalent.     

Conodont Biostratigraphy and Age Determination of the Lower–Middle Triassic Boundary in South Guizhou Province, China

The demarcation of the Lower–Middle Triassic boundary is a disputed problem in global stratigraphic research. Lower–Middle Triassic strata of different types, from platform to basin facies, are well developed in Southwest China. This is favorable for the study of the Olenekian–Anisian boundary and establishing a stratotype for the Qingyan Stage. Based on research at the Ganheqiao section in Wangmo county and the Qingyan section in Guiyang city, Guizhou province, six conodont zones have been recognized, which can be correlated with those in other regions, in ascending order as follows: 1, Neospathodus cristagalli Interval-Zone; 2, Neospathodus pakistanensis Interval-Zone; 3, Neospathodus waageni Interval-Zone; 4, Neospathodus homeri-N. triangularis Assemblage-Zone; 5, Chiosella timorensis Interval-Zone; and 6, Neogongdolella regalis Range-Zone. An evolutionary series of the Early–Middle Triassic conodont genera Neospathodus-Chiosella-Neogongdolella discovered in the Ganheqiao and Qingyan sections has an intermediate type named Neospathodus qingyanensis that appears between Neospathodus homeri and Chiosella timorensis in the upper part of the Neospathodus homeri-N. triangularis Zone, showing an excellent evolutionary relationship of conodonts near the Lower–Middle Triassic boundary. The Lower–Middle Triassic boundary is located at 1.5 m below the top of the Ziyun Formation, where Chiosella timorensis Zone first appears in the Qingyan section, whereas this boundary is located 0.5 m below the top of the Ziyun Formation, where Chiosella timorensis Zone first appears in the Ganheqiao section. There exists one nearly 6-m thick vitric tuff bed at the bottom of the Xinyuan Formation in the Ganheqiao section, which is usually regarded as a lithologic symbol of the Lower–Middle Triassic boundary in South China. Based on the analysis of high-precision and high-sensitivity Secondary Ion Mass Spectrum data, the zircon age of this tuff has a weighted mean 206Pb/238U age of 239.0±2.9Ma (2s), which is a directly measured zircon U-Pb age of the Lower–Middle Triassic boundary. The Ganheqiao section in Wangmo county can therefore provide an excellent section through the Lower–Middle Triassic because it is continuous, the evolution of the conodonts is distinctive and the regionally stable distributed vitric tuff near the Lower–Middle Triassic boundary can be regarded as a regional key isochronal layer. This section can be regarded not only as a standard section for the establishment of the Qingyan Stage in China, but also as a reference section for the GSSP of the Lower–Middle Triassic boundary.     

Paleontology,sedimentology and paleoenvironment of a new fossiliferous locality of the Jurassic Cañadón Asfalto Formation,Chubut Province,Argentina

A new Late Jurassic assemblage of “conchostracans”, ostracods, bivalves and caddisfly cases from the locality “Estancia La Sin Rumbo”, Chubut Province (Patagonia, Argentina) is recorded. The fossils occur in the upper part of an outcropping 45 m thick volcaniclastic lacustrine sequence of yellowish tuffs and tuffites of the Puesto Almada Member, which is the upper member of the Cañadón Asfalto Formation with U/Pb age of 161 ± 3 Ma. The sequence represents one sedimentary cycle composed of a (lower) hemicycle of expansion and a (higher) hemicycle of contraction of the water body. The invertebrates lived in small freshwater bodies during the periods of expansion of the lake. The occurrence of a great number of small spinicaudatans, associated with mud-cracks, is evidence of dry climatic conditions and suggests several local mortality events. The spinicaudatan record of the fushunograptid–orthestheriid (component of the Eosestheriopsis dianzhongensis fauna) and the presence of Congestheriella rauhuti Gallego and Shen, suggest a Late Jurassic (Oxfordian to Tithonian) age. Caddisfly cases are recorded for the first time in the Cañadón Asfalto Basin.     

Biostratigraphy of the Garau Formation (Berriasian?–lower Cenomanian) in central part of Lurestan zone,northwest of Zagros,Iran

Deposition of organic rich black shales and dark gray argillaceous limestones in the Berriasian–Turonian interval has been documented in many parts of the world. Northwest of Zagros, Iran (Lurestan zone), thin bedded black shales and marls, dark gray argillaceous limestones and fissile limestone layers, having bitumen, of the Garau Formation are deposited. For biostratigraphic studies two stratigraphic sections including one surface section (Kuzaran) and one subsurface section (Naft well) were selected, respectively. In this study, 61 foraminiferal species belonging to 17 genera have been identified, and 12 biozones were recognized. Based on fossils distribution and biozones identification, the age of the Garau Formation is Berriasian?–early Cenomanian. In addition, the micropalaeontological study demonstrated a variety of widespread morphological changes in planktonic foraminifera assemblages (e.g., the elongation of the final chambers, appearance of twin chambers in the last whorl). These changes coincide with deposition of argillaceous limestones and marls rich in organic matter, indicating oceanic anoxic events. On this basis, three oceanic anoxic events such as OAE1a, OAE1b and OAE1d were recognized in Naft well section and two (OAE1b and OAE1d) in Kuzaran section.     

The Thakkhola–Mustang graben in Nepal and the late Cenozoic extension in the Higher Himalayas

The Thakkhola–Mustang graben is located at the northern side of the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna ranges in North Central Nepal. The structural pattern is mainly characterised by the N020–040° Thakkhola Fault system responsible for the development of the half-graben. A detailed study of the substrate and the sedimentary fill in several outcrops indicates polyphased faulting:-pre-sedimentation faulting (Miocene), with a mainly NNW–SSE to N–S compressional stress expressed in the substratum by N020–040° and N180–N010° sinistral and N130–140° dextral conjugate strike-slip faults;-syn-sedimentation faulting (Pliocene–Pleistocene), characterised by a W–E to WNW–ESE extensional stress and tectonic subsidence of the half-graben during the Tetang period (Pliocene probably), followed by a doming of the Tetang deposits and a short period of erosion (cf. Pliocene planation surface and unconformity between the Tetang and Thakkhola Formations); the Thakkhola period (Pleistocene) is characterized by a W–E to WNW–ESE extensional stress and a major subsidence of the half graben;-post-sedimentation recurrent extensional faulting and N–S and NE–SW normal faults in the late Quaternary terrace formations.Geodynamic interpretation of the faulting is discussed in relation to the following:

• 1.the geographic situation of the Thakkhola–Mustang half-graben in the southern part of Tibet and its setting in the Tethyan series above the South Tibetan Detachment System (STDS);
• 2.the geodynamic conditions of the convergence between India and Eurasia and the dextral east–west shearing between the High Himalayas and south Tibet;
• 3.the possible relations between the sinistral Thakkhola and the dextral Karakorum strike-slip faults in a N–S compressional stress regime during the Miocene.