The mud volcanoes of Pakistan

Marine-geologic investigations on the Arabian Sea by Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR) in 1995 and 1998, and land expeditions in 1998 and 1999 to the coastal regions of the Makran Desert/Pakistan have extended the knowledge of the aerial distribution of mud volcanoes. These structures rise from under-compacted formations within the regional accretionary prism, which is built by the subduction of the oceanic crust of the Arabian Sea and its km-thick sedimentary load. The occurrence of mud volcanoes is limited to the abyssal plain near the accretionary front, to the coastal region of the Makran Desert and to a region in the interior of the Desert to the south to southeast of the so-called Hinglay Synform. The location of mud volcanoes in Pakistan is clearly tied to fault systems. Mud volcanoes are conspicuously absent on the lower slope of the accretionary prism, where thick gas hydrate layers have developed. The presence of large gas plumes emerging from the seafloor landward of the gas hydrate stability zone at water depths of less than 800 m points to a redirection of fluids from depth, which might explain the absence of mud volcanoes along the lower slope.     

冷泉系统甲烷气体渗漏的声学特征及潜在环境效应

The amount of methane leaked from deep sea cold seeps is enormous and potentially affects the global warming,ocean acidification and global carbon cycle. It is of great significance to study the methane bubble movement and dissolution process in the water column and its output to the atmosphere. Methane bubbles produce strong acoustic impedance in water bodies, and bubble strings released from deep sea cold seeps are called "gas flares"which expressed as flame-like strong backscatter in the water column. We characterized the morphology and movement of methane bubbles released into the water using multibeam water column data at two cold seeps. The result shows that methane at site I reached 920 m water depth without passing through the top of the gas hydrate stability zone(GHSZ, 850 m), while methane bubbles at site II passed through the top of the GHSZ(597 m) and entered the non-GHSZ(above 550 m). By applying two methods on the multibeam data, the bubble rising velocity in the water column at sites I and II were estimated to be 9.6 cm/s and 24 cm/s, respectively. Bubble velocity is positively associated with water depth which is inferred to be resulted from decrease of bubble size during methane ascending in the water. Combined with numerical simulation, we concluded that formation of gas hydrate shells plays an important role in helping methane bubbles entering the upper water bodies, while other factors, including water depth, bubble velocity, initial kinetic energy and bubble size, also influence the bubble residence time in the water and the possibility of methane entering the atmosphere. We estimate that methane gas flux at these two sites is 0.4×10~6–87.6×10~6 mol/a which is extremely small compared to the total amount of methane in the ocean body, however, methane leakage might exert significant impact on the ocean acidification considering the widespread distributed cold seeps. In addition, although methane entering the atmosphere is not observed, further research is still needed to understand its potential impact on increasing methane concentration in the surface seawater and gas-water interface methane exchange rate, which consequently increase the greenhouse effect.     

New high-resolution 2D seismic imaging of fluid escape structures in the Makran subduction zone,Arabian Sea

Seabed fluid escape is active in the Makran subduction zone, Arabian Sea. Based on the new high-resolution 2D seismic data, acoustic blanking zones and seafloor mounds are identified. Acoustic blanking zones include three kinds of geometries: Bell-shaped, vertically columnar and tilted zones. The bell-shaped blanking zone is characterized by weak and discontinuous reflections in the interior and up-bending reflections on the top, interpreted as gas chimneys. Vertically columnar blanking zone is interpreted as side-imaged gas chimneys associated with focused fluid flow and topped by a seafloor anomaly expressed as a localized reflection discontinuity, which may together serve as a vent structure. Tilted acoustic blanking zone could be induced by accretionary thrust activity and rapid sedimentation surrounding slope. Seafloor mounds occur at the sites of bell-shaped acoustic blanking zone and may be associated with the material intrusion. Bottom simulating refectors (BSRs) are widely distributed and exhibit a series of characteristics including diminished amplitude, low continuity as well as local shoaling overlapping with these acoustic blanking zones. The large amount of gases dissociated from the gas hydrates migrated upwards and then arrived at the near-seafloor sediments, followed by the formation of the gas hydrates and hence the seafloor mound.     

Preliminary estimation of the tsunami hazards associated with the Makran subduction zone at the northwestern Indian Ocean

We present a preliminary estimation of tsunami hazard associated with the Makran subduction zone (MSZ) at the northwestern Indian Ocean. Makran is one of the two main tsunamigenic zones in the Indian Ocean, which has produced some tsunamis in the past. Northwestern Indian Ocean remains one of the least studied regions in the world in terms of tsunami hazard assessment. Hence, a scenario-based method is employed to provide an estimation of tsunami hazard in this region for the first time. The numerical modeling of tsunami is verified using historical observations of the 1945 Makran tsunami. Then, a number of tsunamis each resulting from a 1945-type earthquake (M _w 8.1) and spaced evenly along the MSZ are simulated. The results indicate that by moving a 1945-type earthquake along the MSZ, the southern coasts of Iran and Pakistan will experience the largest waves with heights of between 5 and 7 m, depending on the location of the source. The tsunami will reach a height of about 5 m and 2 m in northern coast of Oman and eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates, respectively.     

马克兰增生楔自生碳酸盐岩与水合物——以2007年流星号M74/3航次调查报告为例

为了探讨马克兰增生楔自生碳酸盐岩与水合物的关系,对2007年流星号的M74/3航次资料进行了总结。结果显示,自生碳酸盐岩与水合物并非一一对应的关系。对于甲烷通量很大的海区,海底和浅表层沉积物中通常没有自生碳酸盐岩,但是可以存在水合物。对于甲烷通量较高的海区,如果海底或浅表层沉积物中存在少量且小块的自生碳酸盐岩,通常沉积物中存在水合物;如果海底或浅表层沉积物中存在大量且大块的自生碳酸盐岩,通常浅表层沉积物中没有水合物,但就目前的资料,尚不能确定其深部是否存在水合物。对于甲烷通量很弱的海区,沉积地层表现为纹层状结构,通常既没有自生碳酸盐岩,也没有水合物。     

Formation and preservation of fresh lawsonite: Geothermobarometry of the North Makran Blueschists,southeast Iran

A low‐grade metamorphic “Coloured Mélange” in North Makran (SE Iran) contains lenses and a large klippe of low temperature, lawsonite‐bearing blueschists formed during the Cretaceous closure of the Tethys Ocean. The largest blueschist outcrop is a >1,000 m thick coherent unit with metagabbros overlain by interlayered metabasalts and metavolcanoclastic rocks. Blueschist metamorphism is only incipient in coarse‐grained rocks, whereas finer grained, foliated samples show thorough metamorphic recrystallization. The low‐variance blueschist peak assemblage is glaucophane, lawsonite, titanite, jadeite±phengitic mica. Investigated phase diagram sections of three blueschists with different protoliths yield peak conditions of ~300–380°C at 9–14 kbar. Magnesio‐hornblende and rutile cores indicate early amphibolite facies metamorphism at >460°C and 2–4 kbar. Later conditions at slightly higher pressures of 6–9 kbar at 350–450°C are recorded by barroisite, omphacite and rutile assemblages before entering into the blueschist facies and finally following a retrograde path through the pumpellyite–actinolite facies across the lawsonite stability field. Assuming that metamorphic pressure is lithostatic pressure, the corresponding counterclockwise P–T path is explained by burial along a warm geothermal gradient (~15°C/km) in a young subduction system, followed by exhumation along a cold gradient (~8°C/km); a specific setting that allows preservation of fresh undecomposed lawsonite in glaucophane‐bearing rocks.     

Tectonic implications of the geochemical data from the Makran igneous rocks in Iran

Makran is one of the largest accretionary prisms on Earth, formed by the closure of the Neotethys ocean which is now represented by its remnant, the Gulf of Oman. Tectonic evolution of the Makran island‐arc system is explored within the context of a north dipping subduction zone, with temporal variations in slab dip arrangement. In a Middle Jurassic–Early Paleocene steep slab dip arrangement, the Mesozoic magmatic arc and the Proto‐Jaz Murian depression, which was an intra‐arc extensional basin, were developed. This was associated with development of outer‐arc ophiolitic mélange and oceanward migration of the Bajgan–Durkan continental sliver, which is the continuation of the Sanandaj–Sirjan zone of the Zagros orogenic belt into the Makran region. In a Late Paleocene to Late Pliocene moderate to shallow slab dip arrangement, compression and tectonic inversion of the Proto‐Jaz Murian extensional basin into the Jaz Murian compressive basin was associated with the uplift of the southern part of the Jaz Murian Depression along the South Jaz Murian Fault, and emplacement of the Paleogene–Neogene magmatic arc, behind the Jaz Murian compressive basin. A shallow slab dip arrangement in the Quaternary led to the emplacement of a third magmatic arc inland, over the southern part of the Yazd–Tabas–Lut micro‐continental block. It is envisioned that the Makran island‐arc system will pass through similar tectonic events in the future, as the Zagros island‐arc system did in the past. However, a future remnant and/or residual basin similar to the present Gulf of Oman will continue to survive to the east.     

Diapir structure and its constraint on gas hydrate accumulation in the Makran accretionary prism,offshore Pakistan

The Makran accretionary prism is located at the junction of the Eurasian Plate, Arabian Plate and Indian Plate and is rich in natural gas hydrate (NGH) resources. It consists of a narrow continental shelf, a broad continental slope, and a deformation front. The continental slope can be further divided into the upper slope, middle slope, and lower slope. There are three types of diapir structure in the accretionary prism, namely mud diapir, mud volcano, and gas chimney. (1) The mud diapirs can be grouped into two types, namely the ones with low arching amplitude and weak-medium activity energy and the ones with high arching amplitude and medium-strong activity energy. The mud diapirs increase from offshore areas towards onshore areas in general, while the ones favorable for the formation of NGH are mainly distributed on the middle slope in the central and western parts of the accretionary prism. (2) The mud volcanoes are mainly concentrated along the anticline ridges in the southern part of the lower slope and the deformation front. (3) The gas chimneys can be grouped into three types, which are located in piggyback basins, active anticline ridges, and inactive anticline ridges, respectively. They are mainly distributed on the middle slope in the central and western parts of the accretionary prism and most of them are accompanied with thrust faults. The gas chimneys located at different tectonic locations started to be active at different time and pierced different horizons. The mud diapirs, mud volcanoes, and gas chimneys and thrust faults serve as the main pathways of gas migration, and thus are the important factors that control the formation, accumulation, and distribution of NGH in the Makran accretionary prism. Mud diapir/gas chimney type hydrate develop in the middle slope, mud volcano type hydrate develop in the southern lower slope and the deformation front, and stepped accretionary prism type hydrate develop on the central and northern lower slope. The middle slope, lower slope and deformation front in the central and western parts of the Makran accretionary prism jointly constitute the NGH prospect area.     

The diffuse transition between the Zagros continental collision and the Makran oceanic subduction (Iran): microearthquake seismicity and crustal structure

The nature of the transition between the Zagros intra-continental collision and the Makran oceanic subduction is a matter of debate: either a major fault cutting the whole lithosphere or a more progressive transition associated with a shallow gently dipping fault restricted to the crust. Microearthquake seismicity located around the transition between the transition zone is restricted to the west of the Jaz-Murian depression and the Jiroft fault. No shallow micro-earthquakes seem to be related to the NNW–SSE trending Zendan–Minab–Palami active fault system. Most of the shallow seismicity is related either to the Zagros mountain belt, located in the west, or to the NS trending Sabzevaran–Jiroft fault system, located in the north. The depth of microearthquakes increases northeastwards to an unusually deep value (for the Zagros) of 40 km. Two dominant types of focal mechanisms are observed in this region: low-angle thrust faulting, mostly restricted to the lower crust, and strike-slip at shallow depths, both consistent with NS shortening. The 3-D inversion of P traveltimes suggests a high-velocity body dipping northeastwards to a depth of 25 km. This high-velocity body, probably related to the lower crust, is associated with the deepest earthquakes showing reverse faulting. We propose that the transition between the Zagros collision and the Makran subduction is not a sharp lithospheric-scale transform fault associated with the Zendan–Minab–Palami fault system. Instead it is a progressive transition located in the lower crust. The oblique collision results in partial partitioning between strike-slip and shortening components within the shallow brittle crust because of the weakness of the pre-existing Zendan–Minab–Palami faults.