Detailed Active Fault Map of the Spin Ghar Fault System and Related Seismicity in Eastern Afghanistan

Article Sidebar

Article (PDF) Review Report
Published: Apr 17, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55575/tektonika2024.2.1.49
Keywords:
Geological Mapping Geomorphology Active Tectonics Spin Ghar Fault Earthquakes Jalalabad Basin Eastern Afghanistan

Main Article Content

Zakeria Shnizai
St John’s College, University of Oxford, St Giles', Oxford OX1 3JP, UK
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0563-1998
Richard Walker
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7551-4124

Abstract

The Spin Ghar fault system is one of the major active structures in northeastern Afghanistan, stretching ~130 km east-west along the Spin Ghar Mountains in the Jalalabad Basin. The fault system includes a group of strike-slip and oblique-slip thrust fault strands only 25 km from Jalalabad City. However, there is no existing detailed map of the fault traces, which is essential for mitigating seismic hazard from future seismicity. We therefore studied the fault-related geomorphology based on the interpretation of satellite images and shaded-relief topography. To identify exposed lithologies within the area we used true colour and false colour composite (FCC), band rationing and principal component analysis (PCA) on multispectral imagery. The Spin Ghar fault system is marked by both continuous and discontinuous linear and arcuate fault scarps developed in piedmont alluvium and along the Spin Ghar Mountain front. We also recognised scarps cutting bedrock terrain. Several deformed surfaces of Neogene-Quaternary age are observed along the fault strands in the Jalalabad Basin. The basin is also traversed by a series of east-west arcuate folds that suggest the area is undergoing south-north compression. The Quaternary faulting and seismicity demonstrate the kinematics of faulting in eastern Afghanistan. Our observations suggest that the east-west–trending right-lateral strike-slip and oblique-slip thrust faults are active and are important components of the seismic hazard in the eastern Afghanistan.

Article Details

How to Cite
Shnizai, Z., & Walker, R. (2024). Detailed Active Fault Map of the Spin Ghar Fault System and Related Seismicity in Eastern Afghanistan. τeκτoniκa, 2(1), 132–156. https://doi.org/10.55575/tektonika2024.2.1.49
Issue
Vol. 2 No. 1 (2024)
Section
Articles
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

References

Abdelaziz, R., Y. Abd El-Rahman, and S. Wilhelm (2018), Landsat-8 data for chromite prospecting in the Logar Massif, Afghanistan, Heliyon, 4(2), e00,542, doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00542.

Abdullah, S., and V. M. Chmyriov (1977), Map of mineral resources of afghanistan: Kabul.

Abdullah, S., V. M. Chmyriov, and V. I. Dronov (2008), Geology and Mineral Resources of Afghanistan, 1–488 pp., British Geological Survey, London.

Adiri, Z., R. Lhissou, A. El Harti, A. Jellouli, and M. Chakouri (2020), Recent advances in the use of public domain satellite imagery for mineral exploration: A review of landsat-8 and sentinel-2 applications, Ore Geology Reviews, 117, 103,332, doi: 10.1016/j.oregeorev.2020.103332.

Afghanistan Geological Survey (1996), Geological Map of Afghanistan.

Aitchison, J. C., J. R. Ali, and A. M. Davis (2007), When and where did India and Asia collide?, Journal of geophysical research, 112(B5), 5423, doi: 10.1029/2006jb004706.

Ambraseys, N., and R. Bilham (2003), Earthquakes in Afghanistan, Seismological Research Letters, 74(2), 107–123, doi: 10.1785/gssrl.74.2.107.

Ambraseys, N., and R. Bilham (2014), The tectonic setting of bamiyan and seismicity in and near afghanistan for the past twelve centuries, in After the Destruction of Giant Buddha Statues in Bamiyan (Afghanistan) in 2001: A UNESCO’s Emergency Activity for the Recovering and Rehabilitation of Cliff and Niches, edited by C. Margottini, pp. 101–152, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg, doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-30051-6_6.

Azizi, H., M. A. Tarverdi, and A. Akbarpour (2010), Extraction of hydrothermal alterations from ASTER SWIR data from east Zanjan, northern Iran, Advances in space research: the official journal of the Committee on Space Research, 46(1), 99–109, doi: 10.1016/j.asr.2010.03.014.

Beun, N., P. Bordet, and J. P. Carbonnel (1979), Premières données quantitative relatives au coulissage du décrochement de Chaman (Afghanistan du sud-est), Comptes rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, 288, 931–934.

Crupa, W. E., S. D. Khan, J. Huang, A. S. Khan, and A. Kasi (2017), Active tectonic deformation of the western Indian plate boundary: A case study from the Chaman Fault System, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 147, 452–468, doi: 10.1016/j.jseaes.2017.08.006.

Dalaison, M., R. Jolivet, E. M. van Rijsingen, and S. Michel (2021), The interplay between seismic and aseismic slip along the chaman fault illuminated by InSAR, Journal of Geophysical Research, [Solid Earth], 126(12), 1–23, doi: 10.1029/2021jb021935.

Denikaev, S. S., V. P. Feoktistov, I. V. Pyzhyanov, A. A. Adjuruddin, S. N. Narbaev, and Y. M. Konev (1971), Geology and minerals in the south part of Eastern Afghanistan (Report of the Kabul team on the work in 1970), Tech. rep., Kabul, Rec. Off. DGMS, Kabul.

Dewey, J. W. (2006), Seismicity of Afghanistan and vicinity, Tech. Rep. No.28, U.S. Geological Survey, doi: 10.3133/ofr20061185.

Dhakal, S. (2015), Evolution of Geomorphologic Hazards in Hindu Kush Himalaya, in Mountain Hazards and Disaster Risk Reduction, edited by H. K. Nibanupudi and R. Shaw, 1 ed., pp. 53–72, Springer Japan, Tokyo, doi: 10.1007/978-4-431-55242-0_4.

Doebrich, J. L., R. R. Wahl, S. D. Ludington, P. G. Chirico, C. J. Wandrey, R. G. Bohannon, G. J. Orris, J. D. Bliss, A. Wasy, and M. O. Younusi (2006), Geologic and mineral resource map of Afghanistan, Tech. Rep. No.2006-10, U.S. Geological Survey, doi: 10.3133/ofr20061038.

Ekström, G., M. Nettles, and A. M. Dziewoński (2012), The global CMT project 2004–2010: Centroid-moment tensors for 13,017 earthquakes, Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 200-201, 1–9, doi: 10.1016/j.pepi.2012.04.002.

Ghrefat, H., A. Y. Kahal, K. Abdelrahman, H. J. Alfaifi, and S. Qaysi (2021), Utilization of multispectral landsat-8 remote sensing data for lithological mapping of southwestern Saudi Arabia, Journal of King Saud University - Science, 33(4), 101,414, doi: 10.1016/j.jksus.2021.101414.

Grebby, S., D. Cunningham, K. Tansey, and J. Naden (2014), The impact of vegetation on lithological mapping using airborne multispectral data: A case study for the north troodos region, cyprus, Remote Sensing, 6(11), 10,860–10,887, doi: 10.3390/rs61110860.

Hashim, M., S. Ahmad, M. A. Johari, and A. B. Pour (2013), Automatic lineament extraction in a heavily vegetated region using Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) imagery, Advances in space research: the official journal of the Committee on Space Research, 51(5), 874–890, doi: 10.1016/j.asr.2012.10.004.

Inzana, J., T. Kusky, G. Higgs, and R. Tucker (2003), Supervised classifications of Landsat TM band ratio images and Landsat TM band ratio image with radar for geological interpretations of central Madagascar, Journal of African Earth Sciences, 37(1), 59–72, doi: 10.1016/S0899-5362(03)00071-X.

ISC-EHB (2023), ISC-EHB dataset, doi: 10.31905/PY08W6S3.

Lawrence, R. D., S. H. Khan, and T. Nakata (1992), Chaman Fault, Pakistan-Afghanistan, Annales Tectonicae, 6, 196–223.

Leleu, S., J.-F. Ghienne, and G. Manatschal (2009), Alluvial fan development and morpho-tectonic evolution in response to contractional fault reactivation (late Cretaceous-Palaeocene), provence, france, Basin Research, 21(2), 157–187, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2117.2008.00378.x.

Mcdougall, J. W., and A. Hu (1991), Fold and thrust propagation in the western himalaya based on a balanced cross section of the surghar range and kohat plateau, pakistan (1), AAPG bulletin, 75(3), 463–478, doi: 10.1306/0c9b280d-1710-11d7-8645000102c1865d.

Mohadjer, S., R. Bendick, A. Ischuk, S. Kuzikov, A. Kostuk, U. Saydullaev, S. Lodi, D. M. Kakar, A. Wasy, M. A. Khan, P. Molnar, R. Bilham, and A. V. Zubovich (2010), Partitioning of India-Eurasia convergence in the Pamir-Hindu kush from GPS measurements, Geophysical research letters, 37(4), 1–6, doi: 10.1029/2009gl041737.

MUDA (2015), State of Afghan Cities 2015 (Volume 1), Tech. rep., Ministry of Urban Development Affairs, Independent Directorate of Local Governance, Kabul Municipality.

Nakata, T., H. Tsutsumi, S. H. Khan, and R. D. Lawrence (1991), Active faults of Pakistan: map sheets and inventories (Special Publication), Research Center for Regional Geography, Hiroshima University, 21, 141.

Prevot, R., D. Hatzfeld, S. W. Roecker, and P. Molnar (1980), Shallow earthquakes and active tectonics in eastern Afghanistan, Journal of Geophysical Research, [Solid Earth], 85(B3), 1347–1357, doi: 10.1029/JB085iB03p01347.

Quittmeyer, R. C., and K. H. Jacob (1979), Historical and modern seismicity of pakistan, afghanistan, northwestern india, and southeastern iran, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 69(3), 773–823.

Ruleman, C. A., A. J. Crone, M. N. Machette, K. M. Haller, and K. S. Rukstales (2007), Map and database of probable and possible quaternary faults in afghanistan, Tech. rep., U.S. Geological Survey, doi: 10.3133/ofr20071103.

Shareq, A. (1981), Geological observations and geophysical investigations carried out in afghanistan over the period of 1972–1979, in Zagros, Hindu Kush, Himalaya: Geodynamic Evolution, vol. 3, edited by H. K. Gupta and F. M. Delany, pp. 75–86, American Geophysical Union, Washington, D. C., doi: 10.1029/gd003p0075.

Shareq, A. (1993), Seismic hazard assessment in the Islamic state of Afghanistan, in The practice of earthquake hazard assessment, edited by R. K. McGuire, pp. 1–6, International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth’s Interior.

Shnizai, Z. (2020a), Mapping of active and presumed active faults in Afghanistan by interpretation of 1-arcsecond SRTM anaglyph images, Journal of Seismology, 24(6), 1131–1157, doi: 10.1007/s10950-020-09933-4.

Shnizai, Z. (2020b), Active Tectonics and Seismic Hazard Assessment of Afghanistan and Slip-rate Estimation of the Chaman Fault Based on Cosmogonic 10 Be Dating, Ph.D. thesis, Doshisha University, doi: 10.14988/00027636.

Shnizai, Z., and H. Tsutsumi (2020), Active Faults and Seismic Hazard in the Kabul Basin, Afghanistan, The Harris Science Research Institute of Doshisha University, 61(2), 96–107, doi: 10.14988/00027353.

Shnizai, Z., Y. Matsushi, and H. Tsutsumi (2020), Late Pleistocene slip rate of the Chaman fault based on 10Be exposure dating of offset geomorphic surfaces near Kabul, Afghanistan, Tectonophysics, 795, 228,593, doi: 10.1016/j.tecto.2020.228593.

Shnizai, Z., M. Talebian, S. Valkanotis, and R. Walker (2022), Multiple factors make Afghan communities vulnerable to earthquakes, Temblor, doi: 10.32858/temblor.266.

Shnizai, Z., R. Walker, and H. Tsutsumi (2024), The Chaman and Paghman active faults, west of Kabul, Afghanistan: Active tectonics, geomorphology, and evidence for rupture in the destructive 1505 earthquake, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 259, 105,925, doi: 10.1016/j.jseaes.2023.105925.

Shroder, J. F., N. Eqrar, H. Waizy, H. Ahmadi, and B. J. Weihs (2022), Review of the Geology of Afghanistan and its water resources, International geology review, 64(7), 1009–1031, doi: 10.1080/00206814.2021.1904297.

Siehl, A. (2017), Structural setting and evolution of the afghan orogenic segment – a review, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 427(1), 57–88, doi: 10.1144/SP427.8.

Szeliga, W., R. Bilham, D. M. Kakar, and S. H. Lodi (2012), Interseismic strain accumulation along the western boundary of the indian subcontinent, Journal of Geophysical Research, [Solid Earth], 117(B8), doi: 10.1029/2011JB008822.

Tapponnier, P., M. Mattauer, F. Proust, and C. Cassaigneau (1981), Mesozoic ophiolites, sutures, and arge-scale tectonic movements in Afghanistan, Earth and planetary science letters, 52(2), 355–371, doi: 10.1016/0012-821X(81)90189-8.

Treloar, P. J., and C. N. Izatt (1993), Tectonics of the himalayan collision between the indian plate and the afghan block: a synthesis, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 74(1), 69–87, doi: 10.1144/GSL.SP.1993.074.01.06.

Ul-Hadi, S., S. D. Khan, L. A. Owen, A. S. Khan, K. A. Hedrick, and M. W. Caffee (2013), Slip-rates along the Chaman fault: Implication for transient strain accumulation and strain partitioning along the western Indian plate margin, Tectonophysics, 608, 389–400, doi: 10.1016/j.tecto.2013.09.009.

USGS (2023), Earthquake Catalog, https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/search/, accessed: 2022-11-4.

Wheeler, R. L., C. G. Bufe, M. L. Johnson, R. L. Dart, and G. A. Norton (2005), Seismotectonic map of Afghanistan, with annotated bibliography, Tech. Rep. 2005–1264, U.S. Geological Survey.

Yang, Z., P. Willis, and R. Mueller (2008), Impact of Band-Ratio Enhanced AWiFS Image to Crop Classification Accuracy, Proceeding Pecora 17, 17(1).

Yeats, R. S., R. D. Lawrence, S. Jamil-ud din, and S. H. Khan (1979), Surface effects of the March 16 1978 earthquake, Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in Geodynamics of Pakistan, edited by A. Farah; and K. A. DeJong, pp. 359–361, Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta.