Oblique convergence during the Cimmerian collision: Evidence from the Triassic Aghdarband Basin, NE Iran

The Lower-Middle Triassic Aghdarband Basin, NE Iran, consists of a strongly deformed arc-related marine succession deposited along the southern margin of Eurasia in a highly mobile tectonic context. This basin is a key-area for the study of the Cimmerian events, as the Triassic units show severe deformations, which occurred short time after the collision of Iran with Eurasia, and were sealed by the Middle Jurassic succession. In this work, we document the structural setting and evolution of this area, based on detailed mesoscopic structural analyses of faults and folds, paleostress reconstruction and revision of the Triassic stratigraphy. The Triassic sequences are deeply involved in a N-verging thrust stack interacting with an important left-lateral transpressional fault zone characterized by strike-slip faults, vertical folds and high angle reverse faults generating intricate positive flowers. Systematic folds asymmetry indicates that they developed in a left-lateral transpressional zone coeval to thrust imbrication to the south, due to a marked strain partitioning. The extent of the transpressional zone shows that important left-lateral movements developed parallel to the belt during the Cimmerian collision, in response to oblique convergence between Iran and Eurasia. Inversion of Triassic syn-sedimentary faults, possibly inherited from Palaeozoic structures of the Kopeh Dagh basement and favouring strain partitioning, is suggested by unconformities, significant differences in the sedimentary successions, repeated olistoliths, scarp-related coarse breccias and rapid tectonic drowning, occurring especially along the northern tectonic boundary of the basin. Paleostress analyses point to a complex stress pattern showing a 45° rotation of the stress field along the left-lateral fault system, related to a complete deformation partitioning in two domains respectively characterized by pure reverse dip-slip and strike-slip motions. The main direction of compression, possibly oriented NE–SW in present days coordinates, favoured the development of large shear zones disrupting the eastern portion of the Cimmerian orogen.