CAUSES OF CONTINENTAL LITHOSPHERE DELAMINATION BENEATH THE ARABIAN-EURASIAN AND TIEN-SHAN (KYRGYZSTAN) COLLISION ZONES

Abstract

The mantle processes occurring in collisional zones give rise to the occurrence of many tectonic and geodynamic processes on the surface which is associated with a high seismicity level. Seismic tomography studies showed that beneath some collision zones, such as for example, the Arabian-Eurasian and Tien-Shan, the mantle part of the continental lithosphere delaminates from the crust, with a further separation and plunge into the mantle which is also called delamination. This paper deals with a comparative analysis of the earlier obtained different-scale 3D models for seismic tomography of the crust and mantle of the Arabian-Eurasian and Tien-Shan collision zones to identify similarities and differences between the inhomogeneities observed. The paper also provides a review of the numerical modeling studies. A comparative analysis of seismotomographic models in combination with the results of mathematical modeling and the data on tectonic evolution allows making speculations about the causes of delamination in the studied regions.

Keywords

• collision zones
• delamination
• seismic tomography
• caucasus
• tien-shan
• eastern anatolia region
• arabian-eurasian collision
• geodynamics