Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

All Outputs (134)

Landscape maturity, fold growth sequence and structural style in the Kirkuk Embayment of the Zagros, northern Iraq (2017)
Journal Article
Obaid, A. K., & Allen, M. B. (2017). Landscape maturity, fold growth sequence and structural style in the Kirkuk Embayment of the Zagros, northern Iraq. Tectonophysics, 717, 27-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2017.07.006

The Kirkuk Embayment is located in the southwest of the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt of Iraq. Like fold-and-thrust belts worldwide, the Zagros is conventionally understood to have grown sequentially towards the foreland. Here we use landscape maturity... Read More about Landscape maturity, fold growth sequence and structural style in the Kirkuk Embayment of the Zagros, northern Iraq.

The Euphrates-Tigris-Karun river system: Provenance, recycling and dispersal of quartz-poor foreland-basin sediments in arid climate (2016)
Journal Article
Garzanti, E., Al-Juboury, A., Zoleikhaei, Y., Vermeesch, P., Jotheri, J., Akkoca, B., …Vezzoli, G. (2016). The Euphrates-Tigris-Karun river system: Provenance, recycling and dispersal of quartz-poor foreland-basin sediments in arid climate. Earth-Science Reviews, 162, 107-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.09.009

We present a detailed sediment-provenance study on the modern Euphrates-Tigris-Karun fluvial system and Mesopotamian foreland basin, one of the cradles of humanity. Our rich petrographic and heavy-mineral dataset, integrated by sand geochemistry and... Read More about The Euphrates-Tigris-Karun river system: Provenance, recycling and dispersal of quartz-poor foreland-basin sediments in arid climate.

An 850–820 Ma LIP dismembered during breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent and destroyed by Early Paleozoic continental subduction in the northern Tibetan Plateau, NW China (2016)
Journal Article
Xu, X., Song, S., Allen, M., Ernst, R., Niu, Y., & Su, L. (2016). An 850–820 Ma LIP dismembered during breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent and destroyed by Early Paleozoic continental subduction in the northern Tibetan Plateau, NW China. Precambrian Research, 282, 52-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2016.07.007

Neoproterozoic intraplate magmatism is widely distributed in NW China and generally thought to be related to the breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent. Here we report a fragmented Large Igneous Province (LIP) formed at 850–820 Ma in the northern marg... Read More about An 850–820 Ma LIP dismembered during breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent and destroyed by Early Paleozoic continental subduction in the northern Tibetan Plateau, NW China.

Holocene avulsions of the Euphrates River in the Najaf area of western Mesopotamia: Impacts on human settlement patterns. (2016)
Journal Article
Jotheri, J., Allen, M., & Wilkinson, T. (2016). Holocene avulsions of the Euphrates River in the Najaf area of western Mesopotamia: Impacts on human settlement patterns. Geoarchaeology, 31(3), 175-193. https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21548

We present a study that reconstructs the ancient courses of the Euphrates in part of the Mesopotamian floodplain west and southwest of the ancient site of Babylon. The focus is on tracing paleochannel courses, determining when these paleochannels wer... Read More about Holocene avulsions of the Euphrates River in the Najaf area of western Mesopotamia: Impacts on human settlement patterns..

Ophiolites in the Xing’an-Inner Mongolia accretionary belt of the CAOB: Implications for two cycles of seafloor spreading and accretionary orogenic events (2015)
Journal Article
Song, S., Wang, M., Xu, X., Wang, C., Niu, Y., Allen, M., & Su, L. (2015). Ophiolites in the Xing’an-Inner Mongolia accretionary belt of the CAOB: Implications for two cycles of seafloor spreading and accretionary orogenic events. Tectonics, 34(10), 2221-2248. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015tc003948

The Xing'an-Inner Mongolia accretionary belt in the southeastern segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) was produced by the long-lived subduction and eventual closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean and by the convergence between the North China... Read More about Ophiolites in the Xing’an-Inner Mongolia accretionary belt of the CAOB: Implications for two cycles of seafloor spreading and accretionary orogenic events.

Petrogenesis of OIB-like basaltic volcanic rocks in a continental collision zone: Late Cenozoic magmatism of Eastern Iran (2015)
Journal Article
Kheirkhah, M., Neill, I., & Allen, M. (2015). Petrogenesis of OIB-like basaltic volcanic rocks in a continental collision zone: Late Cenozoic magmatism of Eastern Iran. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 106, 19-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2015.02.027

Hundreds of compositionally diverse volcanoes have erupted on the Turkish–Iranian Plateau in the last 15 Myr, attributed to one or more of the processes of Middle Miocene Tethyan slab break-off, localised lithospheric delamination and small-scale con... Read More about Petrogenesis of OIB-like basaltic volcanic rocks in a continental collision zone: Late Cenozoic magmatism of Eastern Iran.

Petrogenesis of mafic collision zone magmatism: the Armenian sector of the Turkish-Iranian Plateau (2015)
Journal Article
Neill, I., Meliksetian, K., Allen, M., Navasardyan, G., & Kuiper, K. (2015). Petrogenesis of mafic collision zone magmatism: the Armenian sector of the Turkish-Iranian Plateau. Chemical Geology, 403, 24-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2015.03.013

The Turkish–Iranian Plateau grew after the Middle Miocene following the initial Paleogene Arabia–Eurasia collision. Authors attribute uplift to break-off of the southern Neo-Tethys slab beneath the Bitlis–Zagros Suture at ~ 15–10 Ma, coupled with con... Read More about Petrogenesis of mafic collision zone magmatism: the Armenian sector of the Turkish-Iranian Plateau.

The 600–580 Ma continental rift basalts in North Qilian Shan, northwest China: Links between the Qilian-Qaidam block and SE Australia, and the reconstruction of East Gondwana. (2015)
Journal Article
Xu, X., Song, S., Su, L., Li, Z., Niu, Y., & Allen, M. (2015). The 600–580 Ma continental rift basalts in North Qilian Shan, northwest China: Links between the Qilian-Qaidam block and SE Australia, and the reconstruction of East Gondwana. Precambrian Research, 257, 47-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2014.11.017

We report a sequence of thick, well-preserved basaltic lavas interlayered with shallow marine dolomitic carbonates, mudstones and siltstones of the Zhulongguan Group, in the western segment of the North Qilian orogen, northwest China. Two new zircon... Read More about The 600–580 Ma continental rift basalts in North Qilian Shan, northwest China: Links between the Qilian-Qaidam block and SE Australia, and the reconstruction of East Gondwana..

Basin formation by thermal subsidence of accretionary orogens (2014)
Journal Article
Holt, P., Allen, M., & van Hunen, J. (2015). Basin formation by thermal subsidence of accretionary orogens. Tectonophysics, 639, 132-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2014.11.021

Subsidence patterns of 18 stratigraphic sections from five sedimentary basins around the world are analysed by forward and inverse modelling, in order to explain the mechanisms by which basins form on the juvenile crust generated by accretionary orog... Read More about Basin formation by thermal subsidence of accretionary orogens.

Plate rotation during continental collision and its relationship with the exhumation of UHP metamorphic terranes: Application to the Norwegian Caledonides (2014)
Journal Article
Bottrill, A., van Hunen, J., Cuthbert, S., Brueckner, H., & Allen, M. (2014). Plate rotation during continental collision and its relationship with the exhumation of UHP metamorphic terranes: Application to the Norwegian Caledonides. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 15(5), 1766-1782. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014gc005253

Lateral variation and asynchronous onset of collision during the convergence of continents can significantly affect the burial and exhumation of subducted continental crust. Here we use 3-D numerical models for continental collision to discuss how de... Read More about Plate rotation during continental collision and its relationship with the exhumation of UHP metamorphic terranes: Application to the Norwegian Caledonides.

Craton stability and longevity: The roles of composition-dependent rheology and buoyancy (2014)
Journal Article
Wang, H., van Hunen, J., Pearson, D., & Allen, M. (2014). Craton stability and longevity: The roles of composition-dependent rheology and buoyancy. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 391, 224-233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2014.01.038

Survival of thick cratonic roots in a vigorously convecting mantle system for billions of years has long been studied by the geodynamical community. High strength of the cratonic root is generally considered to be the most important factor, but the r... Read More about Craton stability and longevity: The roles of composition-dependent rheology and buoyancy.

Sub-lithospheric small-scale convection—a mechanism for collision zone magmatism (2014)
Journal Article
Kaislaniemi, L., van Hunen, J., Allen, M., & Neill, I. (2014). Sub-lithospheric small-scale convection—a mechanism for collision zone magmatism. Geology, 42(4), 291-294. https://doi.org/10.1130/g35193.1

We studied the effect of increased water content on the dynamics of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary in a postsubduction setting. Results from numerical mantle convection models show that the resultant decrease in mantle viscosity and the perid... Read More about Sub-lithospheric small-scale convection—a mechanism for collision zone magmatism.

Tectonic and climatic controls on fan systems: The Kohrud mountain belt, Central Iran (2014)
Journal Article
Jones, S., Arzani, N., & Allen, M. (2014). Tectonic and climatic controls on fan systems: The Kohrud mountain belt, Central Iran. Sedimentary Geology, 302, 29-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2013.12.008

Late Pleistocene to Holocene fans of the Kohrud mountain belt (Central Iran) illustrate the problems of differentiating tectonic and climatic drivers for the sedimentary signatures of alluvial fan successions. It is widely recognised that tectonic pr... Read More about Tectonic and climatic controls on fan systems: The Kohrud mountain belt, Central Iran.

Pliocene-Quaternary volcanic rocks of NW Armenia: Magmatism and lithospheric dynamics within an active orogenic plateau (2013)
Journal Article
Neill, I., Meliksetian, K., Allen, M., Navasardyan, G., & Karapetyan, S. (2013). Pliocene-Quaternary volcanic rocks of NW Armenia: Magmatism and lithospheric dynamics within an active orogenic plateau. Lithos, 180-181, 200-215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2013.05.005

The Pliocene–Quaternary volcanic rocks of Armenia are a key component of the Arabia–Eurasia collision, representing intense magmatism within the Turkish–Iranian plateau, tens of millions of years after the onset of continental collision. Here we pres... Read More about Pliocene-Quaternary volcanic rocks of NW Armenia: Magmatism and lithospheric dynamics within an active orogenic plateau.

Small-volume melts of lithospheric mantle during continental collision: late Cenozoic lavas of Mahabad, NW Iran (2013)
Journal Article
Kheirkhah, M., Neill, I., Allen, M., & Ajdari, K. (2013). Small-volume melts of lithospheric mantle during continental collision: late Cenozoic lavas of Mahabad, NW Iran. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 74, 37-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2013.06.002

Basanites and alkali basalts from Mahabad in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran are part of a widespread series of Late Miocene–Quaternary mantle-derived magmas erupted within the Turkish–Iranian orogenic plateau, itself part of the active Arabia–E... Read More about Small-volume melts of lithospheric mantle during continental collision: late Cenozoic lavas of Mahabad, NW Iran.

Generation of arc and within-plate chemical signatures in collision zone magmatism: Quaternary lavas from Kurdistan province, Iran (2013)
Journal Article
Allen, M., Kheirkhah, M., Neill, I., Emami, M., & Mcleod, C. (2013). Generation of arc and within-plate chemical signatures in collision zone magmatism: Quaternary lavas from Kurdistan province, Iran. Journal of Petrology, 54(5), 887-911. https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egs090

New whole-rock and Sr–Nd isotopic analyses of Quaternary lavas from Kurdistan Province, western Iran, shed light on the nature of orogenic plateau magmatism during continental collision and the possible role of accessory minerals during mantle partia... Read More about Generation of arc and within-plate chemical signatures in collision zone magmatism: Quaternary lavas from Kurdistan province, Iran.

Orogenic plateau growth: expansion of the Turkish-Iranian Plateau across the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt (2013)
Journal Article
Allen, M., Saville, C., Blanc, E., Talebian, M., & Nissen, E. (2013). Orogenic plateau growth: expansion of the Turkish-Iranian Plateau across the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt. Tectonics, 32(2), 171-190. https://doi.org/10.1002/tect.20025

[1] This paper shows how the Turkish-Iranian Plateau grows laterally by incrementally incorporating adjacent parts of the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt. The limit of significant, seismogenic, thrusting in the Zagros (Mw > 5) occurs close to the regiona... Read More about Orogenic plateau growth: expansion of the Turkish-Iranian Plateau across the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt.

Insight into collision zone dynamics from topography: numerical modelling results and observations (2012)
Journal Article
Bottrill, A. D., van Hunen, J., & Allen, M. B. (2012). Insight into collision zone dynamics from topography: numerical modelling results and observations. Solid Earth, 3(2), 387-399. https://doi.org/10.5194/se-3-387-2012

Dynamic models of subduction and continental collision are used to predict dynamic topography changes on the overriding plate. The modelling results show a distinct evolution of topography on the overriding plate, during subduction, continental colli... Read More about Insight into collision zone dynamics from topography: numerical modelling results and observations.

Subsidence of the West Siberian Basin: Effects of a mantle plume impact (2012)
Journal Article
Holt, P., van Hunen, J., & Allen, M. (2012). Subsidence of the West Siberian Basin: Effects of a mantle plume impact. Geology, 40(8), 703-706. https://doi.org/10.1130/g32885.1

Comparison of modeling results with observed subsidence patterns from the West Siberian Basin provides new insight into the origin of the Siberian Traps, and constrains the temperature, size, and depth of an impacting mantle plume head during and aft... Read More about Subsidence of the West Siberian Basin: Effects of a mantle plume impact.