Counterclockwise converging basement fracturing patterns across the Arabian Peninsula and eastern Iran

Abstract

Large-scale lineament swarms of great length (hundreds of km) and generally curvilinear geometry have been mapped on Landsat image mosaics. Their tectonic origin and rejuvenating nature are suggested by several indications. The trends of the lineament swarms are often independent of local structural trends, such as fold systems, but both the trends and the boundaries of the lineament swarms are related to major regional geosutures. Similar patterns of lineaments found across the Sahara, northwestern Sinai, and Italy were attributed to differential movement between the mantle and lithosphere. -from Authors