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The Ufa indenter: stratigraphic and geophysic evidences for an actual indentation of the Southern Urals by the East European craton

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Abstract

Study of the altitudes of the lowest part of the Upper Cretaceous–Eocene and Aktschagylian–Quaternary stratigraphic ensembles known on the western slope of the Southern Urals evidences the existence of an East–West elongated dome which follows the N53° latitude. This ridge is superimposed at depth with the remnants of the Sernovodsk–Abdulino Aulacogen and with the Belaya tear fault, which support the existence of a recent rejuvenation of these old structures. North of these disruptions the Southern Urals display a clear bent towards the East. Detailed microstructural studies show that this curvature is associated with a typical stress pattern which suggests the existence of an indentation of the fold belt by the East European craton. The hypothesis of an Ufa indenter is not supported by an equivalent East–West deep fault north of the bend. However, a long N100° magnetic anomaly, interpreted as a shear zone, suggests that the indenter is a reality. Quaternary uplift and crustal thickening at its front as well as seismological data support our interpretation. It is not stressed that the curvature of the Urals observed at 56° latitude results solely from this recent indentation. It is only assumed that the actual indentation is rejuvenating a former unevenness which existed before in the East European craton. Study of the inner part of the indenter shows that this type of structure is not necessarily rigid and undeformed. Some of the structures described on the URSEIS deep seismic line could be much younger than previously expected.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the authorities of the University of Rennes I (France) who supported G. Danukalova during the tectonic development of this work in France and V. Puchkov from the Ufimian Scientific Centre (Bashkortostan) for his comments about the original shape of the East European craton. A visit to the Urals funded by the IGCP 453 was at the origin of this cooperation. We thank I. Bergazov (Bashkir Geological Survey, Ufa), Dr. A. Kochergin and N. Galimov (KNAUF Company, Ufa) and Dr. V. Gorozhanin (Institute of Geology, Ufimian scientific centre, Russian Academy of sciences) for consultations and for providing some geological material. The authors would like also to express there thanks to the reviewers of this paper and to C. Quesada and J.L. Vigneresse for very useful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Archéosciences (bat. 24-25), 74205 CS, Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042, Rennes Cedex, France

    Jean-Pierre Lefort

  2. Institute of Geology of the Ufimian Scientific Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ufa, K. Marx St., 16/2, 450077, Bashkortostan, Russian Federation

    Guzel Danukalova

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  1. Jean-Pierre Lefort
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Correspondence to Jean-Pierre Lefort.

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Lefort, JP., Danukalova, G. The Ufa indenter: stratigraphic and geophysic evidences for an actual indentation of the Southern Urals by the East European craton. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 103, 1513–1525 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-013-0940-2

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