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Tectonic evolution of the La González pull-apart basin in the Mérida Andes: combination of geological data and satellite radar interferometry (InSAR)

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Abstract

The 500-km-long Boconó strike-slip fault runs as a major active fault along the backbone of the Mérida Andes fold-and-thrust belt. The recent right-lateral motion on the fault led to formation of numerous structures such as pull-apart basins which have formed in releasing bends and/or right-step offsets along the fault strands. The La González pull-apart is the biggest basin generated as an extensional strike-slip duplex in the central part of the fault. This duplex is made up of two strands of the Boconó fault as master/first-order faults, while normal right-lateral faults which formed during evolution of the basin are second-order faults. The extension of the basin is associated with seismic activities and surface offsets along the Boconó fault. InSAR investigations over a 31-month period also support active deformation within the basin. These data indicate that the La González basin is continuously being extended as a result of motion along the Boconó fault and formation of subsequent normal faults. In addition, the basin is being transversely shortened in NW–SE direction due to regional shortening across the Mérida Andes range followed by convergence between the Maracaibo microplate and the Guyana shield.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to appreciate Geological Survey of Iran (GSI) and Instituto Nacional de Geología y Minería de Venezuela (INGEOMIN) for their support during field work in the Mérida Andes. We thank the European Space Agency (ESA) for providing ENVISAT ASAR data. A. Hooper is acknowledged for his constructive comments and suggestions on InSAR studies. Finally, we thank IJES Editor in Chief Prof. Wolf-Christian Dullo and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive and helpful reviews.

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  1. Geological Survey of Iran, Meraj Blvd., Azadi Sq., P.O. Box 13185-1494, Tehran, Iran

    Hamid Reza Javadi, Mohammad Foroutan, Amir Naeimi, Mahasa Roustaei & Abdollah Saidi

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

    Maryam Dehghani

  3. Instituto Nacional de Geología y Minería de Venezuela, Avenida Lecuna, Torre Oeste, Piso 5 y 8. Parque Central, Caracas, Caracas, Venezuela

    Josef Angel Urbina

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  1. Hamid Reza Javadi
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  2. Maryam Dehghani
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Javadi, H.R., Dehghani, M., Foroutan, M. et al. Tectonic evolution of the La González pull-apart basin in the Mérida Andes: combination of geological data and satellite radar interferometry (InSAR). Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 105, 1603–1620 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-015-1273-0

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