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Tectonic evolution, prospectivity and structural studies of the hanging wall of Main Boundary Thrust along Akhurwal-Kohat transect, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: implications for future exploration

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Abstract

The contemporary research work is focused on the geological mapping, subsurface interpretation, and restoration along the Kohat-Akhurwal transect Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. This research is an attempt to comprehend the structural analysis of the transect A-B along the Akhurwal-Kohat in respect of subsurface interpretation, evaluation of decollements, and the structural correlation between surface and subsurface rocks. The collected field data was integrated into an internally consistent workflow in MOVE software 2016.1® in order to interpolate and extrapolate beyond known points to better constrain structural interpretation and validation. The cross section along the regional transect A-B which is 38,034.0 m in length was constructed based on detailed structural mapping conducted during the field. The restoration of the section A-B was conducted through the algorithm with the help software. Total shortening calculated along the line A-B is 45.71%. The north-western part of the study area is relatively more deformed and exposes the older rocks. The general rock trend of both the Kotal and the adjacent Kohat Basin in the cross section deviates from the east-west to the west-north-west as we move from the east to the west. The restoration of the section A-B implies that the subject area is intensely deformed by the tectonic stresses since Miocene time.

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Acknowledgments

This manuscript is a part of the author MS research work. Mr Muhammad Yaseen thanks to the Director, faculty, and staff of the National Center of Excellence in Geology, UoP for supporting the MS field work. The authors are grateful to the two anonymous reviewers for the appropriate and technical suggestions for improving the concept. The critical and technical comments/suggestions restructure the paper and added a lot to the final version. The suggestions of including new references and revising the figures/diagrams by the reviewers further enhanced the clarity of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Physical and Numerical Sciences, Department of Geology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, Pakistan

    Muhammad Yaseen, Jawad Ahmad & Mubashir Mehmood

  2. National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan

    Sohail Wahid

  3. Department of Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan

    Sajjad Ahmad, Gohar Rehman & Muhammad Naveed Anjum

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  1. Muhammad Yaseen
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  2. Sohail Wahid
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  3. Sajjad Ahmad
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  4. Gohar Rehman
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  5. Jawad Ahmad
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  7. Mubashir Mehmood
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Correspondence to Muhammad Yaseen.

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Yaseen, M., Wahid, S., Ahmad, S. et al. Tectonic evolution, prospectivity and structural studies of the hanging wall of Main Boundary Thrust along Akhurwal-Kohat transect, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: implications for future exploration. Arab J Geosci 14, 277 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-06651-0

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