The application of remote sensing techniques to the study of ophiolites

Abstract Satellite remote sensing methods are a powerful tool for detailed geologic analysis, especially in inaccessible regions of the earth's surface. Short-wave infrared (SWIR) bands are shown to provide spectral information bearing on the lithologic, structural, and geochemical character of rock bodies such as ophiolites, allowing for a more comprehensive assessment of the lithologies present, their stratigraphic relationships, and geochemical character. Most remote sensing data are widely available for little or no cost, along with user-friendly software for non-specialists. In this paper we review common remote sensing systems and methods that allow for the discrimination of solid rock (lithologic) components of ophiolite complexes and their structural relationships. Ophiolites are enigmatic rock bodies which associated with most, if not all, plate collision sutures. Ophiolites are ideal for remote sensing given their widely recognized diversity of lithologic types and structural relationships. Accordingly, as a basis for demonstrating the utility of remote sensing techniques, we briefly review typical ophiolites in the Tethyan tectonic belt. As a case study, we apply integrated remote sensing studies of a well-studied example, the Muslim Bagh ophiolite, located in Balochistan, western Pakistan. On this basis, we attempt to demonstrate how remote sensing data can validate and reconcile existing information obtained from field studies. The lithologic and geochemical diversity of Muslim Bagh are representative of Tethyan ophiolites. Despite it's remote location it has been extensively mapped and characterized by structural and geochemical studies, and is virtually free of vegetative cover. Moreover, integrating the remote sensing data with ‘ground truth’ information thus offers the potential of an improved template for interpreting remote sensing data sets of other ophiolites for which little or no field information is available.

[1]  P. Treloar,et al.  Tectonics of the Himalayan collision between the Indian Plate and the Afghan Block: a synthesis , 1993, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[2]  A. Immenhauser,et al.  LATE CRETACEOUS/EARLY TERTIARY CONVERGENCE BETWEEN THE INDIAN AND ARABIAN PLATES RECORDED IN OPHIOLITES AND RELATED SEDIMENTS , 1997 .

[3]  J. Salisbury,et al.  Portable Fourier transform infrared spectroradiometer for field measurements of radiance and emissivity. , 1996, Applied optics.

[4]  M. Flower.  Ophiolites, historical contingency, and the Wilson cycle , 2003 .

[5]  R. Russo,et al.  Mantle contamination and the Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) 'high-tide mark': evidence for mantle extrusion caused by Tethyan closure , 2001 .

[6]  M. Searle.  Structural evolution and sequence of thrusting in the High Himalayan, Tibetan-Tethys and Indus Suture zones of Zanskar and Ladakh, Western Himalaya: Reply , 1988 .

[7]  Sun-Lin Chung,et al.  Mantle dynamics and plate interactions in East Asia , 1998 .

[8]  M. Flower,et al.  Arc-trench rollback and forearc accretion: 1. A collision-induced mantle flow model for Tethyan ophiolites , 2003, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[9]  P. M. van Dijk,et al.  Spectral characterization of ophiolite lithologies in the Troodos Ophiolite complex of Cyprus and its potential in prospecting for massive sulphide deposits , 1997 .

[10]  P. Monié,et al.  40Ar/39Ar dating of the emplacement of the Muslim Bagh ophiolite, Pakistan , 1995 .

[11]  E. Moores.  origin and emplacement of ophiolites , 1982 .

[12]  M. Delaloye,et al.  The supra-subduction zone Pozanti–Karsanti ophiolite, southern Turkey: evidence for high-pressure crystal fractionation of ultramafic cumulates , 2002 .

[13]  J. Boardman,et al.  Mapping target signatures via partial unmixing of AVIRIS data: in Summaries , 1995 .

[14]  L. Rowan,et al.  Lithologic mapping of the Mordor, NT, Australia ultramafic complex by using the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) , 2005 .

[15]  A. H. Ahmed,et al.  Petrological characteristics of podiform chromitites and associated peridotites of the Pan African Proterozoic ophiolite complexes of Egypt , 2001 .

[16]  L. Jolivet,et al.  Kinematics, topography, shortening, and extrusion in the India‐Eurasia collision , 1992 .

[17]  John F. Casey,et al.  Geochemical characteristics of accreted material beneath the Pozanti-Karsanti ophiolite, Turkey: Intra-oceanic detachment, assembly and obduction , 1996 .

[18]  J. Shervais.  Birth, death, and resurrection: The life cycle of suprasubduction zone ophiolites , 2001 .

[19]  John F. Casey,et al.  The geochemistry of postkinematic mafic dike swarms and subophiolitic metabasites, Pozanti-Karsanti ophiolite, Turkey: Evidence for ridge subduction , 1995 .

[20]  R. Coleman,et al.  Ophiolite genesis and evolution of the oceanic lithosphere : proceedings of the Ophiolite Conference, held in Muscat, Oman, 7-18 January 1990 , 1991 .

[21]  A. Robertson.  Overview of the genesis and emplacement of Mesozoic ophiolites in the Eastern Mediterranean Tethyan region , 2002 .

[22]  Shuhab D. Khan,et al.  Mapping of Muslim Bagh ophiolite complex (Pakistan) using new remote sensing, and field data , 2007 .

[23]  A. Nicolas,et al.  A new magma chamber model based on structural studies in the Oman ophiolite , 1988 .

[24]  J. Peirce,et al.  Constraints on the India-Asia Convergence: Paleomagnetic Results from Ninetyeast Ridge , 1991 .

[25]  D. Rothery,et al.  The role of Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) imagery in mapping the Oman ophiolite , 1984, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[26]  Shuhab D. Khan,et al.  Did the Kohistan-Ladakh island arc collide first with India? , 2009 .

[27]  A. Zanchi,et al.  The Carboniferous of the Western Karakoram (Pakistan) , 2004 .

[28]  M. Delaloye,et al.  Mineral chemistry of ultramafic and mafic cumulates as an indicator of the arc-related origin of the Mersin ophiolite (southern Turkey) , 1996 .

[29]  P. Tapponnier,et al.  Mesozoic ophiolites, sutures, and arge-scale tectonic movements in Afghanistan , 1981 .

[30]  Y. Ninomiya,et al.  Detecting lithology with Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) multispectral thermal infrared “radiance-at-sensor” data , 2005 .

[31]  D. Rothery.  Improved discrimination of rock units using Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery of the Oman ophiolite , 1987, Journal of the Geological Society.

[32]  P. Switzer,et al.  A transformation for ordering multispectral data in terms of image quality with implications for noise removal , 1988 .

[33]  J. Mahoney,et al.  Geochemical characteristics, 40Ar–39Ar ages and original tectonic setting of the Band-e-Zeyarat/Dar Anar ophiolite, Makran accretionary prism, S.E. Iran , 2004 .

[34]  An Yin,et al.  Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Himalayan orogen as constrained by along-strike variation of structural geometry, exhumation history, and foreland sedimentation , 2006 .

[35]  Raymond E. Arvidson,et al.  Lithologic mapping in arid regions with Landsat thematic mapper data: Meatiq dome, Egypt , 1987 .

[36]  R. Yeats,et al.  Thrust and strike slip fault interaction along the Chaman transform zone, Pakistan , 1981, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[37]  R. Sillitoe.  Metallogenic evolution of a collisional mountain belt in Pakistan: a preliminary analysis , 1978, Journal of the Geological Society.

[38]  John F. Casey,et al.  Initiation of subduction zones along transform and accreting plate boundaries, triple-junction evolution, and forearc spreading centres—implications for ophiolitic geology and obduction , 1984, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[39]  J. Malpas,et al.  Tectonic evolution of the Mesozoic Arabian passive continental margin and related ophiolite in Baer-Bassit region (NW Syria) , 2000 .

[40]  D. Rothery,et al.  Mapping in the Oman ophiolite using enhanced Landsat Thematic Mapper images , 1988 .

[41]  J. Lockwood,et al.  Significance of serpentine mud volcanism in convergent margins , 2000 .

[42]  Shuhab D. Khan,et al.  New strike‐slip faults and litho‐units mapped in Chitral (N. Pakistan) using field and ASTER data yield regionally significant results , 2006 .

[43]  Julian A. Pearce,et al.  Supra-subduction zone ophiolites: The search for modern analogues , 2003 .

[44]  M. Delaloye,et al.  Precise 40Ar/39Ar ages from the metamorphic sole of the Mersin ophiolite (southern Turkey) , 1999 .

[45]  J. Dewey,et al.  Tectonic evolution of the India/Eurasia collision zone , 1989 .

[46]  R. Stern,et al.  Subduction zone infancy: Examples from the Eocene Izu-Bonin-Mariana and Jurassic California arcs , 1992 .

[47]  A. Kerr,et al.  Formation and tectonic evolution of the Cretaceous–Jurassic Muslim Bagh ophiolitic complex, Pakistan: Implications for the composite tectonic setting of ophiolites , 2007 .

[48]  Yoshiki Ninomiya,et al.  A stabilized vegetation index and several mineralogic indices defined for ASTER VNIR and SWIR data , 2003, IGARSS 2003. 2003 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. Proceedings (IEEE Cat. No.03CH37477).

[49]  John F. Casey,et al.  The geochemistry and petrogenesis of volcanics and sheeted dikes from the Hatay (Kizildag) Ophiolite, southern Turkey: Possible formation with the Troodos Ophiolite, Cyprus, along fore-arc spreading centers , 1993 .

[50]  M. Lu,et al.  Formation and emplacement ages of the SSZ‐type Neotethyan ophiolites in Central Anatolia, Turkey: palaeotectonic implications , 2000 .