Two-dimensional spatial analysis of the seismic b-value and the Bouguer gravity anomaly in the southeastern part of the Zagros Fold-and-Thrust Belt, Iran: Tectonic implications

Abstract

Environmental managers and protection agencies try to assess the magnitudes of earthquakes in regions of seismic activity. For several decades they have used the seismic b-values and Bouguer anomalies for evaluating the crustal character and stress regimes. We have analyzed geostatistically data on both variables to map their spatial distributions in the southeast of the Zagros of Iran. We found a strong correlation between the distribution of the b-value and the Bouguer gravity anomaly in the region. The large Bouguer gravity anomaly values and small b-values all accord with there being a thinner crustal root and a larger concentration of stress in the center. The small to moderate Bouguer gravity anomaly values and intermediate to large b-values accord with the thicker crustal root and the smaller concentration of stress in the northeast. We conclude the southeast of the Zagros, consists of heterogeneous crust, such that accounts for its varied tectonics.