Geological and geophysical data interpretation for deep structure study of the Kabul Massif

The scope of the research embraced collection, processing, analysis and interpretation of differenttype geological and geophysical data on the Kabul Massif as an autonomous crustal block located in the center of Afghanistan. Reconstruction of geodynamic situations in the test crust area can help investigate global history of geological development in the region, and review concepts on formation of platinum group, chromium, nickel etc. mineralization with a view to assessing mineragenic potential of the area, which defines the relevance of this research. Based on the data on gravitational and magnetic fields, as well as their diverse transformations, the studies verified the basic ideas on the disjunctive structure of the region and on the physical layout of ophiolites. The analysis of hypocenters of earthquakes over the last one hundred years provided information on the deep structure of the specified suites and determined the dominant transpression model of development of the Kabul Block. The adjoint Chaman Fault, which is a leftward regional shear fault, is comprehensively studied. The petrophysical characteristics of ophiolites sampled during field tests in the districts of Lowgar and Kohe Safi are analyzed. The obtained data on the density and magnetic sensitivity of rocks in combination with the plotted maps of different potential fields are used to build a petrophysical deep-structure model of the test region. An important role in reconstruction of deep-seated faults is given to the specific points obtained from Euler deconvolution and with respect to hypocenters of earthquakes. Based on the geological and geophysical data interpretation, the three-dimensional geology and tectonics model is built with the block zonality adopted in conformance with the concept of tectonics of lithosphere plates.