Nat Hazards (2008) 47:185199 DOI 10.

1007/s11069-007-9208-0 ORIGINAL PAPER

Structural elements of the Makran region, Oman sea and their potential relevance to tsunamigenisis
Mohammad Mokhtari Iraj Abdollahie Fard Khaled Hessami

Received: 2 September 2007 / Accepted: 15 December 2007 / Published online: 12 February 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

Abstract The character of convergence along the ArabianIranian plate boundary changes radically eastward from the Zagros ranges to the Makran region. This appears to be due to collision of continental crust in the west, in contrast to subduction of oceanic crust in the east. The Makran subduction zone with a length of about 900 km display progressively older and highly deformed sedimentary units northward from the coast, together with an increase in elevation of the ranges. North of the Makran ranges are large subsiding basins, anked to the north by active volcanoes. Based on 2D seismic reection data obtained in this study, the main structural provinces and elements in the Gulf of Oman include: (i) the structural elements on the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate and, (ii) the Offshore Makran Accretionary Complex. Based on detailed analysis of these data on the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate ve structural provinces and elementsthe Musendam High, the Musendam Peneplain, the Musendam Slope, the Dibba Zone, and the Abyssal Plain have been identied. Further, the Offshore Makran Accretionary Complex shown is to consist Accretionary Prism and the For-Arc Basin, while the Accretionary Prism has been subdivided into the Accretionary Wedge and the Accreted/Colored Melange. Lastly, it is important to note that the Makran subduction zone lacks the trench. The identication of these structural elements should help in better understanding the seismicity of the Makran region in general and the subduction zone in particular. The 1945 magnitude 8.1 tsunamigenic earthquake of the Makran and some other historical events are illustrative of the coastal regions vulnerability to future tsunami in the area, and such data should be of value to the developing Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System. Keywords Makran Tsunami wave heights Subduction zone Accretionary margin Dibba Fault Zone Indian Ocean Seismic reection

M. Mokhtari (&) K. Hessami International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology, No. 26, Argavan Ave, Dibaji Shomali, Tehran, Iran e-mail: mokhtari@iiees.ac.ir I. Abdollahie Fard National Iranian Oil Company, Exploration Directorate, Tehran, Iran

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1 Introduction The Makran Accretionary Complex is bounded to the north by the Jaz Murian and Hamun Mashkel depressions and to the south-east is marked by the base of the continental slope, some 150 km offshore. To the south and west, the area is bounded by the narrow and steep continental margin of Oman (Fig. 1). The Makran Accretionary Complex is bounded to the east and west by large transform faults of the Zendan-Minab Fault System and the Oranch Fault Zone, respectively (Fig. 1). Based on pervious and present studies (e.g., Farhoudi and Karig 1977; Platt et al. 1985) the Makran region is composed of a large sedimentary prism accreted during the Cenozoic. All the characteristics of Accretionary prisms with exception of the trench that have been observed in other well-studied arcs can be identied or inferred in the Makran, which, however, is unique in its degree of surface exposure. For the rst time, Stoneley (1974) proposed a subduction zone along the Makran coasts that formed the boundary between the Arabian and Eurasian Plates. Later, Shearman (1977) and Farhoudi and Karig (1977) presented data to support this hypothesis.

Fig. 1 Plate tectonic setting of the Oman Sea and the main structural elements, the plate boundaries in the north of the Indian Ocean are also shown; AFP; African Plate, ARP; Arabian Plate, AS; Arabian Sea, COFS; Chaman Oranch Fault System, CS; Caspian Sea, GA; Gulf of Aden, GO; Gulf of Oman, INO; Indian Ocean, INP; Indian Plate, MAW; Makran Accretionary Wedge, OMFZ; Owen Murray Fault Zone, PG; Persian Gulf, RS; Red Sea, ZSZ; Zagros Suture Zone

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Quittmeyer and Jacob (1979) conducted a comprehensive study of the Makran region seismicity and concluded that it is consistent with the interpretation of this area as an active subduction zone. In addition, Page et al. (1979) by performing a eld survey of the Iranian coastline, air photo analysis, and aerial reconnaissance, conrmed the tectonic model of subduction zone for Makran coasts. The Makran region both onshore and offshore in contrast to its eastern and western ends that cannot be classied with high seismic activity. However, due to its nature of being an active subduction zone, the region historically has been affected by tsunamigenic earthquakes. The oldest record of tsunami in the region is from November 326 BC earthquake near the Indus delta/Kutch region that set off massive sea waves in the Arabian Sea (Lisitzin 1974). Tsunami has also been observed on the Iranian coast from a local earthquake between 1st April and 9th May 1008 (Murty and Bapat 1999). In addition, the 8.1 magnitude earthquake of 1945 created a signicant tsunami in the region killing at least 4,000 people and having great economic impact in Pakistan, Oman, and Iran (Pacheco and Sykes 1992, Pararas-Carayannis 2006). It led to the formation of four small islands. A large volume of gas that erupted from one of the islands, sent ames leaping hundreds of meters into the sky (Mathur 1988). The tsunami reached a height of 12 m in some Makran ports (Pararas-Carayannis 2006). Recently, a comprehensive catalogue of tsunami occurrence in the Indian Ocean was presented by Rastogi and Jaiswal (2006) indicating the susceptibility of the Makran and its vicinity to future tsunami. In this respect and in the light of the areas extensive development and high growth of population, inclusion of Makran zone in the Indian Ocean Early Warning System has become a necessity. In this study using seismic reection data in dening the main structural provinces and elements, the seismicity of the region has been elaborated.

2 Tectonic evolution of northern Indian Ocean The Gulf of Oman is a remnant of Late Cretaceous/Early Paleocene oceanic crust. Figure 1 shows the major structural elements and the plate boundaries in the northern Indian Ocean. The evolution of this region including the Oman Sea has been a long and complex process, since initial rifting and ocean oor spreading of the Neo-Tethys in Late Permian time. The oldest evidence of seaoor spreading is found in the Oman Mountains, where Permian faunas are interbedded with basaltic pillow lavas, sills, dykes, and volcanics (Early Permian) (Glennie 2000). This rst phase of spreading lasted till Late Triassic (Neo-Tethys I). The width of the ocean had by then reached 400 km in the present Oman Sea (Glennie 2000). The spreading axis then jumped to the northeast. The oceanic crust documented from the second phase (Neo-Tethys II) is of Upper JurassicTuronian age (McCall 1985; Nicolas 1988). In the Jurassic age, a thin continental sliver (the BajganDurKan Carbonate Fore-Arc) was rifted off the continental margin of the Eurasian plate, and the Inner Makran Spreading zone developed, with ophiolites ranging in age from Early Cretaceous to Early Paleocene (McCall 1985). This rift has the character of back-arc spreading rather than a mid-oceanic spreading ridge. In AlbianAptian times (110 Ma) convergence between the African-Arabian and the Eurasian Plate started. Two northward dipping subduction zones developed, nearly, at the same time. A southern subduction zone developed about 800 km north of the present continental margin of Oman. It started as a low angle northward intra-oceanic subduction at a mid-ocean ridge (McCall 1985; Nicolas 1988) (Fig. 2). This has been documented by

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Fig. 2 Schematic subduction history in the Oman Sea along the prole shown in the index gure at the left corner. AP, Arabian Plate, BDKZ, Bagjan Dur-Kan Zone; CM, Colored Melange; EF, Eocene Flysch; MS, Molassic Sediments; OSZ, Oman Subduction Zone, SO; Semail Ophiolite, and AW; Accretionary Wedge (modied after McCall 1985)

the high-temperature Cenomanian (90 Ma) metamorphism at the ophiolite sole (Hacker 1994). In the Campanian convergence along the margin of Oman changed character from subduction to obduction. The northern subduction zone, located south of the BajganDurKan Carbonate Fore Arc, resulted in accretion of the Colored Melange (Fig. 2). Onset of subduction postdates exotic blocks of AlbianAptian reefal limestones in the melange, together with Late PliensbachianLate Cretaceous ophiolites and deep marine sediments (McCall 1985). The youngest sediments in the Colored Melange are Late Cretaceous-Early Paleocene shallow marine bio-micrites, probably representing syn-tectonic deposition (McCall 1985). During the Campanian (80 Ma), the southward migration of nappes reached the continental margin of Oman, resulting in down-exing and obduction of oceanic crust onto the Arabian Plate (Glennie et al. 1973; Lamphere 1981; Montigny et al. 1988). By the end of the Cretaceous, obduction along the southern continental margin of the Neo-Tethys had come to a halt. Since then the continental margin of Oman has been a passive margin, and the remnant of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic crust has become a part of the African-Arabian Plate. Subduction on the northern subduction zone continued and is still active off the coast of Makran. The initial Accretionary front is located about 110 km north of the present coastline and about 230 km north of the present Accretionary front.

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The onset of convergence of the Neo-Tethys approximately coincides with the opening of the Atlantic, and might have been triggered by increased rotational speed of the AfricanArabian Plate. The change from an active to a passive margin coincides with the shift in spreading axis in the Indian Ocean, leaving the Seychelles on the African Plate (Glennie et al. 1973; Lamphere 1981). The break off of the Arabian Plate from the African Plate probably resulted in an increase in subduction rate. At this stage the mountain chains along the Himalayan continentcontinent collision zone were uplifted and eroded, resulting in a major increase in sediment input into the Indian Ocean and the Oman Sea. The formation of the Makran Fore-Arc Basins was also probably controlled by the increased subduction rate in combination with increased sediment input behind the Accretionary front. The Makran coastline, once much further north has been regressing ocean-ward at a rate of about 1 cm per year at least since the Early Miocene due to tectonic activity (White and Louden 1982). Consequently, two-thirds of the Accretionary prism is located onshore. The recent sediments deposited offshore are therefore expected to be more proximal than the older distal-deep marine sediments. These structural features have all been determined based on evidence from the surface geology, but in the following section, the main structural elements we observe based on geophysical data will be discussed. The purpose is to dene possible sources for seismicity in the offshore region as the site of future earthquake and tsunami.

3 Main structural elements Based on the present study, utilizing 2D seismic reection data the main structural provinces and elements in the Gulf of Oman are (i) the structural elements on the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate and (ii) the Offshore Makran Accretionary Complex Elements. On the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate, ve structural provinces and elements have been dened (Fig. 3): the Musendam High, the Musendam Peneplain, the Musendam Slope, the Dibba Zone, and the Abyssal Plain. The Zendan-Minab Fault System and the Accretionary front dene the western and southern boundary of the Makran Accretionary Complex, respectively. The Oranch Fault Zone (Fig. 1) is located in the eastern side of this complex and is considered as the western boundary of the Indian Plate, while the Murray ridge system denes the offshore boundary of the Arabian and Indian plates. These seismic proles gathered under auspices of National Iranian Oil Company in 2000 using conventional marine 2D seismic methodology. These are part of PC2000 project which covers both the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. The Offshore Makran Accretionary Complex consists of Accretionary Prism and the For-Arc Basin. The Accretionary Prism has been subdivided into the Accretionary Wedge and the Accreted/Colored Melange (Fig. 3).

3.1 The structural elements of the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate The structural elements of the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate include: (i) the Musendam High which denes the northern offshore extension of the Musendam Peninsula; (ii) the Dibba Fault Zone as a prominent structural feature/lineament cutting across the Musendam Peninsula in a southwest/northeast direction (Fig. 4); (iii) the Musendam

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Fig. 3 Main structural element of the Makran margin based on interpretation of seismic proles (in the Iranian side)

Peneplain located on the west of the Zendan-Minab Fault System (Fig. 4) which was subject to extensive erosion in the Early Tertiary resulting in a very mature peneplain; (iv) the Musendam Slope which lies to the southeast of the Musendam Peneplain, up against the Zendan-Minab Fault System and might represent the Neo-Tethyan paleo-slope, which implies that the crust underlying the slope is an attenuated continental crust, not oceanic; and (v) the Abyssal Plain which represents un-deformed remnant of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic crust, now part of the Arabian Plate with a cover of deep marine sediments (Fig. 3). Total thickness of the sediments in the Abyssal Plain is about 7.5 km and are found all over the Oman Sea. Figure 5 shows the seismic expression of the Abyssal Plain.

3.2 The plate boundaries The Plate Boundaries in the Makran region are (i) The Zendan-Minab Fault System that represents the eastern boundary of the Arabian Plate (Fig. 1), (ii) the Oranch Fault Zone which is part of the EurasianIndian plate boundary complex (Fig. 1) and (iii) the NESW trending Murray Ridge System in the northern Arabian Sea extends about 750 km (Fig. 1). Onshore the Zendan-Minab Fault System is dened by a series of sub-parallel north south trending right-lateral (dextral) transpressional faults, creating a series of en-echelon oriented compressional structures. Based on a teleseismic study by Yamini-Fard et al. (2007), the convergence between the Arabian plate and Central Iran may be accommodated by a mechanism of distributed deformation at depth. These seismological evidences suggest that the transition from the Zagros collision zone to the Makran subduction zone is not abrupt. However, GPS measurements suggest that the Zendan-Minab Fault System is

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Fig. 4 Satellite image showing the location of Zendan-Minab Fault System and Dibba Fault Zone as major structural elements in the western part of the Makran Accretionary Complex

an active fault at the present (Bayer et al. 2006). A zone of decollement can be considered as a result of the rst stage of the continental collision in this region as proposed by White and Ross (1979) and reported by Byrne et al. (1992). The Oranch Fault Zone has evolved from a thrust fault of the ArabianEurasian collisional complex to a strike-slip fault along the EurasianIndian transform boundary. The ArabianEurasian plate boundary, a subduction zone, is beneath the Indian Ocean to the south of the Makran region (Fig. 6). The Murray Ridge System is divided into basins and ridges. This has been interpreted as a transform margin of the Indian Plate that has been active since the Upper Cretaceous. Seismic reection proles from the Murray Ridge in the Gulf of Oman, show a signicant component of extension across the predominantly strike-slip IndianArabian plate boundary (Fig. 7). The Murray Ridge lies along the northern section of the plate boundary, where its trend becomes more easterly and thus allows a component of extension. The Dalrymple Trough is a 25 km wide, steep-sided half-graben, bounded by large faults with components of both strike-slip and normal motion. The throw at the seabed of the main fault on the south-eastern side of the half-graben reaches 1,800 m (Edwards et al. 2000).

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Fig. 5 2D offshore seismic prole showing the boundary between the abyssal plain and the Makran Accretionary Complex. Note the lack of a trench in front of the Accretionary Complex. The line is located in the Iranian water (location of the seismic section shown on the index map in the bottom left corner) (Curtsey of National Iranian Oil Company)

Fig. 6 Seismic section across offshore extension of the Zendan-Minab Fault System (location of the seismic section shown on the index map in the bottom left corner) (Curtsey of National Iranian Oil Company)

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Fig. 7 Seismic section across the Eastern Murray Ridge (location of the seismic section shown on the index map in the bottom left corner) (Curtsey of BGR, Hanover, Germany)

3.3 The Offshore Makran Accretionary Complex Elements The Accretionary Complex consists of the Accretionary Wedge and the Accreted/Colored Melange. The distinction between the two provinces is based on differences in both structural style and driving mechanisms for structuring. Figure 5 shows the seismic expression of the Makran Accretionary Complex. Note the continuous steepening of thrust planes away from the Abyssal Plain. Sedimentary basins between fold/thrust ridges are lled with continental derived sediments.

3.3.1 The Accretionary Wedge The Accretionary Wedge represents the initial stages in the Accretionary process, to a stage when primary sedimentary features and individual thrusts can no longer be identied. The only driving force is the continuous subduction along a decollement about 2.5 km below the seabed in the Abyssal Plain. The overall structural geometry created is a series of stacked imbricate slices of off-scraped sediments, separated by northward facing thrusts planes (Figs. 5, 8).

lange 3.3.2 The Accreted/Colored Me The Accreted/Colored Melange is an irregular zone with very complex structure, where nearly no primary sedimentary structures are preserved (Fig. 5). In general, the Accreted/ Colored Melange has a diapiric character along the whole Accretionary Complex. The contact between the Accreted/Colored Melange and the Accretionary Wedge to the south is clearly tectonic. In general the Accreted/Colored Melange appears to be under-thrusted and uplifted by the Accretionary Wedge. To the north the contact between the Accreted

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Fig. 8 NNESSW seismic line through the Accretionary Wedge. Note the continuous steepening of thrust planes away from the Abyssal Plain. Sedimentary basins between fold/thrust ridges are lled with continental derived sediments (location of the seismic section shown on the index map in the bottom right corner) (Curtsey of National Iranian Oil Company)

Melange and the Fore-Arc Basin shows a continuous onlap of the Fore-Arc Basin sedi ments onto the Accreted/Colored Melange. Post-depositional faulting or diapirism often obscures the primary sedimentary contact.

3.3.3 Fore-Arc Basin The Fore-Arc Basin is not a continuous basin running along the full length of the Makran Accretionary Complex. The Fore-Arc Basin was initiated, as a series of narrow half grabens controlled by seaward facing listric normal faults, with sediments onlapping the rising diapirs of the Accreted Melange to the south (Fig. 5). Through time the sub-basins expanded southward. In places two sequences can be identied in the fore-arc basin (Fig. 9), a deep strongly deformed thrusted and mobilized sequence and an upper sequence dominated by normal faulting. 4 Review of tsunami sources in the Makran Accretionary Complex Based on the above-mentioned geological setting, tectonic evolution and main structural elements, we classify the Makran Accretionary Complex as a major seismically active zone. Moreover, in a plate tectonic setting like that of the Makran Accretionary Complex a fairly high rate of earthquake activity would be expected, as in many of the other major Accretionary complexes/subduction zones around the world (e.g. Agean region). However, this region which is located between the Zendan-Minab Fault System and Oranch Fault Zone shows relatively low seismicity (based on available data in the region, see Fig. 10) in comparison with the surrounding region.

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Fig. 9 Northsouth seismic lines through western part of the Fore-Arc Basin. Basin growth is controlled by syn-depositional listric faulting and continuous growth of diapir. Shortening has been occurred by continuous tilting/rotation of graben sediments (location of the seismic section shown on the index map in the bottom right corner) (Curtsey of National Iranian Oil Company)

It is important to note that in spite of low seismicity some historical data about tsunamis in the Makran region have been reported by Murty and Raq (1991), Murty and Bapat (1999), Dominey-Howes et al. (2007), Rastogi and Jaiswal (2006). This could be related to very long recurrence interval of large magnitude tusnamigenic earthquakes, which is not recorded in the available historical data. According to above mentioned reports, the total number of tsunami events in the Makran zones is three which includes two of seismic origin and one of unknown origin. The most recent event is the major earthquake generated tsunami of 1945 in the eastern Makran which was an inter-plate thrust event that ruptured approximately one-fth of the length of the subduction zone (Fig. 10). It is important to note that the epicenter of this event is also close to the Sonne Fault which has created segments on the Makran Subduction Zone. The crossing points between the Makran Subduction Zone and these oblique fault zones suggest to us that this junction can be a location for occurrence of major earthquake activities. However, more studies are required for further clarication. In addition to the above, Byrne et al. (1992) reported nine smaller events in eastern Makran that are also located at or close to the plate interface and have thrust mechanisms similar to that of the 1945 shock. Seaward of these thrust earthquakes lies the shallowest 7080 km of the plate boundary. This segment and the overlying Accretionary Wedge remain aseismic both during and among great earthquakes. As in other subduction zones, this aseismic zone lies within that part of the Accretionary Wedge that consists of largely unconsolidated sediments (P wave seismic velocities less than 4.0 km/s). The existence of thrust earthquakes indicates that either the sediments along the plate boundary in the eastern Makran become sufciently well consolidated and dewatered at about 70 km from the deformation front, or lithied rocks are present within the Fore-Arc Basin so that stick-slip sliding behavior becomes possible. Byrne et al. (1992)

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Fig. 10 The seismicity map of Makran Region; star sign shows the 1945 Tsunamigenic earthquake location. Regional tectonic map of ArabianIndianEurasian convergence zone showing the Sonne Fault and distribution of earthquakes (circles; compiled from Byrne et al. 1992; Jackson et al. 1995; and U.S. National Earthquake Information Center data set). Onshore topography is from satellite altimetry; submarine topography is combined from satellite altimetry and RV Sonne cruise data set (modied after Kukowski et al. 2000)

showed that a large quantity of unconsolidated sediment does not necessarily indicate a low potential for great thrust earthquakes. In contrast to the east, the plate boundary in the western Makran has no clear record of historically great events, nor has modern instrumentation detected any shallow thrust events for at least the past 25 years. Most earthquakes in the western Makran occur within the down-going plate at intermediate depths (Byrne et al. 1992; Kukowski et al. 2000). The large changes in seismicity between the eastern and western Makran suggest segmentation of the subduction zone. This is also supported by Kukowski et al. (2000) where they introduce a new boundary coinciding very well with the Sonne strike-slip fault (Fig. 10). The western part is characterized by the absence of inter-plate events. East of the Sonne fault and west of long 64E is the only region with a clustering of events within the submarine and southernmost onshore part of the Accretionary Wedge, also including the Mw 8.1 event of 1945 (Byrne et al. 1992) (Fig. 10). Most events in the wedge appear to be pure-thrust earthquakes and are interpreted as plate boundary events (Quittmeyer and Kafka 1984; Byrne et al. 1992). The earthquake of August 12, 1963, a few tens of kilometers east of the Sonne fault, had a large strike-slip component and its depth was estimated to be only 5 km (Quittmeyer and Kafka 1984). Taking into account the uncertainties of focal estimation, it is suspected that this event may have occurred in connection with motion along the Sonne fault (Kukowski et al. 2000). The subduction rate based on GPS measurements indicated by Vernant et al. (2004) is about 18 mm/year. The absence of plate boundary events in the western Makran indicates either that entirely aseismic subduction occurs or that the plate boundary is currently locked and

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experiences great earthquakes with long repeat times. Evidence is presently inconclusive concerning which of these two hypotheses (or some other) is the correct one. As mentioned above, the largest recorded earthquake (tsunamigenic) occurred at 21:56 UTC on 28th November 1945 with epicenter of 87.1 km SSW Churi (Baluchistan), Pakistan. It was located at 24.50 N and 63.00 E with a magnitude of Mw 8.1 (Fig. 10). Another earthquake at 1424 UTC located at 25.10 N, 63.40 E on the 5th August 1947 also occurred off the Makran coast (Baluchistan), Pakistan. There is no report of tsunami generation associated with this event, which has occurred in a very shallow depth of the coast. This was the last major tsunami-generating earthquake in the Oman Sea. More than 4,000 people were killed on the Makran coast by both the earthquake and the tsunami. The tsunami reached a run-up height of approximately 12 m in some Makran ports (PararasCarayannis 2006) and caused great damage to the entire coastal region. The towns of Pasni and Ormara were badly affected. Both were reportedly underwater after the tsunami. The tsunami was also recorded at Muscat and Gwadar (Pararas-Carayannis 2006). The waves were about 2 m high in Karachi (Pararas-Carayannis 2006). The rst wave was recorded at 5:30 am, then at 7:00 am, 7:15 am and nally at 8:15 am. The last wave at 8:15 was the biggest. The tsunami had a run-up height of 11.011.5 m in Kutch, Gujarat. At 8:15 am, it was observed on Salsette Island, i.e., Mumbai. It was recorded in Bombay Harbour, Versova (Andheri), Haji Ali (Mahalaxmi), Juhu (Ville Parle), and Danda (Khar).

5 Conclusions Different from most other Accretionary Complexes based on the 2D seismic reection data there is no trench developed in front of the Makran Accretionary Complex. The absence of trench in this region can be due to the fact that the subduction angle at the accretionary front is very low; it is due to existence of thick sediments with low compaction or it might be caused by high deposition rate. However the main reason is most probably the low angle of subduction. The presence of well-dened late Holocene marine terraces along portions of the coasts of eastern and western Makran could be interpreted as evidence that both sections of the subduction zone are capable of generating large plate boundary tsunamigenic earthquakes. The occurrence of tsunamigenic earthquake in the eastern segment has been documented, but well dened large earthquakes in the west so far is lacking. This could either be that the western Makran is capable of producing great earthquakes or it could rupture as a number of segments in somewhat smaller-magnitude events. Alternatively, it is possible that western Makran is signicantly different from eastern Makran and experiences largely aseismic slip at all times. Knowledge of the velocity structure and nature of the state of consolidation or lithication of rocks at depth in the interior portion of the fore-arc of western Makran should help to ascertain whether that portion of the plate boundary moves aseismically or ruptures in large to great earthquakes. A resolution of this question has important implications for seismic hazard assessment of the western Makran. Based on the above the potential of tsunamigenic earthquake occurrence necessitate an improved understanding of the seismotectonic and seismicity of the Makran region, a better understanding of past earthquake sources through the use of paleotsunami, tsunami hazard assessment, preparation of evacuation maps and hazard reduction strategy.

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Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank National Iranian Oil Company, Exploration Directorate for providing the seismic sections and permission for their publication. The authors would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions to improve the manuscript.

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