Metamorphic implications of the ophiolite movement in the Northeast Bassit area (Syria)

Abstract

his research presents a petrographic study of the ophiolite complex rocks in the northeastern part of the Bassit region to explain the movement of the ophiolite and the accompanying events that resulted in the formation of the metamorphic basement.

The ophiolite movement in Qastal Maaf, Al-Dushna, Al-Farlq, Sheikh Hassan and Al-Ghangariya was characterized by an primary fracture of the ophiolite body, followed by an collapse due to imbalance and its collision with the deep depression in the area.

The process of transition and fracture was accompanied by the formation of metamorphic basement formed by dynamic metamorphism due to gravity sliding of the ophiolite shelf covers, in addition to the process of heat retention within parts of the oceanic crust.

 The thermodynamic conditions of metamorphism were sufficient for the formation of low-grade metamorphic rocks (green schist). The metamorphic basement shows a reversed thermal gradient from bottom to top resulting from inversions of the ophiolite mass. It can be divided into medium-grade facies (amphibolite facies) in the north, and low-grade facies (greenschist facies) in the central and southern part of the area.