Tethys

'TETHYS' is an interdisciplinary GIS database project funded by NSF. The database acts as a tool for researchers, educators, and students studying continental collisions and a means to better characterize natural hazards in one of the world's most densely populated regions.
What is the Tethyan belt and why is it significant? In one hypothesis the Tethys existed in Late Palaeozoic-Early Mesozoic as a wide ocean separating Gondwana to the south from Eurasia in the north. This ocean completely closed during a Mid-Late Triassic Cimmerian orogeny of Himalayan /Tibetan type. The suture then rifted in the Early Jurassic time to open a new Mesozoic ocean basin the south. In an alternative hypothesis an early Mesozoic ocean did not close in Triassic time but instead remained continuously open and evolved into the Mesozoic Neotethys. But all in all the Tethyan collision belt records geologic responses to the continued accretion to Eurasia of Gondwana continental fragments.	Source of Data (Blakey, 2004)
Tethys extends today - via the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, the Mid-East, the Himalaya, and southeast Asia - from Gibraltar to Indonesia.
Project goals Our long-range goal was to build a system that enabled fundamental advances in our understanding of collision-related responses - asthenospheric flow, thermal state, and partial melting, and lithospheric shearing, thrusting, rifting, and vertical motions. A better understanding of these relationships is therefore important to the interpretation of earthquake and volcano patterns at the Earth's surface and has the potential for radically changing our perceptions of continental lithosphere accretion.	Tethyan region , yellow dots show location for fatal earthquakes
What kinds of data are available? Our database includes: Geophyscis Pn Tomography Sn Tomogrpahy PDE Seismicity Shear Wave Splitting Focal Mechanisms GPS Data Geochemistry & Geology Geochmistry Geochemsitry of Marianas Ophiolites Geology Faults Faults the Middle East Thematic Maps Population Quaternary/Tertiary (QT) Volcanics Volcanoes Historical Eruptions Earthquakes Fatal Earthquakes Fault Locations Hazard Map Gravity Moho Depth Plate Boundaries Remote Sensing Shuttle Radar Imaging (SIR)-C Topography (SRTM) & (Gtopo30) Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) Grace 1 degree Gravity Data MODIS 500 m Band 1	Natural Laboratory’ examples of combining datasets bearing on basic questions, i.e. tomography, structural, ophiolite and QTV for NW Turkey.
Opportunities for science The database is designed to facilitate research on geologic responses to continental collisions. Current interest in the community ranges from fundamental Earth dynamic questions to those offering a better understanding of natural hazards. Some examples are given below. 1) Arc-trench rollback 2) Ophiolite genesis 3) Slab detachment 4) Lithosphere delamination	Model for ophiolite gneisses (Flower et al. 2001)
This project builds on the International Geological Correlation Project (IGCP) 430, a UNESCO-IUGS program addressing links between plate collision responses and Tethyan geologic hazards.