scholarly journals Three-dimensional structural model of the Qaidam basin: Implications for crustal shortening and growth of the northeast Tibet

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianming Guo ◽  
Xuebing Wei ◽  
Guohui Long ◽  
Bo Wang ◽  
Shiyang Xu
Keyword(s):  
Qaidam Basin ◽  
Vertical Component ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Crustal Thickening ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Altyn Tagh Fault ◽  
Altyn Tagh ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Tibet Plateau

Abstract. We reconstruct the main geological structures and surfaces in three dimensions through the interpolation of regularly spaced 2D seismic sections, constrained by wells data and surface geology of the Qaidam basin to reconstruct Cenozoic tectonic history of the Qaidam basin and decipher how the Tibetan plateau was formed. This study presents the subsurface data in conjunction with observations and analysis of the stratigraphic and sedimentary evolution. The Cenozoic deformation history of the Qaidam basin shows geologic synchroneity with uplifting history of the Tibet Plateau. It is therefore proposed that the deformation and uplifting in the south and north edges of the Tibet Plateau was almost synchronous. The total shortening and shortening rate during Cenozoic reached 25.5 km and 11.2 % respectively across the Qaidam basin, indicating that the loss of the left-lateral strike slip rates of the Altyn Tagh fault has been structurally transformed into local crustal thickening across NW-trending folds and thrust faults. Meanwhile there is an about 10° vertical component along the strike-slip Altyn Tagh fault, the block oblique slip shows one more growth mechanism of the northeast Tibet.

scholarly journals Three-dimensional structural model of the Qaidam basin: Implications for crustal shortening and growth of the northeast Tibet

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianming Guo ◽  
Xuebing Wei ◽  
Guohui Long ◽  
Bo Wang ◽  
Hailong Fan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Qaidam Basin ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Crustal Thickening ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Altyn Tagh Fault ◽  
Altyn Tagh ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Tibet Plateau

AbstractThe Qaidam basin, bounded by the Altyn Tagh fault in the north, is located in the northeast of the Tibet plateau, and it has important implications for understanding the history and mechanism of Tibetan plateau formation during the Cenozoic Indo-Eurasia collision. In this study, we constructed the main geological structures and surfaces in three dimensions through the interpolation of regularly spaced 2D seismic sections, constrained by wells data and surface geology of the Qaidam basin in northeast Tibet. Meanwhile the Cenozoic tectonic history of the Qaidam basin was reconstructed and the uplift mechanism of the Tibetan plateau was discussed. This study presents the subsurface data in conjunction with observations and analysis of the stratigraphic and sedimentary evolution. The Cenozoic deformation history of the Qaidam basin shows geologic synchroneity with uplifting history of the Tibet Plateau. It is therefore proposed that the deformation and uplifting in the south and north edges of the Tibet Plateau was almost synchronous. The total shortening and shortening rate during Cenozoic reached 25.5 km and 11.2% respectively across the Qaidam basin, indicating that the loss of the left-lateral strike slip rates of the Altyn Tagh fault has been structurally transformed into local crustal thickening across NW-trending folds and thrust faults. Meanwhile there is an about 11° vertical component along the strike-slip Altyn Tagh fault, the block oblique slip shows one more growth mechanism of the northeast Tibet.

scholarly journals Active Strike-Slip Faulting and Systematic Deflection of Drainage Systems along the Altyn Tagh Fault, Northern Tibetan Plateau

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 3109
Author(s):  
Peng Chen ◽  
Bing Yan ◽  
Yuan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Stream Channels ◽  
Altyn Tagh Fault ◽  
Drainage Systems ◽  
Northern Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Altyn Tagh

Systematic deflection of drainage systems along strike-slip faults is the combination of repeated faulting slipping and continuous headward erosion accumulated on the stream channels. The measurement and analysis of systematically deflected stream channels will enhance our understanding on the deformational behaviors of strike-slip faults and the relationship between topographic response and active strike-slip faulting. In this study, detailed interpretation and analysis of remote sensing images and DEM data were carried out along the Altyn Tagh Fault, one typical large-scale strike-slip fault in the northern Tibetan Plateau, and together with the statistical results of offset amounts of 153 stream channels, revealed that (i) the drainage systems have been systematically deflected and/or offset in sinistral along the active Altyn Tagh Fault; (ii) The offset amounts recorded by stream channels vary in the range of 7 m to 72 km, and indicate a positively related linear relationship between the upstream length L and the offset amount D, the channel with bedrock upstream generally has a better correlation between L and D than that of non-bedrock upstream; (iii) River capture and abandonment are commonly developed along the Altyn Tagh Fault, which probably disturbed the continuous accumulation of offset recorded on individual stream channel, suggesting that the real maximum cumulative displacement recorded by stream channels might be larger than 72 km (lower bound) along the Altyn Tagh Fault. Along with the cumulative displacements recorded by other regional-scale strike-slip faults in the Tibetan Plateau, these results demonstrate that the magnitude of tectonic extrusion along these first-order strike-slip faults after the collision of India–Asia plates might be limited.

Provenance analysis reveals mountain uplift in the midsection of the Altyn Tagh Fault during the Middle Miocene

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 278-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiguo Zhang ◽  
Junsheng Nie ◽  
Xiaomin Fang
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Qaidam Basin ◽  
Source Region ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Tectonic Deformation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Provenance Analysis ◽  
Altyn Tagh Fault ◽  
Altyn Tagh

The Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) defines the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau; therefore, its tectonic history is key to understanding the plateau’s northward growth. However, our understanding of ATF tectonics is incomplete, owing in part to a lack of constraints in detailed basin evolution studies of this region. Approximately 1700 m of Middle Miocene – Pliocene clastic strata extracted from a section of the Yitunbulake Basin adjacent to the midsection of the ATF records the uplift of the Altyn Tagh Range. This paper reports 490 concordant detrital zircon U–Pb ages derived from this set of strata. In addition, paleocurrents and conglomerate clastic compositions were measured to determine the provenance of the basin. The dominant detrital zircon age populations within these sedimentary rocks are 260–240, 500–400, and 950–900 Ma. The 260–240 Ma component decreases sharply above the Lower (Xia) Youshashan (XYSS) Formation. Moreover, we performed (U–Th)/He dating on 260–240 Ma detrital zircons from the XYSS Formation to determine its source region. The results indicate that sandstones in this formation are most likely sourced immediately from plutonic rocks widely distributed in the Eastern Kunlun Mountains. The upward change in detrital zircon U–Pb age components in the section demonstrates that widespread surface uplift of the Akatengneng Mountains in the midsection of the ATF likely occurred after ∼16–15 Ma, which is synchronous with accelerated tectonic deformation along the ATF and a rapid increase in the sedimentation rate in the Qaidam Basin since the Middle Miocene.

Two-stage strike-slip faulting of the Altyn Tagh Fault revealed by magnetic fabrics in the Qaidam Basin

2021 ◽  
pp. 229142
Author(s):  
Bingshuai Li ◽  
Maodu Yan ◽  
Weilin Zhang ◽  
Xiaomin Fang ◽  
Yongpeng Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qaidam Basin ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Altyn Tagh Fault ◽  
Magnetic Fabrics ◽  
Altyn Tagh

scholarly journals Variable Thrust Rates of the Eastern Qilianshan Mountain Front, Northeastern Margin of the Tibet Plateau and Its Implication to the Topography of the Yongchangnan Shan

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Jinghao ◽  
Li Youli ◽  
Ren Zhikun ◽  
Hu Xiu ◽  
Xiong Jianguo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Slip Rate ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The West ◽  
Slip Rates ◽  
Study Region ◽  
The North ◽  
Mountain Front ◽  
The Tibet Plateau

It is commonly assumed a thrust has a constant slip and uplifting rate along strike, however, this simplified model cannot always be consistent with field observations. The along strike slip patterns with variable offsets and rates contain plenty of information about the characteristics of the faulting behavior and its relationship with adjacent faults. The east Qilian Shan, located at the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, provides us an excellent opportunity to study the faulting behavior in a thrust-bounded range area. Besides the previously reported slip rates of the N-W trending tectonics across the region, we augmented the data by surveying the Fengle fault (FF), one of the north bounding thrusts of the Yongchangnan Shan. Another north bounding fault is the Kangningqiao Fault (KNF), east of the FF. Based on the vertical offsets and rates along the fault, we constructed the slip pattern along strike. The results show the vertical slip rate of the FF ranges from 0.7 ± 0.1 mm/a to 2.8 ± 1.3 mm/a across three surveyed sites. The slip rate decreases from the east to the west. The FF and KNF might be inferred as two segments of a single segmented thrust controlling the uplift of the Yongchangnan Shan. By comparing the uplift onsets in the study region, we discuss the northeastward propagated deformation along the northeastern margin of the Tibet plateau.

scholarly journals Extension of the Upper Yellow River into the Tibet Plateau: Review and New Data

Quaternary ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Zhengchen Li ◽  
Xianyan Wang ◽  
Jef Vandenberghe ◽  
Huayu Lu
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Published Data ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Large Lakes ◽  
River Terraces ◽  
The Tibet Plateau

The Wufo Basin at the margin of the northeastern Tibet Plateau connects the upstream reaches of the Yellow River with the lowland catchment downstream, and the fluvial terrace sequence in this basin provides crucial clues to understand the evolution history of the Yellow River drainage system in relation to the uplift and outgrowth of the Tibetan Plateau. Using field survey and analysis of Digital Elevation Model/Google Earth imagery, we found at least eight Yellow River terraces in this area. The overlying loess of the highest terrace was dated at 1.2 Ma based on paleomagnetic stratigraphy (two normal and two reversal polarities) and the loess-paleosol sequence (12 loess-paleosol cycles). This terrace shows the connections of drainage parts in and outside the Tibetan Plateau through its NE margin. In addition, we review the previously published data on the Yellow River terraces and ancient large lakes in the basins. Based on our new data and previous researches, we conclude that the modern Yellow River, with headwaters in the Tibet Plateau and debouching in the Bohai Sea, should date from at least 1.2 Ma. Ancient large lakes (such as the Hetao and Sanmen Lakes) developed as exorheic systems and flowed through the modern Yellow River at that time.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document