Tectonic history of the Altyn Tagh fault system in northern Tibet inferred from Cenozoic sedimentation

Research Article| October 01, 2002 Tectonic history of the Altyn Tagh fault system in northern Tibet inferred from Cenozoic sedimentation A. Yin; A. Yin 1Department of Earth and Space Sciences and Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar P.E. Rumelhart; P.E. Rumelhart 2Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar R. Butler; R. Butler 3Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar E. Cowgill; E. Cowgill 4Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar T.M. Harrison; T.M. Harrison 5Department of Earth and Space Sciences and Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar D.A. Foster; D.A. Foster 6Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar R.V. Ingersoll; R.V. Ingersoll 7Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Zhang Qing; Zhang Qing 8Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Zhou Xian-Qiang; Zhou Xian-Qiang 8Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Wang Xiao-Feng; Wang Xiao-Feng 8Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A. Hanson; A. Hanson 9Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A. Raza A. Raza 10School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information A. Yin 1Department of Earth and Space Sciences and Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA P.E. Rumelhart 2Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA R. Butler 3Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA E. Cowgill 4Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA T.M. Harrison 5Department of Earth and Space Sciences and Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA D.A. Foster 6Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA R.V. Ingersoll 7Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA Zhang Qing 8Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China Zhou Xian-Qiang 8Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China Wang Xiao-Feng 8Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China A. Hanson 9Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA A. Raza 10School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 11 Jun 2001 Revision Received: 10 Apr 2002 Accepted: 30 Apr 2002 First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (2002) 114 (10): 1257–1295. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(2002)114<1257:THOTAT>2.0.CO;2 Article history Received: 11 Jun 2001 Revision Received: 10 Apr 2002 Accepted: 30 Apr 2002 First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation A. Yin, P.E. Rumelhart, R. Butler, E. Cowgill, T.M. Harrison, D.A. Foster, R.V. Ingersoll, Zhang Qing, Zhou Xian-Qiang, Wang Xiao-Feng, A. Hanson, A. Raza; Tectonic history of the Altyn Tagh fault system in northern Tibet inferred from Cenozoic sedimentation. GSA Bulletin 2002;; 114 (10): 1257–1295. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(2002)114<1257:THOTAT>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract The active left-slip Altyn Tagh fault defines the northern edge of the Tibetan plateau. To determine its deformation history we conducted integrated research on Cenozoic stratigraphic sections in the southern part of the Tarim Basin. Fission-track ages of detrital apatites, existing biostratigraphic data, and magnetostratigraphic analysis were used to establish chronostratigraphy, whereas composition of sandstone and coarse clastic sedimentary rocks was used to determine the unroofing history of the source region. Much of the detrital grains in our measured sections can be correlated with uplifted sides of major thrusts or transpressional faults, implying a temporal link between sedimentation and deformation. The results of our studies, together with existing stratigraphic data from the Qaidam Basin and the Hexi Corridor, suggest that crustal thickening in northern Tibet began prior to 46 Ma for the western Kunlun Shan thrust belt, at ca. 49 Ma for the Qimen Tagh and North Qaidam thrust systems bounding the north and south margins of the Qaidam Basin, and prior to ca. 33 Ma for the Nan Shan thrust belt. These ages suggest that deformation front reached northern Tibet only ∼10 ± 5 m.y. after the initial collision of India with Asia at 65–55 Ma. Because the aforementioned thrust systems are either termination structures or branching faults of the Altyn Tagh left-slip system, the Altyn Tagh fault must have been active since ca. 49 Ma. The Altyn Tagh Range between the Tarim Basin and the Altyn Tagh fault has been a long-lived topographic high since at least the early Oligocene or possibly late Eocene. This range has shed sediments into both the Tarim and Qaidam Basins while being offset by the Altyn Tagh fault. Its continuous motion has made the range act as a sliding door, which eventually closed the outlets of westward-flowing drainages in the Qaidam Basin. This process has caused large amounts of Oligocene–Miocene sediments to be trapped in the Qaidam Basin. The estimated total slip of 470 ± 70 km and the initiation age of 49 Ma yield an average slip rate along the Altyn Tagh fault of 9 ± 2 mm/yr, remarkably similar to the rates determined by GPS (Global Positioning System) surveys. This result implies that geologic deformation rates are steady state over millions of years during continental collision. 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