Deep structure and lithospheric shear faults in the East Kunlun-Qiangtang region,northern Tibetan Plateau

An integrated study of earthquake seismic tomography in the Golmud-Tanggula Pass (west) and Gonghe-Yushu (east) with profiles traversing the East Kunlun-Qiangtang region of the northern Tibetan Plateau shows that the deep structure of the study region has the following characteristics: (1) from south to north the crustal thickness decreases from 70–75 km to 55–66 km, and the variation range of thickness (10 km) in the western part is smaller than that in the eastern part (20 km); (2) the crust has a sandwich-like structure and the middle crust has a lens-shaped low-velocity layer; (3) above 150 km in depth, the physical states of various terranes are marked by alternation of high-velocity and low-velocity bodies; and (4) the discontinuity of the lithospheric structure reveals the existence of three lithospheric shear faults on the the East Kunlun-Qiangtang region—the South Kunlun-A’nyêmaqên lithospheric shear fault, the Jinsha River lithospheric shear fault and the Xianshui River lithospheric shear fault. It is inferred that the easternward extrusion of northern Tibetan Plateau occurred in the lithospheric range.