Displacement and timing of left-lateral faulting in the Kunlun Fault Zone,northern Tibet,inferred from geologic and geomorphic features |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Department of Earth Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, KAUST, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia;2. Tectonics and Mechanics of the Lithosphere, Institute de Physique du Globe de Paris, IPGP, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France;3. School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA;1. CEA Key Laboratory of Earthquake Prediction, Institute of Earthquake Science, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100036, China;2. State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100029, China;3. China Earthquake Networks Center, Beijing 100045, China;4. Institute of Geodetic Engineering, Earthquake Administration of Sichuan Province, Ya''An, Sichuan 625000, China;1. State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, PR China;2. MOE Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China;3. Petroleum Exploration and Production Research Institute, Sinopec, Beijing 100083, PR China;4. Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development (RIPED), PetroChina, Beijing 100083, PR China |
| |
| Abstract: | The E-W to WNW-ESE striking Kunlun Fault Zone, extending about 1600 km, is one of the large strike-slip faults in the northern Tibet, China. As a major strike-slip fault, it plays an important role on the extrusion of Tibet Plateau in accommodating northeastward shortening caused by the India-Asia convergence. However, the time of initiation left-lateral faulting of the Kunlun Fault Zone is still largely debated, ranging from the Middle to Late Triassic (240–200 Ma) to early Quaternary (2 Ma). We document displaced basement rocks and geomorphic features along the Kunlun Fault Zone, based on tectono-geomorphic interpretation of satellite remote sensing images and field geologic and geomorphic observations. Our results show that the largest cumulative offset of basement rocks is likely to be 100 ± 20 km. Meanwhile, a series of pull-apart basins (Kusai, Xiugou and Tuosu lake basins) and pressure ridges (East Deshuiwai and Maji Snow Mountains), each 45–70 km long and ～8–12 km wide, are developed along the Kunlun Fault Zone, which resulted from long-term tectono-geomorphic growth since the Late Miocene or Early Pliocene. Geologic evidence indicates that the Kunlun Fault Zone had a long-term slip rate of ca.10 mm/yr during the late Quaternary. This slip rate is similar to that shown by present-day GPS measurements. Thus, we estimate that the Kunlun Fault Zone probably began left-lateral faulting at 10 ± 2 Ma based on a total displacement of 100 ± 20 km, and assuming a constant long-term slip rate of ca.10 mm/yr for several millions of years. And this timing constraint on initiation of left-lateral faulting of the Kunlun Fault Zone is consistent with widespread tectonic deformation which occurred in the Tibetan Plateau. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
