Late Cenozoic sedimentary process and its response to the slip history of the Central Altyn Tagh fault, NW China

Zhengle Chen, Yueqiao Zhang, Xuanhua Chen, Xiaofeng Wang, Ramon Arrowsmith, W. B. Zack

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

The ENE-striking Altyn Tagh fault (ATF), extending along the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, is one of the major important strike-slip faults, and has been known as one of the key areas to debate the eastward extrusion and crustal shortening models of the Tibetan Plateau during and after India-Asia collision. This paper mainly presents new evidence of Late Cenozoic sedimentary process to reconstruct the slip history of the ATF during the Late Cenozoic. Field measurements and laboratory analyses of the sedimentary characteristics in the Late Cenozoic basins in the central Altyn Tagh fault suggest that Late Cenozoic sedimentary sequence should be divided into three units according to facies changes. The paleo-topography reconstruction shows that the sedimentation in these basins was tightly related with the fault, indicating that the ATF has experienced at least three stages of strike slipping in the Late Cenozoic. New geological data from the Late Cenozoic sedimentary basins and the formation of the present Suo'erkuli basin provide evidence for the displacement of the fault. The result shows that the 80-100 km left-lateral strike-slip displacement of the fault has been accumulated in the Late Cenozoic.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)103-111
Number of pages9
JournalScience in China, Series D: Earth Sciences
Volume44
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2001

Keywords

  • Altyn Tagh fault
  • Late Cenozoic
  • Sedimentary process
  • Slip history

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Earth and Planetary Sciences

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