Dewen Zheng

Erosion, fault initiation and topographic growth of the North Qilian Shan (northern Tibetan Plateau)

New apatite (U-Th)/He from the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau (north Qilian Shan) indicate rapid cooling began at ~10 Ma, which is attributed to the onset of faulting and topographic growth. Preservation of the paleo-PRZ in the hanging wall and growth strata in the footwall allow us to calculate vertical and horizontal fault slip rates averaged over the last 10 Myr of ~0.5 mm/yr and ~1 mm/yr respectively, which are within a factor of two consistent with Holocene slip rates and geodetic data. Low fault slip rates since the initiation of the northern Qilian Shan fault suggest that total horizontal offset did not exceed 10 km. Further, emergence of the northern Qilian Shan occurs during a period of increased aridity in northern Tibet but is associated with only a minor expansion of the northern plateau perimeter, which is well established near collision time. Outgrowth of the northern Qilian Shan at ~10 Ma could be simple propagation of the larger Qilian Shan system, occurring in response to decreased slip rates on the Altyn Tagh fault or as a result of the change in GPE of the central plateau.

Middle Miocene reorganization of deformation along the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Temporal variations in the orientation of Cenozoic range growth in northeastern Tibet define two modes by which India-Asia convergence was accommodated. Thermochronological age-elevation transects from the hanging walls of two major thrust-fault systems reveal diachronous Miocene exhumation of the Laji-Jishi Shan in northeastern Tibet. Whereas accelerated growth of the WNW-trending eastern Laji Shan began ca. 22 Ma, rapid growth of the adjacent, north-trending Jishi Shan did not commence until ca. 13 Ma. This change in thrust-fault orientation refl ects a Middle Miocene change in the kinematic style of plateau growth, from long-standing NNE-SSW contraction that mimicked the plate convergence direction to the inclusion of new structures accommodating east-west motion. This kinematic shift in northeastern Tibet coincides with expansion of the plateau margin in southeastern Tibet, the onset of normal faulting in central Tibet, and accelerated shortening in northern Tibet. Together these phenomena suggest a plateau-wide reorganization of deformation.

The Cenozoic growth of the Qilian Shan in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau: A sedimentary archive from the Jiuxi Basin

Sedimentary deposits in Tibetan Basins archive the spatial-temporal patterns of the deformation and surface uplift processes that created the areas high topography during the Cenozoic India-Asia collision. In this study, new stratigraphic investigation of the Caogou section from the Jiuxi Basin in the northeasternmost part of Tibetan Plateau provides chronologic constraints on the deformation and northward growth of the plateau. Magnetostratigraphic analysis results suggest that the age of the studied ~1000 m thick section spans from ~24.2 Ma to 2.8 Ma. Detailed sedimentology and apatite fission track (AFT) analyses reveal that variations in the clast provenance, lithofacies, sediment accumulation rates, and AFT lag times occurred at ~13.5–10.5 Ma. We interpret these changes as in response to the initial uplift of the North Qilian Shan. In addition, paleomagnetic declination results from the section indicate a clockwise rotation of the Jiuxi Basin before ~13.5 Ma, which was followed by a subsequent counterclockwise rotation during 13.5–9 Ma. This reversal in rotation direction may be directly related to left-lateral strike-slip activity along the easternmost segment of the Altyn Tagh Fault. Combined with previous studies, we suggest that movement on the western part of the Altyn Tagh Fault was probably initiated during the Oligocene (>30 Ma) and that fault propagation to its eastern tip occurred during the middle-late Miocene.

Deep crustal deformation of the Longmen Shan, eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, from seismic reflection and Finite Element modeling

Rivaling the Himalaya in relief, the Longmen Shan is probably one of the most enigmatic mountain ranges in the world: high mountains reach more than 4000 m relief but without adjacent foreland subsidence and with only slow active convergence. What are geological and geodynamic processes that built the Longmen Shan? Coseismic deformation associated with the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake could hold clues to answer these questions. The primary features associated with the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake rupture have been narrowly distributed coseismic deformation and predominantly vertical displacements that could be interpreted as the result of slips on high-angle listric seismogenic faults. Deep sounding seismic reflection profiling across the seismogenic faults indeed reveals high-angle listric reverse faulting in the brittle upper crust and east-dipping reflectors that we interpret as ductile shearing, in the viscous lower crust. In conjunction with a visco-elastic finite element modeling of coseismic displacements associated with the Wenchuan earthquake, we show that the high-angle listric nature of earthquake faults produces insignificant horizontal shortening across the fault and facilitates upward slips along the fault that both explain the localized coseismic deformation and vertical displacement, as well as the presence of high mountains without adjacent foreland flexure. We suggest that the formation of the Longmen Shan may be better understood in terms of partitioned lithospheric pure-shear thickening in which upward high-angle listric faulting of brittle upper crust is linked to thickening of the more viscous lithospheric mantle through downward ductile shearing of rheologically deformable lower crust.

Constraints on mountain building in the northeastern Tibet: Detrital zircon records from synorogenic deposits in the Yumen Basin

The Cenozoic basins and ranges form the high topography of the northeastern Tibet that resulted from the India-Eurasia collision. Sedimentary rocks in the basins provide direct insight into the exhumation history of the ranges and the tectonic processes that led to the northeastward growth of the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, we analyzed and compared detrital zircon U-Pb ages from sands of modern rivers draining the Bei Shan, and North Qilian Shan and sandstones from the Yumen Basin. The zircon age distributions indicate that the strata dated to 24.2-16.7 Ma in the basin were derived from the Bei Shan, and the basin provenance changed rapidly to the North Qilian Shan terrane at ~16 Ma. These results suggest that an early stage of deformation along the Bei Shan at ~24 Ma was replaced by the growth of the North Qilian Shan at ~16 Ma. We conclude that the far-field effect associated with the Indo-Asian collision may result from Oligocene deformation in the Bei Shan, but the emergence of the North Qilian Shan at ~16 Ma could reflect the most recent outward growth of the Tibetan Plateau that may have been caused by the removal of some lithospheric mantle beneath central Tibet.

Progressive northward growth of the northern Qilian Shan–Hexi Corridor (northeastern Tibet) during the Cenozoic

The uplift processes of the Qilian Shan (northern Tibetan Plateau) play a central role in our understanding of the dynamics of outward and upward growth of Tibet due to sustained convergence of the Indian and Asian plates. We employ apatite fission track chronology and geological mapping to reveal the time and pattern of the deformation along the Qilian Shan. Our results indicate that the emergence of the Tuolai Shan in the central Qilian Shan occurred at 17–14 Ma, that northern Qilian Shan thrusting began at 10–8 Ma, and that the Laojunmiao anticline formed ca. 3.6 Ma. Together with previous results that show that uplift of the southern Qilian Shan began in the Oligocene, we suggest that the Qilian Shan has undergone progressively northward expansion in the Cenozoic due to significant crustal shortening driven by Qilian Shan thrust fault systems.

Expansion of the Tibetan Plateau during the Neogene

The appearance of detritus shed from mountain ranges along the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau heralds the Cenozoic development of high topography. Current estimates of the age of the basal conglomerate in the Qaidam basin place this event in Paleocene-Eocene. Here we present new magnetostratigraphy and mammalian biostratigraphy that refine the onset of basin fill to ∼25.5 Myr and reveal that sediment accumulated continuously until ∼4.8 Myr. Sediment provenance implies a sustained source in the East Kunlun Shan throughout this time period. However, the appearance of detritus from the Qilian Shan at ∼12 Myr suggests emergence of topography north of the Qaidam occurred during the late Miocene. Our results imply that deformation and mountain building significantly post-date Indo-Asian collision and challenge the suggestion that the extent of the plateau has remained constant through time. Rather, our results require expansion of high topography during the past 25 Myr.

Pulsed growth of the West Qinling at -30 Ma in northeastern Tibet: Evidence from Lanzhou Basin magnetostratigraphy and provenance

The development of Cenozoic basins in the northeast margin of the Tibetan plateau is central to understanding the dynamics of plateau growth. Here, we present a magnetostratigraphy from the Lanzhou Basin, dating the terrestrial deposits from the Eocene (~47 Ma) to the Middle Miocene (~15 Ma). The stratigraphic observation, palocurrent and seidment provenance analysis suggest that the Lanzhou Basin (subbasin of the Longzhong Basin) probably initiated as a topographically enclosed depression during Eocene to Early Oligocene (~47-30 Ma). We suspect that right-lateral transtensional deformation inherited from the Cretaceous may result in formation of the Lanzhou Basin at the Eocene. Subsequently, changes in paleocurrent, sandstone and conglomerate compositions and detrital zircon provenance reflect the pulsed growth of the West Qinling at ~30 Ma, which triggered not only the formation of new flexural subsidence to the north of the West Qlinling, but also renewed subsidence of Lanzhou Basin into this broad foreland basin system. We compare this growth history with major NE Tibet deformation and suggest it may result from eastward extrusion of the Tibetan Plateau due to the onset of Altyn Tagh Fault activity at Oligocene.

Uplift-driven sediment redness decrease at ~16.5 Ma in the Yumen Basin along the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.

Significant climate shifts in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau have taken place during the Cenozoic, but the reasons behind them remain unclear. In order to unravel the mechanisms driving these climate changes, proxy data with accurate age constraint are needed. Here we present magnetostratigraphy, sediment color (redness a*, and lightness L*) and grain-size analysis from an early to middle Miocene (~20–15.3 Ma) sediment sequence preserved in the Yumen Basin on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. In this basin, remarkable increase in lightness, decreases in redness and in ratio of hematite (Hm) to goethite (Gt) took place at ~16.5 Ma. We suggest that these changes result from shorter duration of weathering, climatic wetting, and cooling associated with rapid uplift of the Qilian Shan at the middle Miocene.

Insufficient thermalization effects on determining fission-track ages

Fission-Track Dating (FTD) has been developed as a useful technique for geological studies. Parent elements are measured by counting 235U tracks induced by thermal neutrons. If insufficient thermalization occurs, fission of 238U and 232Th will be induced, and further measurement error will be introduced. Therefore, whether the neutrons are well thermalized or not will affect the FTD results. Due to requirement of safe operation, the 101 reactor was terminated in 2007. By using the 492 reactor as the new thermal neutron reactor, our present paper will attempt to study the feasibility and the potential influence on FTD. By irradiating monitor glass SRM612 and CN5 in pairs, we will study the thermalization situation of the 492 reactor. Irradiated data show that thermal neutrons are not evenly distributed either in horizontal or in vertical dimension. Especially, horizontal heterogeneity is obvious. But we discovered that proper irradiation position in the reactor can meet the requirement of FTD. Under the current irradiation condition, we calculated and assessed the insufficient thermalization effects on determining fission-track ages. We found that the difference between the 232Th/238U ratios of samples and standards is the main factor to the experiment results. The results will not be affected if the 232Th/238U value of samples is equal to the standard samples. However, if the 232Th/238U ratio is larger than that of the standards, the results will be smaller than actual ages. Comparatively, the ages will be more than expected if the 232Th/238U ratio is less. Therefore, to reduce the irradiation error, we suggest either locating the position of irradiation strictly, or minimizing the influence of lateral heterogeneity by reducing the amount of each sample package. Additionally, accuracy of the experimental results can be improved by increasing standard samples to adjust ζ value and using the monitor of standard glass SRM612 and CN5 together.