A constant slip rate for the western Qilian Shan frontal thrust during the last 200 ka consistent with GPS-derived and geological shortening rates

Hetzel, Ralf; Hampel, Andrea; Gebbeken, Pia; Xu, Qiang; Gold, Ryan D.

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2018.12.032

Cited by 54 publications

(116 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…This approach yields an ensemble age of 24.2 ± 3.3 kyr, with an original inherited concentration of 7.2 ± 1.1 × 10 4 atoms/g. This terrace age matches the 22.5 ± 0.8 kyr T1 terrace of the Hongshuiba River (Hetzel et al, ), 20 km east of our sample site. Both T1 terraces form extensive alluvial fan surfaces in front of Qilian Shan.…”

Section: Terrace Agessupporting

confidence: 89%

“…makes up between 13% and 33% of geodetic shortening rate between the Qaidam basin and the Alashan block. Geodetic shortening rate across North Qilian Shan is around 1.7 ± 0.3 to 1.9 ± 0.7 mm/yr (Hetzel et al, 2019;Liang et al, 2013;Zhao et al, 2015), within error of the shortening rate we estimate from the Beida River area. Summing this rate with shortening of 1.2 ± 0.1 mm/yr for Danghe-Nanshan fault (Shao, 2010), located within the southern Qilian Shan, and with shortening rates from known faults within Hexi Corridor, to the north, of 0.44 to 1.3 mm/yr (Hetzel et al, 2002;Min et al, 2002;Zheng, 2009;Zheng, Zhang, Ge, et al, 2013), yields a total shortening rate of across the Qilian Shan and Hexi Corridor of 2.5 to 4.4 mm/yr.…”

Section: 1029/2019tc005901supporting

confidence: 79%

“…Converting this fault slip, to a 10° décollement, the shortening rate here would be 1.27 ± 0.33 mm/yr. At the Hongshuiba River site (Hetzel et al, ; Yang et al, ; Figure ), a reverse fault offsets nine generations of Pleistocene alluvial fans, 5 km north of the mountain front. The vertical uplift rate here is 1.2 ± 0.1 mm/yr, and the fault dip at surface is 40° (Chen, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Deducing Crustal‐Scale Reverse‐Fault Geometry and Slip Distribution From Folded River Terraces, Qilian Shan, China

et al. 2020

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The deep structure of active reverse faults is generally difficult to constrain from surface observations and may conceal shortening within the hinterland. Here we investigate the geometry of active, crustal-scale reverse faulting from deformation of an unusually extensive set of river terraces preserved along the Beida River through the northwestern Qilian Shan. Two generations of fill terraces (T1 and T2) are well preserved from the foreland basin to at least 45 km within the hinterland. Optically stimulated luminescence and 10 Be dating methods indicate that T1 was abandoned at 24 ± 3 kyr B.P.; T2 was abandoned at 144 ± 30 kyr B.P. The T2 terrace profile reveals a long wavelength fold (~30 km) with a largest vertical deformation of~120 m relative to T1. Both kinematic and elastic modeling of the deformed terraces indicate that folding is a result of movement along a steep reverse fault (~50 o ), which merges into ã 10°décollement at 15-17 km depth. Estimated slip at depth is 1.8 times higher than fault slip at the surface, indicating a substantial proportion of shortening is absorbed by folding of the range interior. The shortening rate since abandonment of T2 is 1.4 ± 0.4 mm/yr, which is consistent with previous research and makes up 23 ± 10% of the geodetic shortening rate across Qilian Shan orogen. Our results support that crustal-scale reverse-faulting accommodates shortening and northward propagation of the North Qilian mountain front and that the total shortening rate is distributed between multiple faults within the Qilian Shan and Hexi Corridor.

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Section: Terrace Agessupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: 1029/2019tc005901supporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Deducing Crustal‐Scale Reverse‐Fault Geometry and Slip Distribution From Folded River Terraces, Qilian Shan, China

et al. 2020

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“…Hence, our results suggest that the slip rate does not vary significantly over long periods of time that can extend at least over few tens of thousands of years. Consistency of the geological slip rates with slip rates derived from short‐term spatial geodesy also suggests that even at the time scale of the earthquake cycle, the slip rate is likely to not show large variations (Hetzel et al, ; Meade et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Late Pleistocene‐Holocene Slip Rate Along the Hasi Shan Restraining Bend of the Haiyuan Fault: Implication for Faulting Dynamics of a Complex Fault System

et al. 2019

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The Haiyuan fault is a major left-lateral strike-slip fault at the boundary between northeast Tibet and the Gobi platform. Combining measurements of offset alluvial terraces with 10 Be-26 Al cosmogenic radionuclides dating, we bracket the late Quaternary slip rate along the Hasi Shan fault section (37°00′N, 104°25′E) of the Haiyuan fault. At our reference site, terrace-riser offsets for five successive terraces range from~5 to~200 m, and associated cosmogenic radionuclide ages range from 9 ± 3 to 44 ± 7 kyr. These measurements yield a geological slip rate between 2.7 and 3.0 mm/year. Extending the offset measurements to the entire Hasi Shan front, it yields a slip rate of 3.2 ± 0.2 mm/year over the last 50 kyr. Our rate is consistent with the lower estimates of other long-term rates of 4 to 5 mm/year, as well as with geodetic rates of 3 to 5 mm/year, determined in the same area. About 150 km farther west, however, Holocene terraces and moraines offsets have suggested higher slip rate values, between 6 and 15 mm/year. We interpret such discrepancy between rates determined along the western section of the Haiyuan fault and rates determined in the Hasi Shan section as being related to the complex geometry of the Haiyuan fault system along its eastern part, with several active strands moving at the same time and resulting in distributed slip among several sections of the fault system. Key Points: • Slip rate along the Hasi Shan section of the Haiyuan fault is determined from numerous offsets and cosmogenic exposure dates over a period of 50,000 years • The Hasi Shan fault strand horizontal slip rate is about 3.2 mm/year; this rate is stable over 50,000 years; the uplift rate is about 0.5 mm/year • Combining slip rate for the Hasi Shan strand and all subparallel stands yields a slip rate of 5 to 7 mm/year for the Haiyuan fault system Supporting Information: • Supporting Information S1

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“…During the past decade, various studies have been conducted in the Qilian Shan and its piedmonts (e.g., Champagnac et al, 2010; Hetzel et al, 2004, 2006, 2019; Hu et al, 2015; Tapponnier et al, 1990; Wang et al, 2020; Zhang et al, 2012). Based on these works and the increasingly detailed GPS data (e.g., Liang et al, 2013; Wang & Shen, 2020; Zhang et al, 2004; Zhao et al, 2015; Zheng, Zhang, He, et al, 2013), we now have an opportunity to discuss the spatial pattern of crustal shortening of the Qilian Shan.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constraining Late Quaternary Crustal Shortening in the Eastern Qilian Shan From Deformed River Terraces

Zhong

Xiong

et al. 2020

JGR Solid Earth

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The Qilian Shan, located in the northeastern Tibet, is under strong tectonic activity and earthquake motion due to the propagation of the plateau. At the mountain front of the eastern Qilian Shan, the Tongziba River, in the southern Zhangye Basin, flows northward and successively cuts the Minle-Damaying Fault and the Yonggu Anticline, two parallel structures within the Frontal Thrust system of the Qilian Shan. Here we present a detailed record of seven strath terraces of this river that documents the history of active deformation of the two structures. Based on the estimated crustal shortening distance from the deformed terraces and the terrace formation age constrained by AMS 14 C and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, a horizontal slip rate of 1.4 ± 0.5 mm/year of the Minle-Damaying Fault is constrained since 16.7 ± 1.8 kyr, and a shortening rate of 1.3 ± 0.4 mm/year across the Yonggu Anticline has been estimated in a similar time frame, respectively. In total, the shortening rate across the mountain front is estimated to be 2.7 ± 0.6 mm/year. GPS data show a similar modern shortening rate in this area, which indicates the rate of crustal shortening may be comparable in the modern and 10 4-year scales. Our study supports a higher crustal shortening rate along the mountain front of the eastern Qilian Shan than that of the western Qilian Shan since the Late Quaternary.

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A constant slip rate for the western Qilian Shan frontal thrust during the last 200 ka consistent with GPS-derived and geological shortening rates

Cited by 54 publications

References 70 publications

Deducing Crustal‐Scale Reverse‐Fault Geometry and Slip Distribution From Folded River Terraces, Qilian Shan, China

Deducing Crustal‐Scale Reverse‐Fault Geometry and Slip Distribution From Folded River Terraces, Qilian Shan, China

Late Pleistocene‐Holocene Slip Rate Along the Hasi Shan Restraining Bend of the Haiyuan Fault: Implication for Faulting Dynamics of a Complex Fault System

Constraining Late Quaternary Crustal Shortening in the Eastern Qilian Shan From Deformed River Terraces

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