Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Northern Qaidam Basin, NW China: Implications for the earliest Cretaceous intracontinental tectonism

Wu, Lei; Xiao, Anguo; Wang, Liqun; Shen, Zhongyan; Zhou, Shengyang; Chen, Yuanzhong; Wang, Liang; Dong, Liang; Guan, Junya

doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2011.04.002

Cited by 83 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The basement rock is too deep to be reached via drilling, and its lithology therefore remains uncertain (Xia et al, 2001;Fang et al, 2007;Yin et al, 2008b). The Mesozoic strata are mainly located along the southern flank of the Altyn Tagh and the Qilian Shan Ranges (Yin et al, 2008a;Wu et al, 2011). A succession of depocenters of Cenozoic strata is present along the long axis of the basin and has gradually migrated eastward since the Eocene Epoch (Song Anxi Q i m e n T a g h R a n g e A l t y n T a g h R a n g e A lt y n T a g h fa u lt Fig.5 Kumukol basin B a ig a n h u F a u lt Mainly characterized by successions of terrestrial detrital rocks with coal-bearing deposition, dominated by brownish and purple red conglomerates interbed with dark brown mudstones; unconformable overlying on the basement of surrounding mountains.…”

Section: Qaidam Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on magnetostratigraphy, palynology, and paleontology, the Mesozoic-Cenozoic strata of the Qaidam Basin have been subdivided into 11 units, and the chronostratigraphy of the Cenozoic units has been well constrained (Huo, 1990;QBGMR, 1991;Yang et al, 1992;Huang et al, 1996;Xia et al, 2001;Qiu, 2002;J.M. Sun et al, 2005;Zhao et al, 2006;Fang et al, 2007;Yin et al, 2007;Gao et al, 2009;Lu and Xiong, 2009;Wu et al, 2011). These units are listed in order from oldest to youngest, followed by the symbol for each unit, and the age range capture of each unit, if available: (1) the Dameigou Formation, J 1+2 d; (2) Caishiling Formation, J 3 c; (3) Quanyagou Formation, Kq; (4) the Lulehe Formation, E 1+2 l, older than 53.5-43.8 Ma (Yang et al, 1992;Zhang, 2006;Ke et al, 2013); (5) the lower Xiaganchaigou Formation, E 3 1 xg, 43.8-37.8 Ma (Zhang, 2006;Z.C.…”

Section: Qaidam Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…7; Huo, 1990;QBGMR, 1991;Yang et al, 1992;Huang et al, 1996;Xia et al, 2001;Qiu, 2002;GGSI, 2003;J.M. Sun et al, 2005;Zhao et al, 2006;Fang et al, 2007;Yin et al, 2007;Gao et al, 2009;Lu and Xiong, 2009;Wu et al, 2011).…”

Section: Cenozoic Strata In the Anxi Sectionunclassified

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Initial rupture and displacement on the Altyn Tagh fault, northern Tibetan Plateau: Constraints based on residual Mesozoic to Cenozoic strata in the western Qaidam Basin

et al. 2015

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The Altyn Tagh fault, located in the northern Tibetan Plateau, is a large left-lateral strike-slip fault heavily responsible for the growth and formation of the plateau during Cenozoic time. Despite its significance, the initial timing and kinematic patterns of movement along the Altyn Tagh fault remain highly debated. Here, we present a detailed analysis of the stratigraphy and geochronology of three key lithologic sections (Tula, Anxi, and Caishiling) along the Altyn Tagh fault to better understand this kinematic history. By correlating stratigraphic contacts and lithology with the U-Pb age spectra of Mesozoic samples within the western Qaidam Basin, we find the Altyn Tagh fault has experienced a total of ~360 km of displacement during the Cenozoic. By combining seismic profile data with geologic observations, we divide the activity along this fault into two distinct stages of motion:(1) an initial stage, which occurred between early Eocene (ca. 49 Ma) and mid-Miocene time (ca. 15 Ma) and resulted in ~170 km of offset, and (2) an early stage, which began in the late Miocene Epoch and continues into the present, resulting in ~190 km of offset along the fault. We identify the Tula and Anxi sections as piercing points along the western segment of the Altyn Tagh fault and define these regions as residual parts of the original Qaidam Basin. These estimates suggest that motion along the Altyn Tagh fault has accelerated from an average left-lateral strike-slip rate of ~5.0 mm/yr during initial stage faulting to a rate of ~12.6 mm/yr between the late Miocene Epoch and present day.

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Section: Qaidam Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Qaidam Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Initial rupture and displacement on the Altyn Tagh fault, northern Tibetan Plateau: Constraints based on residual Mesozoic to Cenozoic strata in the western Qaidam Basin

et al. 2015

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“…For details see supporting information (S2 and S3). Key to references as follows: [1], [ Vincent and Allen , ]; [2], [ Li , ; Yang et al ., ; W. Tang et al ., ]; [3], [ Liu et al ., ; Wang et al ., ]; [4], [ Chen et al ., ]; [5], [ Liu et al ., ]; [6], [ Arnaud et al ., ; Xu et al ., ]; [7], [ Leloup et al ., ]; [8], [ Wu et al ., ]; [9], [ Mock et al ., ]; [10], [ Liu et al ., ]; [11], [ Ratschbacher et al ., ; Hu et al ., ; Tian et al ., ]; [12], [ Arne et al ., ; Xu et al ., ]; [13], [ Xu et al ., ; Zhou et al ., ]. The main Cretaceous structures (introduced above), are marked by red lines, whereas minor coeval structures are marked by black lines.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postorogenic rigid behavior of the eastern Songpan‐Ganze terrane: Insights from low‐temperature thermochronology and implications for intracontinental deformation in central Asia

Tian

Kohn

et al. 2014

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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The Songpan‐Ganze terrane (SGT), formed by Early Mesozoic closure of the Paleo‐Tethys Ocean, occupies a large area of the central‐eastern Tibetan Plateau. Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic strike‐slip deformation has been identified in the surrounding terranes and faults (e.g., western Qinling, Altyn Tagh, and Kunlun faults); however, the coeval evolution of the SGT has not been well explored. We report apatite fission track and apatite and zircon (U‐Th)/He data from a >7 km deep borehole and outcrop samples covering an area of >150 × 150 km in the eastern SGT. Thermal history modeling suggests a distinct phase of Late Jurassic‐Early Cretaceous (∼150–100 Ma) cooling, followed by a prolonged stage of slow cooling, for all samples despite of their differences in depositional age (Mid‐Late Triassic time) and locality within a large area. The ubiquitous Late Jurassic‐Early Cretaceous cooling implies little differential deformation in the eastern SGT and is best explained by regional rock uplift resulting from the transpressional strain field created by the contemporaneous Lhasa‐Qiangtang collision to the south. Projecting the contemporaneous deformation surrounding the SGT onto an Early Cretaceous paleogeographic terrane reconstruction results in a new tectonic model. The model relates the Lhasa‐Qiangtang collision to tens to hundreds of kilometers of shearing along the Altyn Tagh and Kunlun faults, which transferred strain into central Asia (e.g., Qinling‐Dabie orogen). Results of this study suggest a rigid behavior for the eastern SGT and highlight the important role of crustal strength discontinuities in accommodating and transferring crustal deformation.

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“…To data, whether, when and how these rotations occurred in the western part of the NE Tibetan Plateau (e.g., the Qaidam Basin) remain controversial (Chen et al, ; Dupont‐Nivet, ; Dupont‐Nivet et al, ; Dupont‐Nivet, Robinson, et al, ; Yu, Fu, et al, ). For example, some studies reported that no significant Cenozoic rotation affected the entire Qaidam Basin (Dupont‐Nivet et al, ; Sun et al, ; Yu, Fu, et al, ), although some local rotations were suggested; in contrast, other (both paleomagnetic and geological) studies have argued for ~15–25° CW rotations of the Qaidam Basin (Chen et al, ; Wang & Burchfiel, ; Wu et al, ; Yin, Dang, Wang, et al, ). In addition, several paleomagnetic studies have revealed that the significant counter CW (CCW) rotations of the northwestern part of the orocline‐like arcuate structures south of the Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) were caused by the sinistral strike‐slip faulting of the ATF during the middle Miocene (Li et al, ), whereas the Tula curvature to the southwest of the Qaidam Basin was likely an original geometry along a weak ATF (Dupont‐Nivet, Robinson, et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paleomagnetic Rotation Constraints on the Deformation of the Northern Qaidam Marginal Thrust Belt and Implications for Strike‐Slip Faulting Along the Altyn Tagh Fault

Zhang

Fang

et al. 2018

JGR Solid Earth

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Discordant Cenozoic paleomagnetic rotation results obtained throughout the northeastern Tibetan Plateau have yielded different tectonic models for the evolution of the Altyn Tagh Fault and the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Here based on detailed existing magnetostratigraphic age constraints, we carried out an in‐depth paleomagnetic study along the Hongliugou section in the middle northern Qaidam marginal thrust belt to address the Cenozoic rotations of this region. A total of 1,342 Jurassic‐Neogene siltstone‐sandstone core samples were collected from 128 sites across 18 time intervals. Rock magnetic analysis suggested that magnetite and hematite are the dominant magnetic carriers. Detailed thermal demagnetization analyses were performed, and the characteristic remanent magnetizations of 90 sites (743 samples) were obtained, which yielded positive fold and reversals tests, indicating that they likely represent primary magnetizations. Detailed paleomagnetic declination versus age analyses revealed three periods of rotations: ~12.5 ± 15.7° statistically insignificant counterclockwise rotations during ~45–33 Ma, successive clockwise rotations of ~32.2 ± 15.4° during ~33–14 Ma, and subsequent statistically insignificant counterclockwise rotations of ~8.7 ± 9.4° after ~14 Ma. These three periods of rotations are similar to those calculated based on previously available magnetostratigraphic data from the nearby Dahonggou section. Based on the integration of these data with other lines of geological evidence, we attributed the latter two periods of rotations to fast strike‐slip faulting along the Altyn Tagh Fault.

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Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Northern Qaidam Basin, NW China: Implications for the earliest Cretaceous intracontinental tectonism

Cited by 83 publications

References 40 publications

Initial rupture and displacement on the Altyn Tagh fault, northern Tibetan Plateau: Constraints based on residual Mesozoic to Cenozoic strata in the western Qaidam Basin

Initial rupture and displacement on the Altyn Tagh fault, northern Tibetan Plateau: Constraints based on residual Mesozoic to Cenozoic strata in the western Qaidam Basin

Postorogenic rigid behavior of the eastern Songpan‐Ganze terrane: Insights from low‐temperature thermochronology and implications for intracontinental deformation in central Asia

Paleomagnetic Rotation Constraints on the Deformation of the Northern Qaidam Marginal Thrust Belt and Implications for Strike‐Slip Faulting Along the Altyn Tagh Fault

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