Underthrusting of Tarim Lower Crust Beneath the Tibetan Plateau Revealed by Receiver Function Imaging
Abstract The left‐lateral Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) system is the northern boundary of the Tibetan Plateau resulted from the India–Eurasia continental collision. How intracontinental deformation across the central ATF responds to the distal collision remains elusive, primarily due to unclear crustal st...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108220 |
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| author | Chenglong Wu Tao Xu Xiaobo Tian Ross N. Mitchell Jiyan Lin Jianfeng Yang Xin Wang Zhanwu Lu |
| author_facet | Chenglong Wu Tao Xu Xiaobo Tian Ross N. Mitchell Jiyan Lin Jianfeng Yang Xin Wang Zhanwu Lu |
| author_sort | Chenglong Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The left‐lateral Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) system is the northern boundary of the Tibetan Plateau resulted from the India–Eurasia continental collision. How intracontinental deformation across the central ATF responds to the distal collision remains elusive, primarily due to unclear crustal structure. We obtained detailed crustal structure across the central ATF using receiver functions recorded by ∼NW–SE oriented linear dense array. The images reveal the Tarim lower crust is underthrusting beneath the Tibetan Plateau and reaches to a maximum depth of ∼75 km and undergoing partial eclogitization. The two south‐dipping interfaces imaged beneath the Altyn Tagh Range (ATR) represent the thrusting Northern Altyn Fault and its branch fault. Oblique convergent forces extruded upper crustal materials along the thrust faults, creating the pop‐up structure of ATR, supported by low Vp/Vs ratios. Our balanced cross‐section for the Moho suggests intracontinental deformation in the ATR has accelerated since the late Miocene. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-74f02102cbb94ce6a04ed563b3356503 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-74f02102cbb94ce6a04ed563b33565032025-08-20T02:11:09ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-01-01512n/an/a10.1029/2024GL108220Underthrusting of Tarim Lower Crust Beneath the Tibetan Plateau Revealed by Receiver Function ImagingChenglong Wu0Tao Xu1Xiaobo Tian2Ross N. Mitchell3Jiyan Lin4Jianfeng Yang5Xin Wang6Zhanwu Lu7Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing ChinaKey Laboratory of Mineral Resources Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing ChinaInnovation Academy for Earth Science CAS Beijing ChinaState Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing ChinaGeophysical Exploration Center China Earthquake Administration Zhengzhou ChinaState Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing ChinaKey Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing ChinaInstitute of Geology Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences Beijing ChinaAbstract The left‐lateral Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) system is the northern boundary of the Tibetan Plateau resulted from the India–Eurasia continental collision. How intracontinental deformation across the central ATF responds to the distal collision remains elusive, primarily due to unclear crustal structure. We obtained detailed crustal structure across the central ATF using receiver functions recorded by ∼NW–SE oriented linear dense array. The images reveal the Tarim lower crust is underthrusting beneath the Tibetan Plateau and reaches to a maximum depth of ∼75 km and undergoing partial eclogitization. The two south‐dipping interfaces imaged beneath the Altyn Tagh Range (ATR) represent the thrusting Northern Altyn Fault and its branch fault. Oblique convergent forces extruded upper crustal materials along the thrust faults, creating the pop‐up structure of ATR, supported by low Vp/Vs ratios. Our balanced cross‐section for the Moho suggests intracontinental deformation in the ATR has accelerated since the late Miocene.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108220crustal structureAltyn Tagh Rangereceiver functionTibetan Plateauunderthrusteclogitization |
| spellingShingle | Chenglong Wu Tao Xu Xiaobo Tian Ross N. Mitchell Jiyan Lin Jianfeng Yang Xin Wang Zhanwu Lu Underthrusting of Tarim Lower Crust Beneath the Tibetan Plateau Revealed by Receiver Function Imaging Geophysical Research Letters crustal structure Altyn Tagh Range receiver function Tibetan Plateau underthrust eclogitization |
| title | Underthrusting of Tarim Lower Crust Beneath the Tibetan Plateau Revealed by Receiver Function Imaging |
| title_full | Underthrusting of Tarim Lower Crust Beneath the Tibetan Plateau Revealed by Receiver Function Imaging |
| title_fullStr | Underthrusting of Tarim Lower Crust Beneath the Tibetan Plateau Revealed by Receiver Function Imaging |
| title_full_unstemmed | Underthrusting of Tarim Lower Crust Beneath the Tibetan Plateau Revealed by Receiver Function Imaging |
| title_short | Underthrusting of Tarim Lower Crust Beneath the Tibetan Plateau Revealed by Receiver Function Imaging |
| title_sort | underthrusting of tarim lower crust beneath the tibetan plateau revealed by receiver function imaging |
| topic | crustal structure Altyn Tagh Range receiver function Tibetan Plateau underthrust eclogitization |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108220 |
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