Reconstruction of the Altyn tagh fault based on U-Pb geochronology: Role of back thrusts, mantle sutures, and heterogeneous crustal strength in forming the Tibetan Plateau

Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth

Volumn 108, Issue 7, 2003, Pages

  Cowgill, Eric ^a   Yin, An ^b   Harrison, T Mark ^b   Wang, Xiao Feng ^c  

^a CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

^c INSTITUTE OF MINERAL RESOURCES   (China)

Author keywords

Altyn Tagh fault; Heterogeneous continental deformation

Indexed keywords

DEFORMATION; FAULTING; GEOCHRONOLOGY; GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE; ORDOVICIAN; OROGENIC BELT; TECTONIC EVOLUTION;

ALTYN FAULT; CHINA; QINGHAI-XIZANG PLATEAU; TIBETAN PLATEAU;

EID: 0142228721     PISSN: 21699313     EISSN: 21699356     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (151)

1. Allmendinger, R. W., and T. Gubbels, Pure and simple shear plateau uplift, Altiplano-Puna, Argentina and Bolivia, Tectonophysics, 259, 1-13, 1996.
2. Arnaud, N. O., Apports de la thermochronologie 40Ar/39Ar sur feldspath potassique a la connaissance de la tectonique Cenozoique d'Asie, Ph.D. thesis, Univ. Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, France, 1992.
3. 2O volcanism of northwestern Tibet: Geochemistry and tectonic implications, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 111, 351-367, 1992.
4. Arrowsmith, J. R., and M. R. Strecker, Seismotectonic range-front segmentation and mountain-belt growth in the Pamir-Alai region, Kyrgyzstan (India-Eurasia collision zone), Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 111, 1665-1683, 1999.
5. Avouac, J. P., and G. Peltzer, Active tectonics in southern Xinjiang, China: Analysis of terrace riser and normal fault scarp degradation along the Hotan-Qira fault system, J. Geophys. Res., 98(B12), 21,773-21,807, 1993.
6. Besse, J., and V. Courtillot, Revised and synthetic apparent polar wander paths of the African, Eurasian, North American and Indian plates, and true polar wander since 200 Ma, J. Geophys. Res., 96, 4029-4050, 1991.
7. Bird, P., Lateral extrusion of lower crust from under high topography in the isostatic limit, J. Geophys. Res., 96, 10,275-10,286, 1991.
8. Boulin, J., Hercynian and Eocimmerian events in Afghanistan and adjoining regions, Tectonophysics, 148, 253-278, 1988.
9. Brace, W. F., and D. L. Kohlstedt, Limits on lithospheric stress imposed by laboratory experiments, J. Geophys. Res., 85, 6248-6252, 1980.
10. Burchfiel, B. C., and L. H. Royden, Tectonics of Asia 50 years after the death of Emile Argand, Eclogae Geol. Helv., 84, 599-629, 1991.
11. Burchfiel, B. C., Q. Deng, P. Molnar, L. Royden, Y. Wang, P. Zhang, and W. Zhang, Intracrustal detachment zones of continental deformation, Geology, 17(8), 448-452, 1989.
12. Burtman, V. S., and P. Molnar, Geological and geophysical evidence for deep subduction of continental crust beneath the Pamir, Spec. Publ. Geol. Soc. Am., 281, 76 pp., 1993.
13. Carter, N., and M. C. Tsenn, Flow properties of continental lithosphere, Tectonophysics, 136, 27-63, 1987.
14. Chen, Y., J. Cogné, and V. Courtillot, New Cretaceous paleomagnetic poles from Tarim Basin, northwestern China, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 114, 17-38, 1992.
15. Chen, Y., J.-P. Cogné, V. Courtillot, P. Tapponnier, and X. Y. Zhu, Cretaceous paleomagnetic results from western Tibet and tectonic implications, J. Geophys. Res., 98, 17,981-17,999, 1993.
16. Chen, Y., S. Gilder, N. Halim, J. P. Cogné, and V. Courtillot, New paleomagnetic constraints on central Asian kinematics: Displacement along the Altyn Tagh fault and rotation of the Qaidam Basin, Tectonics, 21(5), 1042, 10.1029/2001TC901030, 2002.
17. Chinese State Bureau of Seismology, The Altyn Tagh Active Fault System (in Chinese with English abstract), 319 pp., Seismology, Beijing, 1992.
18. Clark, M. K., and L. H. Royden, Topographic ooze; building the eastern margin of Tibet by lower crustal flow, Geology, 28(8), 703-706, 2000.
19. Compston, W., I. S. Williams, and C. Meyer, U-Pb geochronology of zircons from Lunar Breccia 73217 using a sensitive, high mass resolution ion microprobe, J. Geophys. Res., 89, 8525-8534, 1984.
20. Coward, M. P., W. S. F. Kidd, Y. Pan, R. M. Shackleton, and H. Zhang, The structure of the 1985 Tibet Geotraverse, Lhasa to Golmud, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London. Ser. A, 327, 307-336, 1988.
21. Cowgill, E., Tectonic evolution of the Altyn Tagh-Western Kunlun fault system, northwestern China, Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Calif., Los Angeles, 2001.
22. Cowgill, E., A. Yin, P. Rumelhart, X. F. Wang, and Q. Zhang, Kinematics of the central Altyn Tagh fault system, NW China, Eos Trans. AGU, 78(46), Fall Meet. Suppl., F173, 1997.
23. Cowgill, E., A. Yin, X. F. Wang, and Q. Zhang, Is the North Altyn fault part of a strike-slip duplex along the Altyn Tagh fault system?, Geology, 28(3), 255-258, 2000.
24. Cowgill, E., A. Yin, T. M. Harrison, M. Grove, and X.-F. Wang, Oligocene initiation of the central Altyn Tagh fault system inferred from 40Ar/39Ar K-feldspar thermochronology, Eos Trans. AGU, 82(47), Fall Meet. Suppl., F1125-F1126, 2001.
25. Delville, N., N. Amaud, J.-M. Montel, F. Roger, M. Brunel, P. Tapponnier, and E. Sobel, Paleozoic to Cenozoic deformation along the Altyn Tagh fault in the Altun Shan massif area, eastern Qilian Shan, northeastern Tibet, China, in Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central and Eastern Asia: From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental Deformation, edited by M. S. Hendrix and G. A. Davis, Geol. Soc. of Am. Mem., 194, 269-292, 2001.
26. Deng, W., A preliminary study on the petrology and petrochemistry of the Quaternary volcanic rocks of northern Tibet autonomous region (in Chinese), Acta Geol. Sin., 52, 148-162, 1978.
27. Deng, W., Ophiolites, in Geological Evolution of the Karakorum and Kunlun Mountains, edited by Y. Pan, pp. 51-93, Seismology, Beijing, 1996.
28. Dewey, J. F., and A. M. C. Sengör, Aegean and surrounding regions: Complex multiplate and continuum tectonics in a convergent zone, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 90, 84-92, 1979.
29. Dewey, J. F., R. M. Shackleton, C. Chang, and Y. Sun, The tectonic evolution of the Tibetan Plateau, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A, 327, 379-413, 1988.
30. England, P., and G. Houseman, Role of lithospheric strength heterogeneities in the tectonics of Tibet and neighboring regions, Nature, 315, 297-301, 1985.
31. England, P., and G. Houseman, The mechanics of the Tibetan Plateau, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A, 326, 301-320, 1988.
32. England, P., and D. P. McKenzie, A thin viscous sheet model for continental deformation, Geophys. J R. Astron. Soc., 70, 295-321, 1982.
33. Gaetani, M., G. Gosso, and U. Pognante, A geological transect from Kun Lun to Karakorum (Sinkiang, China): The western termination of the Tibetan Plateau. Preliminary note, Terra Nova, 2, 23-30, 1990.
34. Gao, R., D. Li, D. Lu, Y. Li, D. Huang, R. Feng, G. Qian, and C. Tang, Deep seismic reflection profile across contact zone of West Kunlun and Tarim along the Xinjiang geotransect in NW China, in 14th Annual Himalaya-Karakorum-Tibet Workshop, edited by E. Sobel et al., pp. 49-50, Kloster Ettal, Germany, 1999.
35. Gao, R., D. Huang, D. Lu, G. Qian, Y. Li, C. Kuang, Q. Li, P. Li, R. Feng, and Y. Guan, Deep seismic reflection profile across the juncture zone between the Tarim Basin and the West Kunlun mountains, Chin. Sci. Bull., 45(24), 2281-2286, 2000.
36. Gehrels, G., A. Yin, X. Chen, and X. Wang, Preliminary U-Pb geochronologic studies along the Altyn Tagh fault, western China, Eos Trans. AGU, 80(46). Fall Meet. Suppl., F1018, 1999.
37. Gilder, S., X. Zhao, R. Coe, Z. Meng, V. Courtillot, and J. Besse, Paleomagnetism and tectonics of the southern Tarim basin, northwestern China, J. Geophys. Res., 101, 22,015-22,031, 1996.
38. Girardeau, J., J. Marcoux, and C. Montenat, The neo-Cimmerian ophiolite belt in Afghanistan and Tibet: Comparison and evolution, in Tectonic Evolution of the Tethyan Region, edited by A. M. C. Sengör, pp. 477-504, Kluwer Acad., Norwell, Mass., 1989.
39. Grier, M. E., J. A. Salfity, and R. W. Allmendinger, Andean reactivation of the Cretaceous Salta rift, northwestern Argentina, J. S. Am. Earth Sci., 4(4), 351-372, 1991.
40. Hacker, B. R., X. Wang, E. A. Eide, and L. Ratschbacher, The Qinling-Dabie ultra-high-pressure collisional orogen, in The Tectonic Evolution of Asia, edited by A. Yin and T. M. Harrison. pp. 345-370, Cambridge Univ. Press, New York, 1996.
41. Hacker, B. R., E. Gnos, L. Ratschbacher, M. Grove, M. McWilliams, S. V. Sobolev, J. Wan, and Z. Wu, Hot and dry deep crustal xenoliths from Tibet, Science, 287, 2463-2466, 2000a.
42. Hacker, B. R., L. Ratschbacher, L. Webb, M. O. McWilliams, T. Ireland, A. Calvert, S. Dong, H.-R. Wenk, and D. Chateigner, Exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure continental crust in east central China: Late-Triassic-Early Jurassic tectonic unroofing, J. Geophys. Res., 105, 13,339-13,364, 2000b.
43. Hamburger, M. W., D. R. Sarewitz, T. L. Pavlis, and G. A. Popandopulo, Structural and seismic evidence for intracontinental subduction in the Peter the First Range, Central Asia, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 104, 397-408, 1992.
44. Hanson, A., Evidence of Cenozoic erosional unroofing adjacent to the northern Qaidam basin, NW China, preserved within basin margin strata, Geol. Soc. Am. Abstr. Programs, 29, A-143, 1997.
45. Haq, B., and F. W. B. Van Eysinga, Geologic Time Table, Elsevier Sci., New York, 1998.
46. Harris, N. B. W., R. Xu, C. L. Lewis, C. J. Hawkesworth, and Y. Zhang, Isotope geochemistry of the 1985 Tibet Geotraverse, Lhasa to Golmud, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A, 327, 263-285, 1988.
47. Houseman, G. A., and P. England, A lithospheric-thickening model for the Indo-Asian collision, in The Tectonic Evolution of Asia, edited by A. Yin and T. M. Harrison, pp. 3-17, Cambridge Univ. Press, New York, 1996.
48. Hsü, K. J., Relict back-arc basins: Principles of recognition and possible new examples from China, in New Perspectives in Basin Analysis, edited by K. L. Kleinsphen and C. Paola, pp. 245-263, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1988.
49. Hsü, K. J., et al., Tectonic evolution of the Tibetan Plateau: A working hypothesis based on the archipelago model of orogenesis, Int. Geol. Rev., 37, 473-508, 1995.
50. Isacks, B., J. Oliver, and L. R. Sykes, Seismology and the new global tectonics, J. Geophys. Res., 73, 5855-5899, 1968.
51. Jia, C., Tectonic Characteristics and Petroleum, Tarim Basin, China, 295 pp., Pet. Ind. Press, Beijing, 1997.
52. Jiang, C., J. Yang, B. Feng, Z. Zhu, M. Zhao, Y. Chai, X. Shi, H. Wang, and J. Hu, Opening-Closing Tectonics of Kunlun Mountains (in Chinese), 224 pp., Geol. Publ. House, Beijing, 1992.
53. Jordan, T. E., and M. Gardeweg, Tectonic evolution of the late Cenozoic central Andes (20°-33°S), in The Evolution of the Pacific Ocean Margins, edited by Z. Ben-Avraham, pp. 193-207, Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 1989.
54. Jordan, T. E., B. L. Isacks, R. W. Allmendinger, J. A. Brewer, V. A. Ramos, and C. J. Ando, Andean tectonics related to geometry of subducted Nazca plate, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 94, 341-361, 1983.
55. Kao, H., R. Gao, R.-J. Rau, Y. Guan, R.-Y. Chen, and D. Shi, Seismological evidence against the subduction of Tarim block beneath Tibet: Preliminary results from a broadband seismic experiment along the Tarim-Tibet border, Eos Trans. AGU, 80(46), Fall Meet. Suppl., F1008, 1999.
56. Kao, H., R. Gao, R.-J. Rau, D. Shi, R.-Y. Chen, Y. Guan, and F. T. Wu, Seismic image of the Tarim basin and its collision with Tibet, Geology, 29(7), 575-578, 2001.
57. Kapp, P., A. Yin, C. E. Manning, M. Murphy, T. M. Harrison, M. Spurlin, D. Lin, D. XI-Guang, and W. Cun-Ming, Blueschist-bearing metamorphic core complexes in the Qiangtang block reveal deep crustal structure of northern Tibet, Geology 28(1), 19-22, 2000.
58. Kidd, W. S. F., and P. Molnar, Quaternary and active faulting observed on the 1985 Academica Sinica-Royal Society geotraverse of Tibet, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A, 327, 337-363, 1988.
59. Kidd, W. S. F., Y. Pan, C. Chang, M. P. Coward, J. F. Dewey, A. Gansser, P. Molnar, R. M. Shackleton, and Y. Sun, Geological mapping of the 1985 Chinese-British Tibetan (Xizang-Qinghai) Plateau geotraverse route, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A, 327, 287-305, 1988.
60. Kong, X., and P. Bird, Neotectonics of Asia: Thin-shell finite-element models with faults, in The Tectonic Evolution of Asia, edited by A. Yin and T. M. Harrison, pp. 18-34, Cambridge Univ. Press, New York, 1996.
61. Lamb, M. A., A. D. Hanson, S. A. Graham, G. Badarch, and L. E. Webb, Left-lateral sense offset of upper Proterozoic to Paleozoic features across the Gobi Onon, Tost, and Zuunbayan faults in southern Mongolia and implications for other central Asian faults. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 173, 183-194, 1999.
62. Laveine, J.-P., Z. Shanzhen, Y. Lemoigne, A. Desheng, Z. Qishi, and C. Jingyuan, The Upper Paleozoic floras of Hotan area (Xinjiang Province, northwest China), and their paleogeographical significance, C. R. Acad. Sci., Ser. II, 322(9), 781-790, 1996.
63. Leeder, M. R., A. B. Smith, and J. Yin, Sedimentology, paleoecology and palaeoenvironmental evolution of the 1985 Lhasa to Golmud Geotraverse, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A, 327, 107-143, 1988.
64. Li, D., D. Liang, C. Jia, G. Wang, Q. Wu, and D. He, Hydrocarbon accumulations in the Tarim basin, China, AAPG Bull., 80(10), 1587-1603, 1996.
65. Liu, Z. Q., Geologic Map of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and its Neighboring Regions (in Chinese), Chengdu Inst. of Geol. and Miner. Resour., Acad. Sin. Geol. Publ., Beijing, 1988.
66. Lyon-Caen, H., and P. Molnar, Gravity anomalies and the structure of western Tibet and the southern Tarim basin, Geophys. Res. Lett., 11(12), 1251-1254, 1984.
67. Ma, X., Lithospheric Dynamics Map of China and Adjacent Seas, Geol. Publ. House, Beijing, 1980.
68. Mattauer, M., Intracontinental subduction, crust-mantle décollement and crustal-stacking wedge in the Himalayas and other collisional belts, in Collision Tectonics, edited by M. P. Coward and A. C. Ries, pp. 37-50, Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ., London, 1986.
69. Matte, P., P. Tapponnier, N. Arnaud, L. Bourjot, J. P. Avouac, P. Vidal, Q. Liu, Y. Pan, and Y. Wang, Tectonics of western Tibet, between the Tarim and the Indus, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 142, 311-330, 1996.
70. Mattern, F., W. Schneider, Y. Li, and X. Li, A traverse through the western Kunlun (Xinjiang, China): Tentative geodynamic implications for the Paleozoic and Mesozoic, Geol. Rundsch., 85, 705-722, 1996.
71. McKenzie, D., Active tectonics of the Mediterranean region, Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc., 30, 109-185, 1972.
72. McKenzie, D. P., Plate tectonics of the Mediterranean region, Nature, 226, 239-243, 1970.
73. McQuarrie, N., and C. G. Chase, Raising the Colorado Plateau, Geology, 28(1), 91-94, 2000.
74. McQuarrie, N., and P. G. DeCelles, Geometry and structural evolution of the central Andean backthrust belt, Bolivia, Tectonics, 20(5), 669-692, 2001.
75. Meyer, B., P. Tapponnier, L. Bourjot, F. Metivier, Y. Gaudemer, G. Peltzer, S. Guo, and Z. Chen, Crustal thickening in Gansu-Qinghai, lithospheric mantle subduction, and oblique, strike-slip controlled growth of the Tibet plateau, Geophys. J. Int., 135, 1-47, 1998.
76. Molnar, P., Brace-Goetze strength profiles, the partitioning of strike-slip and thrust faulting at zones of oblique convergence, and the stress-heat flow paradox of the San Andreas fault, in Fault Mechanics and Transport Properties of Rocks, edited by B. Evans and T. F. Wong, pp. 435-459, Academic, San Diego, Calif., 1992.
77. Molnar, P., and P. Tapponnier, Active tectonics of Tibet, J. Geophys. Res., 83, 5361-5375, 1978.
78. Molnar, P., and P. Tapponnier, Cenozoic tectonics of Asia; effects of a continental collision, Science, 189, 419-426, 1975.
79. Molnar, P., and P. Tapponnier, A possible dependence of tectonic strength on the age of the crust in Asia, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 52, 107-114, 1981.
80. Molnar, P., B. C. Burchfiel, L. K'uangyi, and Z. Ziyun, Geomorphic evidence for active faulting in the Altyn Tagh and northern Tibet and qualitative estimates of its contribution to the convergence of India and Eurasia, Geology, 15(3), 249-253, 1987a.
81. Molnar, P., B. C. Burchfiel, Z. Zhao, K. Liang, S. Wang, and M. Huang, Geologic evolution of northern Tibet: Results of an expedition to Ulugh Muztagh, Science, 235, 299-305, 1987b.
82. Murphy, M. A., A. Yin, T. M. Harrison, S. B. Dürr, Z. Chen, F. J. Ryerson, W. S. F. Kidd, X. Wang, and X. Zhou, Did the Indo-Asian collision alone create the Tibetan Plateau?, Geology, 25(8), 719-722, 1997.
83. Murphy, M. A., A. Yin, P. Kapp, T. M. Harrison, L. Din, and J. Guo, Southward propagation of the Karakorum fault system into southwest Tibet: Timing and magnitude of slip, Geology, 28(5), 451-454, 2000.
84. Neil, E. A., and G. A. Houseman, Geodynamics of the Tarim Basin and the Tian Shan in central Asia, Tectonics, 16(4), 571-584, 1997.
85. Nelson, K. D., et al., Partially molten middle crust beneath southern Tibet: Synthesis of project INDEPTH results, Science, 274, 1684-1688, 1996.
86. Nie, S., Paleoclimatic and paleomagnetic constraints on the Paleozoic reconstructions of South China, North China and Tarim, Tectonophysics, 196, 279-308, 1991.
87. Norin, E., Geological Explorations in Western Tibet, Reports From the Scientific Expedition to the North-Western Provinces of China Under the Leadership of Dr. Sven Hedin, Publ. 29, III Geology, 214 pp., Tryckeri Aktiebolaget Thule, Stockholm, Sweden, 1946.
88. Owens, T. J., and G. Zandt, Implications of crustal property variations for models of Tibetan Plateau evolution, Nature, 387, 37-43, 1997.
89. Paces, J. B., and J. D. Miller, Precise U-Pb age of Duluth Complex and related mafic intrusions, northeastern Minnesota: Geochronological insights into physical, petrogenic, paleomagnetic and tectonomagmatic processes associated with the 1.1 Ga midcontinent rift system, J. Geophys. Res., 98, 13,997-14,013, 1993.
90. Pan, G. T., Cenozoic structures and the nature of mountain building in the Altyn Tagh region (in Chinese), Geol. Qinghai-Xizang Tibet Plateau, 15, 113-120, 1984.
91. Pan, Y., Tectonic features and evolution of the Western Kunlun Mountain region, Sci. Geol. Sin., 1990(3), 224-232, 1990.
92. Pan, Y., Geological Evolution of the Karakorum and Kunlun Mountains, 288 pp., Seismology, Beijing, 1996a.
93. Pan, Y. S., Regional geological evolution and conclusion, in Geological Evolution of the Karakorum and Kunlun Mountains, edited by Y. S. Pan, pp. 263-282, Seismology, Beijing, 1996b.
94. Peltzer, G., and P. Tapponnier, Formation and evolution of strike-slip faults, rifts, and basins during the India-Asia collision: An experimental approach, J. Geophys. Res., 93, 15,085-15,117, 1988.
95. Peltzer, G., P. Tapponnier, and R. Armijo, Magnitude of late Quaternary left-lateral movement along the north edge of Tibet, Science, 246, 1285-1289, 1989.
96. Quidelleur, X., M. Grove, O. M. Lovera, T. M. Harrison, and A. Yin, Thermal evolution and slip history of the Renbu Zedong thrust, southeastern Tibet, J. Geophys. Res., 102, 2659-2679, 1997.
97. Ranalli, G., and D. C. Murphy, Rheological stratification of the lithosphere, Tectonophysics, 132, 281-295, 1987.
98. Ritts, B. D., and U. Biffi, Magnitude of post-Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) displacement on the Altyn Tagh fault system, Northwest China, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 112, 61-74, 2000.
99. Roeder, D., Andean-age structure of eastern Cordillera (province of La Paz, Bolivia), Tectonics, 7(1), 23-39, 1988.
100. Royden, L., Coupling and decoupling of crust and mantle in convergent orogens: Implications for strain partitioning in the crust, J. Geophys. Res., 101, 17,679-17,705, 1996.
101. Royden, L. H., B. C. Burchfiel, R. W. King, E. Wang, Z. Chen, F. Shen, and Y. Liu, Surface deformation and lower crustal flow in eastern Tibet, Science, 276, 788-790, 1997.
102. Rumelhart, P., A. Yin, E. Cowgill, R. Butler, Q. Zhang, and X. F. Wang, Cenozoic vertical-axis rotation of the Altyn Tagh fault system, Geology, 27(9), 819-822, 1999.
103. Rumelhart, P. E., Cenozoic basin evolution of southern Tarim, northwestern China: Implications for the uplift history of the Tibetan Plateau, Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Calif., Los Angeles, 1998.
104. Ryerson, F. J., G. Peltzer, P. Tapponnier, R. C. Finkel, A.-S. Meriaux, J. Van der Woerd, and M. W. Caffee, Active slip rates on the Altyn Tagh fault Karakax valley segment: Constraints from surface exposure age dating, Eos Trans. AGU, 80(46), Fall Meet. Suppl., F1008, 1999.
105. Sanudo-Wilhelmy, S. A., and A. R. Flegal, Temporal variations in lead concentrations and isotopic composition in the southern California Bight, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 58(15), 3315-3320, 1994.
106. Searle, M. P., Geological evidence against large-scale pre-Holocene offsets along the Karakoram fault: Implications for the limited extension of the Tibetan Plateau, Tectonics, 15(1), 171-186, 1996.
107. Sengör, A. M. C., The Cimmeride Orogenic System and the Tectonics of Eurasia, Spec. Pap. 195, 82 pp., Geol. Soc. of Am., Boulder, Colo., 1984.
108. Sengör, A. M. C., The Palaeo-Tethyan suture: A line of demarcation between two fundamentally different architectural styles in the structure of Asia, Island Arc, 1, 78-91, 1992.
109. Sengör, A. M. C., and B. A. Natal'in, Paleotectonics or Asia: Fragments of a synthesis, in The Tectonic Evolution of Asia, edited by A. Yin and T. M. Harrison, pp. 486-640, Cambridge Univ. Press, New York, 1996.
110. Sengör, A. M. C., and A. H. Okurogullari, The role of accretionary wedges in the growth of continents: Asiatic examples from Argand to plate tectonics, Eclogae Geol. Helv., 84, 535-597, 1991.
111. Sengör, A. M. C., S. A. Graham, and K. T. Biddle, Is the Tarim basin underlain by a Neoproterozoic ocean plateau?, Geol. Soc. Am. Abstr. Programs, 28, 67, 1996.
112. Shen, F., L. H. Royden, and B. C. Burchfiel, Large-scale crustal deformation of the Tibetan Plateau, J. Geophys. Res., 106, 6793-6816, 2001.
113. Shen, Z.-K., M. Wang, Y. Li, D. D. Jackson, A. Yin, D. Dong, and P. Fang, Crustal deformation along the Altyn Tagh fault system, western China, from GPS, J. Geophys. Res., 106, 30,607-30,621, 2001.
114. Sobel, E. R., Basin analysis and apatite fission-track thermochronology of the Jurassic-Paleogene southwest Tarim basin, NW China, Ph.D. thesis, Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford, Calif., 1995.
115. Sobel, E. R., and N. Arnaud, A possible middle Paleozoic suture in the Altyn Tagh, NW China, Tectonics, 18(1), 64-74, 1999.
116. Sobel, E. R., N. Arnaud, M. Jolivet, B. D. Ritts, and M. Brunel, Jurassic to Cenozoic exhumation history or the Altyn Tagh range, Northwest China, constrained by 40Ar/39Ar and apatite fission track thermochronology, in Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central and Eastern Asia: From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental Deformation, edited by M. S. Hendrix and G. A. Davis, Geol. Soc. of Am. Mem., 194, pp. 247-267, Geol. Soc. of Am., Boulder, Colo., 2001.
117. Soofi, M. A., and S. D. King, Oblique convergence between India and Eurasia, J. Geophys. Res., 107(B5), 2101, doi:10.1029/2001JB000636, 2002.
118. Stacey, J. S., and J. D. Kramers, Approximation of terrestrial lead isotope evolution by a two-stage model, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 26, 207-221, 1975.
119. Stöcklin, J., Tethys evolution in the Afghanistan-Pamir-Pakistan region, in Tectonic Evolution of the Tethyan Region, edited by A. M. C. Sengör, pp. 241-264, Kluwer Acad., Norwell, Mass., 1989.
120. Strecker, M. R., W. Frisch, M. W. Hamburger, L. Ratschbacher, S. Semilekin, A. Zamoruyev, and N. Sturchio, Quaternary deformation in the eastern Pamir, Tadzhikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, Tectonics, 14, 1061-1079, 1995.
121. Tapponnier, P., and P. Molnar, Slip-line field theory and large-scale continental tectonics, Nature, 264, 319-324, 1976.
122. Tapponnier, P., and P. Molnar, Active faulting and tectonics in China, J. Geophys. Res., 82, 2905-2930, 1977.
123. Tapponnier, P., G. Peltzer, A. Y. Le Dain, and R. Armijo, Propagating extrusion tectonics in Asia: New insights from simple experiments with plasticine, Geology, 10(12), 611-616, 1982.
124. Tapponnier, P., et al., Active thrusting and folding in the Qilian Shan and decoupling between upper crust and mantle in northeastern Tibet, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 97, 382-403, 1990.
125. Tapponnier, P., Z. Xu, F. Roger, B. Meyer, N. Arnaud, G. Wittlinger, and J. Yang, Oblique stepwise rise and growth of the Tibet Plateau, Science, 294, 1671-1677, 2001.
126. Turcotte, D. L., and G. Schubert, Geodynamics, 450 pp., John Wiley, New York, 1982.
127. Van der Woerd, J., F. J. Ryerson, P. Tapponnier, Y. Gaudemer, R. Finkel, A. S. Meriaux, M. Caffee, G. Zhao, and Q. He, Holocene left-slip rate determined by cosmogenic surface dating on the Xidatan segment of the Kunlun fault (Qinghai China), Geology, 26(8), 695-698, 1998.
128. Van der Woerd, J., F. J. Ryerson, P. Tapponnier, A. S. Meriaux, Y. Gaudemer, B. Meyer, R. C. Finkel, M. W. Caffee, G. Zhao, and Z. Xu, Uniform slip-rate along the Kunlun fault: Implications for seismic behaviour and large-scale tectonics, Geophys. Rev. Lett., 27, 2353-2356, 2000.
129. Vilotte, J. P., M. Daignières, and R. Madariaga, Numerical modeling of intraplate deformation: Simple mechanical models of continental collision, J. Geophys. Res., 87, 10,709-10,728, 1982.
130. Vilotte, J. P., M. Daignières, R. Madariaga, and O. C. Zienkiewicz, The role of a heterogeneous inclusion during continental collision, Phys. Earth Planet. Inter., 36, 236-259, 1984.
131. Washburn, Z., J. R. Arrowsmith, S. L. Forman, E. Cowgill, X. Wang, Y. Zhang, and Z. Chen, Late Holocene earthquake history of the central Altyn Tagh fault, China, Geology, 29(11), 1051-1054, 2001.
132. Watson, M. P., A. B. Hayward, D. N. Parkinson, and Z. M. Zhang, Plate tectonic history, basin development and petroleum source rock deposition onshore China, Mar. Pet. Geol., 4, 205-225, 1987.
133. Wittlinger, G., P. Tapponnier, G. Poupinet, M. Jiang, D. Shi, G. Herquel, and F. Masson, Tomographic evidence for localized lithospheric shear along the Altyn Tagh fault, Science, 282, 74-76, 1998.
134. Xiao, W. J., B. F. Windley, H. L. Chen, G. C. Zhang, and J. L. Li, Carboniferous-Triassic subduction and accretion in the western Kunlun, China: Implications for the collisional and accretionary tectonics of the northern Tibetan Plateau, Geology, 30(4), 295-298, 2002a.
135. Xiao, W. J., B. F. Windley, J. Hao, and J. Li, Arc-ophiolite obduction in the Western Kunlun Range (China): Implications for the Palaeozoic evolution of Central Asia, J. Geol. Soc. London, 159, 517-528, 2002b.
136. Xinjiang Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Regional Geology of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (in Chinese with English abstract), 841 pp., Geol. Publ. House, Beijing, 1993.
137. Xu, R., and N. B. W. Harris, Isotope geochemistry of the 1985 Tibet Geotraverse, Lhasa to Golmud (in Chinese), in The Geological Evolution of Tibet, pp. 282-302, Science Press, Beijing, 1990.
138. Xu, R., Y. Zhang, Y. Xic, P. Vidal, N. Arnaud, Q. Zhang, and D. Zhao, Isotopic geochemistry of plutonic rocks, in Geological Evolution of the Karakorum and Kunlun Mountains, edited by Y. Pan, pp. 137-186, Seismol. Press, Beijing, 1996.
139. Yao, Y., and K. J. Hsü, Origin of the Kunlun Mountains by arc-arc and arc-continent collisions. Island Arc, 3, 75-89, 1992.
140. Yin, A., and T. M. Harrison, Geologic evolution of the Himalayan-Tibetan Orogen, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 28, 211-280, 2000.
141. Yin, A., and S. Nie, An indentation model for the North and South China collision and the development of the Tanlu and Honam fault systems, Tectonics, 12, 801-813, 1993.
142. Yin, A., and S. Nie, A Phanerozoic palinspastic reconstruction of China and its neighboring regions, in The Tectonic Evolution of Asia, edited by A. Yin and T. M. Harrison, pp. 442-485, Cambridge Univ. Press, New York, 1996.
143. Yin, A., S. Nie, P. Craig, T. M. Harrison, F. J. Ryerson, X. Qian, and G. Yang, Late Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the southern Chinese Tian Shan, Tectonics, 17(1), 1-27, 1998.
144. Yin, A., Z. Yang, R. Butler, Y.-I. Otofuji, P.E. Rumelhart, and E. Cowgill, Correction: Cenozoic vertical-axis rotation of the Altyn Tagh fault system, Geology, 28, 480, 2000.
145. Yin, A., et al., Tectonic history of the Altyn Tagh fault system in northern Tibet inferred from Cenozoic sedimentation, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 114(5), 1257-1295, 2002.
146. Yin, J., J. Xu, C. Liu, and H. Li, The Tibetan Plateau: Regional stratigraphic context and previous work, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A, 327, 5-52, 1988.
147. Yuan, C., M. Sun. M.-F. Zhou, H. Zhou, W.-J. Xiao, and J.-L. Li, Tectonic evolution of the West Kunlun: Geochronologic and geochemical constraints from Kudi granitoids, Int. Geol. Rev., 44, 653-669, 2002.
148. Zhang, H. M., J. G. Liou, and R. G. Coleman, An outline of the plate tectonics of China, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 95, 295-312, 1984.
149. Zhang, Z. T., Geologic characteristics of the Altyn Tagh (in Chinese), Bull. Xian Inst. Geol. Chin. Acad. Geol. Sci., 9, 19-32, 1985.
150. Zhou, H.-W., R. Gao, M. A. Murphy, Q. Li, and A.-R. Khalid, Deep seismic reflection profiling in northwest Tibetan Plateau: Implications for the relationship between the Tibetan Plateau, west Kunlun Shan, and Tarim Basin, Eos Trans. AGU, 81(48), Fall Meet. Suppl., F1091, 2000.
151. Zhu, S. N., Tectonic evolution of the Qilian Shan, western China, Bull. Changcun Geol. Coll., 3, 41-52, 1986.