From sea level to high elevation in 15 million years: Uplift history of the northern Tibetan Plateau margin in the Altun Shan

American Journal of Science

Volumn 308, Issue 5, 2008, Pages 657-678

  Ritts, Bradley D ^a   Yue, Yongjun ^a   Graham, Stephan A ^b   Sobel, Edward R ^c   Abbink, Oscar A ^d   Stockli, Daniel ^e  

^a CHEVRON ENERGY TECHNOLOGY COMPANY   (United States)

^b STANFORD UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF POTSDAM   (Germany)

^d TNO   (Netherlands)

^e UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

DIP; ELEVATION; ESCARPMENT; EXHUMATION; FOOTWALL; OBLIQUE FAULT; OROGENY; REVERSE FAULT; SEA LEVEL; STRIKE-SLIP FAULT; UPLIFT;

ALTUN MOUNTAINS; ALTYN TAGH FAULT ZONE; ASIA; CHINA; EURASIA; FAR EAST; QINGHAI-XIZANG PLATEAU; TARIM BASIN; XINJIANG UYGUR;

FORAMINIFERA;

EID: 50549103044     PISSN: 00029599     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2475/05.2008.01     Document Type: Article

References (39)

1. Araguas-Araguas, L., Froehlich, K., and Rozanski, K., 1998, Stable isotope composition of precipitation over southeast Asia: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 103, p. 28,721-28,742.
2. Clark, M. K, and Royden, L. H., 2000, Topographic ooze: Building the eastern margin of Tibet by lower crustal flow: Geology, v. 28, p. 703-706.
3. Coutand, I., Strecker, M. R., Arrowsmith, J. R., Hilley, G., Thiede, R. C., Korjenkov, A., and Omuraliev, M., 2002, Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontane Alai Valley, (Pamir-Tien Shan region, central Asia): An example of intracontinental deformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision: Tectonics, v. 21, p. 1053, doi: 10.1029/ 2002TC001358.
4. Dumitru, T. A., 1993, A new computer automated microscope stage system for fission track analysis: Nuclear Tracks, v. 21, p. 575-580.
5. England, P. C., and Molnar, P., 1997, Active deformation of Asia: from kinematics to dynamics: Science, v. 278, p. 647-650.
6. Galbraith, R. F., 1981, On statistical models for fission track counts: Mathematical Geology, v. 13, p. 471-478.
7. Graham, S. A., Chamberlain, P., Yue, Y., Ritts, B. D., Hanson, A. D., Horton, T. W., Waldbauer, J. R., Poage, M. A., and Feng, X., 2005, Stable isotope records of Cenozoic climate and topography, Tibetan Plateau and Tarim basin: American Journal of Science, v. 305, p. 101-118.
8. Green, P. F., 1981, A new look at statistics in fission-track dating: Nuclear Tracks, v. 5, p. 77-86.
9. Hanson, A. D., ms, 1999, Organic geochemistry and petroleum geology, tectonics and basin analysis of southern Tarim and northern Qaidam basins, northwest China: Stanford, California, Stanford University, Ph. D. Thesis, 388 p.
10. Haq, B. U., and Boersma, A., editors, 1998, Introduction to Marine Micropaleontology, 2nd edition: New York, Elsevier, 376 p.
11. Harms, J. C., Southard, J. B., and Walker, R. G., 1982, Structures and sequences in clastic rocks: Tulsa, Oklahoma, SEPM Short Course Notes No. 9.
12. Hurford, A. J., and Green, P. F., 1983, The zeta age calibration of fission-track dating: Chemical Geology, v. 41, p. 285-317.
13. Jolivet, M., Brunel, M., Seward, D., Xu, Z., Yang, J., Roger, F., Tapponnier, P., Malavieille, Arnaud, N., and Wu, C., 2001, Mesozoic and Cenozoic tectonics of the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau: fission track constraints: Tectonophysics, v. 343, p. 111-134.
14. Kennett, J. P., and Srinivasan, M. S., 1983, Neogene Planktonic Foraminifera: A Phylogenetic Atlas: Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Hutchinson Ross Publishing, 265 p.
15. Ketcham, R. A., 2005, HeFTy: Forward and inverse modeling thermochronometer systems, in Reiners, P. W., and Ehlers, T. A., editors, Low-temperature thermochronology: Techniques, interpretations, and applications: Chantilly, Virginia, The Mineralogical Society of America, Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, v. 58, p. 596-597.
16. Molnar, P., 2005, Mio-Pliocene growth of the Tibetan Plateau and evolution of east Asian climate: Palaeontologia Electronica, v. 8, 2A, 23 p.
17. Ogg, J., 2005, TS-Creator: www.stratigraphy.org.
18. Retallack, G.J., 2001, Soils of the Past, an introduction to paleopedology: Malden, Massachusetts, Blackwell Science, 404 p.
19. Ritts, B. D., ms, 1998, Mesozoic Tectonics and Sedimentation, and Petroleum Systems of the Qaidam and Tarim Basins, NW China: Stanford, California, Stanford University, Ph. D. Thesis, 691 p.
20. Ritts, B. D., and Biff, U., 2000, Magnitude of post-Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) displacement on the central Altyn Tagh fault system, northwest China: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 112, p, 61-74.
21. Ritts, B. D., Yue, Y., and Graham, S. A., 2004, Oligocene-Miocene tectonics and sedimentation along the Altyn Tagh fault, northern Tibetan Plateau: Analysis of the Xorkol, Subei, and Aksay basins: Journal of Geology, v. 112, p. 207-230.
22. Ritts, B. D., Kent-Corson, M. L., Graham, S. A., and Chamberlain, C. P., 2006, Structural, Paleogeographic and Topographic Evolution of the Northern Tibetan Plateau: Eos Transactions, AGU, 87(52), Fall Meeting Supplement, Abstract T31E-05.
23. Roegl, F., 1989, Late Oligocene and Miocene planktic foraminifera of the Central Paratethys, in Bolli, H. M., Saunders, J. B., and Perch-Nielsen, K., editors, Plankton Stratigraphy: Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, p. 315-328.
24. Rowley, D. B., Pierrehumbert, R. T., and Currie, B. S., 2001, A new approach to stable isotope-based paleoaltimetry. implications for paleoaltimetry and paleohypsometry of the High Himalaya since the late Miocene: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 188, p. 253-268.
25. Rumelhart, P. E., ms, 1999, Cenozoic basin evolution of southern Tarim, northwestern China: Implications for the uplift history of the Tibetan Plateau: Los Angeles, University of California, Ph. D. Thesis, 268 p.
26. Sobel, E. R., and Strecker, M. R., 2003, Uplift, exhumation, and precipitation: Tectonic and climatic control of Late Cenozoic landscape evolution in the northern Sierras Pampeanas, Argentina: Basin Research, v. 15, doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2117.2003.00214.x.
27. sobel, E. R., Arnaud, N., Jolivet, M., Ritts, B. D., and Brunel, M., 2001, Jurassic Exhumation history of the Altyn Tagh, NW China, in Hendrix, M. S., and Davis, G. A., editors, Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonics of Central Asia - From Continent Assembly to Intracontinental Deformation: Geological Society of America Memoir 194, p. 247-268.
28. Stainforth, R. M., Lamb, J. L., Luterbacher, H., Beard, J. H., and Jeffords, R. M., 1975, Cenozoic planktonic foraminifera zonation and characteristics of index forms: Lawrence, Kansas, University of Kansas Paleontological Contributions, Article 62, 425 p.
29. Stockli, D. F., Dumitru, T. A., McWilliams, M. O., and Farley, K. A., 2003, Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of the White Mountains, California and Nevada: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 115, p. 788-816.
30. Sun, J., Zhu, R., and An, Z., 2005, Tectonic uplift in the northern Tibetan Plateau since 13.7 Ma ago inferred from molasses deposits along the Altyn Tagh fault: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 235, p. 641-653.
31. Tapponnier, P., Xu, Z., Roger, F., Meyer, B., Arnaud, N., Wittlinger, G., and Yang, J., 2001, Oblique stepwise rise and growth of the Tibet Plateau: Science, v. 293, p. 1671-1677.
32. Wang, Q, and Coward, M. P., 1990, The Chaidam basin (NW China): Formation and hydrocarbon potential: Journal of Petroleum Geology, v. 13, p. 93-112.
33. XBGMR, 1993, Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Regional Geology of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region: Beijing, Geological Publishing House, Geological Memoirs, Series 1, Number 32, 841 p., 1:1,500,000.
34. Yin, A., Rumelhart, P. E., Butler, R., Cowgill, E., Harrison, T. M., Foster, D. A., Ingersoll, R. V., Zhang, Q, Zhou, X., Wang, X., Hanson, A., and Raza, A., 2002, Tectonic history of the Altyn Tagh fault system in northern Tibet inferred from Cenozoic sedimentation: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 114, p. 257-1295.
35. Yue, Y., and Liou, J. G., 1999, A two-stage evolution model for the Altyn Tagh fault, China: Geology, v. 27, p. 227-230.
36. Yue, Y., Ritts, B. D., and Graham, S., 2001, Initiation and long-term slip history of the Altyn Tagh fault: International Geology Review, v. 43, p. 1087-1093.
37. Yue, Y., Ritts, B. D., Hanson, A. D., and Graham, S. A., 2004a, Sedimentary Evidence against Large Strike-Slip Translation on the Northern Altyn Tagh Fault: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 228, p. 311-323. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2004.10.008.
38. Yue, Y., Ritts, B. D., Graham, S., Wooden, J., Gehrels, G., and Zhang, Z., 2004b, Slowing extrusion tectonics: Lowered estimate of post-Early Miocene long-term slip rate for the Altyn Tagh fault: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 217, p. 111-122, doi:10.1016/ S0012-821X(03)00544-2.
39. Zhou, Z., and Chen, P., 1990, Biostratigraphy and geologic evolution of Tarim: Beijing, Science Press, 366 p.