An explosive seismic sounding profile across the transition zone between west Kunlun Mts. and Tarim Basin

Li, Qiusheng; Gao, Rui; Lu, Deyuan; Li, Jingwei; Fan, Junxuan; Zhang, Zhiying; Liu, Wen; Li, Yingkang; Yan, Quanren; Li, Dexing

doi:10.1007/bf02875340

Cited by 19 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Low velocities present in the southwestern Tarim basin are consistent with the evidence provided by surface wave tomography [ Wu and Levshin , 1994] in which low group velocities were observed in this region and its presence was explained by tectonic activities adjacent to the northern Tibetan Plateau. A recent result from seismic sounding experiment indicates that the crust thickness varies from 40 km in the central Tarim basin to at least 60 km in front of the western Kun Lun, indicating the southern Tarim lithosphere underthrusts toward the western Kun Lun [ Li et al , 2001]. These results provide useful information for the understanding of the low velocities in the southwestern Tarim basin.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crust and upper mantle structure beneath western China from P wave travel time tomography

Liu

et al. 2002

J. Geophys. Res.

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Three‐dimensional velocity images of the crust and upper mantle beneath western China are obtained through seismic tomography by using P wave arrival times of local/regional and teleseismic events recorded in Chinese and Kyrgyzstan seismic networks. At shallow depths, most mountain belts and tectonically elevated areas are imaged as higher velocities, relative to adjacent sediment‐filled basins and foreland depressions with lower velocities. At mid‐lower crust depths, the Kyrgyz Tian Shan is underlain by lower velocity material and a distinct low‐velocity zone in the south‐north direction is observed between the eastern and western parts of the Chinese Tian Shan. The Moho of the southern Tarim basin has a greater depth over 50 km in front of the western Kun Lun, compared to the northern and western Tarim basin. Lateral heterogeneity within the upper mantle is apparent at depths from 71 to 571 km. The uppermost mantle beneath the Kyrgyz Tian Shan, Altay, Qi Lian, and eastern Kun Lun is characterized by low‐velocity material that is probably related to the upwelling of hot mantle. The lithospheric thickness varies from 120 to 170 km beneath the Chinese Tian Shan and northern Tibetan Plateau to 200–250 km beneath the Tarim basin. Deep coupling pattern of the Chinese Tian Shan with adjacent provinces can be classified into the embedding, detaching and sinking, and underthrusting of lithospheric roots. In addition, the lithosphere of the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau seems to be thickened, in contrast to the central part of the northern plateau. North dipping low velocities exist in the upper mantle between the Tibetan Plateau and provinces to its north, which might indicate mantle flow from the Tibetan Plateau toward surrounding areas, but it has been blocked by the thick Tarim lithosphere.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crust and upper mantle structure beneath western China from P wave travel time tomography

Liu

et al. 2002

J. Geophys. Res.

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“…Some profiles extended from the Tarim, Yangtze or North China blocks across the eastern or northern margin of the plateau Qian, 2000, Wang et al, 2003a, b;Li et al, 2001;Vergne et al, 2002, Zhang, personal communication, 2004, Zhang et al, 2008. The 3D survey system has been attempted in the eastern plateau (Zhang et al, symposium report, 2002).…”

Section: Distribution Of Active-sources Seismic Profilesmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…These thicknesses are approximately 10 km larger than those of adjacent blocks (both Tarim basin and Sichuan basin (Yangtze) have an average thickness of 45 km) (Cui et al, 1996;Li et al, 2001). Beneath the Qilian Shan, the northern neighbor of the Qaidam basin, the crustal thickness is 70 km to 57 km with the Moho shallowing to the north and a ~10 km south-face dipping beneath Golmud-Ejin Qi profile (Cui et al, 1995(Cui et al, , 1999Gao et al, 1995) that shows a notable contrast to the Hexi Corridor basin (North China Plate ) where Moho with a depth of 48~52 km extends smoothly (Figure 4).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 97%

The thickness and structural characteristics of the crust across Tibetan plateau from active-sources seismic profiles

Gao

et al. 2009

Earthq Sci

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The Tibetan plateau as one of the youngest orogen on the Earth was considered as the result of continent-continent collision between the Eurasian and Indian plates. The thickness and structure of the crust beneath Tibetan plateau is essential to understand deformation behavior of the plateau. Active-source seismic profiling is most available geophysical method for imaging the structure of the continental crust. The results from more than 25 active-sources seismic profiles carried out in the past twenty years were reviewed in this article. A preliminary cross crustal pattern of the Tibetan Plateau was presented and discussed. The Moho discontinuity buries at the range of 60−80 km on average and have steep ramps located roughly beneath the sutures that are compatible with the successive stacking/accretion of the former Cenozoic blocks northeastward. The deepest Moho (near 80 km) appears closely near IYS and the crustal scale thrust system beneath southern margin of Tibetan plateau suggests strong dependence on collision and non-distributed deformation there. However, the ~20 km order of Moho offsets hardly reappears in the inline section across northern Tibetan plateau. Without a universally accepted, convincing dynamic explanation model accommodated the all of the facts seen in controlled seismic sections, but vertical thickening and northeastern shorten of the crust is quite evident and interpretable to a certain extent as the result of continent-continent collision. Simultaneously, weak geophysical signature of the BNS suggests that convergence has been accommodated perhaps partially through pure-shear thickening accompanied by removal of lower crustal material by lateral escape. Recent years the result of Moho with ~7 km offset and long extend in south-dip angle beneath the east Kunlun orogen and a grand thrust fault at the northern margin of Qilian orogen has attract more attention to action from the northern blocks. The broad lower-velocity area in the upper-middle crust of the Lhasa block was once considered as resulted from partially melted rocks. However the low normal v P /v S ratio and the Moho stepwise rise fail to support significant partial melting in the middle-lower crust of the central-northern Tibetan plateau. Furthermore, the lower-velocity of crust occasionally disappears, and/or local thinned exhibits their non-stationary spatial distribution.

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“…However, such a far-field response should be expressed as more direct and local driving force. Sobel et al (2013) attributed the Oligo-Miocene boundary thermochronological ages observed in the margins of southwest Tarim basin to the initial underthrusting of the Tarim block beneath the surrounding orogens, which has been testified by geophysical data in the sTS, Pamir and West Kunlun (e.g., Matte et al, 1996;Gao et al, 2000;Kao et al, 2001;Li et al, 2001;Buslov et al, 2007;Li et al, 2012;Jiang et al, 2004;Wittlinger et al, 2004;Schurr et al, 2014;Sippl et al, 2013aSippl et al, , 2013bSchneider et al, 2013). The widespread thermochronological records of this episode in West Kunlun and also sTS (Hendrix et al, 1994;Yang et al, 2003;Du and Wang, 2007;Wang and Du, 2009;Chang et al, 2012;Sobel and Dumitru, 1997;Sobel et al, 2006;Chen et al, 2008;De Grave et al, 2012;Macaulay et al, 2014) imply that the onset of underthrusting of the Tarim block during the this episode was not only limited in southwest margin of the Tarim basin, but can also take place in the south and north margins of the basin.…”

Section: Tectonic Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Sedimentology and magnetostratigraphy of the Tierekesazi Cenozoic section in the foreland region of south West Tian Shan in Western China

Chen

Cheng

et al. 2015

Tectonophysics

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An explosive seismic sounding profile across the transition zone between west Kunlun Mts. and Tarim Basin

Cited by 19 publications

References 7 publications

Crust and upper mantle structure beneath western China from P wave travel time tomography

Crust and upper mantle structure beneath western China from P wave travel time tomography

The thickness and structural characteristics of the crust across Tibetan plateau from active-sources seismic profiles

Sedimentology and magnetostratigraphy of the Tierekesazi Cenozoic section in the foreland region of south West Tian Shan in Western China

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