Uplift of the West Kunlun Range, northern Tibetan Plateau, dominated by brittle thickening of the upper crust
High-resolution seismic reflection data from the West Kunlun Range front show that crustal structures beneath the northwestern margin of the Tibetan Plateau are dominated by nappes of upper crustal rocks. Geological cross-section balancing suggests an average of 24.6–54 km (38%–52%) of upper crustal...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Geological Society of America
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27715 |
| _version_ | 1848752340046184448 |
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| author | Jiang, X. Li, Zheng-Xiang Li, Haibing |
| author_facet | Jiang, X. Li, Zheng-Xiang Li, Haibing |
| author_sort | Jiang, X. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | High-resolution seismic reflection data from the West Kunlun Range front show that crustal structures beneath the northwestern margin of the Tibetan Plateau are dominated by nappes of upper crustal rocks. Geological cross-section balancing suggests an average of 24.6–54 km (38%–52%) of upper crustal shortening. This horizontal shortening by brittle folding and faulting in the upper crust correlates positively with crustal thickening, an increase in Moho depth by 5–7 km, and the topography. Our work suggests that upper crustal shortening is a chief factor for topographic uplift and crustal thickening at the northwestern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Such a mechanism is different from that proposed for the plateau south of the Karakax strike-slip fault, where crustal flow may have played a prominent role in plateau uplift. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:07:04Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-27715 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:07:04Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Geological Society of America |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-277152017-09-13T15:12:58Z Uplift of the West Kunlun Range, northern Tibetan Plateau, dominated by brittle thickening of the upper crust Jiang, X. Li, Zheng-Xiang Li, Haibing High-resolution seismic reflection data from the West Kunlun Range front show that crustal structures beneath the northwestern margin of the Tibetan Plateau are dominated by nappes of upper crustal rocks. Geological cross-section balancing suggests an average of 24.6–54 km (38%–52%) of upper crustal shortening. This horizontal shortening by brittle folding and faulting in the upper crust correlates positively with crustal thickening, an increase in Moho depth by 5–7 km, and the topography. Our work suggests that upper crustal shortening is a chief factor for topographic uplift and crustal thickening at the northwestern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Such a mechanism is different from that proposed for the plateau south of the Karakax strike-slip fault, where crustal flow may have played a prominent role in plateau uplift. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27715 10.1130/G33890.1 Geological Society of America restricted |
| spellingShingle | Jiang, X. Li, Zheng-Xiang Li, Haibing Uplift of the West Kunlun Range, northern Tibetan Plateau, dominated by brittle thickening of the upper crust |
| title | Uplift of the West Kunlun Range, northern Tibetan Plateau, dominated by brittle thickening of the upper crust |
| title_full | Uplift of the West Kunlun Range, northern Tibetan Plateau, dominated by brittle thickening of the upper crust |
| title_fullStr | Uplift of the West Kunlun Range, northern Tibetan Plateau, dominated by brittle thickening of the upper crust |
| title_full_unstemmed | Uplift of the West Kunlun Range, northern Tibetan Plateau, dominated by brittle thickening of the upper crust |
| title_short | Uplift of the West Kunlun Range, northern Tibetan Plateau, dominated by brittle thickening of the upper crust |
| title_sort | uplift of the west kunlun range, northern tibetan plateau, dominated by brittle thickening of the upper crust |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27715 |