Towards a spatially and temporally constant Karakorum fault slip rate

Abstract HKT-ISTP 2013 A

The Pingding segment of the Altyn Tagh Fault (91E): Holocene slip-rate determination from cosmogenic radionuclide dating of offset fluvial terraces

International audienceMorphochronologic slip-rates on the Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) along the southern front of the Pingding Shan at 90.5E are determined by cosmogenic radionuclide (CRN) dating of seven offset terraces at two sites. The terraces are defined based upon morphology, elevation and dating, together with fieldwork and high-resolution satellite analysis. The majority of the CRN model ages fall within narrow ranges (<2 ka) on the four main terraces (T1, T2, T3 and T3′), and allow a detailed terrace chronology. Bounds on the terrace ages and offsets of 5 independent terraces yield consistent slip-rate estimates. The long-term slip-rate of 13.9+/-1.1 mm/yr is defined at the 95% confidence level, as the joint rate probability distribution of the rate derived from each independent terrace. It falls within the bounds of all the rates defined on the central Altyn Tagh Fault between the Cherchen He (86.4E) and Akato Tagh (88E) sites. This rate is 10 mm/yr less than the upper rate determined near Tura at 87E, in keeping with the inference of an eastward decreasing rate due to progressive loss of slip to thrusts branching off the fault southwards but it is greater than the 9+/-4 mm/yr rate determined at 90E by GPS surveys and other geodetic short-term rates defined elsewhere along the ATF. Whether such disparate rates will ultimately be reconciled by a better understanding of fault mechanics, resolved transient deformations during the seismic cycle or by more accurate measurements made with either approach remains an important issue

Applications of Morphochronology to the Active Tectonics of Tibet

The Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau were formed as a result of the collision of India and Asia, and provide an excellent opportunity to study the mechanical response of the continental lithosphere to tectonic stress. Geophysicists are divided in their views on the nature of this response advocating either (1) homogeneously distributed deformation with the lithosphere deforming as a fluid continuum or (2) deformation is highly localized with the lithosphere that deforms as a system of blocks. The resolution of this issue has broad implications for understanding the tectonic response of continental lithosphere in general. Homogeneous deformation is supported by relatively low decadal, geodetic slip-rate estimates for the Altyn Tagh and Karakorum Faults. Localized deformation is supported by high millennial, geomorphic slip-rates constrained by both cosmogenic and radiocarbon dating on these faults. Based upon the agreement of rates determined by radiocarbon and cosmogenic dating, the overall linearity of offset versus age correlations, and on the plateau-wide correlation of landscape evolution and climate history, the disparity between geomorphic and geodetic slip-rate determinations is unlikely to be due to the effects of surface erosion on the cosmogenic age determinations. Similarly, based upon the consistency of slip-rates over various observation intervals, secular variations in slip-rate appear to persist no longer than 2000 years and are unlikely to provide reconciliation. Conversely, geodetic and geomorphic slip-rate estimates on the Kunlun fault, which does not have significant splays or associated thrust faults, are in good agreement, indicating that there is no fundamental reason why these complementary geodetic and geomorphic methods should disagree. Similarly, the geodetic and geomorphic estimates of shortening rates across the northeastern edge of the plateau are in reasonable agreement, and the geomorphic rates on individual thrust faults demonstrate a significant eastward decrease in the shortening rate. This rate decrease is consistent with the transfer of slip from the Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) to genetically-related thrust mountain building at its terminus. Rates on the ATF suggest a similar decrease in rate, but the current data set is too small to be definitive. Overall, the high, late Pleistocene-Holocene, geomorphic slip velocities on the major strike-slip faults of Tibet, suggests that they absorb as much of India's convergence relative to Siberia as the Himalayan Main Frontal Thrust on the southern edge of the plateau

Twenty million years of continuous deformation along theKarakorum fault, western Tibet: A thermochronological analysis.

The role of the Karakorum fault zone (KFZ) is debated. South of 33°N, ongoing dextral-oblique slip along the SW edge of the Gar basin exhumes metamorphic and magmatic rocks of the Ayilari range. Minerals have recorded a continuum of deformation from temperatures >600–400°C down to 20 Ma of deformation along the fault. Greenschist facies deformation superimposed upon the medium- to high-grade deformation marks a kinematic change from pure dextral to dextral-normal motion associated with the onset of rapid cooling. At the regional scale, the coexistence of transtension in the Gar basin with transpression documented along the Pangong range farther north suggests another example of the ‘‘zipper tectonics'' model developed along the Red River fault. The kinematic shift induced the rise of the Ayilari range starting at 16–12 Ma and the incision of major river courses. The Indus River might have become captive of the relief at this time. The river's 120 km of apparent offset implies dextral motion at a long-term rate of ca 8.5 ± 1.5 mm/yr

The tectonics of the western Ordos Plateau, Ningxia, China: Slip rates on the Luoshan and East Helanshan Faults

Analysis of the locus, style, and rate of faulting is fundamental to understanding the kinematics of continental deformation. The Ordos Plateau lies to the northeast of Tibet, within the India-Eurasia collision zone. Previous studies have suggested that it behaves rigidly and rotates anticlockwise within a large-scale zone of ENE-WSW left-lateral shearing. For this rotation to be accommodated, the eastern and western margins of the Ordos Plateau should be undergoing right-lateral shearing and yet the dominant faulting style appears to be extensional. We focus specifically on the kinematics of the faults bounding the western margin of the Ordos Plateau and make new slip rate estimates for two of the major faults in the region: the right-lateral strike-slip Luoshan Fault and the normal-slip East Helanshan Fault. We use a combination of infrared stimulated luminescence dating of offset landforms with high-resolution imagery and topography from the Pleiades satellites to determine an average right-lateral slip rate of 4.3 ± 0.4 mm/a (1σ uncertainty) on the Luoshan Fault. Similarly, we use 10Be exposure dating to determine a vertical throw rate on the East Helanshan Fault of <0.6 ± 0.1 mm/a, corresponding to an extension rate of <0.7 ± 0.1 mm/a (1σ uncertainty). Both of these results agree well with slip rates determined from the latest campaign GPS data. We therefore conclude that right-lateral shearing is the dominant motion occurring in the western Ordos region, supporting a kinematic model of large-scale anticlockwise rotation of the whole Ordos Plateau

Effects of crystallographic anisotropy on fracture development and acoustic emission in quartz

Transgranular microcracking is fundamental for the initiation and propagation of all fractures in rocks. The geometry of these microcracks is primarily controlled by the interaction of the imposed stress field with the mineral elastic properties. However, the effects of anisotropic elastic properties of minerals on brittle fracture are not well understood. This study examines the effects of elastic anisotropy of quartz on the geometry of brittle fracture and related acoustic emissions (AE) developed during indentation experiments on single crystals at ambient pressure and temperature. A Hertzian cone crack developed during blunt indentation of a single crystal of flawless Brazilian quartz parallel to the c axis shows geometric deviation away from predictions based on the isotropic case, consistent with trigonal symmetry. The visible cone crack penetration depth varies from 3 to 5 mm and apical angle from 53 to 40. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) mapping of the crack tip shows that fracturing initiates along a ~40 μm wide process zone, comprising damage along overlapping en echelon high-index crystallographic planes, shown by discrete bands of reduced electron backscatter pattern (EBSP) quality (band contrast).Coalescence of these surfaces results in a stepped fracture morphology. Monitoring of AE during indentation reveals that the elastic anisotropy of quartz has a significant effect on AE location and focal mechanisms. Ninety-four AE events were recorded during indentation and show an increasing frequency with increasing load. They correspond to the development of subsidiary concentric cracks peripheral to the main cone crack. The strong and complex anisotropy in seismic velocity (~28% Vp, ~43% Vs with trigonal symmetry) resulted in inaccurate and high uncertainty in AE locations using Geiger location routine with an isotropic velocity model. This problem was overcome by using a relative (master event) location algorithm that only requires a priori knowledge of the velocity structure within the source volume. The AE location results correlate reasonably well to the extent of the observed cone crack. Decomposition of AE source mechanisms of the Geiger relocated events shows dominantly end-member behavior between tensile and compressive vector dipole events, with some double-couple-dominated events and no purely tensile or compressive events. The same events located by the master event algorithm yield greater percentage of vector dipole components and no double-couple events, indicating that AE source mechanism solutions can depend on AE location accuracy, and therefore, relocation routine that is utilized. Calculations show that the crystallographic anisotropy of quartz causes apparent deviation of the moment tensors away from double-couple and pure tensile/compressive sources consistent with the observations. Preliminary modeling of calcite anisotropy shows a response distinct from quartz, indicating that the effects of anisotropy on interpreting AE are complex and require detailed further study

Thermochronologic constraints on the late Cenozoic exhumation history of the Gurla Mandhata metamorphic core complex, Southwestern Tibet

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2013TC003302/abstractHow the Tibetan plateau is geodynamically linked to the Himalayas is a topic receiving considerable attention. The Karakoram fault plays key roles in describing the structural relationship between southern Tibet and the Himalayas. In particular, considerable debate exists at the southeastern end of the Karakoram fault, where its role is interpreted in two different ways. One interpretation states that slip along the dextral Karakoram fault extends eastward along the Indus-Yalu suture zone, bypassing the Himalayas. The other interprets that fault slip is fed southward into the Himalayan thrust belt along the Gurla Mandhata detachment (GMD). To evaluate these competing models, the late Miocene history of the GMD was reconstructed from thermokinematic modeling of zircon (U-Th)/He data. Three east-west transects reveal rapid cooling of the GMD footwall from 8.0 ± 1.3 Ma to 2.6 ± 0.7 Ma. Model simulations show a southward decrease in slip magnitude and rate along the GMD. In the north, initiation of the GMD range between 14 and 11 Ma with a mean fault slip rate of 5.0 ± 0.9 mm/yr. The central transect shows an initiation age from 14 to 11 Ma with a mean fault slip rate of 3.3 ± 0.6 mm/yr. In the south, initiation began between 15 and 8 Ma with a mean fault slip rate of 3.2 ± 1.6 mm/yr. The initiation ages and slip rates match the Karakoram fault across several timescales, supporting the idea that the two are kinematically linked. Specifically, the data are consistent with the GMD acting as an extensional stepover, with slip transferred southward into the Himalayas of western Nepal

Pliocene-Quaternary crustal melting in central and northern Tibet and insights into crustal flow

There is considerable controversy over the nature of geophysically recognized low-velocity-high-conductivity zones (LV-HCZs) within the Tibetan crust, and their role in models for the development of the Tibetan Plateau. Here we report petrological and geochemical data on magmas erupted 4.7-0.3 Myr ago in central and northern Tibet, demonstrating that they were generated by partial melting of crustal rocks at temperatures of 700-1,050°C and pressures of 0.5-1.5 GPa. Thus Pliocene-Quaternary melting of crustal rocks occurred at depths of 15-50 km in areas where the LV-HCZs have been recognized. This provides new petrological evidence that the LV-HCZs are sources of partial melt. It is inferred that crustal melting played a key role in triggering crustal weakening and outward crustal flow in the expansion of the Tibetan Plateau