Superposition of Cretaceous and Cenozoic deformation in northern Tibet: A far-field response to the tectonic evolution of the Tethyan orogenic system

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Wang ◽  
Xuanhua Chen ◽  
Yaoyao Zhang ◽  
Zheng Yin ◽  
Andrew V. Zuza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Far Field ◽  
The South ◽  
Field Mapping ◽  
The North ◽  
Northern Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Field Response

Although the Cenozoic Indo-Asian collision is largely responsible for the formation of the Tibetan plateau, the role of pre-Cenozoic structures in controlling the timing and development of Cenozoic deformation remains poorly understood. In this study we address this problem by conducting an integrated investigation in the northern foreland of the Tibetan plateau, north of the Qilian Shan-Nan Shan thrust belt, NW China. The work involves field mapping, U-Pb detrital-zircon dating of Cretaceous strata in the northern foreland of the Tibetan plateau, examination of growth-strata relationships, and construction and restoration of balanced cross sections. Our field mapping reveals multiple phases of deformation in the area since the Early Cretaceous, which was expressed by northwest-trending folding and northwest-striking thrusting that occurred in the early stages of the Early Cretaceous. The compressional event was followed immediately by extension and kinematically linked right-slip faulting in the later stage of the Early Cretaceous. The area underwent gentle northwest-trending folding since the late Miocene. We estimate the magnitude of the Early Cretaceous crustal shortening to be ∼35%, which we interpret to have resulted from a far-field response to the collision between the Lhasa and the Qiangtang terranes in the south. We suggest that the subsequent extension in the Early Cretaceous was induced by orogenic collapse. U-Pb dating of detrital zircons, sourced from Lower Cretaceous sedimentary clasts from the north and the south, implies that the current foreland region of the Tibetan plateau was a topographic depression between two highland regions in the Early Cretaceous. Our work also shows that the Miocene strata in the foreland region of the northern Tibetan plateau was dominantly sourced from the north, which implies that the rise of the Qilian Shan did not impact the sediment dispersal in the current foreland region of the Tibetan plateau where this study was conducted.

scholarly journals The Effect of ENSO on Tibetan Plateau Snow Depth: A Stationary Wave Teleconnection Mechanism and Implications for the South Asian Monsoons

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 2067-2079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Shaman ◽  
Eli Tziperman
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Stationary Wave ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The South ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
The North ◽  
Asian Monsoons

Abstract An atmospheric stationary wave teleconnection mechanism is proposed to explain how ENSO may affect the Tibetan Plateau snow depth and thereby the south Asian monsoons. Using statistical analysis, the short available record of satellite estimates of snow depth, and ray tracing, it is shown that wintertime ENSO conditions in the central Pacific may produce stationary barotropic Rossby waves in the troposphere with a northeastward group velocity. These waves reflect off the North American jet, turning equatorward, and enter the North African–Asian jet over the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Once there, the waves move with the jet across North Africa, South Asia, the Himalayas, and China. Anomalous increases in upper-tropospheric potential vorticity and increased wintertime snowfall over the Tibetan Plateau are speculated to be associated with these Rossby waves. The increased snowfall produces a larger Tibetan Plateau snowpack, which persists through the spring and summer, and weakens the intensity of the south Asian summer monsoons.

scholarly journals Effect of heavy snowfall on ground temperature, northern Tibetan Plateau

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 317-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meixue Yang ◽  
Tandong Yao ◽  
Xiaohua Gou ◽  
Huijun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Ground Temperature ◽  
Daily Maximum ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Heavy Snowfall ◽  
Daily Range ◽  
The North ◽  
Northern Tibetan Plateau

AbstractVery heavy snowfall occurred in the Amdo-Nagqu region during winter 1997/98, and enormous numbers of sheep and yaks died due to starvation and low temperatures. Some observation sites of the GEWEX (Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment) Asian Monsoon Experiment (GAME)-Tibet are located in this area. In this paper, the variation of the ground temperature (GT) on the northern part of the Tibetan Plateau and its relationship with the heavy snow cover is analyzed based on the GAME-Tibet in situ observational data at several sites. The temporal and spatial differences of the variations of the daily maximum, daily minimum and range in GT are significant in 1997/98 in the northern part of the Tibetan Plateau. For example, at site D110, the daily range in GT fluctuated only 0.2˚C from the end of December 1997 to mid-April 1998, but in the north, at site D66, the daily range in GT fluctuated between 5˚C and ∼20˚C at the same depth and during the same period. At the southernmost site, MS3637, the daily range in GT fluctuated within 1.0˚C from mid-November to early February. From mid-February to mid-March, the daily range in GT increased and the peak was 8.1 ˚C. The temperature variation was related to the heavy snowfall that occurred on the northern Tibetan Plateau in winter 1997/98. The snow-cover conditions at different sites on the northern Tibetan Plateau were evaluated quantitatively from the variation of the GT at shallow depths.

Detrital zircon U–Pb ages and Hf isotopic composition of the Ordovician Duguer quartz schist, central Tibetan Plateau: constraints on tectonic affinity and sedimentary source regions

2016 ◽  
Vol 154 (3) ◽  
pp. 558-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
YIMING LIU ◽  
CAI LI ◽  
CHAOMING XIE ◽  
JIANJUN FAN ◽  
HAO WU
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Crustal Material ◽  
The South ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
Source Regions ◽  
Pan African

AbstractMany previous studies have investigated the late Palaeozoic ophiolites, migmatites and high-pressure metamorphic belts of the Tibetan Plateau, whereas the early Palaeozoic evolution of the regions is relatively poorly understood. Lower Palaeozoic strata, including the Duguer quartz schist, occur in the Himalaya, Lhasa and South Qiangtang terranes of the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, we report the depositional age and sedimentary provenance of the Duguer quartz schist of the central South Qiangtang terrane, which enables us to interpret the tectonic affinity of the terrane. We obtained U–Pb ages, trace-element compositions and Hf isotopic data from zircons from the Duguer quartz schist. A total of 162 U–Pb analyses of detrital zircons from the schist yielded two pronounced age peaks at c. 600 Ma and c. 960 Ma. These results indicate that the provenance of the Duguer quartz schist is India Gondwana or the terranes that share an affinity with India Gondwana in the Tibetan Plateau, which include the South Qiangtang and Himalaya terranes. Detrital zircon crystals show large variations in Hf isotope compositions, with εHf(t), TDM and TDMC values of −52.5 to 13.2, 900–3300 Ma and 1010–4240 Ma, respectively. This suggests that the source area for the Duguer quartz schist included Precambrian rocks and, more specifically, Pan-African and Grenville–Jinning crustal material. During Pan-African and Grenville–Jinning events, crustal recycling and the addition of mantle material occurred in the source regions of the quartz schist, when the South Qiangtang, Lhasa and Himalaya terranes were all part of the northern margin of Gondwana.

Size distribution of PM20 observed to the north of the Tibetan Plateau

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-376
Author(s):  
Cheng-long Zhou ◽  
Fan Yang ◽  
Wen Huo ◽  
Ali Mamtimin ◽  
Xing-hua Yang
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The North

scholarly journals New insights on the early Mesozoic evolution of multiple tectonic regimes in the northeastern North China Craton from the detrital zircon provenance of sedimentary strata

Solid Earth ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1375-1397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Ni Wang ◽  
Wen Liang Xu ◽  
Feng Wang ◽  
Xiao Bo Li
Keyword(s):  
North China Craton ◽  
North China ◽  
Early Jurassic ◽  
Orogenic Belt ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Early Triassic ◽  
The South ◽  
The North ◽  
Early Mesozoic

Abstract. To investigate the timing of deposition and provenance of early Mesozoic strata in the northeastern North China Craton (NCC) and to understand the early Mesozoic paleotectonic evolution of the region, we combine stratigraphy, U–Pb zircon geochronology, and Hf isotopic analyses. Early Mesozoic strata include the Early Triassic Heisonggou, Late Triassic Changbai and Xiaoyingzi, and Early Jurassic Yihe formations. Detrital zircons in the Heisonggou Formation yield  ∼ 58 % Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic ages and  ∼ 42 % Phanerozoic ages and were sourced from areas to the south and north of the basins within the NCC, respectively. This indicates that Early Triassic deposition was controlled primarily by the southward subduction of the Paleo-Asian oceanic plate beneath the NCC and collision between the NCC and the Yangtze Craton (YC). Approximately 88 % of the sediments within the Late Triassic Xiaoyingzi Formation were sourced from the NCC to the south, with the remaining  ∼ 12 % from the Xing'an–Mongolia Orogenic Belt (XMOB) to the north. This implies that Late Triassic deposition was related to the final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean during the Middle Triassic and the rapid exhumation of the Su–Lu Orogenic Belt between the NCC and YC. In contrast,  ∼ 88 % of sediments within the Early Jurassic Yihe Formation were sourced from the XMOB to the north, with the remaining  ∼ 12 % from the NCC to the south. We therefore infer that rapid uplift of the XMOB and the onset of the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate beneath Eurasia occurred in the Early Jurassic.

scholarly journals Surface ozone at Nam Co (4730 m a.s.l.) in the inland Tibetan Plateau: variation, synthesis comparison and regional representativeness

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiufeng Yin ◽  
Shichang Kang ◽  
Benjamin de Foy ◽  
Zhiyuan Cong ◽  
Jiali Luo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Photochemical Reactions ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Nam Co ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
Northern Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Ozone Levels

Abstract. Ozone is an important pollutant and greenhouse gas, and tropospheric ozone variations are generally associated with both natural and anthropogenic processes. As one of the most pristine and inaccessible regions in the world, the Tibetan Plateau has been considered as an ideal region for studying processes of the background atmosphere. Due to the vast area of the Tibetan Plateau, sites in the southern, northern and central regions exhibit different patterns of variation in surface ozone. Here, we present long-term measurements for ~ 5 years (January 2011 to October 2015) of surface ozone mixing ratios at Nam Co Station, which is a regional background site in the inland Tibetan Plateau. An average surface ozone mixing ratio of 47.6 ± 11.6 ppb was recorded, and a large annual cycle was observed with maximum ozone mixing ratios in the spring and minimum ratios during the winter. The diurnal cycle is characterized by a minimum in the early morning and a maximum in the late afternoon. Nam Co Station represents a background region where surface ozone receives negligible local anthropogenic emissions. Surface ozone at Nam Co Station is mainly dominated by natural processes involving photochemical reactions and potential local vertical mixing. Model results indicate that the study site is affected by the surrounding areas in different seasons and that air masses from the northern Tibetan Plateau lead to increased ozone levels in the summer. In contrast to the surface ozone levels at the edges of the Tibetan Plateau, those at Nam Co Station are less affected by stratospheric intrusions and human activities which makes Nam Co Station representative of vast background areas in the central Tibetan Plateau. By comparing measurements at Nam Co Station with those from other sites in the Tibetan Plateau and beyond, we aim to expand the understanding of ozone cycles and transport processes over the Tibetan Plateau. This work may provide a reference for model simulations in the future.

scholarly journals Diachronous Tibetan Plateau landscape evolution derived from lava field geomorphology

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Allen ◽  
Robert Law
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Landscape Evolution ◽  
Tectonic Geomorphology ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Lava Field ◽  
Northern Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Tectonic Processes ◽  
Stepwise Evolution

<p><strong>Evolution of the Tibetan Plateau is important for understanding continental tectonics because of its exceptional elevation (~5 km above sea level) and crustal thickness (~70 km). Patterns of long-term landscape evolution can constrain tectonic processes, but have been hard to quantify, in contrast to established datasets for strain, exhumation and paleo-elevation. This study analyses the relief of the bases and tops of 17 Cenozoic lava fields on the central and northern Tibetan Plateau. Analyzed fields have typical lateral dimensions of 10s of km, and so have an appropriate scale for interpreting tectonic geomorphology. Fourteen of the fields have not been deformed since eruption. One field is cut by normal faults; two others are gently folded with limb dips <6<sup>o</sup></strong><strong>. </strong><strong>Relief of the bases and tops of the fields is comparable to modern, internally-drained, parts of the plateau, and distinctly lower than externally-drained regions. The lavas preserve a record of underlying low relief bedrock landscapes at the time they were erupted, which have undergone little change since. There is an overlap in each area between younger published low-temperature thermochronology ages and the oldest eruption in each area, here interpreted as the transition </strong><strong>between the end of significant (>3 km) exhumation and plateau landscape development. </strong><strong>This diachronous process took place between ~32.5<sup>o</sup> - ~36.5<sup>o</sup> N between ~40 and ~10 Ma, advancing northwards at a long-term rate of ~15 km/Myr. Results are consistent with incremental northwards growth of the plateau, rather than a stepwise evolution or synchronous uplift.</strong></p>

A new species of Cleistocybe (Agaricales, Basidiomycota) from the Tibetan Plateau, China

Phytotaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 336 (3) ◽  
pp. 286 ◽  
Author(s):  
HONG-MEI WU ◽  
JIA-QI LUO ◽  
KE WANG ◽  
RUN-CHAO ZHANG ◽  
YI LI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Morphological Observation ◽  
Morphological Description ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Sequence Analyses ◽  
The North ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
A New Species

During field expeditions to the Tibetan Plateau, a collection of an undescribed species with several basidiomes was found. Morphological observation and DNA sequence analyses of the collection revealed a close relationship with Cleistocybe vernalis, the type species of the genus Cleistocybe. Therefore, a new species is proposed for the fungus with full morphological description accompanied by phylogenetic analyses. The discovery of the species extends the reported distribution of the genus from the north of America and Europe to Asia.

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