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

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JB009289· OSTI ID:1245708
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7]
  1. Newcastle Univ. (United Kingdom)
  2. Univ. de Strasbourg, Strasbourg Cedex (France)
  3. Nanyang Technological Univ. (Singapore); Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Paris (France)
  4. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  5. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
  6. ISTerre, Grenoble Cedex (France)
  7. Central Earthquake Administration, Beijing (China)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Morphochronologic slip-rates on the Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) along the southern front of the Pingding Shan at ~90.5°E 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 (86.4°E) and Akato Tagh (~88°E) sites. This rate is ~10 mm/yr less than the upper rate determined near Tura at ~87°E, 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 ~90°E 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.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1245708
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-566181
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 117, Issue B9; ISSN 0148-0227
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 48 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (8)

Estimating the return times of great Himalayan earthquakes in eastern Nepal: Evidence from the Patu and Bardibas strands of the Main Frontal Thrust: Return period of Himalayan earthquakes journal September 2014
Timing and rate of exhumation along the Litang fault system, implication for fault reorganization in Southeast Tibet: LITANG FAULT SYSTEM EXHUMATION HISTORY journal June 2015
Strain Partitioning and Present-Day Fault Kinematics in NW Tibet From Envisat SAR Interferometry journal March 2018
Temporal and spatial movement characteristics of the Altyn Tagh fault inferred from 21 years of InSAR observations journal January 2019
Paleoseismic Investigation of the Aksay Restraining Double Bend, Altyn Tagh Fault, and Its Implication for Barrier‐Breaching Ruptures journal May 2018
Crustal Deformation of the Altyn Tagh Fault Based on GPS journal November 2018
Reevaluation of the Late Pleistocene Slip Rate of the Haiyuan Fault Near Songshan, Gansu Province, China journal May 2019
Late Pleistocene‐Holocene Slip Rate Along the Hasi Shan Restraining Bend of the Haiyuan Fault: Implication for Faulting Dynamics of a Complex Fault System journal December 2019

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Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
beryllium-10
strike-slip fault slip-rate
Altyn Tagh Fault
Asia
Continental deformation
early holocene optimum