Peltzer, G., Brown, N.D., Mériaux, A.-S.B. et al. (5 more authors) (2020) Stable rate of slip along the Karakax section of the Altyn Tagh Fault from observation of inter-glacial and post-glacial offset morphology and surface dating. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 125 (5). e2019JB018893. ISSN 2169-9313
Abstract
Digital elevation maps obtained using TanDEM‐X and Pleiades data combined with newly obtained surface age estimates using Cosmogenic Radionuclide (CRN) and Optically Simulated Luminescence (OSL) methods are used to quantify the slip‐rate along the western section of the Altyn Tagh fault in southern Xinjiang. The reconstruction of the conical shape of massive alluvial fans inferred to be from the Eemian (115±7 ka) from CRN dating shows consistent left‐lateral offsets of 300±20 m, yielding a slip rate of 2.6±0.3 mm/yr. Successive episodes of incision have left cut terraces inset in wide canyons, 10‐25 m below the fans' surface. The incision was followed by the deposition of a broad terrace of early Holocene age, which is re‐incised by modern stream channels. Near the village of Shanxili, a 200 m‐wide valley is partially dammed by a shutter ridge displaced by the fault. A fill terrace deposited upstream from the ridge has an OSL age of.8±0.6 ka. The 23±2 m offset of the riser incising the terrace indicates a minimum post‐depositional movement on the fault, yielding a Holocene rate of 2.6±0.5 mm/yr, consistent with the 115 ka‐average slip rate. Scarp degradation analysis using mass diffusion reveals a non‐linear relationship between fault displacement and degradation coefficient along the progressively exposed fault scarp, a pattern suggesting either seismic clustering or variable diffusion rate since the Eemian. Together with the Gozha Co‐Longmu Co fault to the south, the Karakax section of the Altyn Tagh Fault contributes to the eastward movement of the western corner of Tibet.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 American Geophysical Union. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Altyn Tagh Fault; Tectonics; Geomorphology; Cosmogenic Radionuclide; Optically Simulated Luminescence; alluvial fan |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Geography (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 27 Apr 2020 09:14 |
Last Modified: | 17 Sep 2021 08:52 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1029/2019jb018893 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:159899 |