| Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences | Host |
| Citation: |
WANG An, WANG Guocan, WANG Tuanle, SHI Yan, WEI Jie, LI Haoruo, LYU Ganyu. 2023. Cenozoic tectonics and geomorphic evolution of the lower Jinsha River on the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Geomechanics, 29(4): 453-464. doi: 10.12090/j.issn.1006-6616.2023043
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Cenozoic tectonics and geomorphic evolution of the lower Jinsha River on the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau
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Abstract
The southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is distinguished by a vast transition zone with hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of low-relief surfaces, which provides an ideal window for unraveling the timing, process, and mechanisms of the tectonic propagation and surface uplift. In order to reveal the Cenozoic tectonic response and geomorphic evolution of the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, a comprehensive study in the lower Jinsha River was conducted with a tectonic investigation, tectonic-landform and low-temperature thermochronological data analysis. The results show that the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau remained in NW-shortening as early as the Eocene, forming widespread folds. However, we suggest that in the Paleogene, the lower Jinsha River of the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau was marked by a low hilly topography with rather limited surface uplift. In the Late Oligocene–Early Miocene, the study area was characterized by a long-term stage with low denudation rates, which promoted the formation of widespread low-relief surfaces. Since the late Neogene, the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau has undergone regional shortening deformation and significant surface uplift with a simultaneous incision along large rivers, forming the present landforms characterized by high-elevation low-relief surfaces and deep gorges. The late Neogene surface uplift across the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is suggested to be closely related to the shortening deformation and associated crustal thickening. In contrast, the mid-lower crustal thickening by channel flow might not be indispensable.
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References
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WANG An, WANG Guocan, WANG Tuanle, SHI Yan, WEI Jie, LI Haoruo, LYU Ganyu. 2023. Cenozoic tectonics and geomorphic evolution of the lower Jinsha River on the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Geomechanics, 29(4): 453-464. doi: 10.12090/j.issn.1006-6616.2023043
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Figure 1.
Simplified geologic and structural map of the Huili–Zhaotong area in the lower Jinsha River of the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau
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Figure 2.
NE-trending and near SN-trending structures in the lower Jinsha River (See Fig. 1 for section locations) and their stereographic projections
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Figure 3.
Near EW-trending shortening deformation observed in the study area
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Figure 4.
Digital elevation topography, slope distribution in the Huili–Zhaotong area of the lower Jinsha River and χ plots of longitudinal profiles of the main tributaries
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Figure 5.
Histogram of thermochronological cooling ages in the Sichuan–Yunnan Block area of the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau (Data after Xu and Kamp, 2000; Clark et al., 2005b; Lai et al., 2006; An et al., 2008; Tan et al., 2010; Ouimet et al.,2010; Wilson and Fowler, 2011; Wang et al., 2012, 2017, 2022; Tian et al., 2014, 2015; Tan et al., 2014; Deng et al., 2015, 2018b; Zhang et al., 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022; Meng et al., 2016; Yang et al., 2016, 2020; Shen et al., 2016, 2022; Liu-Zeng et al., 2018; Cao et al., 2019; Replumaz et al., 2020; Gourbet et al., 2020; Zhu et al., 2021; Pitard et al., 2021; Tao et al., 2022; Lei et al., 2022)