Abstract
1 Like many regional structures in the northern Tibetan Plateau,
the Tula syncline changes strike by -40degrees from NW-SE to nearly
EW as it approaches the Altyn Tagh fault from the south. To test
whether this strike curvature is due to oroclinal bending, we analyzed
paleomagnetic samples from 109 sites collected from Late Jurassic
to Paleogene red sedimentary strata of the Tula syncline. Fold and
reversal tests suggest a primary origin for the characteristic remanent
magnetization from nine sites in the eastern half and 41 sites in
the western half of the syncline. The observed 13.3degrees+/- 8.8degrees
declination difference between the two halves of the Tula syncline
is far less than the -40degrees difference predicted for oroclinal
bending. Instead the arc shape of the syncline is an original configuration
produced by transport above an arcuate thrust ramp. Along with paleomagnetic
data from the northern Qaidam Basin, these results from the Tula
syncline indicate that crustal displacement between the Tarim Basin
and the northern Tibetan Plateau is accommodated by strike-slip motion
on the Altyn Tagh fault rather than distributed shear within the
northern Tibetan Plateau.
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