Open AccessRate of left‐lateral movement along the easternmost segment of the Altyn Tagh fault, east of 96°E (China)
Author(s) -
Meyer B.,
Tapponnier P.,
Gaudemer Y.,
Peltzer G.,
Shunmin Guo,
Zhitai Chen
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
geophysical journal international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.302
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1365-246X
pISSN - 0956-540X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-246x.1996.tb06350.x
Subject(s) - geology , slip (aerodynamics) , alluvial fan , seismology , offset (computer science) , fault (geology) , geodesy , geomorphology , physics , structural basin , computer science , thermodynamics , programming language
SUMMARY Field work carried out in Gansu province and complemented with analysis of SPOT panchromatic scenes allows us to characterize the deformations along the eastern segment of the Altyn Tagh fault and to place bounds on its Holocene left slip rate. East of 96°E, the long‐term, left‐lateral offset of stream channels, alluvial fans, and terrace edges is about 50 m. These offsets are most probably of Holocene age (12 ± 2 ka) and imply that the corresponding derived slip rate is 4 ± 2 mm yr −1 . This observation is consistent with a north‐eastward along‐strike decreasing slip rate on the Altyn fault due to partitioning of slip on multiple, more easterly trending splays.