http://www2.ess.ucla.edu/~yin/05-Publications/papers/091-Yin-2006-ESR.pdf

Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Himalayan orogen as constrained by along-strike variation of structural geometry, exhumation history, and foreland sedimentation

Expression of active tectonics in erosional landscapes

The surface uplift history of the Tibetan Plateau and Himalaya is among the most interesting topics in geosciences because of its effect on regional and global climate during Cenozoic time, its influence on monsoon intensity, and its reflection of the dynamics of continental plateaus. Models of plateau growth vary in time, from pre-India-Asia collision (e.g., ≈100 Ma ago) to gradual uplift after the India-Asia collision (e.g., ≈55 Ma ago) and to more recent abrupt uplift (<7 Ma ago), and vary in space, from northward stepwise growth of topography to simultaneous surface uplift across the plateau. Here, we improve that understanding by presenting geologic and geophysical data from north-central Tibet, including magnetostratigraphy, sedimentology, paleocurrent measurements, and 40Ar/39Ar and fission-track studies, to show that the central plateau was elevated by 40 Ma ago. Regions south and north of the central plateau gained elevation significantly later. During Eocene time, the northern boundary of the protoplateau was in the region of the Tanggula Shan. Elevation gain started in pre-Eocene time in the Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes and expanded throughout the Neogene toward its present southern and northern margins in the Himalaya and Qilian Shan.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/105/13/4987.full.pdf

Constraints on the early uplift history of the Tibetan Plateau

Plant molecular phylogeography in China and adjacent regions: Tracing the genetic imprints of Quaternary climate and environmental change in the world's most diverse temperate flora.

Tectonics and history of the Andaman Sea region

[1] A new regional compilation of the drainage history in southeastern Tibet suggests that the modern rivers draining the plateau margin were once tributaries to a single, southward flowing system which drained into the South China Sea. Disruption of the paleo-drainage occurred by river capture and reversal prior to or coeval with the initiation of Miocene (?) uplift in eastern Tibet, including ∼2000 m of surface uplift of the lower plateau margin since reversal of the flow direction of the Yangtze River. Despite lateral changes in course due to capture and reversal, the superposition of eastward and southward draining rivers that cross the southeastern plateau margin suggests that uplift has occurred over long wavelengths (>1000 km), mimicking the present low-gradient topographic slope. Thus reorganization of drainage lines by capture and reversal events explains most of the peculiar patterns of the eastern plateau rivers, without having to appeal to large-magnitude tectonic shear.

/pdf/surface-uplift-tectonics-and-erosion-of-eastern-tibet-from-4j8wany0uh.pdf

Surface uplift, tectonics, and erosion of eastern Tibet from large-scale drainage patterns

Field observations, digital elevation model (DEM) data, and longitudinal profi le analysis reveal a perched low-relief upland landscape in the Red River region, Yunnan Province, China, which correlates to an uplifted, regional low-relief landscape preserved over the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. As with other major rivers of the plateau margin, the Red River has deeply incised the lowrelief upland landscape, which we interpret to be the remnants of a pre-uplift or relict landscape. We examine longitudinal river profi les for 97 tributaries of the Red River. Most profi les consist of three segments separated by sharp knickpoints: an upper, lowgradient channel segment, a steeper middle channel segment, and a very steep lower channel segment. Upper channel segments correspond to the relict landscape and have not yet experienced river incision. Steeper middle and lower segments indicate onset of rapid, two-phase river incision, on the basis of which changes in external forcings, such as climate or uplift, can be inferred. In terms of two end-member scenarios, two-phase incision could be the result of pulsed plateau growth, in which relatively slow uplift during the fi rst phase is followed by rapid uplift during the second phase, or it could refl ect adjustments of the main channel to changing climate conditions against the backdrop of steady plateau growth. Reconstruction of the paleo‐Red River indicates ~1400 m river incision, 1400‐1500 m surface uplift, and a maximum of 750 m vertical displacement across the northern Red River fault, elevating the northern Ailao Shan range above the surrounding relict landscape. On the basis of stratigraphic constraints, incision along the Red River likely began in Pliocene time.

/pdf/geomorphic-constraints-on-surface-uplift-exhumation-and-47bvstm48t.pdf

Geomorphic constraints on surface uplift, exhumation, and plateau growth in the Red River region, Yunnan Province, China

The North China Craton (NCC) is renowned for cratonic reactivation and dramatic destruction. Detailed lithospheric structure is crucial for understanding the geological evolution and seismogenesis of the NCC. We imaged the lithospheric structure of the central and eastern NCC with ambient noise and teleseismic surface wave tomography. Our new model unveils remarkable N‐S variation in the lithospheric structure. An E‐W elongated lithospheric weak zone, coinciding with contemporary left‐lateral shearing revealed by geodetic observation, occupies the northern central and eastern NCC. Our model suggests that radical destruction of the eastern NCC in the late Mesozoic facilitated the late‐Cenozoic shearing induced by the continuous India‐Eurasia convergence. The late‐Cenozoic shearing progressively altered the pre‐thinned lithosphere accompanied by asthenospheric upwelling and strong seismic activity. Our results suggest a transition from the Pacific subduction dominating tectonic regime to the India‐Asia collision dominating lithospheric deformation framework in the Cenozoic and ongoing lithospheric alteration of the NCC.

L. Chen

Papers

Surface uplift, tectonics, and erosion of eastern Tibet from large-scale drainage patterns

Geomorphic constraints on surface uplift, exhumation, and plateau growth in the Red River region, Yunnan Province, China

Ongoing Lithospheric Alteration of the North China Craton Revealed by Surface‐Wave Tomography and Geodetic Observations