Experimental study on electrical conductivity of dunite at high temperature and pressure

The electrical conductivities of the dunite from the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) Plateau were measured with the impedance spectra method at 1.0-4.0 GPa and 643-1093 K. The experimental results indicated that activation enthalpies of the dunite are smaller than 0.9 eV, the conduction mechanism in dunite may be attributed to the mixed electrical conduction involving grain interiors and boundaries. On the basis of the results of this experiment, we can deduce that there exists cold mantle in the area of Gaize-Lugu in the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) Plateau by reverse methods from the magnetotelluric sounding data (conductivity-depths profile) available for western Tibet. The result provides the present cold mantle viewpoint with strong proof on the basis of high temperature and pressure experiments.     

青藏高原隆升阶段性

 青藏高原的隆升不仅是印度板块与亚洲板块碰撞导致的地球内部岩石圈地球动力学作用过程的结果,并且对全球和亚洲气候变化、亚洲地貌和地表环境过程及大量地内和地表矿产资源的形成分布产生了深刻影响。因而研究高原隆升的历史不仅对解决上述重大科学问题提供重要途径,而且可为高原区域资源环境的开发和可持续发展提供理论依据。简要回顾和梳理了国内外近年来,围绕青藏高原隆升所取得的主要进展。研究表明新生代青藏高原经历了多阶段、多幕次、准同步异幅且高原南北后期加速隆升的演化过程。具体可划分为55~30、25~10及8~0 Ma 3个主要生长隆升期次。其中55~30 Ma的高原早期隆升,主要集中在高原中南部的拉萨地块和羌塘地块,并且可能隆升到接近3 km高度,或甚至更高,有人称之为“原西藏高原”,但其周缘存在准同步异幅的变形隆升响应;25~10 Ma的中期隆升,“原西藏高原”南北缘的喜马拉雅山和可可西里-昆仑山开始强烈隆升,“原西藏高原”率先隆升到目前高度并开始向东西两侧挤出物质、拉张形成南北向裂谷,高原北缘普遍产生广泛变形隆升但幅度有限;从约8 Ma开始的晚期隆升,高原南、北部边缘的喜马拉雅山和昆仑山-西秦岭以北的高原东北部隆升显著加速,经历一系列短暂快速的多幕次构造变形和生长隆升,最终形成现今高原面貌。     

青藏高原城镇化时空格局变化及自然驱动因素分析

青藏高原的特殊自然条件导致了其城镇化发展水平较低,了解青藏高原城镇化发展的时空格局及其成因对推动当地未来的新型城镇化发展具有重要的指导意义。本研究利用1990～2020年历次人口普查数据,对青藏高原范围内县域单元的城镇化水平时空变化进行了分析,并利用地理探测器分析了导致城镇化格局形成的自然地理因素。结果表明：青藏高原地区城镇化率波动较大,区域差异明显,且差异有减小的趋势;城镇化水平较高的地区集中在行政中心与高原东部边缘地区,高原中部部分地区存在城镇化率下降的情况;地形因素是影响青藏高原地区城镇化发展的主要自然因素。     

Constant elevation of southern Tibet over the past 15 million years

The uplift of the Tibetan plateau, an area that is 2,000 km wide, to an altitude of about 5,000 m has been shown to modify global climate and to influence monsoon intensity. Mechanical and thermal models for homogeneous thickening of the lithosphere make specific predictions about uplift rates of the Tibetan plateau, but the precise history of the uplift of the plateau has yet to be confirmed by observations. Here we present well-preserved fossil leaf assemblages from the Namling basin, southern Tibet, dated to approximately 15 Myr ago, which allow us to reconstruct the temperatures within the basin at that time. Using a numerical general circulation model to estimate moist static energy at the location of the fossil leaves, we reconstruct the elevation of the Namling basin 15 Myr ago to be 4,689 +/- 895 m or 4,638 +/- 847 m, depending on the reference data used. This is comparable to the present-day altitude of 4,600 m. We conclude that the elevation of the southern Tibetan plateau probably has remained unchanged for the past 15 Myr.     

青藏高原铜矿资源研究进展

 青藏高原铜矿开发和利用历史悠久。得益于复杂的地质结构及地质演化过程,青藏高原具备得天独厚的铜矿成矿地质条件,铜矿因此成为高原地区最重要的优势矿种之一,探明铜资源量位列全国之首,是中国最重要的铜矿产地和后备铜资源基地。青藏高原地区铜矿床主要分布在玉龙铜矿成矿带、冈底斯铜矿成矿带及班公湖-怒江铜矿成矿带等3条铜矿带内,形成时代集中于喜马拉雅期和燕山期,暗示其形成和演化与高原构造-岩浆事件密切相关,是响应重大地质事件的产物。矿床具有成因复杂、综合利用价值大的特点。本文以铁格隆南铜（金）矿床、雄村铜金矿床、甲玛铜多金属矿床和驱龙铜钼矿床为例,介绍了青藏高原地区几种主要的铜矿床成因类型。巨大的铜矿资源潜力将改变中国铜矿资源分布格局,但在资源开发的同时,需要注意资源与环境的协同发展。     

Normal faulting in central Tibet since at least 13.5 Myr ago

Tectonic models for the evolution of the Tibetan plateau interpret observed east-west thinning of the upper crust to be the result of either increased potential energy of elevated crust or geodynamic processes that may be unrelated to plateau formation. A key piece of information needed to evaluate these models is the timing of deformation within the plateau. The onset of normal faulting has been estimated to have commenced in southern Tibet between about 14 Myr ago and about 8 Myr ago and, in central Tibet, about 4 Myr ago. Here, however, we report a minimum age of approximately 13.5 Myr for the onset of graben formation in central Tibet, based on mineralization ages determined with Rb-Sr and 40Ar-39Ar data that post-date a major graben-bounding normal fault. These data, along with evidence for prolonged activity of normal faulting in this and other Tibetan grabens, support models that relate normal faulting to processes occurring beneath the plateau. Thinning of the upper crust is most plausibly the result of potential-energy increases resulting from spatially and temporally heterogeneous changes in thermal structure and density distribution within the crust and upper mantle beneath Tibet. This is supported by recent geophysical and geological data, which indicate that spatial heterogeneity exists in both the Tibetan crust and lithospheric mantle.     

青藏高原：全球气候变化的驱动机与放大器──Ⅱ．青藏高原隆起的基本过程

４０Ｍａ前印度板块与欧亚板块的碰撞导致了特提斯海的封闭和西藏成陆，但４０～２０ＭａＢＰ间地面很低。２０Ｍａ前的构造运动使青藏地区一些山地隆起，但而后又经历了长期的夷平，地貌与生物证据揭示，早上新世高原的高度仅约１０００ｍ。高原的强烈隆起开始于３．４Ｍａ前，这被高原内外普遍的砾岩堆积和盆地演化记录了下来。青藏高原东部盆地演化与大河流发育研究表明，至少有１０次强构造上升事件发生，它们分别开始于３．４、２．５、１．７、１．３、１．１、０．８、０．６、０．１４、０．０５和０．０１ＭａＢＰ。其中２．５、１．１、０．８、０．６和０．１４ＭａＢＰ五次上升事件对高原隆起十分重要。     

Crustal rheology of the Himalaya and Southern Tibet inferred from magnetotelluric data

The Cenozoic collision between the Indian and Asian continents formed the Tibetan plateau, beginning about 70 million years ago. Since this time, at least 1,400 km of convergence has been accommodated by a combination of underthrusting of Indian and Asian lithosphere, crustal shortening, horizontal extrusion and lithospheric delamination. Rocks exposed in the Himalaya show evidence of crustal melting and are thought to have been exhumed by rapid erosion and climatically forced crustal flow. Magnetotelluric data can be used to image subsurface electrical resistivity, a parameter sensitive to the presence of interconnected fluids in the host rock matrix, even at low volume fractions. Here we present magnetotelluric data from the Tibetan-Himalayan orogen from 77 degrees E to 92 degrees E, which show that low resistivity, interpreted as a partially molten layer, is present along at least 1,000 km of the southern margin of the Tibetan plateau. The inferred low viscosity of this layer is consistent with the development of climatically forced crustal flow in Southern Tibet.     

Numerical simulation of GPS observed clockwise rotation around the eastern Himalayan syntax in the Tibetan Plateau

From Global Position System (GPS) measurements, there is a clockwise rotation around the eastern Himalayan syntax in the Tibetan Plateau. This phenomenon is difficult to be interpreted by simple two-dimensional modeling from a geodynamic point of view. Because of the extremely thick crust and the lower crust with relatively high temperature in the Tibetan Plateau, the lithospheric rheology in Tibet and surrounding areas present a complex structure. In general, the tectonic structure of the Tibetan Plateau consists of brittle upper crust, ductile lower crust, high viscosity lithospheric upper mantle, and low viscosity asthenosphere, the same as the case in many other continental regions. However, the lower crust in the Tibetan Plateau is much more ductile with a lower viscosity than those of its surroundings at the same depth, and the effective viscosity is low along the collision fault zone. In this study, we construct a three-dimensional Maxwell visco-elastic model in spherical coordinate system, and simulate the deformation process of the Tibetan Plateau driven by a continuous push from the Indian plate. The results show that the existence of the soft lower crust under the plateau makes the entire plateau uplift as a whole, and the Himalayas and the eastern Himalayan syntax uplift faster. Since the lower crust of surrounding blocks is harder except in the southeastern corner where the high-temperature material is much softer and forms an exit channel for material transfer, after the whole plateau reaches a certain height, the lower crustal and upper mantle material begins to move eastward or southeastward and drag the upper crust to behave same way. Thus, from the macroscopic point of view, a relative rigid motion of the plateau with a clockwise rotation around the eastern Himalayan syntax is developed. Supported by Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX2-YW-123) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40774048 and 90814014)     

青藏高原隆升对柴西南区岩性油藏形成的影响作用分析

详细分析了青藏高原隆升与柴达木盆地西南区岩性油藏形成过程之间的耦合关系,认为青藏高原隆升具有"早弱晚强"的构造活动特征;相对于构造圈闭而言,隆升I阶段更利于岩性圈闭的形成,岩性圈闭发育早而且多期次发育;3期原油充注分别对应于隆升I期的B阶段(E_3~2)、II期的C(N_2~1)阶段和E阶段(N_2~3),配合沸腾包裹体群的发现,说明该区油气成藏的动力主要来自于青藏高原隆升所产生的远程构造应力。高压系统内的烃源岩进行"突发式"排烃,经开启的断裂向常压系统内运移和聚集。青藏高原隆升晚期强烈构造活动是柴西南区岩性油藏形成的主要成因,可以判断在这种"自我封闭"的高原咸化湖盆内岩性油藏的富集主要受控于断裂输导体系。     

Earth science: palaeo-altimetry of Tibet

The determination of palaeo-elevation has emerged in the past 15 years as an important tool for constraining physical processes that govern the formation of mountain belts. Rowley and Currie report palaeo-elevations for the Lunpola basin within the Tibetan plateau and claim that these elevations are incompatible with 'mantle-thickening models' for mountain formation. We show here that their data do not support this conclusion and, indeed, are consistent with its opposite. The Tibetan plateau could have risen by a kilometre or more as its dense lower lithosphere sank into the underlying mantle.     

Magnetic fabric of early Quaternary loess-paleosols of Longdan Profile in Gansu Province and the reconstruction of the paleowind directions

The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility （AMS） is a rapid and precise tool for determining paleowind directions. During the past several decades, AMS has been used for determining paleowind directions of Chinese loess. The AMS for a Ioess-paleosol profile in early Quaternary at Longdan in the Linxia Basin, Gansu Province, northeastern fringe of Qinghai-Xizang （Tibetan） Plateau has been obtained. The primary results show that the AMS of the Longdan profile has its typical normal eolian dust deposit. The AMS is mainly controlled by magnetic foliation （F） and the shape parameter of the AMS ellipsoid is oblate. The declination of maximum susceptibility （K1） was used to determine the paleowind direction of that area in early Quaternary and it was found that the paleowind direction is biased towards NW-SE.     

西太平洋洋底高原内部结构与形成演化

洋底高原是在深海盆地中最显著的大火成岩省,记录着海洋大规模的岩浆活动,对研究地壳结构、板块构造、地幔动力学乃至地球演化历史都具有重要意义。西太平洋是洋底高原分布最密集的区域,是研究洋底高原内部结构与形成演化的最佳场所。选取西太平洋中最具代表性的6座洋底高原——沙茨基海隆、赫斯海隆、麦哲伦海隆、翁通爪哇高原、马尼希基高原以及希古朗基高原,通过对这6座洋底高原地质概况的简要描述,归纳近年来获得的地球物理与地球化学重要观测结果,揭示其内部结构的共性,包括大面积地形隆起、异常厚的地壳、异常负的地幔重力异常以及形成于洋中脊之上或者附近的位置特征;探索了其形成机制,即地幔柱与洋中脊的相互作用可能是洋底高原的主要成因。     

The early-warning effects of assimilation of the observations over the large-scale slope of the “World Roof” on its downstream weather forecasting

To improve the numerical simulation of the severe snow storms occurred in the south of China and the middle/lower reaches of Changjiang River during January of 2008, the observations from the automatic weather stations (AWS) over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (QXP) and its surrounding areas were assimilated into the Weather Research and Forecasts (WRF) model using multi-cycle 3-dimensional variational data assimilation (3DVAR). Due to the large-scale special topography of the QXP and its surrounding areas which may reach up to the mid-troposphere, the AWS located at different height on the deep slope of the plateau are different to those located on plains and take a role analogous in some extent to that of radio soundings in obtaining the vertical “profile” information of the atmosphere, and have the advantages in the aspects of sampling frequency, location/height fixing, and synchronization. The information captured by these AWS may carry the early-warning “strong signals” in the upstream sensitive area for the downstream weather systems to the east of the plateau and thus the assimilation of these AWS data is expected to lead to significant improvements on the simulation of the severe weather system occurred in its downstream areas through adjusting the 3-dimensional structures of the atmospheric thermal-dynamics for the initial conditions of the model. This study indicates that the assimilated information of moisture, temperature and pressure carried in the observations of AWS over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and its surrounding areas is very important and useful in the forecasting of precipitation in its downstream areas. Supported Jointly by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 90502003 and 40625017), LaSW Project (Grant No. 2008LASWZI04), the Key Project of AMS (Grant No. 2008Z006), the JICA Program and the International Sci-Tech Cooperative Project (Grant No. 2007DFB20210)     

Evidence of crustal ＇channel flow＇ in the eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau from MT measurements

Magnetotelluric （MT） survey has been carried out in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and its neighboring Shimian-Leshan area, Sichuan Province. Analysis of this MT data reveals that the electric structure of the Tibetan Plateau differ much from that of the Sichuan block. In general, the electric resistivity of crust beneath the Sichuan block in the east is larger than that of the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau in the west. The crust of the plateau is divided into upper, middle, and lower layers. The middle crust is a low resistivity layer with minimum down to 3-10Ωm about 10-15 km thick. It presumably contains partial melt and/or salt-bearing fluids with low viscosity, prone to deform and flow, producing a ＂channel flow＂ under the southeastward squeeze of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. This low-resistivity layer makes the upper crust decoupled mechanically from the lower crust. In the brittle upper crust, faults are dominated by left-lateral strike-slip and thrust motions, leading to surface rising and shallow earthquakes. The low-resistivity layer also cut the Xianshuihe-Anninghe fault zone into two sections vertically. In this region, the thicknesses of upper, middle, and lower crust vary laterally, producing a transitional zone in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau characterized by thicker crust and higher elevation in the west and thinner crust and lower elevation in the east.     

New geological evidence of crustal thickening in the Gangdese block prior to the Indo-Asian collision

Recent mapping in the Gangdese block has revealed many leucogranites that are similar to those in the High Himalaya. These leucogranites formed at ～140 Ma as indicated by monazite Th-Pb ion-microprobe dating and cooled at ～130 Ma as indicated by muscovite ^40Ar/^39Ar dating. In conjunction with previous structural and paleogeographic studies, the new data indicate that the Gangdese block underwent crustal thickening and associated exhumation during ～140—130 Ma. In this regard, the southern margin of Eurasia continent was comparable to the modern South American Altiplano-Puna plateau, the prime example of active ocean-continent subduction and associated thickened crust. Specifically, the early stages of crustal thickening and uplifting of the Gangdese block may result from subduction of the Neo-Tethyan Ocean. If the Tibetan Plateau would form by accretion of a series of blocks with thickened crust, an elevated topographic plateau similar to the Altiplano-Puna plateau had formed before collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates. Then the Tibetan Plateau would have quickly thickened, uplifted, and begun to extend soon after onset of the collision. Thus, the deformational mechanism of the Tibetan Plateau is not distributed shortening, but rather concentrating deformation within regions of thin crust between the accreted blocks.     

Moisture transport source／sink structure of the Meiyu rain belt along the Yangtze River valley

Based on the analyses of the moisture transport structure in the whole layer of the troposphere along the Yangtze River valley during draught/flood years using the NCEP reanalysis data, this paper reveals that there exists a key region with a “Large Triangle” shape of transporting moisture for the Tibetan Plateau to Meiyu Belt and its“source/sink” structure; discloses that the interannual variation of the whole budget of inflow and outflow of moisture through the boundaries of a “Large Triangle” key region has the in-phase characteristic. Then a moisture transport structure over the skirt of the plateau and a conceptual model on the “transfer post” of moisture transport in the area of the South China Sea-Tibetan Plateau-Yangtze River valley in summer are put forward in this paper: the anti-phase feature of whole layer moisture transport flow patterns of Yangtze River valley during drought/flooding years is exhibited using the computational scheme of whole layer moisture transport correlation vector fields; a comprehensive dynamic model and its physical diagram of the teleconnection source/sink structure of the moisture transport of the Meiyu rain belt have been made. It shows that the moisture transfer effect over the skirt of the plateau from the ocean (Indian Ocean, South China Sea and west North Pacific) led to a moisture confluence belt in the Yangtze River valley and the teleconnection moisture transport source/sink structure over the “Large Triangle” shape area in flooding years.     

Evidence for mechanical coupling and strong Indian lower crust beneath southern Tibet

How surface deformation within mountain ranges relates to tectonic processes at depth is not well understood. The upper crust of the Tibetan Plateau is generally thought to be poorly coupled to the underthrusting Indian crust because of an intervening low-viscosity channel. Here, however, we show that the contrast in tectonic regime between primarily strike-slip faulting in northern Tibet and dominantly normal faulting in southern Tibet requires mechanical coupling between the upper crust of southern Tibet and the underthrusting Indian crust. Such coupling is inconsistent with the presence of active 'channel flow' beneath southern Tibet, and suggests that the Indian crust retains its strength as it underthrusts the plateau. These results shed new light on the debates regarding the mechanical properties of the continental lithosphere, and the deformation of Tibet.     

Deep seismic reflection profile across the juncture zone between the Tarim Basin and the West Kunlun Mountains

Fine structures of the crust and upper mantle of the basin-and-range juncture on the northwestern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau are first delineated by the deep seismic reflection profile across the juncture zone between the Tarim Basin and the West Kunlun Mountains. Evidence is found for the northward subduction of the northwest marginal lithosphere of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its collision with Tarim lithosphere beneath the West Kunlun Mountains. The lithosphere image of the face-to-face subduction and collision determines the coupling relationship between the Tarim Basin and the West Kunlun Mountains at the lithosphere scale and reflects the process of continent-continent collision.     

Study on crustal, lithospheric and asthenospheric thickness beneath the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its adjacent areas

Based on the results of pure dispersions of Rayleigh wave tomography in the Qinghai-Tlbet Plateau and its adjacent areas, tsklng S wave velocities from previous linear inversion as the initial model, using the simulated annealing algorithm, a nonlinear simultaneous inversion has been carried out for S wave velocity and thickness of different layers, including the crust, the lithosphere and the asthenosphere. The results indicate： The crustal thickness shows strong correlation with geology structures sketched by the sutures and major faults. The crust is very thick in the Qinghal-Tibet Plateau, varying from 60 km to 80 kin. The Ilthospherlc thickness in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Is thinner （130-160 kin） than Its adjacent areas. And two blocks can be recognized, divided by an NNE strike boundary running between 90°E-92°E inside the plateau. Its asthenosphere is relatively thick, varies from 150 km to 230 kin, and the thickest area is located in the western Qiangtsng. India has a thinner crust （32-38 kin）, a thicker lithosphere of 190 km and a rather thin asthenosphere of only 60 kin. Sichuan and Tarlm basins have the crust thickness less than 50 kin. Their Iithospheres are thicker than the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and their asthenospheres are thinner. A discussion has been made on the character and formation mechanism of the typical crust-mantle transition zone in the western Qiangtsng block.