Deep seismic sounding data reveal the crustal structures beneath Zoigê basin and its surrounding folded orogenic belts

Abstract

Songpan-Garze massif is located at the turning position of tectonics from the near west-east direction to the near north-south direction in the northeastern margin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with Zoige basin in the centre of the massif. In this paper, we build a crustal structure model of Zoige basin and its surrounding folded orogenic belts using the deep seismic sounding data in this region. We also discuss structures and properties of the basement in Zoige basin, tectonic relations between Zoige upland basin and its surrounding folded orogenic belts, crustal deformation and thickening in the northeastern margin of Tibetan Plateau, and decoupling and relaxing processes in the crust. The results indicate that a special “Mesozoic basement” is formed of Triassic rocks with high density (2.65–2.75 g/cm3) and high velocity (5.6 km/s) in Zoige basin. Songpan-Garze tectonic massif was transformed into two types of tectonic units with different crustal structures, i.e., relatively stable Zoige upland basin and active folded orogenic belts around the basin, in the course of the crustal material of Tibetan Plateau flowing eastward and obstructed by surrounding stable blocks. The thickening of the crust in the northeastern margin of Tibetan Plateau mainly occurred in the mid and lower crust, and the structure characterized by low velocities and multiple reflectors obviously appears in the folded orogenic belts around Zoige basin. It implies that the mid and lower crust underwent a strong tectonic deformation in the folded orogenic areas. The thickness of the crust is about 50 km in Zoige basin and the folded orogenic belts at the both southern and northern sides of Zoige basin. The “Mountain root” cannot be identified. It is inferred that during the later orogenic period the eastwards flowing deep materials moved clockwise along the relatively relaxing southern side around the eastern tectonic knot under the obstructing of surrounding rigid massifs, and it resulted in the strong stretching action of the folded orogenic belts around Zoige basin.