Late Pleistocene slip rate of the northern Qilian Shan frontal thrust, western Hexi Corridor, China

Abstract

AbstractWe derive a slip rate for a frontal thrust in the western Hexi Corridor along the northern Qilian Shan by combining topographic profiling and 10Be exposure dating. The active Yumen‐Beidahe thrust fault offsets late Pleistocene alluvial‐fan deposits, and a prominent north‐facing scarp is well preserved. To quantify the slip rate, we surveyed the uplifted terraces and sampled quartz‐rich pebbles on terrace surfaces and river channels to determine surface exposure ages and pre‐depositional inheritance. The minimum vertical slip rate of the fault is 0.73 ± 0.09 mm a−1. This represents a horizontal shortening rate of 1.26 ± 0.31 mm a−1 for a fault dip of 30 ± 5°. This estimated slip rate supports the inference made from previous geological and GPS constraints that NNE‐directed shortening across the western Qilian Shan and the Hexi Corridor is distributed on several active faults with a total shortening rate of 4–10 mm a−1.