Northeastern Margin Of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Research Articles

Micromorphological leaf epidermal traits as potential taxonomic markers for infrageneric classification of Oxytropis (Fabaceae).

The characteristics of the leaf epidermis have proven to be useful criteria to support taxonomic studies within Fabaceae. However, there are few systematic studies on the taxonomic significance of leaf epidermis of Oxytropis DC. Here, we used light and scanning electron microscopy to investigate leaf epidermal characteristics of 18 species of genus Oxytropis from the Northeastern Margin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Our examination showed two main types of leaf epidermal cells: polygonal and irregular, and four different patterns of anticlinal walls: straight-arched, sinuolate, undulate, and sinuate. All species studied possess anomocytic stomata. Two trichome shapes were identified: strip-like trichomes, that were present only in O.ciliata, and cylindrical trichomes, present in all other species. Epidermal cell shape and anticlinal wall pattern were constant within species and are useful for species delimitation within genus Oxytropis, when combined with other macroscopic traits. The shape of trichomes can be useful for distinguishing O.ciliata from the other investigated species. Stomatal type was the same within the genus and may be used to elaborate the phylogenetic relationships between genera in combination with data on stomata from other genera. Cluster analysis results were largely consistent with the classification of species and sections based on macro morphological data, indicating that foliar epidermis characteristics of Oxytropis can be used as markers for taxonomic identification at the infrageneric classification level. Lastly, our results support the delineation of the section Leucopodia as an independent section but do not support the merging of section Gobicola into section Baicalia.

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

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.

Relation between electricity structure of the crust and deformation of crustal blocks on the northeastern margin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Study on the electricity structure along a magnetotelluric (MT) sounding profile on the northeastern margin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau indicates that four crustal blocks can be de-termined from southwest to northeast, namely Bayan Har block (BH), Qin-Qi block (QQ), Hai-yuan block (HY) or the North-South seismotectonic belt and Ordos block (OD). The BH, QQ and OD blocks display a similar electricity structure of the crust. The upper crust represents a high- resistivity layer and the upper part of lower crust represents a low-resistivity layer with the resis-tivity increasing gradually with depth from the lower part of lower crust to the upper mantle. The electricity structure of the crust in these three blocks is similar to that in the complete blocks on the southern and eastern margins of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and belongs to normal electricity layering of the crust in slightly deformed or complete intracontinental blocks. The crust in HY block as a boundary zone has been significantly deformed, hence its electricity layering was de-stroyed and the structure was complex and the block became a recent tectonically active and great seismo-active region. The contact belts between the blocks on the northeastern margin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau exhibit both upthrusting outward and strike-slip movement different from those on the southern and eastern margins of the plateau. The genesis of the low-resistivity layer in the crust is analyzed and the thickness of the lithosphere is estimated in the paper.