Late Cenozoic Stratigraphy and Paleomagnetic Chronology of the Zanda Basin,Tibet, and Records of the Uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The characteristics of Late Cenozoic tectonic uplift of the southern margin of the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau may be inferred from fluvio-lacustrine strata in the Zanda basin, Ngari, Tibet. Magnetostratigraphic study shows that the very thick fluvio-lacustrine strata in the basin are 5.89- 0.78 Ma old and that their deposition persisted for 5.11 Ma, i.e. starting at the end of the Miocene and ending at the end of the early Pleistocene, with the Quaternary glacial stage starting in the area no later than 1.58 Ma. Analysis of the sedimentary environment indicates that the Zanda basin on the southern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau began uplift at -5.89 Ma, later than the northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Presence of gravel beds in the Guge and Qangze Formations reflects that strong uplift took place at -5.15 and -2.71 Ma, with the uplift peaking at -2.71 Ma.

Upwelling Process of the Western Himalaya Mountains:Height and Velocity Estimation Evidenced by Formation and Evolution of the Zanda Basin,Tibet,China

Based on field geological survey, stratigraphic section measurement and indoor comprehensive investigation, the Zanda Basin＇s tectonic location in the Himalaya Plate was ascertained, and the formation and evolution of the Zanda Basin during the Pliocene to Early Pleistocene was classified as six stages： （a） primary rift-faulting stage, （b） quick rift-faulting Stage, （c） intensive rift-faulting stage, （d） stasis stage, （e） secondary rift-faulting stage, and （f） secondary quick rift-faulting stage. Based on this six-staged formation-evolution theory of the Zanda Basin, the upwelling process of the Western Himalaya Mountains from the Pliocene to Early Pleistocene was classified as the following five stages： （a） slow upwelling stage （5.4-4.4 Ma）, （b） mid-velocity upwelling stage （4.4-3.5 Ma）, （c） quick upwelling stage （3.5-3.2 Ma）, （d） upwelling-ceasing stage （3.2-2.7 Ma）, and （e） quick upwelling stage （2.7 Ma）. Research has shown that in the duration from the Early Pliocene （4.7 Ma） to the End of Pliocene （2.67 Ma）, which lasted 2.03 million years, the Himalaya Mountains had uplifted 1500 m at a velocity of 0.74 mm/a; this belongs to a mid-velocity upwening. During the 1.31 million years in the Early Stage of the Early Pleistocene, the Himalaya Mountains had risen up another 1500 m at a velocity of 1.15 mm/a; this is a rather quick upwelling. All of these data have shown that the upwelling of the Western Himalaya Mountains is along a complicated process with multi-stages, multi-velocities, and non-uniformitarian features.

Triassic Sequence Stratigraphy and Sea-Level Changes in Qomolongma Area, Southern Tibet, China: From Epicontinental Sea to Rift Basin

The Triassic in the Qomolongma area, southern Tibet, was deposited under an extensional tectonic setting from the Pangea supercontinent to continental rifting. From the Induan to Rhaetian, 12 depositional sequences (3rd order) have been recognized, which can be grouped into 5 sequence sets and in turn make up a well defined mesosequence (2nd order). Among the recognized marine transgressions, those at 250 Ma, 239 Ma, 231 Ma and 223 Ma respectively are particularly of significance and can be correlated widely across continents. The study shows that in Triassic the Qomolongma area experienced a sedimentary evolution from epicontinental sea to rift basin with the turning point at ca 228 Ma. During the early and middle epochs, the area was under epeiric sea, with carbonate ramp to mixed shoal environments predominant. In the late Carnian, the strong extension initiated listric faulting, thus resulting in rapid basement subsidence and the onset of a rift basin. From the late Norian to Rhaetian, it manifested as a rapid basin filling process in the area. Coupled with long term sea level fall, the excessive terrigenous influx led to the shift of environment from deep water prodelta to shore and finally to fluvial plain.

PALEOGENE(?) DEPOSYSTEMS AND BASIN EVOLUTION IN THE EASTERN TIBETAN PLATEAU: NANGQIAN AND XIALAXIU BASINS

Paleogene sedimentary basins exposed across much of the central and eastern Tibetan Plateau may record the early history of plateau uplift related to the Indo\|Asian collision. We conducted sedimentological and stratigraphic investigations in the northeastern Qiangtang terrane, eastern Tibetan Plateau. Our results indicate development of several nonmarine basins during Paleogene(?) time, probably synchronous with northeast\|southwest contractional deformation. The Nangqian and Xialaxiu basins (96°～97°E, 32°～33°N) are composed of 500～ 20000m thick successions of primarily clastic sediment indicative of lacustrine and alluvial\|fan depositional processes. Paleocurrent measurements and sediment compositional data indicate local sediment source areas composed of Carboniferous\|Triassic carbonate and sandstone and minor Tertiary volcanic rocks. The large variability of provenance and facies types suggest that each basin evolved independently, as opposed to regional development of a single integrated basin which was partitioned by later deformation.

Burial and exhumation history of the Xigaze forearc basin, Yarlung suture zone. Tibet

The Cretaceous-Eocene Xigaze forearc basin is a crucial data archive for understanding the tectonic history of the Asian continental margin prior to and following collision with India during the early Cenozoic Era. This study reports apatite and zircon(U-Th)/He thermochronologic data from fourteen samples from Albian-Ypresian Xigaze forearc strata to determine the degree and timing of heating(burial) and subsequent cooling(exhumation) of two localities along the Yarlung suture zone(YSZ) near the towns of Saga and Lazi. Thirty-seven individual zircon He ages range from 31.5 ± 0.8 Ma to6.06 ± 0.18 Ma,with the majority of grains yielding ages between 30 Ma and 10 Ma. Twenty apatite He ages range from 12.7 ± 0.5 Ma to 3.9 ± 0.3 Ma,with the majority of grains yielding ages between 9 Ma and 4 Ma. These ages suggest that the Xigaze forearc basin was heated to 140-200 ℃ prior to cooling in Oligocene-Miocene time. Thermal modeling supports this interpretation and shows that the samples were buried to maximum temperatures of ～140-200 0 C by 35-21 Ma, immediately followed by the onset of exhumation. The zircon He and apatite He dataset and thermal modeling results indicate rapid exhumation from ～21 Ma to 15 Ma, and at ～4 Ma. The 21-15 Ma thermochronometric signal appears to be regionally extensive, affecting all the lithotectonic units of the YSZ, and coincides with movement along the north-vergent Great Counter Thrust system. Thrusting, coupled with enhanced erosion possibly related to the paleo-Yarlung River, likely drove Early Miocene cooling of the Xigaze forearc basin.In contrast, the younger phase of rapid exhumation at ～4 Ma was likely driven by enhanced rock uplift in the footwall of north-striking rifts that cross-cut the YSZ.

MAGNETOSTRATIGRAPHIC DATING:IMPLICATIONS FOR TERTIARY EVOLUTION OF THE HOH XIL BASIN, NORTHERN TIBET

The Hoh Xil basin, with an area of 101000km\+2 and an average elevation of over 5000m, is a largest Tertiary sedimentary basin in the hinterland of the Tibetan plateau. It is situated in the western part of the Baya Har terrain (BT) and the northern part of the Qiangtang terrain (QT), and covers the Jinsha River Suture Zone (JRSZ), one of the five continental suture zones on the Tibetan plateau. Strong deformation and crustal shortening of about 40% at the Fenghuoshan area (Coward,et al.1990) or 42.8% at the Wudaoliang—Fenghuoshan area (Wang,et al.1999) happened at the northern Tibet before the Neogene. Therefore, sediments deposited the Hoh Xil basin may contain significant information of crustal shortening and early uplift of the Tibetan plateau. However, anterior researchers met a same painful problem to date the sedimentary sequences in the basin. By using a few fossils, they assessed doubt ages for main strata in the Hoh Xil basin, as the Paleogene / Eocene (Yi,et al.1990) or the Cretaceous (BGMRQ 1991; Zhang & Zheng 1994), since other datable materials like volcanic rocks are absent. Therefore, the precise stratigraphic dating becomes a precondition of more scientific research in the northern Tibet.

DEFINITING AND ITS GEOLOGIC MEANING OF SOUTH-NORTH TREND FAULTED STRUCTURE BELT IN QIANGTANG BASIN, NORTH PART OF TIBET

There were more expounding to north—west (west) trend fault and north\|east trend fault within Qiangtang Basin, North Part of Tibet, in the past literature. With increasing of geophysical exploration data, nearly east\|west trend structure began to be taken note to. Since the year of 1995, by a synthetic study to geophysical and geological data, that south\|north trend faulted structures are well developed. These structures should be paid much more attention to, because they have important theoretical meaning and practical significance.1 Spreading of south\|north faulted structure belt According to different geological and geophysical data, the six larger scale nearly south\|north faulted structure belt could be distinguished within the scope of east longitude 84°～96° and near Qiangtang Basin. The actual location of the six belts are nearly located in the west of the six meridian of east longitude 85°,87°,89°,91°,93°,95° or located near these meridian. The six south\|north faulted structure belts spread in the same interval with near 2° longitude interval. The more clear and much more significance of south\|north trend faulted structure belts are the two S—N trend faulted structure belts of east longitude 87° and 89°. There are S—N trend faulted structure belts in the west of east longitude 83°,81°, or near the longitudes. The structure belts spreading features,manifestation,geological function and its importance, and inter texture and structure are not exactly so same. The structure belts all different degree caused different region of geological structure or gravity field and magnetic field. There is different scale near S—N trend faulted structure belt between the belts.

MASS ACCUMULATION IN THE CENOZOIC HOH XIL BASIN,NORTHERN TIBET

Sedimentary basins are where the products or erosion of the related reliefs accumulate.The sedimentary records preserved in the basins offer the possibility of quantifying the paleotopography z(x,y,t) at each point( x,y )of a given region at any time t in the past by using methods of mass balanced reconstruction(Hay et al.,1989,Métivier and Gaudemer,1997),The importance of paleotopography is on that atmospheric circulation models and the ocean circulation models which depend on them require knowledge of the topography of the land as an important input boundary condition which strongly affects the model output(Barron and Washington,1984,Ruddiman et al.,1997).Thus,a first step towards establishing paleoelevations is to reconstitute the history of sedimentary basins in terms of mass accumulation(Hay et al.,1989).This work reconstructs the space\|time depositional history and estimates the mass stored in the Hoh Xil basin,northern Tibet.The Hoh Xil basin,with an area of 101000km\+2 and an average elevation of over 5000m,is the largest Cenozoic sedimentary basin in the hinterland of the Tibetan plateau.From the Early Eocene to the Early Miocene,a sediment pile of approximately 5 4km thick of fluvial mudstone,sandstone,and conglomerate and 0 3km thick of limestone was formed in the basin (Liu and Wang,2000;Liu et al.,2000).the mass estimate is derived from 21 measured field cross\|sections,with total thickness of 13479 3m.The results show that the Hoh Xil basin has undergone 7 stages of evolution from the Early Eocene to the Early Oligocene,with a period of no sedimentation during the Late Oligocene.The Fenghuoshan Group was formed from the first four stages as 56 0～52 0,52 0～46 7,46 7～39 7,and 39 7～33 2Ma ago,with the depocenter moving eastward and northward.The Yaxicuo Group was formed from the two next stages as 33 2～32 2 and 33 2～30 2Ma ago.The Wudaoliang Group spread the entire basin during the last stage of ca.23 0～16 0Ma ago,with its depocenter in the northern part.The strata of the Fenghuoshan and Yaxicuo Groups have undergone strong deformation mainly during 30 0 to ca.23 0Ma,whereas only minor tilting has occurred in the Wudaoliang Group later.The space\|time evolution indicates that the Hoh Xil basin could be formed by the collision between Indi and Asia during the Early Eocene,and that its filling processes were controlled by early uplift and crustal shortening of the Tibetan plateau.The sedimentation budget is estimated as 297 15×10 12 t for the Cenozoic sediments deposited in the Hoh Xil basin.The accumulation rate curve shows that the value rises suddenly to around 800t/(m\+2 Ma -1 )during 32 2～30 0Ma ago from around 400t/(m\+2·Ma -1 )during 56～32 2Ma ago.The sudden increase of accumulation rate could be produced by early uplift of the Tibetan plateau.

GEOCHEMISTRY OF THE PLIOCENE SHOSHONITIC ROCKS FROM OIYUG BASIN, CENTRAL TIBET

Cenozoic volcanism has been well studied in northern, eastern and southwestern Tibet (Coulon et al., 1986; Arnund et al., 1992; Turner et al., 1993, 1996; Deng, 1978, 1998; Miller et al., 1999, Wang et al, 2000). But the data of the Cenozoic post\|collisional volcanism in central and southern Tibet is limited (Coulon et al., 1986; Turner et al., 1996; Zhang, 1998). These potassic and ultrapotassic intrusive and extrusive rocks are regarded to be a key clue for the deep lithospheric process of the plateau after Indo\|Asian collision. Present here is the preliminary results of the rocks from Oiyug (Wuyu) basin, about 150km northeast to Shigatse. Major and trace elements of the rocks are studied and compared with the ultrapotassic and potassic (shoshonitic) rocks exposed in Lhasa block and Qiangtang terrane.(1) Geologic setting. The magmatic rocks studied are Gazacun formation of the lower part of the Pliocene Oiyug group (N 2 oy ). The cross\|section is situated in Gazacun village of Namling. Gazacun formation is underlain unconformable by the andesitic rocks of Linzizong Group [(K 2—E 2) ln ], and covered by the coarse\|grain layered sandstone and conglomerate of Zongdangcun formation. The Gazacun formation consists of mediate\|acidic volcanics, granite\|porphyry, coal\|bearing clastics, plants and sporo\|pollen.

Population dynamics and habitat use of the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin, Tibet, China

Background:The Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis)is an internationally threatened crane living on the plateau, mainly in winter, in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin in Tibet,western China. In the past five years,some economic development projects have been conducted in this area,posing potential threats to the wintering populations of the cranes and their habitats. Therefore, the current population dynamics of wintering Black-necked Cranes and habitat suitability in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin were investigated. Methods: Twenty counties were surveyed using the line transect method in December 2017 and January 2018, and we recorded the location,flock size,number of individuals,habitat types and presence of human disturbance in which they occurred.We compared the results from the middle wintering period in this survey with those from 2014. Results: The highest number of cranes recorded was 8291,and the results showed that the cranes were mainly distributed in Lhaze, Namling, Samzhubze, and Lhunzub.A total of 577 and 495 flocks were recorded in the early and middle wintering periods, respectively. In the early wintering period,there were signi ficant differences in the number of individuals across the di fferent habitats,with crop stubble land and plowed land representing more than 30% of the total habitat utilization.In the middle wintering period, there were also signi ficant differences in the number of individuals, and the utilization of crop stubble land represented over 60% of the total. Conclusions: Wintering Black-necked Cranes mainly fed on spilled grains in stubble habitat after harvest. In the middle wintering period, some of the farmlands were plowed and irrigated,which resulted in food shortages in these areas,and the cranes tended to gather in mixed flocks of large size instead of as a single family.There were still considerable regional wintering populations decreases in Quxu,Nedong,and Sakya in 2018 compared with 2014,and these decreases were mainly due to some recently emerging threats,including farmlands being converted into areas of greenhouse cultivation,highway and railway construction, river dredging,the rapid development of the manufacturing and mining industries,and the lack of protection of important wintering sites.

The deep structures and oil-gas prospect evaluation in the Qiangtang Basin, Tibet

The Qiantang Basin is now one of the topics of general interest in petroleum exploration in China. This paper reports a comprehensive study of geophysical and geological survey data recently obtained in this area and, combined with INDEPTH-3 deep survey results, comes to the following conclusions： 1） The hydrocarbon source formations, reservoirs, and overlying strata and their association within the basin are quite good, local structures are developed, and, therefore, the region is favorable for forming and preserving oil and gas accumulations. Faults are not a fatal problem. The future main target strata are the middle-deep structural strata composed of Upper-Triassic and middle Jurassic rocks; 2） A new classification has been made for second-order tectonic sequences inside the basin to disavow the central Qingtang uplift. It is noted that the main structures at the surface are orientated NW-SE and the crustal structure can be described as three depressions, three risees, and one deep depression, of which the prospective zone with the most potential is the inner main subsided belt and its two sides; 3） Comparatively intensive interaction between the crust and mantle and volcanic and thermal activities in the northern basin play a very important role in petroleum evaluation. The southern deeper sedimentation and less thermal activity make this area a more perfect zone for oil exploration; 4） Currently, the most important objective is determining the physical properties of the deep strata, the status of oil and gas accumulations, the source of the hydrocarbons, and the relationship between the upper and lower structures; and 5） The Lunpola Tertiary basin may be favorable for oil accumulations because petroleum may migrate from marine strata on two sides.

HOH XIL PIGGYBACK BASINS:IMPLICATIONS FOR PALEOGENE SHORTENING OF THE TIBETAN PLATEAU

Strong deformed sediments investigated in the Hoh Xil basin may contain detailed records for early Tertiary crustal shortening in northern Tibet (Fig.1A). Sedimentary sequences in the basin consist of the Fenghuoshan Group, the Yaxicuo Group, and the early Miocene Wudaoliang Group from lower to upper. Magnetostratigraphic research has indicated the Eocene to early Oligocene ages for the Fenghuoshan and Yaxicuo Groups (Liu, et al., 2000). Total 29 lithological sections with 20487 7m thick were measured spread all over the 101000km\+2 Hoh Xil basin, the largest Tertiary sedimentary basin in the hinterland of the Tibetan plateau, to reveal the prototype basin and its evolution processes. They include 17 sections with 14925 3m thick of the Fenghuoshan Group, 8 sections with 4273 5m thick of the Yaxicuo Group, and 4 sections with 1284 9m thick of the Wudaoliang Group.

TECTONO-SEDIMENTARY EVOLUTION OF THE TERTIARY BASINS IN EASTERN TIBET: CONSTRAINING THE RAISING OF TIBETAN PLATEAU

The Tertiary basins are distributed in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau along the large\|scale arc\|shaped strike\|slip belt of the Qiangtang—Hengduan Shan—Jinshajiang—Red River belt. Most of basins were controlled by regional northwest\| and south\|north treading faults, and a few basins were constrained by northwest\| or north\|north\|east\|treading local faults.The detailed field mapping and sedimentologic observations for 6 typical Tertiary basins in eastern Tibet show that their types include depressive basins, rifting basins, pull\|apart and extensional basins related to strike\|slip faulting, and erosion\|residual basins. Recently, most of them are controlled by compression\| or thrust\|related margin faults in single side or double laterals of these basins. Not\|well\|developed strata in the Tertiary basins were deformed to form various tight folds and thrusts. High\|K magma intruded widely into the basins. The tectono\|sedimentary evolution of the Tertiary basins appears tempo\|spatially inhomogeneous. The preliminary model to interpret the Tertiary basin evolution is described as below.

Clay Mineralogy and its Paleoclimatic Significance of the OligoceneMiocene Sediments in the Gerze Basin, Tibet

This study collected the early Oligocene to middle Miocene sediments from the Gerze Basin of Tibet, and used X-Ray diffraction （XRD） and Scanning Electron Microscope （SEM） to discuss their clay mineralolgy, clay indices, better understand the clay mineralogy and its paleoclimatic significance. The results show that clay minerals of the Gerze Basin sediments are mainly composed of iilite and chlorite, with minor amounts of smectite and kaolinite, and their relative content varies along the section. Variations of relative contents and clay indices suggest that the Gerze Basin has experienced three-stage evolution of paleoclimate： I ） high ilUte and chlorite contents, with fluctuant smectite and low （I＋Ch）/（K＋S） ratio, indicative of a dominant seasonal arid climate from the early Oligoeene to late Oligocene; Ⅱ） higher illite and chlorite contents and larger （I＋Ch）/（K＋S） ratio but absence of kaolinite, indicating a colder and drier climate from the late Oligocene to early Miocene; Ⅲ） high iilite and chlorite contents with fluctuant （I＋Ch）/（K＋S） ratios and occasional occurrence of kaolinite, suggesting that the climate became warmer and more humid compared with that of stage Ⅱ in the mid-Miocene. These conclusions were also reinforced by the clay morphology, which suggests that physical weathering dominated in stage Ⅱ, while relatively strong chemical weathering was dominant in stages Ⅰ and Ⅲ Clay minerals of the sediments mainly consist of illite and chlorite, indicating that the source rock played a significant role in clay origin. It is inferred that global cooling and the enhancement of denudation and obstruction of northward moisture due to the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were responsible for the provenance of iUite and chlorite under weak chemical weathering. Though the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau reached a certain elevation by the mid-Miocene, yet the mid-Miocene widespread warming might have largely impacted the Gerze climate.

BASIN-RANGE TRANSITION AND GENETIC TYPES OF SEQUENCE BOUNDARY OF THE QIANGTANG BASIN IN NORTHERN TIBET

The surface of sequence boundary is a negative record. Its recognition largely depends on the physics of the sediments below and above the boundaries, or on the different sedimentary structures are synthetic marks for the sedimentation and tectonic movements in the sedimentary basin. The Qiangtang Basin that is in 5000m above the sea level is located in Northern Tibet. The Lazhulung—Jinshajiang suture zone now bound it to the north and the Bangong—Nujiang suture zone to the south. Three second\|order tectonic units have been distinguished, i.e. North Qiangtang depression, Central rise and South Qiangtang depression from north to south.The Upper Permian Riejuichaka Formation is built up of mudstone and mud\|limestone, which is represented by sediments in seamarsh. The Lower Triassic Kuanglu Formation, which exhibits the structure unconformable contact with the overlying Upper Permian strata, is characterized by terrigenous clastic rocks in the lower area and is carbonate rocks in the upwarding area and the Middle Triassic Kuangnan Formation. The Upper Triassic Xiachaka Formation consisting of terrigenous clastic rocks, carbonates rocks and mixed sediments, is confined to the uplift zones. The lower Jurassic volcanic rocks are deposited in continental rift. The middle and Upper Jurassic Yangshiping Group are conformable contact and assembled by the gypsum\|bearing terrigenous clastic rock formations and carbonate rock formation. The Middle Cretaceous and the Paleocene strata is built up of the terrigenous clastic rock formations.

THE DECOLLEMENT IN THE QIANGTANG BASIN, TIBET

Qiangtang Basin in northern part of Tibet is significant on geological research, and it is also a prospect area for petroleum and gas exploration. Qiangtang Basin mainly consists of Triassic\|Jurassic carbonate strata, extending E—W. The basement of the Qiangtang Basin composed of Lower\|Middle Proterozoic exposed in the central part, and is called Central Upright Zone.The decollement and thrust structure occurred both in Qiangtang Basin and the Central Upright Zone, which have resulted in important influence for petroleum and gas exploration.(1) Tectonic style:① The suprastructure of Qiangtang Basin is dominated by parallel folds (Ramsay’s classification Ib\|Ic) and brittle faults.② Most of the folds are open folds with interlimb angles 80～120°and lack of axial cleavage.③ The 3\|D shape of fold is cylindrical, without or little change on area and volume.④ The folds association is ejective folds (i.e. with the characteristics of the Jura\|type fold).⑤ The plastic bed flowing with the higher zone of the folds formed diapir structure, which is the important evidence indicating decol lement.

MAJOR SEDIMENTARY CYCLES AND BASIN EVOLUTION OF MESOZOIC IN NORTHERN HIMALAYAS, SOUTH TIBET

The northern Himalayas was situated on the north margin of the Indian plate and was part of the Gondwana. During Mesozoic and Cenozoic, the geological development of the region was mainly controlled by the evolution of the Neotethyan ocean as well as the movement of the plates (or blocks) on its two sides, showing as a typical passive continental margin [1] . The Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentation forms a giant transgression\|regression cycle in this region [2] . The strata have clearly recorded the processes that the Gondwana continent broke up, the Indian plate drifted northward, and consequently collided with the Eurasia, suggesting a Wilson cycle. They also reveals the evolution of the Neotethyan ocean from breakup to expanding, contracting and finally to closing. 1\ The major sedimentary cycles\;The marine Mesozoic and Cenozoic developed continuously in the northern Himalayas, south Tibet, with a total thickness of about 8000m. From the Triassic to Eocene, 70 third\|order sequences have been recognized [2] . Among them 12 are in the Triassic, 22 in the Jurassic, 27 in the Cretaceous and 9 in the Paleogene, with an average duration of 3m.y for each. These can in turn be grouped as 21 sequence sets and 6 mesosequences (2nd order). All of the mesosequences are bounded by prominent discontinuity at bottom, either with subaerial erosion or submarine truncation [2] , suggesting abrupt falls of sea\|level in long\|term changes. The approximate ages for the basal boundaries of these mesosequences are respectively at ca. 257Ma (latest Capitanian), 215Ma (latest Norian), 177Ma (early Aalenian), 138Ma (mid Tithonian), 103Ma (mid Albian) and 68Ma (late Maastrichtian). Each of mesosequences forms a major sedimentary cycles in the region and may result from the joint effects of global sea\|level changes and regional tectonic\|basin evolution.

PROVENANCE OF LOWER TERTIARY REDBEDS IN HOH XIL BASIN AND UPLIFT OF NORTHERN TIBET PLATEAU

Eocene Fenghuoshan Group and lower Oligocene Yaxicuo Group are represented by mainly fluvial, lacustrine and fan\|deltaic redbeds cropping out in Hoh Xil basin, the largest redbed basin in northern Tibet plateau. Lithic sandstone, lithic quartzose sandstone, conglomerate, as well as siltstone, consist of the major rock composition of the redbeds. The petrography of sandstone and conglomerate reveals the relationship between regional tectonic uplift events and the provenance of lower Tertiary redbeds.The outcrop rock data show that the detritus were derived from sedimentary rocks, volcanic rocks, and metamorphic rocks. Phyllite and quartzite rock fragments are most common in the metamorphic rock fragments .The sedimentary rock fragments are composed of chert, limestone, siltstone, and mudstone fragments. But volcanic rock fragments are minor and occasionally occur. In Hantaishan area, the northwestern part of Hoh Xil basin, clastic composition of sandstones and conglomerates testify to mainly southward and northeastward provenances. The metamorphic rock fragments, which are more common than volcanic and sedimentary rock fragments, can be directly correlated with metamorphic rock of Triassic metasedimentary Bayankara Group around the basin. In Fenghuoshan area, the southwestern part of the basin, there are less metamorphic rock fragment composition and more limestone fragments than in Hantaishan area.The limestone fragments were obviously derived from Carboniferous—Permian or Jurassic limestone beds. These limestone strata can not be found in the Bayankara block mass at which Hoh Xil basin locates, thus it is deduced that the limestone detritus were derived from the south, that is, Qiangtang blockmass.

TECTONIC CHARACTERISTICS AND EVOLUTION OF THE QIANGTANG BASIN IN NORTHERN TIBET PLATEAU

The Qiangtang basin is located in the north of Qinghai—Tibet plateau and sandwiched by Nianqingtangula continental block and Kekexili\|Bayuankal continental block. Its southern boundary is the Bangongfu—Nujiang suture zone and its northern boundary is the Xijinwulan\|Jinshajiang suture zone.The basement of Qiangtang basin is composed f metamorphic rock of Proterozoic age, which can be divided into two parts. The competent lower part with isotope age of 2056～2310Ma experienced multi\|stage deformation and the soft upper part is dated 1111～1205Ma. Within the basin, it groups into Northern Qiangtang Depression, Central Rise and Southern Depressions and are complicated by a number of subdepressions and subuplifts.The strata of Middle Devonian\|Tertiary are overlain on the basement and composed of marine carbonate rocks, clastic rocks and terrestrial sandstone and conglomerate. Several sets of faults and folds have developed in the cover sequence and the deformation is very strong, characterized by orientation, zonation and equidistance in space and by diversity and disharmony in the profile. The major deformation occurred in Yanshan\|Himalayan period.

Magnetochronology of Late Miocene Mammal Fauna in Xining Basin,NE Tibetan Plateau, China

The Xining basin is located in the northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is a rift basin formed in Mesozoic and Cenozoic and structurally belongs to the intersection of Kunlun and Qilian Mountains. Cenozoic fluvial and lacustrine sedimentary strata are continuous in the Xining basin, with a thickness of more than 800 m, completely recording the deformation uplifting, weathering and denudation history and climate change process of the northeastern plateau. Currently, early Miocene Xijia fauna, early Middle Miocene Danshuilu fauna and late Middle Miocene Diaogou fauna are discovered in the Xining basin, which provide an important basis for the stratigraphic correlation of the Cenozoic strata in the Xining basin. However, in the next few decades, there are no reports about the large mammal fossils in the Xining basin, especially about late Miocene fauna. The author discovered a large amount of mammal fossils in the Neogene sedimentary strata in Huzhu area, Xining basin. According to the identification results of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, these fossils mainly included Hipparion dongxiangense, Chilotherium sp., Parelasmotherium sp., Stephanocemas sp. and Kubanochoerus sp. and their age was early Late Miocene. Since the discovery of this set of fossils directly filled the blank that there were no large mammal fossils in the Xining basin in Late Miocene, it was very important for studying the magnetic stratigraphic chronology of fossil-forming strata and establishing the paleomagnetic chronology scale plate of mammal fossils. In this paper, the paleomagnetic data of the fossil-forming stratigraphic profile, Banyan profile, were measured and the paleomagnetic records were collected through high density sampling, and finally the paleomagnetic polarity column of the profile was established. The results showed that five positive and five negative polarity segments were recorded in Banyan profile, which corresponded well to the polarity between C3 Br.1 n-C4 n.2 n in the standard polarity column. The age of profile top was about 7.25 Ma and profile bottom was about 8.4 Ma, with an age range of 1.15 Ma. The mammal fossils discovered this time were exposed between positive and negative polarities N5 and R5 at the bottom of the profile, corresponding to C4 r.1 r at negative polarity and C4 n.2 n at positive polarity in the standard polarity column. The age of mammal fossils was about 8.3 Ma. The paleomagnetic chronology of the strata and paleontological fossils determined the absolute age of late Miocene mammal fossils and expanded the upper age of late Miocene Xianshuihe Formation(N1 xn) in the Xining basin, which had provided new basic data for further studying the stratigraphic deposition and correlation of late Cenozoic strata and regional environmental evolution.