Cenozoic sedimentary evolution of the Tiereke section on the northern Tarim Basin: implications for the intracontinental mountain building of the Eastern Tian Shan

Abstract

The Tian Shan is one of the world's largest intracontinental orogens and provides an excellent example for deciphering the intracontinental responses to the tectonics of plate boundaries. Despite its significance, the timing and driving mechanism of the Cenozoic mountain building of the Tian Shan in the context of the India–Eurasia collision remain controversial. In this study, Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Tiereke section along the western Kuqa Depression of the northern Tarim Basin on the south foreland of Eastern Tian Shan (east of 80°E) has been investigated. The results indicate that the Cenozoic deposition of the Tiereke region sequentially experienced a transgression from the Kumugeliemu Group to the Suweiyi Formation and a regression from the Suweiyi to the Kuqa Formations. Based on the contact relationships and conglomerate textures, three stages of high-energy alluvial deposition have been identified in the lower Kumugeliemu Group, upper Jidike and Kangcun–Kuqa Formations, respectively. These sedimentary events were interpreted to represent phases of Eastern Tian Shan mountain building at c. 54 Ma, c. 27 Ma and since c. 9.7 Ma according to previous magnetostratigraphic results, which were possibly related to the initial India–Eurasia collision, the collision between the India and Tarim lithospheric mantles, and the basinward propagation of deformation, respectively. Thematic collection: This article is part of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic tectonics, landscape and climate change collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/topic/collections/mesozoic-and-cenozoic-tectonics-landscape-and-climate-change