We have used geodetic techniques to improve constraints on the crustal motion of the Pamir Plateau. Three campaigns of Global Position System data acquisition between 2011 and 2015 demonstrate that, in association with the India-Asia collision, a complex pattern of crustal motion exists in the Pamir Plateau. In a north-south direction from the Indian Plate to the Hazak Block, the crust has absorbed similar to 35 mm/yr of shortening, of which similar to 35% is distributed around the Hindu Kush region (similar to 12 mm/yr), and another similar to 35% is taken up around the Alai Valley (also similar to 12 mm/yr). Global Position System measurements also show similar to 5 mm/yr of shortening between the Pamir Plateau and the Tajik Basin, whereas between the Pamir and the Tarim Basin, an similar to 10 mm/yr extension rate is observed. With respect to the stable Eurasian Plate, the Pamir rotates counterclockwise at a rate of similar to 1.822 degrees Myr(-1), with an Euler pole positioned about the west end of the Tajik Basin (37.03 +/- 0.74 degrees N, 65.89 +/- 0.12 degrees E). The strain rate field calculated from Global Position System velocities reveals that the crustal motion is consistent with localized deformation around the Hindu Kush and the Alai Valley, the latter representing a zone with strong shallow seismic activity. (C) 2016 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Tibetan Plateau Res, Key Lab Continental Collis & Plateau Uplift, Beijing 100101, Peoples R China 2.Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Dept Geol Sci, Beijing, Peoples R China 3.CAS Ctr Excellence Tibetan Plateau Earth Sci, Beijing 100101, Peoples R China 4.Acad Sci Republ Tajikistan, Inst Geol Earthquake Engn & Seismol, Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Recommended Citation:
Zhou, Y ,He, JK ,Oimahmadov, I ,et al. Present-day crustal motion around the Pamir Plateau from GPS measurements[J]. GONDWANA RESEARCH,2016,35(0):144-154.
