Present-Day Crustal Deformation in China Constrained by Global Positioning System Measurements

TLDR

The observed eastward motion is accommodated by rotation of crustal material around the eastern Syntaxis. GPS data show that crustal shortening in the Tibetan Plateau and its margins accommodates over 90 % of India–Eurasia convergence, with internal shortening of the plateau accounting for more than one‑third, while the southern plateau and the North and South China blocks exhibit eastward motion relative to India and Eurasia at rates of 2–11 mm yr⁻¹.

Abstract

Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements in China indicate that crustal shortening accommodates most of India's penetration into Eurasia. Deformation within the Tibetan Plateau and its margins, the Himalaya, the Altyn Tagh, and the Qilian Shan, absorbs more than 90% of the relative motion between the Indian and Eurasian plates. Internal shortening of the Tibetan plateau itself accounts for more than one-third of the total convergence. However, the Tibetan plateau south of the Kunlun and Ganzi-Mani faults is moving eastward relative to both India and Eurasia. This movement is accommodated through rotation of material around the eastern Syntaxis. The North China and South China blocks, east of the Tibetan Plateau, move coherently east-southeastward at rates of 2 to 8 millimeters per year and 6 to 11 millimeters per year, respectively, with respect to the stable Eurasia.