Field Report: Research along the Yarlung Suture Zone in Southern Tibet, a persistent geological frontier
- Laskowski, Andrew K. [ Montana State University: Earth Sciences ]
- Ding, Lin [ Key Laboratory of Continental Collision and Plateau Uplift, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, and Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China ]
- Cai, Fulong [ Key Laboratory of Continental Collision and Plateau Uplift, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, and Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China ]
- Chen, Yaofei [ Key Laboratory of Continental Collision and Plateau Uplift, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, and Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China ]
- He, Songlin [ Key Laboratory of Continental Collision and Plateau Uplift, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, and Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China ]
The Yarlung Suture Zone in Southern Tibet marks the boundary between India and Asia—formerly separated by an ocean basin—and is a critical record of the tectonic processes that created the Tibetan Plateau. The Yarlung Suture Zone is also a frontier research area, as difficulty of access has limited research activity, providing ample opportunities for new discoveries. This paper documents field research conducted by the authors along the Yarlung suture zone in eastern Shigatse (Xigaze, Rikaze) County, ∼250 km west of the city of Lhasa, in July 2017. The goal of this research was to map the Suture Zone structure in detail, and more specifically to understand the branching relationships between two major fault systems—the Great Counter Thrust and Gangdese Thrust. A summary of early geological exploration is included to provide context for this research.