Late Cenozoic fold deformation in the northern margin of Qaidam Basin and southward propagation of Qilian Shan

Constraining the shortening rate, timing, and deformation pattern in the frontal parts of the southern Qilian Shan (China) is helpful to further understand the strain distribution model and the tectonic deformation mechanism of the Qilian Shan. The Santai fold belt is one of the active thrust and fold belts parallel to southern Qilian Shan in the northern margin of the Qaidam Basin. It has experienced the structural evolution and interactions between itself and surrounding areas throughout the Late Cenozoic. Based on the geological and geomorphic mapping, landform profile surveys, and seismic line interpretations, the Santai anticline is considered to be a fault-propagation fold that is controlled by basement-involved faulting and limb rotation. In the late Quaternary, the shortening rate of the Santai anticline was almost 0.4 +/- 0.17 mm/a, accounting for about 8% of the crustal shortening across Qilian Shan, and with the assumption of a constant shortening rate, latest rapid deformation occurred at about 3 +/- 1.1 Ma. This indicates that the loci of deformation sequentially migrated southward in the foreland.