The Crust in the Pamir: Insights From Receiver Functions

The Cenozoic convergence between India and Asia has created Earth's thickest crust in the Pamir‐Tibet Plateau by extreme crustal shortening. Here we study the crustal structure of the Pamir and western Tian Shan, the adjacent margins of the Tajik, Tarim, and Ferghana Basins, and the Hindu Kush,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of geophysical research. Solid earth 2019-08, Vol.124 (8), p.9313-9331
Main Authors: Schneider, F.M., Yuan, X., Schurr, B., Mechie, J., Sippl, C., Kufner, S.‐K., Ratschbacher, L., Tilmann, F., Oimahmadov, I., Gadoev, M., Minaev, V., Abdybachaev, U., Orunbaev, S., Ischuk, A., Murodkulov, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cenozoic
Crustal shortening
Crustal structure
crustal thickness
Depth
Earth
Earth crust
Geophysics
Gneiss
Magma
Moho
Pamir
Poisson's ratio
Ratios
receiver function
Sedimentary basins
Seismicity
Vp/Vs ratio
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Summary:The Cenozoic convergence between India and Asia has created Earth's thickest crust in the Pamir‐Tibet Plateau by extreme crustal shortening. Here we study the crustal structure of the Pamir and western Tian Shan, the adjacent margins of the Tajik, Tarim, and Ferghana Basins, and the Hindu Kush, using data collected by temporary seismic experiments. We derive, compare, and combine independent observations from P and S receiver functions. The obtained Moho depth varies from ~40 km below the basins to a double‐normal thickness of 65–75 km underneath the Pamir and Hindu Kush. A Moho doublet—with the deeper interface down to a depth of ~90 km—coincides with the arc of intermediate‐depth seismicity underneath the Pamir, where Asian continental lower crust delaminates and rolls back. The crust beneath most of the Central and South Pamir has a low Vp/Vs ratio (
ISSN:2169-9313
2169-9356
DOI:10.1029/2019JB017765