Mesozoic-Cenozoic evolution of the Eastern Kunlun Range, central Tibet, and implications for basin evolution during the Indo-Asian collision

A two-stage development of the Hoh Xil basin, marked by rapid cooling around 20 million years ago, suggests the emergence of a topographic barrier separating it from the Qaidam basin during the early Neogene. This finding challenges the traditional view that these basins evolved independently and supports the Paleogene Paleo-Qaidam hypothesis, proposing they were once part of a single integrated basin. The study integrates geochronological, petrological, and thermochronological data to decipher the growth and uplift history of the Tibetan plateau, revealing crustal shortening in adjacent thrust belts that shaped the plateau's boundaries since at least the early Eocene.

Wu, C., Zuza, A. V., Zhou, Z., Yin, A., McRivette, M. W., Chen, X., Ding, L., & Geng, J. (2019). Mesozoic-Cenozoic evolution of the Eastern Kunlun Range, central Tibet, and implications for basin evolution during the Indo-Asian collision. Lithosphere, 11(4), 524–550. https://doi.org/10.1130/l1065.1