Uplift processes for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: A comparative study of Yecheng section and Siwalik group

Comparative studies of the Yecheng section at the northern piedmont of the Kunlun Mountain, and the Surai Khola section at the southern piedmont of the Himalayan Mountain, indicates that the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is dominated by continuous uplift over the past 10 Ma. And the effective time scale for dividing the uplift stages would be 1 Ma. The uplift processes of the entire plateau can be divided mainly into three stages, i.e., a slow uplift stage (10.0-6.0 MaBP), a transitional uplift stage (6.0-2.5 MaBP) and a rapid uplift stage (since 2.5 MaBP). The plateau might have risen to 2000 m above sea level by 4.6 MaBP in response to uplift and to more than 3000 in by 2.5 MaBP.