When did Cenozoic left-slip along the Altyn Tagh Fault initiate? A comprehensive approach

The active left-lateral Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) defines the tectonic northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, and is one of the largest and most important faults worldwide. The fast slip along the fault is regarded as one of the major ways to absorb the India-Tibet convergence. However, when did Cenozoic left-slip on the ATF initiate remains a subject of hot debate possibly due to the complexity of the fault itself. In this paper, we focus on the various geological responses to the left-slip on the fault, and figure out their formation time which is helpful in understanding the timing of left-slip along the ATF. They are; (1) provenance change in western Qaidam Basin; (2) Late Cenozoic flexural SE Tarim Basin; (3) NE-SW directed upper-crustal shortening in NE Tibetan Plateau; (4) strike-slip related basins and (5) the linear mountain along the ATF. The result shows that these slip-related phenomena all formed after Mid-Miocene (ca. 15 +/- 2Ma), which we accordingly interpret as the initial time of left-slip along the ATF. We also analyze the possible reason for the discrepancy between Cenozoic long-term slip rates and reported Quaternary slip rates along the ATF, and discuss the ways how the activities of the ATF formed the Altyn Mountain and controlled the Mid-Miocene tectonic reorganization in NE Tibetan Plateau.