Paleozoic structural styles and evolution of the North Tarim Uplift

Abstract：The North Tarim Uplift is one of the most important oil and gas-bearing areas in the Tarim Basin. Seismic section and balanced section were used to reveal its structural styles and evolution. The structural styles in the North Tarim Uplift are remarkably different in its different parts. Yingmaili in the west of the North Tarim Uplift mainly has decollement folds and faults and 'y'-style transpressure faults, while the east of the North Tarim Uplift has well-developed basement-involved faults, fault-propagated-folds and recoil faults. There are two mechanisms responsible for the difference. First, during the Sinian-Early Ordovician period, the east part developed normal faults, which were inverted later and formed the basement-involved structure. Second, salt was deposited in Yingmaili during Middle Cambrian, which was favorable for the development of the decollment structure. The evolution is also different in different parts. During the Sinian-Early Ordovician period, the east part developed huge normal faults, while the Yingmaili was a stable carbonatite platform. During the Late Ordovician-Devonian period,the east part was inverted and uplifted, whereas Yingmaili was only the slope of the uplift. During Carboniferous and Permian, all parts of the North Tarim Uplift underwent serious deformation.