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Tectonics of- Middle Pleistocene-Holocene (The Neotectonic Period, since 0.78 Ma)

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The Tectonics of China

Abstract

The Neotectonic Period during which the present day landforms were developed was proposed by the Soviet Russian geologist Obruchef in 1948. Using this criterion, his student, Niglayf, considered that the Neotectonic Period commenced during the Miocene or Pliocene Period. However, it was later found that it was not appropriate to define the period only in terms of landform evolution (Ding GY, 2003 (personal communication)). As explained in Chapter 10, the main period for the formation of the present landforms of the Chinese continent mainly formed in the Miocene-Early Pleistocene. However, if the rules of priority are followed, it was unnecessary to introduce a “Neotectonic Period”, as Huang JQ (1945) had already defined the Himalayan Tectonic Period to cover the same period, and this usage was widely applied in China.

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  1. School of Earth Sciences & Resources, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing, 100083, China

    Prof. Tianfeng Wan

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Wan, T. (2010). Tectonics of- Middle Pleistocene-Holocene (The Neotectonic Period, since 0.78 Ma). In: The Tectonics of China. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11868-5_11

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