Wave coupling between the Tianshan orogen and the deformations in its south and north foreland basins in Cenozoic

Attention has been paid to the deformations in the south and north foreland basins of the Tianshan Mountains and their relations to the tectonic movements of the mountains. Based on the seismic data interpretation and field work, the tectonic features, tectonic styles, controlling factors of deformation, deformation time, and their relationships in the three tectonic units were comparably studied. The Cenozoic deformations in the two foreland basins were characterized by zonation from south to north, segmentation from west to east, and layering from deep to shallow. The tectonic styles are compressive ones, including both basement-involved and cover-detaching. The two foreland basins underwent several times of deformation in Cenozoic and the deformations were transmitted from the Tianshan orogen to the inner basin. The deformation dynamics of the south and north foreland basins of the Tianshan Mountains can be represented by dynamics of orogenic wedges. In terms of the deformations of the wedges with wave-like features, the concept of a wave orogenic wedge was put forward, and a double wave orogenic wedge model was established.