Analysis on kinematic characteristics of salt structures in Kuqa Depression by using balanced section technology

The original thickness of salt layers and some geological constraints of growth strata of Kuqa Depression in the northern Tarim Basin were predicted.The plastic flow of salt bodies and the kinematic characteristics of salt structures were analyzed by using the balanced section technology.The analysis results indicate that the original thickness of Paleogene Kumugeliemu Formation in Kuqa Depression is about 1130 meters,and the intense structural distortion of salt structures occurred in the later Himalayan period from the Kuqa period to the Quaternary.The balanced sections of salt structures in Kuqa Depression show that the shortened distance along northwest to southeast is 18~31 kilometers,and the shortening rate is from 16% to 34%.In addition,the kinematic characteristics of varying structural belts,sectors and layers in Kuqa Depression are obvious different.The salt layers acted as important detachment and harmonizer in the differential structural distortion.