A 2-Myr seismite record (3.6-1.6 Ma) from the western Qaidam Basin, NE Tibet

As part of a joint Sino‐German (SG) project, the 723‐m‐deep core SG‐1b (38°21′9.46″N, 92°16′24.72″E) has been drilled from the crest of the Jianshan Anticline, western Qaidam Basin, NE Tibet during 2011. In this study, we focus on the core interval between ~260 and 0 m, which was dated at ~3.6-1.6 Ma. We identify the micro-faults, soft-sediment deformation, slump, and detachment surface in the core as paleoearthquake/tectonics indicators. The core records 164 seismites and five seismite clusters which occurred at 3.61-3.49 Ma, 3.39-3.19 Ma, 3.16-3.09 Ma, 3.00-2.91 Ma, and 2.81-2.75 Ma, suggesting the rate to tectonic strain release by the folds and thrusts in the western Qaidam Basin vary between 3.6 and 2.7 Ma and thus revealing episodic regional deformation.