VERTICAL TRANSFORM FAULT A NEW TYPE OF FAULT IN HIGH ASIA AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR GEODYNAMICS

Since the sixties ,a lot of geophysical work ,including gravity survey ,seismic sounding and heat flow measurements ,has revealed many new phenomena about the structures of the lower crust and mantle underneath High Asia .Among other things ,it should be pointed out that a set of high angle deep faults penetrating the crust and cutting the Moho have been displayed in High Asia ,including the Pamir Himalaya region and the Qinghai Tibet plateau.The study of this set of deep faults ,however,is rather insufficient.In this paper the set of faults are dicussed and recognized as a set of vertical transform faults and so named .They have played a special dynamic role in the uplift and young orogeny of High Asia.The type of fault also should have its position and role in the ancient mountain belt.