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Abstract:
At the northwestern tip of the India‐Asia collision zone, the Pamir orocline overrides the Tajik Depression and the Tarim Basin and collides with the Tian Shan. Currently, the Pamir's northern edge exhibits localized shortening rates of 13‐19 mm/yr. While the eastern Pamir and the Tarim Basin move northward nearly en‐block, north‐south shortening decreases westward along the Pamir front into the Tajik Depression. In the northeastern Tajik Depression, the wedge‐shaped crustal sliver of the Peter the First Range is squeezed between the dextral‐transpressive Vakhsh and the sinistral‐transpressive Darvaz faults. GPS data collected along two densely surveyed profiles detail the kinematics of north‐south shortening and westward lateral extrusion in the northwestern Pamir. 2016 campaign data suggest a short‐duration dextral‐slip activation of the Darvaz fault, which we interpret as a far‐field effect triggered by the 2015, Mw7.2 Sarez, Central Pamir earthquake. 2013‐2015 interseismic GPS velocities and kinematic modeling show that the Darvaz fault zone accommodates ~15 mm/yr sinistral shear and ~10 mm/yr fault‐normal extension below a locking depth of 9.0 +0.4/‐1.1 km. The Vakhsh fault shows shortening rates of 15 +4/‐2 mm/yr and dextral shear rates of 16 +3/‐4 mm/yr. Jointly, these faults accommodate NW‐SE shortening and southwestward material flow out of the Peter the First Range into the Tajik Depression. Together with seismic and geologic data, our and published geodetic surveys showcase the prolonged interaction of shortening and lateral material flow out of a plateau margin.
