Movement of Ordos block and alternation of activity along its boundaries

The GPS data in and around the Ordos block area indicate that the left-lateral slip rate along the northern or southern margin of the Ordos block is about twice or three times as fast as the right-lateral slip rate along the eastern or western margin of the block. However, many researchers stressed the dextral-slip of the eastern or western boundaries of the Ordos block, and suggested that the block as a whole rotated counterclockwise based on the available geological data. Focusing on the inconsistency, we reexamine the late Cenozoic deformation pattern in the Ordos region based on seismicity data and geodesy data (GPS and leveling) around it. The results indicate that the rigid block-like motion appears to be the basic characteristic of the kinematics of the Ordos region, and this motion is absorbed by the displacement of the faults around the block. When the faults along the northern and southern boundaries of the Ordos block are active, its eastern boundary is inactive. However, if the faults along the eastern boundary are active, the northern and southern are inactive. In recent years, the northern and southern boundaries of the Ordos block are in active. But in the long term, the Ordos block is moving southeastward relative to the Alxa and Yinshan blocks because of the strong pushing of the Tibetan Plateau on its southwestern side, and this deformation is accommodated by the counterclockwise rotation of the block itself.