A methodology for qualitative and quantitative assessment of compressional deformation from growth strata: the Dibei structural zone, Kuqa Depression, Northwestern China.

Investigations into compressional deformation constitute a central research focus within foreland settings. A methodologically integrated approach-combining depth difference mapping with growth rate quantification derived from growth strata architecture-provides a robust basis for both qualitatively resolving discrete deformation stages and quantitatively constraining deformation intensity. Application of this approach to the Dibei structural zone, northern Kuqa Depression, reveals that late Cenozoic compressional deformation initiated no later than the deposition of the upper Jidike Formation and exhibits pronounced east-west spatial heterogeneity. This heterogeneity permits a systematic segmentation of the zone into three distinct domains: western, central, and eastern. Within the stratigraphic interval spanning the upper Jidike Formation to the middle-lower Kuqa Formation, deformation was comparatively weak and broadly distributed. In contrast, since the deposition of the upper Kuqa Formation (~ 4 Ma), moderate deformation has persisted in the central segment, while the western and eastern segments have undergone intense deformation. This moderate to intense compressional deformation is attributed to the accelerated uplift of the Southern Tianshan.