蔚广盆地南缘断裂带唐山口段山前断层活动性研究

蔚广盆地是山西地堑系北端京西北盆岭构造区内的一个半地堑盆地,蔚广盆地南缘断裂带为控制该盆地形成的边界断裂。该断裂带位于唐山口段的山前断裂在冲洪积扇体上形成了线性特征显著的断层陡坎。横跨断层陡坎开挖的探槽表明该条山前断裂属于全新世活动断裂,探槽揭示了2条活动断层以及相应的3次古地震事件。在距今约9ka时其中一条断层首次活动,之后在距今约7.3ka时该条断层再次活动并引发了另一条断层的形成与同步活动。最后它们又发生了第三次活动,而最新一次活动的时间由于相应地表沉积的缺失而无法获得。这3次古地震事件的累积垂直位错约为8.1m。估算出整条山前断裂的平均复发周期约为1.7ka、平均滑动速率约为1.6mm/a。此外还依据经验公式估算出了各次古地震的参考震级。     

内蒙古色尔腾山山前断裂带乌加河段古地震活动

通过对色尔腾山山前断裂带乌加河段断层地貌研究，并结合前人对断裂带断裂活动性的工作，分析得到乌加河活动断裂段晚更新世晚期(距今1.445～2.234万年)以来平均垂直位移速率是0.48～0.75 mm/a，全新世早中期以来(距今5 570～8 830年)平均垂直位移速率是0.56～ 0.88 mm/a．利用5个探槽中揭露的古地震现象，结合前人对该断裂带古地震的研究结果，分析确定出2.7万年以来，色尔腾山山前断裂乌加河段共揭露出5次古地震事件，重复间隔约为4 300～4 400年．距今8 000～9 000年之间可能为一个古地震丛，而距今1～2万年之间可能遗漏了两次古地震事件．对比断层陡坎的高度与探槽中揭示出古地震事件的位移和，以及由断层平均位移速率和一次事件的位移得到古地震的重复间隔，得到阿拉盖兔探槽中缺失了3次古地震事件，整个活动断裂段上可能缺失了两次古地震事件．      

内蒙大青山山前活动断裂带的地震破裂分段特征

沿内蒙大青山山前活动断裂进行野外调查及探槽开挖的研究结果表明 ,该断裂西部地段及东部地段的最新活动时期在全新世中期以后及全新世晚期以前 ;中部地段在全新世晚期强烈活动 ,公元 84 9年包头地震的地表破裂沿该段展布。大青山山前台地与断层陡坎分布、洪积扇类型及河流阶地断错等地貌特征、全新世晚期断裂活动范围、沿断裂带探槽开挖获得的古地震事件对比 ,以及现今中小地震震中分布表明 ,全新世晚期大青山山前断裂的活动以土左旗为界 ,该界以西全新世晚期断裂强烈活动 ,该界以东全新世晚期断裂活动不明显。全新世时期大青山山前断裂的活动显示了由东向西的迁移     

新疆北天山乌苏南断层晚第四纪活动特征及其构造意义

乌苏南断裂组发育于北天山山前的独山子逆断裂—背斜带(第3排)和西湖隆起(第4排)之间,在卫星影像显示为4～5排近平行断层陡坎组成,断层晚第四纪以来断层活动明显,沿断层断错山前冲洪积扇、冲沟和水系,形成断续分布的线性陡坎地貌,开挖地质探槽显示乌苏南断层组为高倾角逆走滑型断裂。依据断层断错地貌面年代,估算断层晚更新世以来的垂直活动速率约0.125 mm/a,右旋走滑活动速率为1.25±0.02 mm/a。根据乌苏南断层带所处的位置及构造特性,推断该断裂很可能是天山山前第3排背斜带与第4排背斜带之间的过度转换断层。     

临泽断裂新活动特征初步研究

临泽断裂在地貌上可见3条断层陡坎,总体走向NNW,最长约8 km,东侧和中间陡坎主体倾向E,西侧陡坎倾向W。①利用差分GPS对3条断层陡坎进行了详细的测量,发现临泽断层陡坎较低,局部发育多级断层陡坎,坡角较缓,高度几十厘米至1米多;②在临泽断裂上选取4个探槽剖面进行古地震分析、样品采集和年代测试,发现东侧和中间的断层陡坎为正断层所控制,西侧的断层陡坎为逆断层所控制;③探槽开挖揭露出晚更新世晚期以来,临泽断裂上发生过4次古地震事件,时间分别为(8 895±125)a B.P.之前、(7 245±75)a B.P.～(6 190±20)a B.P.、(5120±20)a B.P.～(4.8±0.5)ka和(2 550±50)a B.P.～(2 326±64)a;④全新世以来可以确定3次事件,较早一次事件与榆木山北缘断裂上较早一次古地震事件时间比较吻合,说明临泽断裂可能是榆木山断裂向河西走廊内部继续活动的延伸;最后一次古地震事件的离逝时间约为2 500 a,表明临泽断裂全新世活动一直比较强烈。     

河西走廊西端花海断裂晚第四纪活动特征

花海断裂是位于河西走廊西端阿尔金断裂系北侧花海盆地内的一条活动断裂,对该断裂活动性的认识不仅有助于评估该区的地震危险性,而且对深入理解青藏高原向北扩展过程中块体相互作用具有重要的科学意义。遥感解译与地震地质调查表明,花海断裂仅局限于花海盆地内,长度约25 km。断裂走向NNW,南端起自花海镇以南,向北经小泉、大泉、双泉子后穿过山水河,向北逐渐消失在北山山前大型冲积扇前。地貌上,花海断裂南部表现为线性延伸的断层陡坎,北段构成了风成砂丘与冲洪积扇的界线。在断裂北段跨断层陡坎进行了探槽开挖,探槽揭露和光释光年代学测试结果表明,该断裂最新一次古地震事件的时间距今约5万年,全新世以来没有明显的活动迹象,为晚更新世活动断裂。结合陡坎位错分析,花海断裂晚第四纪以来垂直滑动速率小于0.03 mm/a。区域大地构造动力学背景分析表明,花海断裂是在青藏高原向北扩展作用下盆地内形成的次一级活动断裂,是高原外围块体对青藏高原向外扩展的响应。     

中国大陆古地震研究的关键技术与案例解析(1)——走滑活动断裂的探槽地点、布设与事件识别标志

古地震研究的主要目标是识别或揭露地质地貌记录的大地震变形遗迹,确定大地震发生的时间、复发特征、同震位移量等参数。要实现这样的目标,探槽开挖地点能否完整记录晚第四纪发生的古地震事件、能否获取大量的测年样品以控制事件发生的年代、能否正确地识别这些事件等是关键,并直接关系到未来大地震危险性评价的可靠性。由于走滑断裂位移发生的特殊性,好的探槽研究地点并不普遍。文中在综合分析走滑断裂同震地表变形特征、影响因素的基础上,通过案例分析,总结出可能成为走滑断裂古地震研究和探槽开挖的候选地点,如洼地、盆地、槽谷、断塞塘、被同步位移连续错开的冲沟床、连续的坎前堆积地层和多级地貌面连续变形等。组合探槽或三维探槽应该是走滑断裂探槽布设的首选。跨断层微地貌位错、断错地层以及上覆更新地层、局部坎前堆积和裂缝充填堆积、不同地层单元沿断层面位移量的突然增加或降低、不同程度的弯曲变形、不同期次的古断塞塘(坑)堆积等,可以作为重要的事件识别依据。要降低古地震识别的不确定性,需要理顺研究程序,明确技术方案,逐一精心实施。认识和结论的得出需要反复推敲,并广泛讨论,同时需要注意细节以及各种信息的相互补充和印证。     

祁连山北缘玉门断裂晚更新世以来的活动速率及古地震

玉门断裂位于青藏高原东北缘的祁连山造山带西段,与阿尔金断裂相邻,构造位置特殊,是青藏高原北缘向外扩展的最新活动证据。近20a越来越多的研究使得对其认识逐渐从弱活动向强活动转变。因此,玉门断裂作为1条青藏高原北缘祁连山造山带中新生的活动断裂和褶皱带,确定它晚更新世至全新世的活动性和古地震复发周期具有重要的意义。文中通过对玉门断裂山前冲积扇面和北大河阶地的影像解译与断层陡坎的测量,以及对2条不同断层陡坎的探槽开挖工作,获得了以下几点认识:1)玉门断裂全新世以来的垂直活动速率为0.41~0.48mm/a,晚更新世晚期以来的垂直活动速率为0.24~0.30mm/a。2)玉门断裂全新世以来共发生4次古地震事件,这4次古地震分别发生在6.12~10.53kaBP、3.6~5.38kaBP、1.64~1.93kaBP和0.63~1.64kaBP。总体上表现出复发间隔逐渐缩短,活动性增强的趋势,并且每次古地震都可能造成多支断层同时破裂,形成陡坎。     

阳关断裂带变形样式及其对阿尔金断裂扩展的指示意义

阳关断裂位于青藏高原北部阿尔金断裂系向北扩展的前缘位置,对其几何学和运动学的深入研究,有助于理解青藏高原向大陆内部扩展的机制。文章通过卫星影像解译、探槽开挖、差分GPS及无人机测量等对阳关断裂开展了详细研究。结果显示：阳关断裂东段发育多条正反向断层陡坎,断层陡坎高度在0.4～8 m之间,平均约2.2 m,探槽揭示断裂倾角约60°,形成高角度逆断层,局部发育正断层;西段断裂向北西前缘扩展,形成一组弧形分布的断层陡坎,陡坎高度多在0.9～2.4 m,平均约1.9 m。同时自南向北,逆冲断层陡坎形态由多级陡坎转为单一陡坎。对探槽剖面分析,显示断裂断错晚更新世冲洪积砾石层,发育的断层倾角较缓,以低角度逆冲为主要特征,约26°,有的甚至沿地层向前推覆。结合前人的研究成果,阳关断裂可能为本区阿尔金向北扩展的北边界,与三危山断裂共同协调吸收了阿尔金断裂东段的部分应变量。     

榆木山北缘断裂古地震特征研究

榆木山北缘断裂位于祁连山主体山系以北的榆木山北部边缘.断裂活动形成一系列沿山前发育的断层陡坎.通过探槽剖面对发生在该断裂带上的古地震事件进行了分析,大致可以确定全新世以来的2次古地震事件.事件Ⅰ的年代为距今(4.066±0.086)ka;事件Ⅱ为距今(6.852±0.102)ka至(6.107±0.082)ka之间.该...     

Paleoseismic activity on Wujiahe segment of Serteng piedmont fault,inner Mongolia

Geomorphic study on Wjiahe segment of Serteng piedmont fault,Inner Mongolia is made.Throuth analysis of the available data in combination with the results of predecessors‘studies it can be obtained that average vertical displacement rate is 0.48-0.75mm/a along the Wujiahe segment since the late Pleistocene(14.450-22.340ka BP)and 0.56-0.88mm/s since the early-middle Holocene(5.570-8.830ka BP).Analyzing paleoseismic phenomena revealed in the excavated 5trenches in combination with the results of predecessors‘studies of paleoearthquakes on the fault,we determine five paleoseismic events on the Wujiahe segment of Serteng piedmont fault since 27.0ka BP and the recurrence interval to be about 4.300-4.400ka,A cluster of paleoearthquakes occurred probably during 8.000-9.000ka BP and two paleoeismic events in 10.000-20.000ka BP may be missed.A comparison between height of fault scarps and sum of displacement caused by paleoseismic events revealed in trenches,and recurrence interval of paleoseismic events obtained from average displacement rate along the fault and the disloca-tion by one event suggest that three paleoseismic events are absent in Alagaitu trench.Two paleoseismic events may be absent on the whole active fault segment.     

PALEOSEIMOLOGY AND LATE QUATERNARY SLIP RATE OF THE YOUSHASHAN FAULT AT SOUTHWESTERN MARGIN OF QAIDAM BASIN

The Youshashan Fault lies in the south flank of Yingxiongling anticline, southwestern margin of Qaidam Basin. The Yingxiongling anticline is one of the most active neotectonics, situated at the front of folds expanding southward in the Qaidam Basin. Research on the paleoseimology and Late Quaternary slip rate of this fault is important for hazard assessment and understanding tectonic deformation in this area. We excavated a 27-m-long trench across the Youshashan fault where a pressure bridge formed on the Holocene alluvial fans, measured a profile of the fold scarp created by the fault west of the Youshashan mountain, and collected several samples of finer sands for luminescence dating. Analysis of these data shows that(1) The Youshashan Fault is a Holocene active feature. The fold scarp in the basin indicates that this fault has been active along a same surface trace since at least mid-late Pleistocene. At least two paleoseismic events are revealed by trenching, both occurred in Holocene. The latest event Ⅱ in the trench happened after 500a. The current information fails to confidently support that it is the 1977 Mangya M6.4 earthquake, but cannot excludes the possibility of it is related to this earthquake. The other event Ⅰ occurred about between 1 000a to 4 000a. Erosion after the event Ⅰ prevents us to constrain the event age and to identify more events further. (2)The vertical slip rate of the Youshashan fault is about(0.38±0.06)mm/a since mid-late Pleistocene. Comparing with relative speeds of GPS sites across the Yingxiongling anticline suggests that the Youshashan fault is an important structure which is accommodating crustal shortening in this region.     

Rare destructive earthquakes in Europe: The 1904 Bulgaria event case

Seismic hazard is difficult to assess in regions of low strain rates. A major limitation often relates to the absence of large instrumentally recorded events precluding any comparison between seismological data and paleoseismic or morphotectonic informations. We take advantage of the 1904 M_s∼7.1 earthquake that struck the southern edge of stable Eurasia and investigate if morphotectonic and paleoseismic observations can provide a reliable estimate of the seismic potential of slow-slipping faults. We have conducted a paleoseismic study of the Krupnik normal fault thought to be responsible for the event. A section of the fault bearing remnants of a 2 m-high scarp has been selected at the base of triangular facets. The trenching site locates where the scarp cuts across colluviums washed from the bedrock facetted slopes. We excavated two neighbouring trenches, one across a well-preserved portion of the scarp, and one across a portion degraded by a landslide. The excavations reveal a set of coarse colluvial units faulted against bedrock and affected by secondary fissures. Faulting appears to have resulted from a single event with normal throw greater than 1.3 m that occurred before the emplacement of the landslide. Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates of charcoal samples are consistent with the interpretation that the Krupnik Fault slipped recently, most probably in 1904, after a long lasting (> 10 ka) period of quiescence. The morphotectonic and paleoseismic observations yield seismic moment estimates compatible with the instrumental magnitude of the event and indicate that destructive and infrequent earthquakes typify the regional seismic behaviour.     

Paleoseismic indications along ‘aseismic’ fault segments in the guadalentín depression (SE Spain)

The Guadalentín Depression, located in SE Spain (Murcia Region), is bounded by two of the main NE-SW master faults of the Eastern Betics Cordilleras: The Lorca-Alhama and the Palomares left-lateral strike-slip faults. Available earthquake data indicate that, in the last 600 years, some sectors of the Lorca-Alhama Fault and the entire sector of the Palomares Fault have not been associated with significant historical seismicity. However, they show a wide range of diagnostic features of earthquake surface displacements on late Pleistocene and Holocene alluvial and colluvial surfaces. Aside from the left-lateral offsets recorded along 045–050 ° master fault strands of the Lorca-Alhama Fault, major paleoseismic surface displacements show different kinematics in relation to the broad orientation of the fault strands: (1) vertical normal displacements along 010–020 ° trending faults mainly preserved as degraded fault scarps of 2.5-1.8 m high (Aljibejo site); and (2) vertical reverse displacements, with average offsets of 0.2 – 1 m, along 065–080 ° subsidiary faults. In this last group, the younger one (Carraclaca Baths site) remains as a fault scarp of 0.8 m height affecting a cascade tufa which was active until the Spanish Roman Period (2nd Century B.C. to 6th Century A.D.). In other cases, reverse offsets resulted in smaller displacements (0.26 m) of paleosols, but show a recurrent behaviour (La Escarihuela site). The strongest earthquakes recorded in the study area did not exceed more than Mb 4.5 or MSK Intensity VIII (historical) with no evidence of coseismic rupture. Therefore, the preliminary data presented here seem to indicate that the paleoseismic activity on both faults is capable of producing coseismic surface displacements, probably reaching magnitudes of at least 6.5. These data show that paleoseismic studies based on geomorphological analyses are a useful tool in the assessment of the relative degree of activity of apparently ‘aseismic’ fault traces.     

Holocene slip rate and paleoearthquake records of the Salt Lake segment of the Northern Zhongtiaoshan Fault,Shanxi Province

The Northern Zhongtiaoshan Fault is a major deep fault at the southern margin of the Yuncheng Basin. There have been few studies on the fault, and the historical earthquakes are few and weak. However, the intensity of activity on the fault should never be underestimated. Through interpretations of aerial images, topography measurements and excavation of trenches, this paper studied the fault distribution, the surface deformation and the activity of the normal fault south of Salt Lake near the city of Yuncheng. By tracing faults in the three trenches, it was found that there had been at least three large paleoseismic events, at 1–3.5, 3.6–4.4 and 7.4–8.8 ka BP. Employing 14 C dating, we determined the same gravel layers in the uplifted side and downthrown side. Making differential Global Positioning System measurements of the vertical difference and topographic profile, we obtained the mean slip rate of the Northern Zhongtiaoshan Fault since 24.7 ka BP(0.75±0.05 mm/a). Using the results of relevant studies, we calculated the possible vertical fault displacement of one earthquake(2.35 m) and obtained the recurrence interval of characteristic earthquakes as 2940–3360 a after dividing the displacement by the mean slip rate.     

THE QUANTATIVE STUDY ON ACTIVITY OF DENGDENGSHAN-CHIJIACIWO FAULTS SINCE LATE QUATERNARY

The Dengdengshan and Chijiaciwo faults situate in the northeast flank of Kuantanshan uplift at the eastern terminal of Altyn Tagh fault zone, striking northwest as a whole and extending 19 kilometers and 6.5 kilometers for the Dengdengshan and Chijiaciwo Fault, respectively. Based on satellite image interpretation, trenching, faulted geomorphology surveying and samples dating etc., we researched the new active characteristics of the faults. Three-levels of geomorphic surfaces, i.e. the erosion rock platform, terrace I and terrace Ⅱ, could be found in the northeast side of Kuantanshan Mountain. The Dengdengshan Fault dislocated all geomorphic surfaces except terrace I, and the general height of scarp is about 1.5 meters, with the maximum reaching 2.6 meters. Three paleoseismic events are determined since late Pleistocene through trenching, and the total displacement of three events is about 2.7 meters, the average vertical dislocation of each event changed from 0.5 to 1.2 meters. By collecting age samples and dating, the event Ⅰ occurred about 5ka BP, event Ⅱ occurred about 20ka BP, and event Ⅲ occurred about 35ka BP. The recurrence interval is about 15ka BP; and the vertical slip rate since the late Pleistocene is about 0.04mm/a. The Chijiaciwo Fault, however, dislocated all three geomorphic surfaces, and the general scarp height is about 2.0 meters with the maximum up to 4.0 meters. Three paleoseismic events are determined since late Pleistocene through trenching, and the total displacement of three events is about 3.25 meters, the average vertical dislocation of each event changed from 0.75 to 1.5 meters, and the vertical slip rate since the late Pleistocene is about 0.06mm/a. Although the age constraint of paleoearthquakes on Chijiaciwo Fault is not as good as that of Dengdengshan Fault, the latest event on Chijiaciwo Fault is later than Dengdengshan Fault's. Furthermore, we infer that the recurrence interval of Chijiaciwo Fault is 15ka BP, which is close to that of Dengdengshan Fault. The latest event on Chijiaciwo Fault is later than the Dengdengshan Fault's, and the vertical displacement and the slip rate of a single event in late Quaternary are both larger than that of Dengdengshan Fault. Additionally, a 5-kilometer-long discontinuity segment exists between these two faults and is covered by Quaternary alluvial sand gravel. All these indicate that the activity of the Chijiaciwo Fault and Dengdengshan Fault has obvious segmentation feature. The size of Chijiaciwo Fault and Dengdengshan Fault are small, and the vertical slip rate of 0.04~0.06mm/a is far smaller than that of Qilianshan Fault and the NW-striking faults in Jiuxi Basin. All these indeicate that the tectonic deformation of this region is mainly concentrated on Hexi Corrider and the interior of Tibet Plateau, while the activties of Chijiaciwo and Dengdengshan faults are characterized by slow slip rate, long recurrence interval(more than 10ka)and slow tectonic deformation.     

STUDY ON PALEOEARTHQUAKES ALONG THE JINGHE SECTION OF BOLOKENU-AQIKEKUDUKE FAULT

The Bolokenu-Aqikekuduk fault zone(B-A Fault)is a 1 000km long right-lateral strike-slip active fault in the Tianshan Mountains. Its late Quaternary activity characteristics are helpful to understand the role of active strike-slip faults in regional compressional strain distribution and orogenic processes in the continental compression environment, as well as seismic hazard assessment. In this paper, research on the paleoearthquakes is carried out by remote sensing image interpretation, field investigation, trench excavation and Quaternary dating in the Jinghe section of B-A Fault. In this paper, two trenches were excavated on in the pluvial fans of Fan2b in the bulge and Fan3a in the fault scarp. The markers such as different strata, cracks and colluvial wedges in the trenches are identified and the age of sedimentation is determined by means of OSL dating for different strata. Four most recent paleoearthquakes on the B-A Fault are revealed in trench TC1 and three most recent paleoearthquakes are revealed in trench TC2. Only the latest event was constrained by the OSL age among the three events revealed in the trench TC2. Therefore, when establishing the recurrence of the paleoearthquakes, we mainly rely on the paleoearthquake events in trench TC1, which are labeled E1-E4 from oldest to youngest, and their dates are constrained to the following time ranges: E1(19.4±2.5)~(19.0±2.5)ka BP, E2(18.6±1.4)~(17.3±1.4)ka BP, E3(12.2±1.2)~(6.6±0.8)ka BP, and E4 6.9~6.2ka BP, respectively. The earthquake recurrence intervals are(1.2±0.5)ka, (8.7±3.0)ka and(2.8±3)ka, respectively. According to the sedimentation rate of the stratum, it can be judged that there is a sedimentary discontinuity between the paleoearthquakes E2 and E3, and the paleoearthquake events between E2 and E3 may not be recorded by the stratum. Ignoring the sedimentary discontinuous strata and the earthquakes occurring during the sedimentary discontinuity, the earthquake recurrence interval of the Jinghe section of B-A Fault is ~1~3ka. This is consistent with the earthquake recurrence interval(~2ka)calculated from the slip rate and the minimum displacement. The elapsed time of the latest paleoearthquake recorded in the trench is ~6.9~6.2ka BP. The magnitude of the latest event defined by the single event displacement on the fault is ~M_W7.4, and a longer earthquake elapsed time indicates the higher seismic risk of the B-A Fault.     

PALEOEARTHQUAKES ALONG PUXIONG FAULT OF DALIANGSHAN FAULT ZONE DURING LATE QUATERNARY

Daliangshan fault zone (DFZ) constitutes an indispensable part of Xianshuihe-Xiaojiang fault system which is one of the main large continental strong earthquake faults in China.Puxiong Fault,the east branch of middle segment of DFZ,is the longest secondary fault.Its paleoseismic activity plays an important role in evaluating regional seismic activity level and building countermeasures of preventing and reducing the earthquake damage.The active fault mapping as well as the study of paleoseismological trench in recent years illustrates that Puxiong Fault is a slightly west-dipping high-angle left-lateral strike-slip fault with strong activity since late Pleistocene.Two trenches excavated across this fault reveal 2 and 3 paleoearthquakes that ruptured the fault at 8206 BC-1172 AD,1084-1549 AD,and 17434-7557 BC,1577-959 BC and 927-1360 AD,respectively.The OxCal model combining the results from both trenches and the another one in previous study across the fault with the historical earthquake record yields the elapsed time of~0.7ka of the latest paleoearthquake event,and the interval time is~2.3ka between the last two events.In the model,the penultimate event is considered to be recorded in all trenches.As all the three trenches are located at north part of the Puxiong Fault whose strike is apparently different from the south part,the~57km long north secondary segment is supposed to be the seismogenic structure of the paleoearthquake.According to the empirical scaling laws between magnitude and rupture length,the magnitude of the surface ruptured paleoearthquake is estimated to be more than M7 with the coseismic displacement~3.5m.However,the difference between the time of the paleoearthquake events on the middle and south segments of DFZ illustrates their independence as earthquake fracture units,and furthermore,the lower connectivity and the new generation of DFZ.     

RUPTURE CHARACTERISTICS OF LATE QUATERNARY STRONG EARTHQUAKES ON THE WESTERN BRANCH OF THE XIAOJIANG FAULT ZONE

The Xiaojiang fault zone is located in the southeastern margin of the Tibetan plateau, the boundary faults of Sichuan-Yunnan block and South China block. The largest historical earthquake in Yunnan Province, with magnitude 8 occurred on the western branch of the Xiaojiang Fault in Songming County, 1833. Research on the Late Quaternary surface deformation and strong earthquake rupture behavior on the Xiaojiang Fault is crucial to understand the future seismic risk of the fault zone and the Sichuan-Yunnan region, even crucial for the study of tectonic evolution of the southeastern margin of Tibetan plateau. We have some new understanding through several large trenches excavated on the western branch of the Xiaojiang fault zone. We excavated a large trench at Caohaizi and identified six paleoseismic events, named U through Z from the oldest to the youngest. Ages of these six events are constrained at 40000-36300BC, 35400-24800BC, 9500BC-500AD, 390-720AD, 1120-1620AD and 1750AD-present. The Ganhaizi trench revealed three paleoearthquakes, named GHZ-E1 to GHZ-E3 from the oldest to the youngest. Ages of the three events are constrained at 3300BC-400AD, 770-1120AD, 1460AD-present. The Dafendi trench revealed three paleoearthquakes, named E1 to E3 from the oldest to the youngest, and their ages are constrained at 22300-19600BC, 18820-18400BC, and 18250-present. Caohaizi and Ganhaizi trenches are excavated on the western branch of the Xiaojiang Fault, the distance between them is 400m. We constrained four late Holocene paleoearthquakes with progressive constraining method, which are respectively at 500-720AD, 770-1120AD, AD 1460-1620 and 1833AD, with an average recurrence interval of 370~440a. Large earthquake recurrence in the late Holocene is less than the recurrence interval of~900a as proposed in the previous studies. Thus, the seismic hazard on the Xiaojiang Fault should be reevaluated. We excavated a large trench at Dafendi, about 30km away south of Caohaizi trench. Combining with previous paleoseismological research, it is found that the western branch of Xiaojiang Fault was likely to be dominated by segmented rupturing in the period from late of Late Pleistocene to early and middle Holocene, while it was characterized by large earthquakes clustering and whole segment rupturing since late Holocene.     

HOLOCENE ACTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTHERN SEGMENT OF THE MINJIANG FAULT IN THE EASTERN MARGIN OF THE TIBETAN PLATEAU

As a part of the north-south seismic zone in China, a lot of M6.0-7.2 earthquakes have occurred in the margin faults of the Minshan block in history. This work attempted to characterize the geometry and activity of the north section of the Minjiang fault in this region based on high-resolution satellite images, geologic and geomorphic investigations, micro-geomorphic surveys, and trench excavation. The results show left-lateral-slip and Holocene activity of this structure. Along it, the offset landform has a continuous linearity on Ⅱ terraces near the Chuanpan village. The vertical height of the fault scarp measures 3.1 meters, which is almost the same as the accumulative horizontal displacement of the gully. The accumulative horizontal shortening due to faulting is 3.0 meters. Calculation using the model of displacement-dependent characteristic earthquakes shows both the vertical and horizontal co-seismic displacements and the horizontal shortening amount are about 1.0 meter. While strata dating suggests that the vertical and horizontal slip rates are all about 0.7-0.9mm/a, and the horizontal shortening rate is approximately 1.0-1.1mm/a. The excavated trench, perpendicular to the fault trace, reveals low-angle thrust dipping in 260åt 29°. From the relationship of the fault, colluvial wedge and stratigraphy ages, three palaeoseismic events are identified from youngest to oldest at 0-295a BP, 1 405-1 565a BP, and 2 750-2 875a BP, respectively, with recurrence intervals 1 110-1 565 years and elapsed time about 0-295 years。According to the relationship between magnitude and active parameters, it is considered that the northern segment of the Minjiang fault is capable of generating M7 or greater earthquakes. Now it is in the process of stress accumulation, having a certain seismic risk.