HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ACTIVE SANWEISHAN FAULT AND ITS MECHANISM: CONSTRAINTS ON THE GROWTH OF THE NORTHERN QINGHAI-TIBETAN PLATEAU

The northern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is currently the leading edge of uplift and expansion of the plateau. Over the years, a lot of research has been carried out on the deformation and evolution of the northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and many ideas have been put forward, but there are also many disputes. The Altyn Tagh Fault constitutes the northern boundary of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and there are two active faults on the north side of the Altyn Tagh Fault, named Sanweishan Fault with NEE strike and Nanjieshan Fault with EW strike. Especially, studies on the geometric and kinematic parameters of Sanweishan Fault since the Late Quaternary, which is nearly parallel with the Altyn Tagn Fault, are of great significance for understanding the deformation transfer and distribution in the northwestward extension of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Therefore, interpretation of the fault landforms and statistical analysis of the horizontal displacement on the Sanweishan Fault and its newly discovered western extension are carried out in this paper. We believe that the Sanweishan Fault is an important branch of the eastern section of the Altyn Tagh fault zone. It is located at the front edge of the northwestern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and is a left-lateral strike-slip and thrust active fault. Based on the interpretation of satellite imagery and microgeomorphology field investigation of Sanweishan main fault and its western segments, it's been found that the Sanweishan main fault constitutes the contact boundary between the Sanweishan Mountain and the alluvial fans. In the bedrock interior and on the north side of the Mogao Grottoes, there are also some branch faults distributed nearly parallel to the main fault. The main fault is about 150km long, striking 65°, mainly dipping SE with dip angles from 50° to 70°. The main fault can be divided into three segments in the spatial geometric distribution:the western segment(Xizhuigou-Dongshuigou, I), which is about 35km long, the middle segment(Dongshuigou-Shigongkouzi, Ⅱ), about 65km long, and the east segment(Shigongkouzi-Shuangta, Ⅲ), about 50km long. The above three segments are arranged in the left or right stepovers. In the west of Mingshashan, it's been found that the fault scarps are distributed near Danghe Reservoir and Yangguan Town in the west of Minshashan Mountain, and we thought those scarps are the westward extension of the main Sanweishan Fault. Along the main fault and its western extension, the different levels of water system(including gullies and rills)and ridges have been offset synchronously, forming a series of fault micro-geomorphology. The scale of the offset water system is proportional to the horizontal displacement. The frequency statistical analysis of the horizontal displacement shows that the displacement has obvious grouping characteristics, which are divided into 6 groups, and the corresponding peaks are 3.4m, 6.7m, 11.4m, 15m, 22m and 26m, respectively. Among them, 3.4m represents the coseismic displacement of the latest ancient earthquake event, and the larger displacement peak represents the accumulation of coseismic displacements of multi-paleoearthquake events. This kind of displacement characterized by approximately equal interval increase indicates that the Sanweishan Fault has experienced multiple characteristic earthquakes since the Late Quaternary and has the possibility of occurrence of earthquakes greater than magnitude 7. The distribution of displacement and structural transformation of the end of the fault indicate that Sanweishan Fault is an "Altyn Tagh Fault"in its infancy. The activities of Sanweishan Fault and its accompanying mountain uplift are the result of the transpression of the northern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, representing one of the growth patterns of the northern margin of the plateau.     

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.     

阿尔金断裂带西段车尔臣河以西晚第四纪以来的滑动速率研究

通过分析阿尔金断裂带西段车尔臣河出山口以西 85°～ 86°E的高精度SPOT卫星影像 ,结合野外考察和年代学研究 ,对阿尔金断裂带西段 3个典型走滑断层的断错地貌进行了研究。在库拉木拉克 ,阿尔金断裂带西段自 (6 0 2± 0 4 7)kaBP以来的左旋滑动速率为 (11 6± 2 6 )mm/a ,自 (15 6 7± 1 19)kaBP以来的左旋滑动速率为 (9 6± 2 6 )mm/a ;阿羌牧场附近 ,自 (2 0 6± 0 16 )kaBP以来的左旋滑动速率为 (12 1± 1 9)mm/a ;达拉库岸萨依附近 ,自 (4 91± 0 39)kaBP以来的左旋滑动速率为(12 2± 3 0 )mm/a。由此得到阿尔金断裂带全新世以来的平均滑动速率约为 (11 4± 2 5 )mm/a。以阿尔金断裂带走向N75°E计算 ,阿尔金断裂带西段左旋走滑所吸收的青藏高原SN向缩短速率为 (3 0±0 6 )mm/a     

THE PALEOSEISMIC SURFACE RUPTURE AT SOUTH OF CENTRAL ALTYN TAGH FAULT AND ITS TECTONIC IMPLICATION

In this study, we described a 14km-long paleoearthquakes surface rupture across the salt flats of western Qaidam Basin, 10km south of the Xorkol segment of the central Altyn Tagh Fault, with satellite images interpretation and field investigation methods. The surface rupture strikes on average about N80°E sub-parallel to the main Altyn Tagh Fault, but is composed of several stepping segments with markedly different strike ranging from 68°N~87°E. The surface rupture is marked by pressure ridges, sub-fault strands, tension-gashes, pull-apart and faulted basins, likely caused by left-lateral strike-slip faulting. More than 30 pressure ridges can be distinguished with various rectangular, elliptical or elongated shapes. Most long axis of the ridges are oblique(90°N~140°E)to, but a few are nearly parallel to the surface rupture strike. The ridge sizes vary also, with heights from 1 to 15m, widths from several to 60m, and lengths from 10 to 100m. The overall size of these pressure ridges is similar to those found along the Altyn Tagh Fault, for instance, south of Pingding Shan or across Xorkol. Right-stepping 0.5~1m-deep gashes or sub-faults, with lengths from a few meters to several hundred meters, are distributed obliquely between ridges at an angle reaching 30°. The sub-faults are characterized with SE or NW facing 0.5~1m-high scarps. Several pull-apart and faulted basins are bounded by faults along the eastern part of the surface rupture. One large pull-apart basins are 6~7m deep and 400m wide. A faulted basin, 80m wide, 500m long and 3m deep, is bounded by 2 left-stepping left-lateral faults and 4 right-stepping normal faults. Two to three m-wide gashes are often seen on pressure ridges, and some ridges are left-laterally faulted and cut into several parts, probably owing to the occurrence of repetitive earthquakes. The OSL dating indicates that the most recent rupture might occur during Holocene.
Southwestwards the rupture trace disappears a few hundred meters north of a south dipping thrust scarp bounding uplifted and folded Plio-Quaternary sediments to the south. Thrust scarps can be followed southwestward for another 12km and suggest a connection with the south Pingding Shan Fault, a left-lateral splay of the main Altyn Tagh Fault. To the northeast the rupture trace progressively veers to the east and is seen cross-cutting the bajada south of Datonggou Nanshan and merging with active thrusts clearly outlined by south facing cumulative scarps across the fans. The geometry of this strike-slip fault trace and the clear young seismic geomorphology typifies the present and tectonically active link between left-lateral strike-slip faulting and thrusting along the eastern termination of the Altyn Tagh Fault, a process responsible for the growth of the Tibetan plateau at its northeastern margin. The discrete relation between thrusting and strike-slip faulting suggests discontinuous transfer of strain from strike-slip faulting to thrusting and thus stepwise northeastward slip-rate decrease along the Altyn Tagh Fault after each strike-slip/thrust junction.     

ANALYSIS OF EVOLUTION OF THE RIYUESHAN FAULT SINCE LATE PLEISTOCENE USING STRUCTURAL GEOMORPHOLOGY

The northeastern margin of Tibetan plateau is an active block controlled by the eastern Kunlun fault zone, the Qilian Shan-Haiyuan fault zone, and the Altyn Tagh fault zone. It is the frontier and the sensitive area of neotectonic activity since the Cenozoic. There are widespread folds, thrust faults and stike-slip faults in the northeastern Tibetan plateau produced by the intensive tectonic deformation, indicating that this area is suffering the crustal shortening, left-lateral shear and vertical uplift. The Riyueshan Fault is one of the major faults in the dextral strike-slip faults systems, which lies between the two major large-scale left-lateral strike-slip faults, the Qilian-Haiyuan Fault and the eastern Kunlun Fault. In the process of growing and expanding of the entire Tibetan plateau, the dextral strike-slip faults play an important role in regulating the deformation and transformation between the secondary blocks. In the early Quaternary, because of the northeastward expansion of the northeastern Tibetan plateau, tectonic deformations such as NE-direction extrusion shortening, clockwise rotation, and SEE-direction extrusion occurred in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan plateau, which lead to the left-lateral slip movement of the NWW-trending major regional boundary faults. As the result, the NNW-trending faults which lie between these NWW direction faults are developed. The main geomorphic units developed within the research area are controlled by the Riyueshan Fault, formed due to the northeastward motion of the Tibet block. These geomorphic units could be classified as:Qinghai Lake Basin, Haiyan Basin, Datonghe Basin, Dezhou Basin, and the mountains developed between the basins such as the Datongshan and the Riyueshan. Paleo basins, alluvial fans, multiple levels of terraces are developed at mountain fronts. The climate variation caused the formation of the geomorphic units during the expansion period of the lakes within the northeastern Tibetan plateau. There are two levels of alluvial fans and three levels of fluvial terrace developed in the study area, the sediments of the alluvial fans and fluvial terraces formed by different sources are developed in the same period. The Riyueshan Fault connects with the NNW-trending left-lateral strike-slip north marginal Tuoleshan fault in the north, and obliquely connects with the Lajishan thrust fault in the south. The fault extends for about 180km from north to south, passing through Datonghe, Reshui coal mine, Chaka River, Tuole, Ketu and Xicha, and connecting with the Lajishan thrusts near the Kesuer Basin. The Riyueshan Fault consists of five discontinuous right-step en-echelon sub-fault segments, with a spacing of 2~3km, and pull-apart basins are formed in the stepovers. The Riyueshan Fault is a secondary fault located in the Qaidam-Qilian active block which is controlled by the major boundary faults, such as the East Kunlun Fault and the Qilian-Haiyuan Fault. Its activity characteristics provide information of the outward expansion of the northeastern margin of Tibet. Tectonic landforms are developed along the Riyueshan Fault. Focusing on the distinct geomorphic deformation since late Pleistocene, the paper obtains the vertical displacement along the fault strike by RTK measurement method. Based on the fault growth-linkage theory, the evolution of the Riyueshan Fault and the related kinetic background are discussed. The following three conclusions are obtained:1)According to the characteristics of development of the three-stage 200km-long steep fault scarp developed in the landforms of the late Pleistocene alluvial fans and terraces, the Riyueshan Fault is divided into five segments, with the most important segment located in the third stepover(CD-3); 2)The three-stage displacement distribution pattern of the Riyueshan Fault reveals that the fault was formed by the growths and connections of multiple secondary faults and is in the second stage of fault growth and connection. With CD-3 as the boundary, the faults on the NW side continue to grow and connect; the fault activity time on the SE side is shorter, and the activity intensity is weaker; 3)The extreme value of the fault displacement distribution curve indicates the location of strain concentration and stress accumulation. With the stepover CD-3 as the boundary, the stress and strain on NW side are mainly concentrated in the middle and fault stepovers. The long-term accumulation range of stress on the SE side is relatively dispersed. The stress state may be related to the counterclockwise rotation inside the block under the compression of regional tectonic stress.     

河西走廊西段及邻区主要断裂（一）-晚新生代逆断层与走滑断层的地震剖面解释

基于地震剖面解释的构造分析表明，河西走廊西段及邻区发育有许多晚第三纪-第四纪的逆断层与走滑断层. 其主要类型有两种:一是与北祁连逆冲推覆作用有关的南倾逆断层，其走向北西，主要分布于北祁连山东北缘及河西走廊西南部地区；二是与阿尔金断裂活动有关的逆断层与走滑断层，主要分布于红柳峡、宽台山——合黎山地区. 这些断层与新生代始新世末期以来印-藏碰撞的远距离效应有关. 它们于晚第三纪开始活动，主要活动于第四纪时期，而且大多目前仍在活动，属于活动性断层，是河西走廊地区地震的潜发因素. 此外，它们还造成了地层的强烈变形，形成了一系列的地貌阶地和河流的水平错移.      

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF DEFORMATION MOVEMENT AND STRESS ACCUMULATION IN LONGMENSHAN AND ITS ADJACENT FAULTS BEFORE WENCHUAN EARTHQUAKE

In order to reveal the deformation and cumulative stress state in Longmenshan and its adjacent faults before Wenchuan earthquake,a 3D viscoelastic finite element model,which includes Longmenshan,Longriba,Minjiang and Huya faults is built in this paper.Using the GPS measurement results of 1999-2004 as the boundary constraints,the deformation and movement of Longmenshan fault zone and its adjacent zones before Wenchuan earthquake are simulated.The conclusions are drawn in this paper as follows:First,velocity component parallel to Longmenshan Fault is mainly absorbed by Longriba Fault and velocity component perpendicular to the Longmenshan Fault is mainly absorbed by itself.Because of the barrier effect of Minjiang and Huya faults on the north section of Longmenshan Fault,the compression rate in the northern part of Longmenshan Fault is lower than that in the southern part.Second,extending from SW to NE direction along Longmenshan Fault,the angle between the main compressive stress and the direction of the fault changes gradually from the nearly vertical to 45 degrees. Compressive stress and shear stress accumulation rate is high in southwest segment of Longmenshan Fault and compressive stress is greater;the stress accumulation rate is low and the compressive stress is close to shear stress in the northeast segment of the fault.This is coincident with the fact that small and medium-sized earthquakes occurred frequently and seismic activity is strong in the southwest of the fault,and that there are only occasional small earthquakes and the seismic activity is weak in the northeast of the fault.It is also coincident with the rupture type of thrust and right-lateral strike-slip of the Wenchuan earthquake and thrust of the Lushan earthquake.Third,assuming that the same type and magnitude of earthquake requires the same amount of stress accumulation,the rupture of Minjiang Fault,the southern segment of Longmenshan Fault and the Huya Fault are mainly of thrust movement and the earthquake recurrence period of the three faults increases gradually.In the northern segment of Longriba Fault and Longmenshan Fault,earthquake rupture is of thrusting and right-lateral strike-slip. The earthquake recurrence period of former is shorter than the latter.In the southern segment of Longriba Fault,earthquake rupture is purely of right-lateral strike-slip,it is possible that the earthquake recurrence period on the fault is the shortest in the study region.     

GEOMORPHIC FEATURES AND LATE QUATERNARY SLIP RATE OF THE SOUTHERN ZONGWULONG SHAN FAULT

With the continuous collision of the India and Eurasia plate in Cenozoic, the Qilian Shan began to uplift strongly from 12Ma to 10Ma. Nowadays, Qilian Shan is still uplifting and expanding. In the northern part of Qilian Shan, tectonic activity extends to Hexi Corridor Basin, and has affected Alashan area. In the southern part of Qilian Shan, tectonic activity extends to Qaidam Basin, forming a series of thrust faults in the northern margin of Qaidam Basin and a series of fold deformations in the basin. The southern Zongwulong Shan Fault is located in the northeastern margin of Qaidam Basin, it is the boundary thrust fault between the southern margin of Qilian Shan and Qaidam Basin. GPS studies show that the total crustal shortening rate across the Qilian Shan is 5~8mm/a, which absorbs 20% of the convergence rate of the Indian-Eurasian plate. Concerning how the strain is distributed on individual fault in the Qilian Shan, previous studies mainly focused on the northern margin of the Qilian Shan and the Hexi Corridor Basin, while the study on the southern margin of the Qilian Shan was relatively weak. Therefore, the study of late Quaternary activity of southern Zongwulong Shan Fault in southern margin of Qilian Shan is of great significance to understand the strain distribution pattern in Qilian Shan and the propagation of the fault to the interior of Qaidam Basin. At the same time, because of the strong tectonic activity, the northern margin of Qaidam Basin is also a seismic-prone area. Determining the fault slip rate is also helpful to better understand the movement behaviors of faults and seismic risk assessment.Through remote sensing image interpretation and field geological survey, combined with GPS topographic profiling, cosmogenic nuclides and optically stimulated luminescence dating, we carried out a detailed study at Baijingtu site and Xujixiang site on the southern Zongwulong Shan Fault. The results show that the southern Zongwulong Shan Fault is a Holocene reverse fault, which faulted a series of piedmont alluvial fans and formed a series of fault scarps.The 43ka, 20ka and 11ka ages of the alluvial fan surfaces in this area can be well compared with the ages of terraces and alluvial fan surfaces in the northeastern margin of Tibetan Plateau, and its formation is mainly controlled by climatic factors. Based on the vertical dislocations of the alluvial fans in different periods in Baijingtu and Xujixiang areas, the average vertical slip rate of the southern Zongwulong Shan Fault since late Quaternary is(0.41±0.05)mm/a, and the average horizontal shortening rate is 0.47~0.80mm/a, accounting for about 10% of the crustal shortening in Qilian Shan. These results are helpful to further understand the strain distribution model in Qilian Shan and the tectonic deformation mechanism in the northern margin of Qaidam Basin. The deformation mechanism of the northern Qaidam Basin fault zone, which is composed of the southern Zongwulong Shan Fault, is rather complicated, and it is not a simple piggy-back thrusting style. These faults jointly control the tectonic activity characteristics of the northern Qaidam Basin.     

2014年新疆于田7.3级地震发震构造和震前地震活动过程讨论

2014年2月12日在新疆于田发生7.3级地震,震中位于阿尔金断裂西段,这是继2008年3月21日于田7.3级地震后在塔里木盆地南侧发生的第2次7级地震。这次于田7.3级地震的余震主体沿NE向分布,余震区的西南段呈近SN向分布;绝大部分余震与前震在余震区西南密集分布,强余震(全部的5级以上地震和81%的4级地震)绝大多数都分布在这个区域,第1天的余震主要在这个区域呈近SN向分布,余震由西向东扩展。在这次于田地震的近SN方向上曾在1982、2011以及2012年先后发生过几次6级左右的地震,而这次地震填补了其中的空段。文中从区域构造环境、地震震源机制解和余震分布特征等方面,分析这次地震的发震过程,认为地震发生在硝尔库勒盆地南缘的分支断裂,受阿尔金断裂带构造应力影响,硝尔库勒盆地受到局部近EW向的拉张作用力,首先沿近SN向破裂,这个构造部位的解锁,促进阿尔金断裂左旋错动,产生NE向破裂,应力向东传递;文中还对有历史记录以来,阿尔金断裂上7级地震的发震构造及其对阿尔金断裂带的影响进行了讨论。     

GEOLOGICAL AND GEOMORPHIC EXPRESSIONS OF LATE QUATERNARY STRIKE-SLIP ACTIVITY ON JINTA NANSHAN FAULT IN NORTHERN EDGE OF QING-ZANG BLOCK

Jinta Nanshan Fault is an important fault in northeast front of Qing-Zang Plateau, and it is crucial for determining the eastern end of Altyn Tagh Fault. However, there is still debate on its significant strike-slip movement. In this paper, we study the Late Quaternary activity of Jinta Nanshan Fault and its geological and geomorphic expressions by interpreting aerial photographs and high-resolution remote sensing images, surveying and mapping of geological and geomorphic appearances, digging and clarifying fault profiles and mapping deformation characteristics of micro-topographies, then we analyze whether strike-slip activity exists on Jinta Nanshan Fault. We get a more complete fault geometry than previous studies from most recent remote sensing images. Active fault traces of Jinta Nanshan mainly include 2 nearly parallel, striking 100°~90° fault scarps, and can be divided into 3 segments. West segment and middle segment form a left stepover with 2~2.5km width, and another stepover with 1.2km width separates the middle and east segment. We summarize geomorphic and geologic evidence relating to strike slip activity of Jinta Nanshan Fault. Geomorphic expressions are as follows:First, fault scarps with alternating facing directions; second, sinistral offset of stream channels and micro-topographies; third, pull-apart basins and compressive-ridges at discontinuous part of Jinta Nanshan Fault. Geologic expressions are as follows:First, fault plane characteristics, including extremely high fault plane angle, unstable dip directions and coexistence of normal fault and reverse fault; second, flower structures. Strike-slip rate was estimated by using geomorphic surface age of Zheng et al.(2013)and left-lateral offset with differential GPS measurements of the same geomorphic surface at field site in Fig. 4e. We calculated a strike-slip rate of (0.19±0.05)mm/a, which is slightly larger than or almost the same with vertical slip rate of (0.11±0.03)mm/a from Zheng et al.(2013). When we confirm the strike-slip activity of Jinta Nanshan, we discuss its potential dynamic sources:First, eastern extension of Altyn Tagh Fault and second, strain partitioning of northeastward extension of Qilian Shan thrust belt. The first one is explainable when it came to geometric pattern of several E-W striking fault and eastward decreasing strike slip rate, but the former cannot explain why the Heishan Fault, which locates between the the Altyn Tagh Fault and Jinta Nanshan Fault, is a pure high angle reverse fault. The latter seems more explainable, because oblique vectors may indeed partition onto a fault and manifest strike-slip activity.     

NEW DISCOVERY OF RESHUI-TAOSTUO RIVER FAULT IN DULAN,QINGHAI PROVINCE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS

The 40km-long, NEE trending Reshui-Taostuo River Fault was found in the southern Dulan-Chaka highland by recent field investigation, which is a strike-slip fault with some normal component. DEM data was generated by small unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)on key geomorphic units with resolution<0.05m. Based on the interpretation and field investigation, we get two conclusions:1)It is the first time to define the Reshui-Taostuo River Fault, and the fault is 40km long with a 6km-long surface rupture; 2)There are left-handed dislocations in the gullies and terraces cut by the fault. On the high-resolution DEM image obtained by UAV, the offsets are(9.3±0.5) m, (17.9±1.5) m, and(36.8±2) m, measured by topographic profile recovery of gullies. The recovery measurements of two terraces present that the horizontal offset of T₁/T₀ is(18.2±1.5) m and the T₂/T₁ is (35.8±2) m, which is consistent with the offsets from gullies. According to the historical earthquake records, a M5 3/4 earthquake on April 10, 1938 and a M_S5.0 earthquake on March 21, 1952 occurred at the eastern end of the surface rupture, which may be related to the activity of the fault. By checking the county records of Dulan and other relevant data, we find that there are no literature records about the two earthquakes, which is possibly due to the far distance to the epicenter at that time, the scarcity of population in Dulan, or that the earthquake occurred too long ago that led to losing its records. The southernmost ends of the Eastern Kunlun Fault and the Elashan Fault converge to form a wedge-shaped extruded fault block toward the northwest. The Dulan Basin, located at the end of the wedge-shaped fault block, is affected by regional NE and SW principal compressive stress and the shear stress of the two boundary faults. The Dulan Basin experienced a complex deformation process of compression accompanying with extension. In the process of extrusion, the specific form of extension is the strike-slip faults at each side of the wedge, and there is indeed a north-east and south-west compression between the two controlling wedge-shaped fault block boundary faults, the Eastern Kunlun and Elashan Faults. The inferred mechanism of triangular wedge extrusion deformation in this area is quite different from the pure rigid extrusion model. Therefore, Dulan Basin is a wedge-shaped block sandwiched between the two large-scale strike-slip faults. Due to the compression of the northeast and southwest directions of the region, the peripheral faults of the Dulan Basin form a series of southeast converging plume thrust faults on the northeast edge of the basin near the Elashan Fault, which are parallel to the Elashan Fault in morphology and may converge with the Elashan Fault in subsurface. The southern marginal fault of the Dulan Basin(Reshui-Taostuo River Fault)near the Eastern Kunlun fault zone is jointly affected by the left-lateral strike-slip Eastern Kunlun Fault and the right-lateral strike-slip Elashan Fault, presenting a left-lateral strike-slip characteristic. Meanwhile, the wedge-shaped fault block extrudes to the northwest, causing local extension at the southeast end, and the fault shows the extensional deformation. These faults absorb or transform the shear stress in the northeastern margin of the Tibet Plateau. Therefore, our discovery of the Dulan Reshui-Taostuo River Fault provides important constraints for better understanding of the internal deformation mode and mechanism of the fault block in the northeastern Tibetan plateau. The strike of Reshui-Taostuo River Fault is different from the southern marginal fault of the Qaidam Basin. The Qaidam south marginal burial fault is the boundary fault between the Qaidam Basin and the East Kunlun structural belt, with a total length of ~500km. The geophysical data show that Qaidam south marginal burial fault forms at the boundary between the positive gravity anomaly of the southern East Kunlun structural belt and the negative gravity anomaly gradient zone of the northern Qaidam Basin, showing as a thrust fault towards the basin. The western segment of the fault was active at late Pleistocene, and the eastern segment near Dulan County was active at early-middle Pleistocene. The Reshui-Taostuo River Fault is characterized by sinistral strike-slip with a normal component. The field evidence indicates that the latest active period of this fault was Holocene, with a total length of only 40km. Neither remote sensing image interpretation nor field investigation indicate the fault extends further westward and intersects with the Qaidam south marginal burial fault. Moreover, it shows that its strike is relatively consistent with the East Kunlun fault zone in spatial distribution and has a certain angle with the burial fault in the southern margin of Qaidam Basin. Therefore, there is no structural connection between the Reshui-Taostuo River Fault and the Qaidam south marginal burial fault.     

On the faults of western Hexi Corridor and its nearby regions, northwestern China:Thrust faults and strike-slip faults of Late Cenozoic

Introduction Hexi Corridor, a corridor extended over 1 000 km and with a strike of WNW-ESE, is locatedbetween Alxa uplift and northern Qilianshan Caledonian folding belt of northern Qinghai-Xizang(Tibet) Plateau (Figure 1). In the paper, we will discuss the regions between Altun fault and Yu-mushan of the western Hexi Corridor, where the climate is arid, which results in sparse vegetation,but abundant oil and gas resource, and being one of the most important petroleum industry base…     

青藏高原北部大型走滑断裂带近地表地质变形带特征分析

阿尔金断裂带、东昆仑断裂带和海原断裂带是青藏高原北部的大型左旋走滑断裂带,具有相对高的地质和GPS滑动速率,地表破裂型地震频发。在阿尔金断裂带阿克塞老城西和半果巴、东昆仑断裂带西大滩和玛沁、海原断裂带松山等地点的探槽地质剖面揭露了这些走滑断裂带累积地质变形带的基本特征。阿尔金断裂带半果巴探槽和阿克塞老城西探槽、东昆仑断裂带西大滩探槽和玛沁探槽揭露出的地质变形带宽度约12m左右;海原断裂带松山拉分盆地边界单条走滑断层地质变形带宽度不足10m,考虑到地震期间拉分盆地可能会出现较严重的变形,则拉分盆地本身也应作为强变形带处理。由此可见,经历过多个地震地表破裂循环的东昆仑断裂带、海原断裂带和阿尔金断裂带其地质变形带的宽度是有限的,具有变形局部化特征。单条走滑断层的地质变形带宽度一般为10余米,比较保守地估计应<30m,走滑断层斜列阶区的地质变形带宽度取决于阶区本身的宽度     

阿尔金走滑断裂带昌马段的电性结构样式及构造意义

阿尔金断裂带东段走滑速率沿断裂走向方向存在明显的流失现象,有关阿尔金断裂带的影响范围及走滑速率变化的机制需要有更多的深部结构证据来提供支撑.本文以阿尔金断裂带昌马段为窗口,获取了4条横穿阿尔金断裂带及相邻地区的大地电磁测深剖面.二维电性剖面显示在阿尔金断裂带北侧中上地壳以连续的高阻体为主,而南侧祁连山内部的深部电性结构在横向上有较为复杂的变化.这一点与区域构造背景相对应,即北侧的塔里木盆地东缘依然具有较好的整体性,南侧的祁连山是青藏高原北缘生长的最前端,变形强烈.在断裂带的结构特征上,阿尔金断裂带沿走向方向的切割深度在昌马盆地西侧发生了显著的降低,与阿尔金断裂带相对应的电性边界在这里向南偏移了约15 km,对应F18断裂,并与昌马盆地相接.祁连山北部的断裂带,包括昌马断裂、旱峡—大黄沟断裂总体呈现出低角度南倾的样式,切过高阻异常体的顶部.虽然昌马盆地可以起到连接断裂带的阶区的作用,将部分阿尔金断裂的走滑分量转移到盆地南侧的昌马断裂上,但是昌马断裂的走滑速率从西向东是增加的,东侧的走滑速率甚至大于阿尔金断裂沿走向方向的流失分量.我们认为在青藏高原北部主要断裂带的活动还是受印度—欧亚板块碰撞引起的远程挤压效应的影响,包括阿尔金断裂以及祁连山内部系列断层都处于斜向挤压应力环境.在这种基本构造模式下,阿尔金断裂、断裂F18、昌马盆地、昌马断裂构成了一个局部的走滑速率分解-转换-吸收体系,对局部应力状态产生影响.     

LATE QUATERNARY SINISTRAL STRIKE-SLIP ACTIVITIES OF SANWEI SHAN FAULT IN THE NORTH OF TIBETAN PLATEAU

Sanwei Shan Fault is located in the north of Tibet, which is a branch of eastern segment of Altyn Tagn fault zone. This fault is distributed along the boundary of fault facet and the Quaternary, with the total length of almost 150km. The fault is a straight-line structure read from the satellite image. Based on the spatial distribution of the fault, three segments are divided, namely, Xishuigou-Dongshuigou segment, Dongshuigou-West Shigongkouzi segment and West Shigongkouzi-Suangta segment, these three segments are distributed by left or right step.Though field microgeomorphology investigation along Sanwei Shan Fault, it has been found that two periods of alluvial-pluvial fans are distributed in front of Sanwei Shan Mountain, most of which are overstepped. Comparing the distribution of alluvial-pluvial fans with their formation age in the surrounding regions, and meanwhile, taking the results of optical stimulated luminescence(OSL) dating, it's considered that the formation age of the older alluvial-pluvial fans, which are distributed in northern Qilian Shan, inside of Hexi Corridor and western Hexi Corridor(including the Sanwei Shan piedmont fans), is between later period of late Quaternary and earlier period of Holocene. The gullies on the older fan and ridges have been cut synchronously. The maximum and minimum sinistral displacement is 5.5m and 1.7m, but majority of the values is between 3.0~4.5m. Taking the results from the OSL dating, we conclude that the minimum sinistral strike-slip rate is(0.33±0.04) mm/a since 14 ka BP and(0.28±0.03) mm/a since 20 ka BP.     

阿尔金断裂带东段距今20ka以来的滑动速率

阿尔金断裂带作为青藏高原北部边界 ,其走滑量和走滑速率一直为地学界所关注 ,对这样一条大陆内部巨型走滑断裂带的滑动速率进行研究 ,对于了解阿尔金断裂带左旋走滑和青藏高原北部隆升之间的耦合关系 ,具有重要意义。在阿尔金断裂带东段的疏勒河口以西 ,阿尔金断裂错断了几条规模相近的河流阶地和洪积扇 ,形成典型的走滑断层断错地貌。通过对这些典型断错地貌点的地貌观测和年代学研究 ,得到阿尔金断裂带东段石堡城以东疏勒河以西自 2 0kaBP以来的滑动速率约为 4～ 5mm/a。自 50kaBP以来 ,阿尔金断裂带东段断层平均滑动速率具有较高的时间、空间一致性 ,约为 4～ 6mm/a ,表明利用河流阶地和洪积扇位错作为断层走滑位移标志计算断层滑动速率 ,具有较高的可信度     

酒西盆地断层活动特征及古地震研究

通过室内航片判读和野外调查 ,在酒西盆地发现 3条全新世活动逆掩断层 ,它们全新世以来的垂直活动速率都很接近 ,为 0 18～ 0 2 5mm/a。通过探槽揭露出的 3条断层全新世以来各发生两次古地震事件。根据探槽揭露的古地震年代及断层活动所形成的微地貌特征分析 ,阴洼山断层是独立活动的 ;北大河断层和新民堡断层上的古地震事件在时间上可能非常接近 ,具有丛集特征 ,或者是一次地震事件分别破裂这两条断层 ,但目前的测年手段还无法区别它们是一次破裂事件形成还是时间上非常接近的两次事件所形成的     

ACTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SANWEISHAN FAULT IN THE NORTHERN MARGIN OF THE TIBETAN PLATEAU DURING LATE PLEISTOCENE

The Sanweishan fault is located in the northern margin of the Tibetan plateau. It is a branch of the Altyn Tagh fault zone which extends to the northwest. A detailed study on Late Quaternary activity characteristics of the Sanwei Shan Fault can help understanding the strain distribution of the Altyn Tagh fault zone and regional seismic activity and northward growth of the Tibetan plateau. Previous research on this fault is insufficient and its activity is a controversial issue. Based on satellite images interpretation, field investigations and geological mapping, this study attempts to characterize this feature, especially its activity during Late Quaternary. Trench excavation and sample dating permit to address this issue, including determination of paleoseismic events along this fault. The results show that the Sanweishan fault is a large-scale active structure. It starts from the Shuangta reservoir in the east, extending southward by Shigongkouzi, Lucaogou, and Shugouzi, terminates south of Xishuigou, with a length of 175km. The fault trends in NEE, dipping SE at angles 50°~70°. It is characterized by left-lateral strike-slip with a component of thrust and local normal faulting. According to the geometry, the fault can be divided into three segments, i.e. Shuangta-Shigongkouzi, Shigongkouzi-Shugouzi and Shugouzi-Xishuigou from east to west, looking like a left-or right-step pattern. Plenty of offset fault landforms appear along the Sanweishan Fault, including ridges, left-lateral strike-slip gullies, fault scarps, and fault grooves. The trench study at the middle and eastern segments of the fault shows its activity during Late Pleistocene, evidenced by displaced strata of this epoch. Identification marks of the paleoearthquakes and sample dating reveal one paleoearthquake that occurred at(40.3±5.2)~(42.1±3.9) ka.     

用阶地测量方法探讨阿尔金断裂中段全新世滑动速率

通过分析高精度数字化SPOT卫星影像 ,结合野外考察和年代学测试 ,对阿尔金南缘走滑断裂带的 3个典型走滑断层断错地貌点进行了研究。在安南坝沟 ,阿尔金南缘走滑断裂带一主要分支自 (9.36± 0 .73)kaBP以来的左旋滑动速率为 (7.5± 1.7)mm/a ;在七个泉子阿尔金南缘走滑断裂带有 4条分支 ,其中 1条规模较小的断层分支自 (13 86± 1 0 7)kaBP以来的左旋滑动速率为 (2 .3±0 5 )mm/a ,由此推断七个泉子附近断裂带全新世以来的滑动速率为 (6 .9± 1.5 )～ (9.2± 2 .0 )mm/a ;约马克其断裂带自 (4 .73± 0 .38)kaBP以来的左旋滑动速率为 (10 .6± 3.0 )mm/a。综合以上各点结果 ,阿尔金南缘走滑断裂带中段 88°30′E与 93°0 5′E之间全新世以来的水平滑动速率为 7～ 11mm/a ,与最新的GPS观测结果非常接近     

酒西盆地白杨河断裂古地震特征研究

白杨河断裂是酒西盆地内部一条重要的活动断裂,断裂长约25 km,整体走向近EW,倾向N,倾角约25°。以往的研究认为白杨河断裂为一条全新世活动的隐伏断裂,其持续的活动造成了上覆阶地变形,形成白杨河背斜。通过卫星影像解译和野外实地考察,在断裂西段和中段发现连续发育的低断层陡坎,表明断裂活动已至地表。古地震探槽揭露白杨河断裂全新世以来至少发生过2次地震事件,年代分别为距今(8.7±0.6)ka和(3.9±0.5)ka,每次地震事件的垂直断距都在约0.6 m,利用经验公式,估算震级约为6.8级。