Plate subduction,and generation of earthquakes and magmas in Japan as inferred from seismic observations: An overview

A dense nationwide seismic network recently constructed in Japan has been yielding large volumes of high-quality data that have made it possible to investigate the seismic structure in the Japanese subduction zone with unprecedented resolution. In this article, recent studies on the subduction of the Philippine Sea and Pacific plates beneath the Japanese Islands and the mechanism of earthquake and magma generation associated with plate subduction are reviewed. Seismic tomographic studies have shown that the Philippine Sea plate subducting beneath southwest Japan is continuous throughout the entire region, from Kanto to Kyushu, without disruption or splitting even beneath the Izu Peninsula as suggested in the past. The contact of the Philippine Sea plate with the Pacific plate subducting below has been found to cause anomalously deep interplate and intraslab earthquake activity in Kanto. Detailed waveform inversion studies have revealed that the asperity model is applicable to interplate earthquakes. Analyses of dense seismic and GPS network data have confirmed the existence of episodic slow slip accompanied in many instances by low-frequency tremors/earthquakes on the plate interface, which are inferred to play an important role in stress loading at asperities. High-resolution studies of the spatial variation of intraslab seismicity and the seismic velocity structure of the slab crust strongly support the dehydration embrittlement hypothesis for the generation of intraslab earthquakes. Seismic tomography studies have shown that water released by dehydration of the slab and secondary convection in the mantle wedge, mechanically induced by slab subduction, are responsible for magma generation in the Japanese islands. Water of slab origin is also inferred to be responsible for large anelastic local deformation of the arc crust leading to inland crustal earthquakes that return the arc crust to a state of spatially uniform deformation.     

When and why the continental crust is subducted: Examples of Hindu Kush and Burma

The Indian subcontinent has been colliding against Asia along the Himalayas. Hindu Kush and Burma in this collision zone have intermediate-depth seismicities beneath them, with most of the continental crust subducted into a few hundred km depth. The subduction, not collision, in these regions is an enigma long time. We show that the continental lithosphere subducted beneath Hindu Kush and Burma traveled over the Reunion and Kerguelen hotspots from 100 Ma to 126 Ma and is likely to have been metasomatized by upwelling plumes beneath those hotspots. The devolatilization of the metasomatized lithosphere impinging on the collision boundary would have provided a high pore fluid pressure ratio at the thrust zones and made the subduction of the continental lithosphere in these regions possible. The subducted lithosphere could give intermediate-depth seismicities by devolatilization embrittlement. Such subduction of hotspot-affected lithosphere without accompanying any oceanic plate would be one candidate for producing ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks by deep subduction of the continental crust.     

Deep slab subduction and dehydration and their geodynamic consequences: Evidence from seismology and mineral physics

We present new pieces of evidence from seismology and mineral physics for the existence of low-velocity zones in the deep part of the upper mantle wedge and the mantle transition zone that are caused by fluids from the deep subduction and deep dehydration of the Pacific and Philippine Sea slabs under western Pacific and East Asia. The Pacific slab is subducting beneath the Japan Islands and Japan Sea with intermediate-depth and deep earthquakes down to 600 km depth under the East Asia margin, and the slab becomes stagnant in the mantle transition zone under East China. The western edge of the stagnant Pacific slab is roughly coincident with the NE–SW Daxing'Anling-Taihangshan gravity lineament located west of Beijing, approximately 2000 km away from the Japan Trench. The upper mantle above the stagnant slab under East Asia forms a big mantle wedge (BMW). Corner flow in the BMW and deep slab dehydration may have caused asthenospheric upwelling, lithospheric thinning, continental rift systems, and intraplate volcanism in Northeast Asia. The Philippine Sea slab has subducted down to the mantle transition zone depth under Western Japan and Ryukyu back-arc, though the seismicity within the slab occurs only down to 200–300 km depths. Combining with the corner flow in the mantle wedge, deep dehydration of the subducting Pacific slab has affected the morphology of the subducting Philippine Sea slab and its seismicity under Southwest Japan. Slow anomalies are also found in the mantle under the subducting Pacific slab, which may represent small mantle plumes, or hot upwelling associated with the deep slab subduction. Slab dehydration may also take place after a continental plate subducts into the mantle.     

How lithospheric subduction changes along the Calabrian Arc in southern Italy: geophysical evidences

Recent tomographic investigations performed down to ~300?km depth in the Calabrian Arc region gave insight in favor of the hypothesis that the Ionian subducting slab is continuous in depth beneath the central part of the Arc, while detachment of the deep portion of the subducting structure may have already taken place beneath the edges of the Arc itself. In the present study, we perform new geophysical analyses to further explore the structure of the subduction system and the structure and kinematics of the crustal units in the study area for a more comprehensive view of the local geodynamic scenario. Local earthquake tomography that we address to the exploration of the upper 40?km in the whole region of southern Italy furnishes P-wave velocity domains, suggesting southeast-ward long-term drifting of the southern Tyrrhenian unit with an advancement front matching well with the segment of Calabrian Arc where the subducting slab was found continuous and trench retreat can be presumed to have been active in the most recent times. This scenario of retreating subduction trench inducing drifting of the lithospheric unit overriding the subducting slab is further supported by the analysis of gravity anomalies, allowing us to better constrain the transitional zones between different subduction modes (continuous vs. detached slab) along the Arc. Also, the relocation of recent crustal seismicity, associated with geostructural data taken from the literature, provides evidence for NW-trending seismogenic structures in northeastern Sicily and northern Calabria that we interpret as Subduction-Transform Edge Propagator (STEP) faults guiding the southeast-ward drifting process of the southern Tyrrhenian unit. Crustal earthquake relocations show also seismolineaments in southern Calabria corresponding to the NE-trending longitudinal structures of the Arc where the great shallow earthquakes of 28 December 1908, and 5 and 7 February 1783 occurred. Seismicity and the extensional stress regime detected in these structures find also reasonable location in the proposed scenario, being interpretable in terms of shallow response of the central segment of the Arc to slab rollback and trench retreat.     

Deep slab subduction and dehydration and their geodynamic consequences: Evidence from seismology and mineral physics

We present new pieces of evidence from seismology and mineral physics for the existence of low-velocity zones in the deep part of the upper mantle wedge and the mantle transition zone that are caused by fluids from the deep subduction and deep dehydration of the Pacific and Philippine Sea slabs under western Pacific and East Asia. The Pacific slab is subducting beneath the Japan Islands and Japan Sea with intermediate-depth and deep earthquakes down to 600 km depth under the East Asia margin, and the slab becomes stagnant in the mantle transition zone under East China. The western edge of the stagnant Pacific slab is roughly coincident with the NE–SW Daxing'Anling-Taihangshan gravity lineament located west of Beijing, approximately 2000 km away from the Japan Trench. The upper mantle above the stagnant slab under East Asia forms a big mantle wedge (BMW). Corner flow in the BMW and deep slab dehydration may have caused asthenospheric upwelling, lithospheric thinning, continental rift systems, and intraplate volcanism in Northeast Asia. The Philippine Sea slab has subducted down to the mantle transition zone depth under Western Japan and Ryukyu back-arc, though the seismicity within the slab occurs only down to 200–300 km depths. Combining with the corner flow in the mantle wedge, deep dehydration of the subducting Pacific slab has affected the morphology of the subducting Philippine Sea slab and its seismicity under Southwest Japan. Slow anomalies are also found in the mantle under the subducting Pacific slab, which may represent small mantle plumes, or hot upwelling associated with the deep slab subduction. Slab dehydration may also take place after a continental plate subducts into the mantle.     

Late Cretaceous-Paleogene deepwater basin of North Afghanistan and the Central Pamirs: Issue of Hindu Kush earthquakes

The within-Iranian backarc basins, including the largest Sebzawar Basin, opened in the Mid-Cretaceous. Spreading in this basin was completed by the end of the Cretaceous. The basin closed in the Eocene with the formation of subduction zones and volcanic-plutonic belts. Data on North Afghanistan and the Central Pamirs have allowed us to reconstruct the eastern continuation of the Sebzawar Basin up to the west of the Central Pamirs. No fragments of oceanic crust are retained in Afghanistan and the Pamirs, but by analogy with the Sebzawar Basin, thick Paleogene flysch sequences and volcanic-plutonic complexes indicate setting of the active margin and subduction. It is suggested that the belt of mantle seismicity that extends for 550 km to the south of the Central Pamirs is related to the plunging and deformation of the lithosphere once underlying the Cretaceous-Paleogene basin. The extremely vigorous seismicity of the Hindu Kush megasource at the western termination of the seismic belt is caused by a number of specific tectonic features that predetermined the early onset of plunging of the subducted sheet (slab). In the megasource, the slab sank to a depth of 300 km and became vertical; its active deformation has proceeded up to the present. In the eastern part of the seismic belt, the slab started to plunge much later and therefore has retained a gentle slope, so that the depth of the hypocenters is shallower (down to 200 km), and earthquakes are less strong.     

Three-dimensional P-wave velocity structure beneath the Indonesian region

We present the P-wave seismic tomography image of the mantle to a depth of 1200 km beneath the Indonesian region. The inversion method is applied to a dataset of 118,203 P-wave travel times of local and teleseismic events taken from ISC bulletins. Although the resolution is sufficient for detailed discussion in only a limited part of the study region, the results clarify the general tectonic framework in this region and indicate a possible remnant seismic slab in the lower mantle.

Structures beneath the Philippine Islands and the Molucca Sea region are well resolved and high-velocity zones corresponding to the slabs of the Molucca Sea and Philippine Sea plates are well delineated. Seismic zones beneath the Manila, Negros and Cotabato trenches are characterized by high-velocity anomalies, although shallow structures were not resolved. The Molucca Sea collision zone and volcanic zones of the Sangihe and Philippine arcs are dominated by low-velocity anomalies. The Philippine Sea slab subducts beneath the Philippine Islands at least to a depth of 200 km and may reach depths of 450 km. The southern end of the slab extends at least to about 6°N near southern Mindanao. In the south, the two opposing subducting slabs of the Molucca Sea plate are clearly defined by the two opposing high-velocity zones. The eastward dipping slab can be traced about 400 km beneath the Halmahera arc and may extend as far north as about 5°N. Unfortunately, resolution is not sufficient to reveal detailed structures at the boundary region between the Halmahera and Philippine Sea slabs. The westward dipping slab may subduct to the lower mantle although its extent at depth is not well resolved. This slab trends N-S from about 10°N in the Philippine Islands to northern Sulawesi. A NE-SW-trending high-velocity zone is found in the lower mantle beneath the Molucca Sea region. This high-velocity zone may represent a remnant of the former subduction zone which formed the Sulawesi arc during the Miocene.

The blocks along the Sunda and Banda arcs are less well resolved than those in the Philippine Islands and the Molucca Sea region. Nevertheless, overall structures can be inferred. The bowl-shaped distribution of the seismicity of the Banda arc is clearly defined by a horseshoe-shaped high-velocity zone. The tomographic image shows that the Indian oceanic slab subducts to a depth deeper than 300 km i.e., deeper than its seismicity, beneath Andaman Islands and Sumatra and may be discontinuous in northern Sumatra. Along southern Sumatra, Java and the islands to the east, the slab appears to be continuous and can be traced down to at least a depth of the deepest seismicity, where it appears to penetrate into the lower mantle.     

Heterogeneities of the field of short-period shear wave attenuation in the lithosphere of Central Asia and their relationship with seismicity

The characteristics of the short-period shear wave attenuation field in the lithosphere of the Turanian Plate, West Tien Shan, Pamir, and Hindu Kush have been studied. The method based on analysis of the logarithm of the ratio between maximal amplitudes of Sn and Pn waves (Sn/Pn parameter) has been applied. More than 400 records of earthquakes, obtained at distances of ∼400–1000 km from the AAK digital station, have been processed. It has been found that relatively weak attenuation is observed in the regions of the West Tien Shan and Pamir. The largest area of strong attenuation is located in the region of the Afghan-Tadjik Depression adjacent to Hindu Kush. A wide band of low Sn/Pn parameter values, stretched northeastwards, has been distinguished. Along with the analogous band of strong attenuation, distinguished before in the regions of Central Tien Shan and Dzungaria, it is the continuation of the largest Chaman Fault, which stretches 850 km along the boundary of the Indian Plate. Source zones of strong earthquakes with M ≥ 7.0 that occurred in the first half of 20th century correspond to relatively weak attenuation. Areas of high attenuation, where strong seismic events have not occurred for the last 110 years, are outlined. Analogously to other seismoactive regions, it is supposed that these areas are related to preparation of strong earthquakes.     

Change in seismic activity in the Tokai region related to weakening and strengthening of the interplate coupling

We investigate the relationship between changes in seismicity and crustal deformations in the Tokai region. We describe how seismicity in the subducted slab increased remarkably in the fall of 2000 and decreased in the fall of 2001, while in contrast, the crust seismicity decreased in the fall of 2000 and increased in the fall of 2001. We note that the trend of horizontal displacement at GPS stations changed coincidentally and we propose interpreting the increase and decrease in seismic activities and the changes in crustal deformations in a unified way based on changes in the state of the interplate coupling, i.e., the back-slip rate was reduced in the fall of 2000 and was partially restored in the fall of 2001. We explain why reduction of the back-slip rate increases seismogenic stress in the slab and decreases stress in the crust. We also describe the substantial positive dilatation observed in the region around Mt. Fuji in the fall of 2000 and suggest that the remarkable increase of low-frequency earthquakes beneath Mt. Fuji in October 2000 may have been caused by deceleration of the converging motion of the Izu micro-plate with the Eurasian plate. The decrease of the subduction velocity of the Izu micro-plate on the Suruga Trough in late 2000 would also have contributed to weakening of the interplate coupling beneath the Tokai region, since reduction of the relative velocity between overriding and subducting plates produces the same effect on the plate interface as a diminishing back-slip rate. However, subduction of the Izu micro-plate on the Suruga Trough was accelerated in early 2003, which may have caused increases in both slab and crust seismicities in that period.     

深地震反射剖面揭露青藏高原陆-陆碰撞与地壳生长的深部过程

印度板块与亚洲板块的碰撞使喜马拉雅-青藏高原隆升,地壳增厚和生长扩展。探测青藏高原深部结构,揭露两个大陆如何碰撞,碰撞如何使大陆变形的过程,是全球关切的科学奥秘。深地震反射剖面探测是打开这个科学奥秘的最有效途径之一。20多年来,运用这项高技术探测到青藏高原巨厚地壳的精细结构,攻克了难以得到下地壳和Moho清晰结构的技术瓶颈,揭露了陆陆碰撞过程。本文在探测研究成果基础上,从青藏高原南北-东西对比,再到高原腹地,系统地综述了青藏高原之下印度板块与亚洲板块碰撞-俯冲的深部行为。印度地壳在高原南缘俯冲在喜马拉雅造山带之下,亚洲板块的阿拉善地块岩石圈在北缘向祁连山下俯冲,祁连山地壳向外扩展,塔里木地块与高原西缘的西昆仑发生面对面的碰撞,在高原东缘发现龙日坝断裂而不是龙门山断裂是扬子板块的西缘边界,高原腹地Moho 薄而平坦,岩石圈伸展垮塌。多条深反射剖面揭露了在雅鲁藏布江缝合带下印度板块与亚洲板块碰撞的行为,印度地壳不仅沿雅鲁藏布江缝合带存在由西向东的俯冲角度变化,而且其向北行进到拉萨地体内部的位置也不同。在缝合带中部,显示印度地壳上地壳与下地壳拆离,上地壳向北仰冲,下地壳向北俯冲,并在俯冲过程发生物质的回返与构造叠置,使印度地壳减薄,喜马拉雅地壳加厚。俯冲印度地壳前缘与亚洲地壳碰撞后沉入地幔,处于亚洲板块前缘的冈底斯岩基与特提斯喜马拉雅近于直立碰撞,冈底斯下地壳呈部分熔融状态,近乎透明的弱反射和局部出现的亮点反射,以及近于平的Moho都反映出亚洲板块南缘的伸展构造环境。     

Subduction of the Woodlark Basin at New Britain Trench, Solomon Islands region

The Woodlark Basin, located south of the Solomon Islands arc region, is a young (5 Ma) oceanic basin that subducts beneath the New Britain Trench. This region is one of only a few subduction zones in the world where it is possible to study a young plate subduction of several Ma. To obtain the image of the subducting slab at the western side of the Woodlark Basin, a 40-day Ocean Bottom Seismometer (OBS) survey was conducted in 1998 to detect the micro-seismic activity. It was the first time such a survey had been performed in this location and over 600 hypocenters were located. The seismic activity is concentrated at the 10–60 km depth range along the plate boundary. The upper limit just about coincides with the leading edge of the accretionary wedge. The upper limit boundary was identified as the up-dip limit of the seismogenic zone, whereas the down-dip limit of the seismogenic zone was difficult to define. The dip angle of the plate at the high seismicity zone was found to average about 30°. Using the Cascadia subduction zone for comparison, which is a typical example of a young plate subduction, suggests that the subduction of the Woodlark Basin was differentiated by a high dip angle and rather landward location of the seismic front from the trench axis (30 km landward from the trench axis). Furthermore, as pointed out by previous researchers, the convergent margin of the Solomon Islands region is imposed with a high stress state, probably due to the collision of the Ontong Java Plateau and a rather rapid convergence rate (10 cm/year). The results of the high angle plate subduction and inner crust earthquakes beneath the Shortland Basin strongly support the high stress state. The collision of the Ontong Java Plateau, the relatively rapid convergence rate, and moderately cold slab as evidenced by low heat flow, rather than the plate age, may be dominantly responsible for the geometry of the seismogenic zone in the western part of the Woodlark Basin subduction zone.     

Characteristics of Intraslab Stress Field and Tectonic Implication in the Nankai Trough, Japan

1. IntroductionThe Nankai Trough region (Fig. 1.1) of southwest Japan is one of the most tectonically complex subduction zones in the world. The subduction of the Philippine Sea plate (PH) beneath the Eurasian plate (EU) has caused a series of large and great interplate earthquakes. It is generally accepted that great earthquakes have occurred at intervals of 100-150 years along the Nankai subduction zone since the 684 Hakuho earthquake (Fig. 1.2). However, a large earthquake (M>7.5) has…     

Geophysical constraints on geodynamic processes at convergent margins: A global perspective

Convergent margins, being the boundaries between colliding lithospheric plates, form the most disastrous areas in the world due to intensive, strong seismicity and volcanism. We review global geophysical data in order to illustrate the effects of the plate tectonic processes at convergent margins on the crustal and upper mantle structure, seismicity, and geometry of subducting slab. We present global maps of free-air and Bouguer gravity anomalies, heat flow, seismicity, seismic Vs anomalies in the upper mantle, and plate convergence rate, as well as 20 profiles across different convergent margins. A global analysis of these data for three types of convergent margins, formed by ocean–ocean, ocean–continent, and continent–continent collisions, allows us to recognize the following patterns. (1) Plate convergence rate depends on the type of convergent margins and it is significantly larger when, at least, one of the plates is oceanic. However, the oldest oceanic plate in the Pacific ocean has the smallest convergence rate. (2) The presence of an oceanic plate is, in general, required for generation of high-magnitude (M > 8.0) earthquakes and for generating intermediate and deep seismicity along the convergent margins. When oceanic slabs subduct beneath a continent, a gap in the seismogenic zone exists at depths between ca. 250 km and 500 km. Given that the seismogenic zone terminates at ca. 200 km depth in case of continent–continent collision, we propose oceanic origin of subducting slabs beneath the Zagros, the Pamir, and the Vrancea zone. (3) Dip angle of the subducting slab in continent–ocean collision does not correlate neither with the age of subducting oceanic slab, nor with the convergence rate. For ocean–ocean subduction, clear trends are recognized: steeply dipping slabs are characteristic of young subducting plates and of oceanic plates with high convergence rate, with slab rotation towards a near-vertical dip angle at depths below ca. 500 km at very high convergence rate. (4) Local isostasy is not satisfied at the convergent margins as evidenced by strong free air gravity anomalies of positive and negative signs. However, near-isostatic equilibrium may exist in broad zones of distributed deformation such as Tibet. (5) No systematic patterns are recognized in heat flow data due to strong heterogeneity of measured values which are strongly affected by hydrothermal circulation, magmatic activity, crustal faulting, horizontal heat transfer, and also due to low number of heat flow measurements across many margins. (6) Low upper mantle Vs seismic velocities beneath the convergent margins are restricted to the upper 150 km and may be related to mantle wedge melting which is confined to shallow mantle levels.     

The Vrancea seismic zone and its analogue in the Banda Arc, eastern Indonesia

It is now widely, although not universally, accepted that the Carpathian orogen marks the site of an arc–continent collision that followed the subduction of a now vanished small ocean basin. Seismic tomography has defined a high-velocity anomaly in the upper mantle similar to those associated with subduction zones worldwide. There is, however, no recognisable Wadati–Benioff Zone (WBZ), and intermediate-depth seismicity is confined to a relatively small, roughly cylindrical and vertically elongated region beneath the extreme southeastern corner of the mountain chain. There is no consensus in the published studies as to the origin of this ‘Vrancea Zone’.

The Banda Sea region of eastern Indonesia has sometimes been cited as an analogue for the Pannonian/Transylvanian basin and the enclosing Carpathian orocline, but at first sight the patterns of seismicity appear very different. Intermediate depth seismic activity defines a subducted slab that dips north, south and west beneath the Banda Sea, a configuration explained as a consequence of the rapid expansion of the sea during roll-back subduction. If the similar scenario proposed for the Carpathians is correct, then it is the absence of a Carpathian WBZ that is actually anomalous. Closer examination of Banda Arc seismicity shows that it can be divided into two parts, these being a scoop-shaped WBZ and an adjacent ‘Damar Zone’ of much more intense intermediate-depth activity. At its eastern end the Damar Zone merges with the WBZ, but in the west there is evidence for separation from it. A plausible explanation of this pattern is that a lower layer of the downgoing slab is peeling away from the remainder.

The Banda/Australia collision is now almost complete and the activity in the WBZ proper can be expected to decrease. Damar Zone activity, on the other hand, may persist for a much longer period, migrating towards the foreland as the detaching layer separates from the remainder of the subducted lithosphere. In a few million years the seismicity of the Banda region could well resemble the present day seismicity of the Carpathian orogen.     

帕米尔构造结锂矿资源潜力评价——基于1 ∶ 100万地球化学调查

帕米尔构造结夹持于塔吉克盆地与塔里木盆地之间,是印度板块与欧亚板块碰撞形成的巨大山结,由西侧的兴都库什山、中部的帕米尔高原、东侧的昆仑山3部分组成,它们经历了相同的地质演化历史.近年来,在西部的兴都库什地区发现了帕斯古斯塔、贾马纳克等大型、超大型伟晶岩型锂矿,在东侧的西昆仑地区发现了大红柳滩、俘虏沟等具大型、超大型远景...     

Complex slab structure and arc magmatism beneath the Japanese Islands

A dense nationwide seismic network recently constructed in Japan has resulted in the production of a large amount of high-quality data that have enabled the high-resolution imaging of deep seismic structures in the Japanese subduction zone. Seismic tomography, precise locations of earthquakes, and focal mechanism research have allowed the identification of the complex structure of subducting slabs beneath Japan, revealing that the subducting Philippine Sea slab underneath southwestern Japan has an undulatory configuration down to a depth of 60–200 km, and is continuous from Kanto to Kyushu without disruption or splitting, even within areas north of the Izu Peninsula. Analysis of the geometry of the Pacific and Philippine Sea slabs identified a broad contact zone beneath the Kanto Plain that causes anomalously deep interplate and intraslab earthquake activity. Seismic tomographic inversions using both teleseismic and local events provide a clear image of the deep aseismic portion of the Philippine Sea slab beneath the Japan Sea north of Chugoku and Kyushu, and beneath the East China Sea west of Kyushu down to a depth of ∼450 km. Seismic tomography also allowed the identification of an inclined sheet-like seismic low-velocity zone in the mantle wedge beneath Tohoku. A recent seismic tomography work further revealed clear images of similar inclined low-velocity zones in the mantle wedge for almost all other areas of Japan. The presence of the inclined low-velocity zones in the mantle wedge across the entirety of Japan suggests that it is a common feature to all subduction zones. These low-velocity zones may correspond to the upwelling flow portion of subduction-induced convection systems. These upwelling flows reach the Moho directly beneath active volcanic areas, suggesting a link between volcanism and upwelling.     

东昆仑深部结构地震探测研究现状与展望

东昆仑位于青藏高原北部, 是研究青藏高原向北生长的重要地区。该区在印度板块向北俯冲与亚洲阿拉善地块向南挤压下, 新生代构造和地震活动强烈, 是研究青藏高原隆升、构造变形、强震发生机理等问题的极佳试验场。近几十年来, 在东昆仑及邻区开展了大量的地球物理探测, 取得了很多进展, 也存在一些问题。本文通过收集近年来在该研究区开展的人工地震和天然地震探测成果, 综合分析了研究区的壳幔速度结构, 莫霍面形态及各向异性特征, 总结得出以下几点认识: 柴达木盆地南缘上地幔内的北倾界面可能代表早古生代昆仑洋向北俯冲的遗迹; 东昆仑缺乏“山根”, 重力均衡调整对东昆仑莫霍面加深没有起主导作用, 印度板块向北俯冲, 通过青藏高原对柴达木盆地的挤压造成东昆仑地壳垂向增厚。最后我们探讨了东昆仑地区壳幔结构研究的不足, 并对下一步的研究思路和方向进行了展望。     

The devastating Muzaffarabad earthquake of 8 October 2005: New insights into Himalayan seismicity and tectonics

The recent earthquake of 8 October 2005 in the Muzaffarabad region in western Himalaya destroyed several parts of Pakistan and the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The earthquake of magnitude 7.6 claimed more than 80,000 lives, clearly exposing the poor standards of building construction — a major challenge facing the highly populated, earthquake prone, third world nations today. In this paper, we examine variations in the stress field, seismicity patterns, seismic source character, tectonic setting, plate motion velocities, GPS results, and the geodynamic factors relating to the geometry of the underlying subsurface structure and its role in generation of very large earthquakes. Focal mechanism solutions of the Muzaffarabad earthquake and its aftershocks are found to have steep dip angles comparable to the Indian intra-plate shield earthquakes rather than the typical Himalayan earthquakes that are characterized by shallow angle northward dips. A low p-value of 0.9 is obtained for this earthquake from the decay pattern of 110 aftershocks, which is comparable to that of the 1993 Latur earthquake in the Indian shield — the deadliest Stable Continental Region (SCR) earthquake till date. Inversion of focal mechanisms of the Harvard CMT catalogue indicates distinct stress patterns in the Muzaffarabad region, seemingly governed by an overturned Himalayan thrust belt configuration that envelops this region, adjoined by the Pamir and Hindukush regions. Recent developments in application of seismological tools like the receiver function technique have enabled accurate mapping of the dipping trends of the Moho and Lithosphere–Asthenosphere Boundary (LAB) of Indian lithosphere beneath southern Tibet. These have significantly improved our understanding of the collision process, the mechanism of Himalayan orogeny and uplift of the Tibetan plateau, besides providing vital constraints on the seismic hazard threat posed by the Himalaya. New ideas have also emerged through GPS, macroseismic investigations, paleoseismology and numerical modeling approaches. While many researchers suggest that the Himalayan front is already overdue for several 8.0 magnitude earthquakes, some opine that most of the front may not really be capable of sustaining the stress accumulation required for generation of great earthquakes. We propose that the occurrence of great earthquakes like those of 1897 in Shillong and 1950 in Assam have a strong correlation with their proximity to multiple plate junctions conducive for enormous stress build up, like the eastern Himalayan syntaxis comprising the junction of the India, Eurasia plates, and the Burma, Sunda micro-plates.     

青藏高原的地幔结构:地幔羽、地幔剪切带及岩石圈俯冲板片的拆沉

通过横穿青藏高原近 80 0 0km长的 4条天然地震层析剖面 ,获得 4 0 0km深度以上的地壳和地幔速度图像及地震波各向异性 ,揭示了青藏高原 4 0 0km深度范围内的地壳和地幔结构特征。地幔速度图像显示 ,青藏高原腹地的深地幔中存在以大型低速异常体为特征的地幔羽 ,其可能通过热通道与大面积分布的可可西里新生代高钾碱性火山作用有成因联系 ;阿尔金、康西瓦、金沙江、嘉黎及雅鲁藏布江等走滑断裂可下延至 30 0～ 4 0 0km深度 ,显示了低速高热物质组成的垂向低速异常带特征及大型超岩石圈或地幔剪切带的产出 ;发现康西瓦、东昆仑—金沙江、班公湖—怒江和雅鲁藏布缝合带下部存在不连续的高速异常带 ,可以解释为青藏高原地体拼合及碰撞过程中可能保留的加里东、古特提斯和中特提斯大洋岩石圈“化石”残片 ,是“拆沉”的地球物理证据。印度大陆岩石圈的巨厚俯冲板片以 15～ 2 0°倾角向北插入唐古拉山下 30 0km深处 ,并被高热物质组成的地幔剪切带分开。结合新的横穿喜马拉雅及青藏高原的地幔层析资料 ,提出青藏高原碰撞动力学新模式 :青藏高原南部印度岩石圈板片的翻卷式陆内超深俯冲 ,北缘克拉通向南的陆内俯冲 ,腹地深部的地幔羽上涌 ,以及地幔范围内的高原“右旋隆升”及物质向东及北东方向运动及挤出。     

Seismic coupling and uncoupling at subduction zones

Seismic coupling has been used as a qualitative measure of the “interaction” between the two plates at subduction zones. Kanamori (1971) introduced seismic coupling after noting that the characteristic size of earthquakes varies systematically for the northern Pacific subduction zones. A quantitative global comparison of many subduction zones reveals a strong correlation of earthquake size with two other variables: age of the subducting lithosphere and convergence rate. The largest earthquakes occur in zones with young lithosphere and fast convergence rates, while zones with old lithosphere and slow rates are relatively aseismic for large earthquakes. Results from a study of the rupture process of three great earthquakes indicate that maximum earthquake size is directly related to the asperity distribution on the fault plane (asperities are strong regions that resist the motion between the two plates). The zones with the largest earthquakes have very large asperities, while the zones with smaller earthquakes have small scattered asperities. This observation can be translated into a simple model of seismic coupling, where the horizontal compressive stress between the two plates is proportional to the ratio of the summed asperity area to the total area of the contact surface. While the variation in asperity size is used to establish a connection between earthquake size and tectonic stress, it also implies that plate age and rate affect the asperity distribution. Plate age and rate can control asperity distribution directly by use of the horizontal compressive stress associated with the “preferred trajectory” (i.e. the vertical and horizontal velocities of subducting slabs are determined by the plate age and convergence velocity). Indirect influences are many, including oceanic plate topography and the amount of subducted sediments.All subduction zones are apparently uncoupled below a depth of about 40 km, and we propose that the basalt to eclogite phase change in the down-going oceanic crust may be largely responsible. This phase change should start at a depth of 30–35 km, and could at least partially uncouple the plates by superplastic deformation throughout the oceanic crust during the phase change.