The Sinai subplate and tectonic evolution of the northern Red Sea region

Although the precise boundaries and kinematics of the Sinai subplate are still doubtful, it has a significant role in the tectonic evolution of the northern Red Sea region. On the basis of earthquake distribution, the Sinai region can be considered as a subplate partially separated from the African plate by the Suez rift. The relative motion between Africa, Sinai and Arabia is the main source generating the present-day earthquake activity in the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba regions.According to geological observations, the southern segment of the Dead Sea fault system can be characterized by a left-lateral displacement of about 107km since the Middle Miocene, in contrast to the northern segment where only 25 to 35km offset can be inferred. We think that along the southern segment the total displacement was 72km until the late Miocene (10Ma). The earthquake activity is strongly reduced along the northern segment of the Dead Sea fault segment. Therefore, we suggest that the northern part (Yammouneh fault) evolves through initial cracking of the crust due to build-up of stress since the Pliocene time (5Ma) and propagates northward into Lebanon and Syria. This last 5 million years is the period when the southern and northern segments became linked and formed a single fault system with a new displacement of 35km.According to the proposed model the predicted opening pole of the Red Sea is near 34.0oN, 22.0oE with an angle of total rotation of 3.4o since the early miocene, providing a 0.82cm/a opening rate in the northern Red Sea. We suggest that the Dead Sea strike-slip fault was active since Middle Miocene time (15Ma) with a slip rate of 0.72cm/a to provide a total displacement of about 107km. This strike slip motion occured about an Euler pole near 33.0oN, 21.0oE with a rotation angle of about 3.0o. It can be inferred from the proximity of the pole and angle of rotations for the Red Sea and Dead Sea fault that more than 85% of the motion has been accommodated on the Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead Sea fault and less than 15% in the Gulf of Suez.This model predicts a normal extensional motion in the Gulf of Suez with a minor left-lateral strike-slip component. We expect the pole of this motion to be at 31.0oN, 29.0oE, offshore of Alamein city about 320 km west of the Nile Delta. The rate of motion through the last 15Ma (Middle Miocene) is about 0.1 cm/a and the angle of rotation is 0.9o. During this period the total opening of the Suez rift is 15 km while the rest of the motion (45 km) occured mainly through the first phase of the development before the Middle Miocene.     

Seismicity constraints on stress regimes along Sinai subplate boundaries

The relative movement between African, Arabian and Eurasian plates has significantly controlled the tectonic process of Sinai subplate region, although its kinematics and precise boundaries are still doubtful. The respective subplate bounded on both sides by the Aqaba-Dead Sea transform fault to the east and the Gulf of Suez, the only defined part, to the west. Seismicity parameters, moment magnitude relation and fault plane solutions were combined to determine the active tectonics along the aforementioned boundaries. Seven shallow seismogenic zones were defined by the heterogeneity in stress field orientations. Along the eastern boundary, the average fault plane solution obtained from the moment tensor summation (MTS) reveals a sinistral strike-slip faulting mechanism. The corresponding seismic strain rate tensor showed that the present tectonic stress producing earthquakes along the boundary is dominated by both NW-SE compression and NE-SW dilatation. Towards the north, the average focal mechanism showed a normal faulting mechanism of N185°E compression and an N94°E extension in the Carmel Fairi seismic zone. On the other hand, the active crustal deformation along the western boundary (Gulf of Suez region) showed a prevailing tensional stress regime of NE to ENE orientations; producing an average fault plane solution of normal faulting mechanism. The seismic strain rate tensor reveals a dominant stress regime of N58°E extension and N145°E compression in consistence with the general tectonic nature in northeastern Africa. Finally, the extensional to strike-slip stress regimes obtained in the present study emphasize that the deformation accommodated along the Sinai subplate boundaries are in consistence with the kinematics models along the plate boundaries representing the northern extremity part of the Red Sea region.     

Seismicity of the Sinai subplate region:kinematicimplications

The seismic activity of the Sinai subplate region on the basis of both historical (2200B.C.–1900 A.D.) and recent (1900–1995) earthquake catalogs have been evaluated.Moderateand large earthquakes occurred mainly at the subplate boundaries, Dead Sea Fault (DSF) systemin the east, Cyprean arc in the north, and Suez rift in the southwest.Along the Dead Sea Fault system the activity concentrated at the southern andcentralsegments. The earthquake distribution appears to have a tendency to cluster in time andspace.The swarms (February, 1983; April, 1990; August, 1993 and November, 1995) in the GulfofAqaba indicate that the southern segment of the Dead Sea Fault system is the mostseismogenicthrough the last two decades. North of the Dead Sea depression the seismic activitytends to haveoccurred with NW trend to extend under the Levantine Sea. Although the northernsegment ofthe Dead Sea Fault system is well defined from geological, geophysical and historicalearthquakeactivity recent seismic activity is practically absent especially north of Latitude 34°N.In the eastern Mediterranean the seismicity is much higher in the area of the Hellenicarcthan in the Cyprean arc. Moreover, the activity occurs in a wide belt suggesting that theplateboundary is a deformation zone instead of a single line.The seismic activity in the Gulf of Suez is scattered and does not have any distincttrend.However, three active zones are delineated. At the mouth of the gulf most of activityisconcentrated where the Sinai triple junction (Africa, Arabia, Sinai) is situated. The centralpartand the northern part of the gulf include the adjacent area as far as the river Nile. Actually,theactivity is markedly decreased from south to north.Although there is no seismological evidence that the Suez rift continues into theeasternMediterranean, the activity in the Gulf of Suez region cannot be ignored.The parameters of magnitude-frequency relation (a, b) indicate thatthelevel of earthquake activity in the Sinai subplate region is generally moderate. Moreover,theenergy release curve shows a regular trend and reflects occasional high activity. © 1999ElsevierScience Ltd. All rights reserved.     

Present-day seismicity,stress field and crustal deformation of Egypt

In this study we investigate present-day seismicity and crustal deformation of Egypt based on a comprehensive earthquake catalog from 1900 to 2004 by focal mechanism stress inversion and by recent GPS observations. Spatial distribution of earthquake epicenters indicates that Egypt has been suffered from both interplate and intraplate earthquakes. Most earthquake activity (more than 70%) has been concentrated in northern Egypt along the geologically documented borders of Sinai subplate (northern Red Sea and its two branches Suez rift and Aqaba–Dead Sea transform). The majority of inland earthquake focal mechanisms in Egypt are normal with strike-slip component or strike-slip faulting events. Only a small minority, namely four events, exhibits reverse faulting. The inversion method of Gephart and Forsyth (1984) was applied to calculate the orientation of the principle stress axes and the shape of the stress tensor. The best fitting tensor in Egypt shows homogeneity stress field. The tension stress regime is dominant in northern Egypt. The stress directions are well resolved by the 95% confidence limits, the relative stress magnitude has a value of about 0.3. However, along southern Egypt the strike-slip regime is dominant. The shape factor (R-value) is 0.5, which means that the deviatoric components of σ₁ and σ₃ are of the same magnitude, but of opposite signs. The average horizontal velocity of GPS stations in Egypt is 5.15± 1.1 mm/year in mostly NNW direction. The results of deformation analysis indicate that the northern Egypt is deformed more than the southern part. Only the Egyptian-Mediterranean coastal–Nile Delta zone dominates as a compression deformation area. However, an extensional deformation has been observed throughout the rest of country. This means that the relative motion of African plate with respect to both Eurasian and Arabian has highly controlled the deformation processes in Egypt.     

Estimating Curie Point Depth and Heat Flow Map for Northern Red Sea Rift of Egypt and Its Surroundings, from Aeromagnetic Data

In this study, we aim to map the Curie point depth surface for the northern Red Sea rift region and its surroundings based on the spectral analysis of aeromagnetic data. Spectral analysis technique was used to estimate the boundaries (top and bottom) of the magnetized crust. The Curie point depth (CPD) estimates of the Red Sea rift from 112 overlapping blocks vary from 5 to 20 km. The depths obtained for the bottom of the magnetized crust are assumed to correspond to Curie point depths where the magnetic layer loses its magnetization. Intermediate to deep Curie point depth anomalies (10–16 km) were observed in southern and central Sinai and the Gulf of Suez (intermediate heat flow) due to the uplifted basement rocks. The shallowest CPD of 5 km (associated with very high heat flow, ~235 mW m^?2) is located at/around the axial trough of the Red Sea rift region especially at Brothers Island and Conrad Deep due to its association with both the concentration of rifting to the axial depression and the magmatic activity, whereas, beneath the Gulf of Aqaba, three Curie point depth anomalies belonging to three major basins vary from 10 km in the north to about 14 km in the south (with a mean heat flow of about 85 mW m^?2). Moreover, low CPD anomalies (high heat flow) were also observed beneath some localities in the northern part of the Gulf of Suez at Hammam Fraun, at Esna city along River Nile, at west Ras Gharib in the eastern desert and at Safaga along the western shore line of the Red Sea rift. These resulted from deviatoric tensional stresses developing in the lithosphere which contribute to its further extension and may be due to the opening of the Gulf of Suez and/or the Red Sea rift. Furthermore, low CPD (with high heat flow anomaly) was observed in the eastern border of the study area, beneath northern Arabia, due to the quasi-vertical low-velocity anomaly which extends into the lower mantle and may be related to volcanism in northern Arabia. Dense microearthquakes seem to occur in areas where the lateral gradients of the CPD are steep (e.g. entrance of the Gulf of Suez and Brothers Island in the Red Sea). These areas may correspond to the boundaries between high and low thermal regions of the crust. Thus, the variations in the microseismic activity may be closely related to thermal structures of the crust. Indeed, shallow cutoff depths of seismicity can also be found in some geothermal areas (e.g. western area of Safaga city along the Red Sea coastal region and at Esna city along the River Nile). These facts indicate that the changes in the thickness of the seismogenic layer strongly depend on temperature. Generally, the shallow Curie point depth indicates that some regions in our study area are promising regions for further geothermal exploration particularly in some localities along the River Nile, Red Sea and Gulf of Suez coastal regions.     

The October 11, 1999 and November 08, 2006 Beni Suef Earthquakes

Two felt moderate-sized earthquakes with local magnitudes of 4.9 on October 11, 1999 and 4.3 on November 08, 2006 occurred southeast of Beni Suef and Cairo cities. Being well recorded by the digital Egyptian National Seismic Network (ENSN) and some regional broadband stations, they provided us with a unique opportunity to study the tectonic process and present-day stress field acting on the northern part of the Eastern Desert of Egypt. In this study, we analyze the main shocks of these earthquakes and present 15 well recorded aftershocks (0.9 ≤ ML ≤ 3.3) which have small errors on both horizontal and vertical axes. The relocation analysis using the double difference algorithm clearly reveals a NW trending fault for the 1999 earthquake. The spatial distribution of its aftershocks indicates a propagation of rupture from the SW towards the NW along a fault length ~5 km dipping nearly ~40°SW. We also determined the focal mechanisms of the two main shocks by two methods (polarities and amplitudes ratios of P, S_V and S_H and regional waveform inversion). Our results indicate a normal faulting mechanism with a slight shear component for the first event, while pure normal faulting for the second one. The spatial distribution of the 1999 aftershocks sequence along with the retrieved focal mechanism confirmed the NW plane as the true fault plane. While for the 2006 event, the few aftershocks do not reveal any fault geometry; its focal mechanism indicated a pure normal fault nearly trending WNW-ESE that corresponds more likely to the extension of the 1999 earthquake fault. The seismicity distribution between the two earthquake sequences reveals a noticeable gap that may be a site of a future event. The NNE-SSW extensional stress indicated by the mechanisms of these events is in agreement with the regional stress field and the rifting of the northern Red Sea in its northern branches (Gulf of Suez and Gulf of Aqaba). The source parameters (seismic moment, moment magnitude, fault radius, stress drop and displacement across the fault) were also estimated and compared based on both the regional waveform inversion and the displacement spectra and interpreted in the context of the tectonic setting. The obtained results imply a reactivation of the pre-exiting NW-SE faults as a result of extensional deformation from the northern Red Sea-Gulf of Suez rifts.     

Tectonic model of Egypt based on magnetic analysis

The main target of this work was to study the dynamics of the Earth’s crust for Egypt based on the magnetic survey. High-resolution land magnetic data were analyzed, combined with the results of GPS and seismic stress analyses. The constructed tectonic map shows that the N35°-N45°W trend of the structure (related to the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez tectonics) predominates along the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea, covering wide parts of the study area. The N45°-N65°E tectonic trend (related to the Syrian Arc tectonics), prevailing in the northern part of Egypt, is of the second rank. The Aqaba (N15°-25°E) and E-W trends prevail in the northern part and along the transition zone of stable/unstable shelves. The depth to the basement rocks ranges from the surface along the Red Sea and southern parts of Egypt to more than 4 km below sea level at the northern part of the study area.     

3D Gravity Inversion of Northern Sinai Peninsula: A Case Study

The Sinai Peninsula has attracted the attention of many geological and geophysical studies as it is influenced and bounded by major tectonic events. Those are (1) the Mesozoic to Early Cenozoic tectonically active opening of the Tethys, (2) the Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary (Laramide) Syrian arc system, due to closing of the Tethys (3) the Oligo-Miocene Gulf of Suez rifted basin, and (4) the Late Miocene to Recent transform Dead Sea–Gulf of Aqaba rift. Additionally, the shear zones inside Sinai such as the Ragabet El-Naam and Minsherah-Abu Kandu Shear Zones. Each of these major tectonic events has affected dramatically the structure evolution of the northern Sinai area. The present paper estimates the 3D density contrast model using the gravity data of northern Sinai. The estimated 3D density contrast model elucidated the peculiarities of the main structural elements in the region. The estimated 3D density contrast model showed the high and low gravity anomalies that form the main mountains and main valleys in northern Sinai. The estimated low density zones are in agreement with the inferred faults resulting from the first horizontal derivative. Comparing the 3D model with the tectonic history of the region and the results of the first horizontal derivative and least square separation increased the reliability of the model.     

Incipient spreading center in the Gulf of Elat,northern Red Sea

The Gulf of Elat, located at the northern Red Sea, is a rift that forms the southern section of the Dead Sea rift system. A recent high-resolution seismic reflection survey showed that lenticular grabens and axial anticlines are the predominant structures at the rift floor. Structural relationships suggest that after the lenticular graben was formed at the rift floor, it was filled with sediments. Axial uplift along the rift caused the widening of the graben and the development of axial anticlines, and at a later stage a new graben started to develop between the flank of the anticline and the boundary fault of the rift. The data indicate that the tectonic regime affecting the southern Dead Sea rift is one of uplift and extension, acting simultaneously. It is presumed that upwelling of magma in the upper mantle, extending northwards from the Red Sea, is the cause for these uplift and extensional phenomena, and that the Gulf of Elat is an incipient spreading center.     

Current motion and short-term deformations in the Suez–Sinai area from GPS observations

We analyze observations from eight GPS campaigns carried out between 1997 and 2005 on a network of 13 sites in the Suez–Sinai area, where separation between the African and the Arabian plates takes place. This is the key area to understand if and in which way Sinai behaves like a sub-plate of the African plate and the role played by seismic and geodetic (long-term) deformation release.Our analysis shows that, on average, the Suez–Sinai area motion, in terms of ITRF00 velocities, matches the African plate motion defined by the NNR-NUVEL-1A model.The horizontal principal strain rate axes estimated separately in the Gulf of Suez area and in the northern Sinai vary from compression across the Gulf (−2.2 ± 1.2) × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹ to NE extension (1.0 ± 1.5) × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹ in the North, showing the presence of two distinct domains, so that in our opinion Sinai cannot be considered simply a unique rigid block.The analysis of GPS baseline length variations shows short-term deformations across the Gulf of Suez, reaching up a maximum value of more than 1 cm in 8 years.Since current geodynamical models do not predict significant tectonic deformation in this area, we work under the hypothesis that a contribute may be expected by post-seismic relaxation effects. Under this hypothesis, we compare the baselines length variations with the post-seismic relaxation field associated with five major local earthquakes occurred in the area, testing two different viscoelastic models. Our results show that the detected short-term deformations are better modeled for viscosity values of 10¹⁸ Pa s in the lower crust and 10²⁰ Pa s in the asthenosphere. However, since the modeled post-seismic effect results modest and a certain amount of the detected deformation is not accounted for, we think that an improved modeling should take into account the lateral heterogeneities of crust and upper mantle structures.     

张家口-渤海地震构造带的地壳形变研究

华北北部地区的张家口-渤海断裂带是控制现代强震的一条地震构造带。新近纪以来,在区域NEE向主压应力的作用下,新发育了一系列的NE向构造活动带,与张家口-渤海断裂带组成1组共轭的剪切破裂系统,控制了近代强震的发生。文中主要探讨了这条断裂带的地壳形变特征。长趋势GPS地壳形变图像反映了这条活动断裂带相对完整的左旋走滑活动。分期的地壳形变图像揭示了在中强地震前,沿该断裂带出现一系列的NE向梯度异常带,分别指示了唐山-河间、三河-涞水以及延怀-山西地震构造活动带的活动,表明了沿张家口-渤海断裂带出现了中强地震的中期前兆。研究认为,强震前地壳形变揭示的是深部蕴震层的应变活动信息,而强震之后比较杂乱的图像特征体现了盖层的调整运动     

THE RESEARCH OF THE SEISMOGENIC STRUCTURE OF THE LUSHAN EARTHQUAKE BASED ON THE SYNTHESIS OF THE DEEP SEISMIC DATA AND THE SURFACE TECTONIC DEFORMATION

The seismogenic structure of the Lushan earthquake has remained in suspensed until now. Several faults or tectonics, including basal slipping zone, unknown blind thrust fault and piedmont buried fault, etc, are all considered as the possible seismogenic structure. This paper tries to make some new insights into this unsolved problem. Firstly, based on the data collected from the dynamic seismic stations located on the southern segment of the Longmenshan fault deployed by the Institute of Earthquake Science from 2008 to 2009 and the result of the aftershock relocation and the location of the known faults on the surface, we analyze and interpret the deep structures. Secondly, based on the terrace deformation across the main earthquake zone obtained from the dirrerential GPS meaturement of topography along the Qingyijiang River, combining with the geological interpretation of the high resolution remote sensing image and the regional geological data, we analyze the surface tectonic deformation. Furthermore, we combined the data of the deep structure and the surface deformation above to construct tectonic deformation model and research the seismogenic structure of the Lushan earthquake. Preliminarily, we think that the deformation model of the Lushan earthquake is different from that of the northern thrust segment ruptured in the Wenchuan earthquake due to the dip angle of the fault plane. On the southern segment, the main deformation is the compression of the footwall due to the nearly vertical fault plane of the frontal fault, and the new active thrust faults formed in the footwall. While on the northern segment, the main deformation is the thrusting of the hanging wall due to the less steep fault plane of the central fault. An active anticline formed on the hanging wall of the new active thrust fault, and the terrace surface on this anticline have deformed evidently since the Quaterary, and the latest activity of this anticline caused the Lushan earthquake, so the newly formed active thrust fault is probably the seismogenic structure of the Lushan earthquake. Huge displacement or tectonic deformation has been accumulated on the fault segment curved towards southeast from the Daxi country to the Taiping town during a long time, and the release of the strain and the tectonic movement all concentrate on this fault segment. The Lushan earthquake is just one event during the whole process of tectonic evolution, and the newly formed active thrust faults in the footwall may still cause similar earthquake in the future.     

青藏高原西北部区域地壳形变、构造地貌与孕震构造模型研究——以2008年与2014年新疆于田7.3级地震为例

为了清晰认识发生于青藏高原西北部2008年与2014年的两次于田MS7.3地震发震构造环境与构造地貌特征,本文利用DEM(数字高程模型)数据分析"喀喇昆仑—西昆仑—康西瓦地区"的地形地貌特征,结合区域活动断裂研究资料、相对于塔里木盆地的两期GPS速度场资料和区域运动学特征等讨论两次MS7.3地震所处的青藏高原西北部区域构造环境和地壳运动学特征,分析喀喇昆仑断裂、阿尔金断裂康西瓦段、龙木错-邦达错断裂及贡嘎错断裂所围限的西昆仑地块的地质构造背景、阿尔金断裂西南端发震断裂活动性及孕震环境等发震构造基本条件;进而利用"地形剖面"方法及断裂分布特征分析震源区的地形地貌特征,给出晚第四纪以来的地貌形态与发震构造的关系,从区域构造地貌学和GPS地壳运动学的角度探讨中上地壳变形特征及孕震过程;最后讨论区域孕震构造、克尔牙张性裂谷演化过程和地球动力学背景等。通过地形剖面及区域地貌综合分析新疆于田2008年MS7.3拉张型发震构造和2014年MS7.3走滑拉张型地震的发震构造特点的区别,认为2014年发生的地震可能与2008年MS7.3地震同震库伦应力变化、触发过程及震后变形过程密切相关,并且青藏高原西北部地区存在明显的东西向拉张性构造单元,可能与青藏高原10~15 Ma以来的地壳减薄过程有关。     

Discussion on Characteristics of Crustal Deformation along the Zhangjiakou-Bohai Sea Seismotectonic Zone

INTRODUCTIONThe Zhangjiakou-Penglai fault zone has drawnextensive attentionfromseismologists and geologistssince it was determinedinthe1980’s(Zheng Binghua,et al.,1981).Ma Xingyuan,et al.(1989)consideredit asthe north boundaryof North China sub-block.Int…     

Seismicity of the northernmost part of the Red Sea (1995–1999)

Seismicity in the northernmost part of the Red Sea has been studied using data from Hurghada Seismological Network in addition to readings from the existing neighbouring networks. Relocated events in addition to data from national centers are used to obtain a complete and true picture for the seismicity of the area. The spatial distribution of earthquakes defines three earthquake zones in the Gulf of Aqaba and three zones at the entrance of the Gulf of Suez and southern tip of Sinai Peninsula. The thermal activity and the triple junction nature control the activity in this area. The activity defines also an active trend extending from the southern tip of Sinai Peninsula to the median zone of the Red Sea. The seismicity of this trend is probably related to the active spreading zone associated with the opening of the Red Sea. The b-values are derived for the entrance areas of the two gulfs and for Gulf of Aqaba. Values of b are 1.35 for the triple junction region, 1.13 for the activity before the 22 November 1995 Gulf of Aqaba mainshock and 1.25 for the aftershocks of this event.     

区域网GPS观测得到的2008年汶川MS8.0地震前的地壳水平运动

2008年5月12日汶川（31.0°N,103.4°E）MS8.0大地震发生在中国地壳运动观测网络区域网GPS观测站相当密集的地区．1000个站的GPS 非连续观测区域网分别在1999,2001,2004年和2007年作了4次观测．震前区域网GPS观测站得到的水平位移表明,汶川大地震主要力源是印度板块向北对中国大陆的挤压,但同时也受到东部与南部板块的挤压．与其它地区相比,震前震中附近水平位移最显著的特点是,汶川地震发生在南北地震带上位移分叉部位,即震中北部明显向东北位移,震中南部明显向东南位移,而震中附近的水平位移则明显小于其北面和南面的水平位移．简要讨论了应变计算结果的精度．为获取地震前的异常信息,分别采用趋势曲面拟合和统计方法研究了汶川地震前（1999—2007年）区域网的应变积累,寻找震中的大致区域．除了2001年昆仑山口西大地震震中及其周围地区外,1999—2007年震前区域网的应变积累的趋势曲面拟合表明,汶川地震发生在中国大陆第一剪应变积累大、范围最广的区域的东侧,且在此区域内积累较大的面压缩区的东北边缘．应变分量的统计分析表明,震前其分布在此区域及其附近同样有明显的异常,剪应变和面膨胀积累均增强．      

黄海及其邻近地区的Pn波速度与各向异性

利用中国东部地震台网和ISC 报告1980~2004年的地震走时数据,反演了黄海及其邻近地区的Pn波速度和各向异性,根据岩石层地幔的横向非均匀性分析了区域地质构造的深部特点.Pn波速度的变化与区域地质构造有一定的对应关系,黄海地区上地幔顶部的P波平均速度较高,没有发现明显的低速异常,表明上地幔顶部不存在大范围的地幔扰动.速度异常的分布表明,南黄海东部和西部有可能分属于不同的构造块体,其间的分界大致对应于南北走向的黄海东部断裂带,具有相对较低的Pn波速度.边界东、西两侧的Pn波各向异性存在明显的差异：南黄海西部Pn波的快波方向以北东—北北东方向为主,反映了海区内部扬子块体向北运动产生的构造变形;南黄海东部Pn波的快波方向为南北方向,与黄海东部断裂带的走向基本一致,说明黄海东部和西部之间存在一个深达岩石层地幔的南北向转换边界.结合相关资料估计黄海东部断裂带在中生代时期发生了右旋走滑运动,以响应中国东部郯庐断裂带的大规模左旋剪切以及南黄海扬子块体的向北嵌入.     

2001年MW7.8昆仑山地震震后形变观测、机制与青藏高原中北部岩石圈流变:认识与挑战

2001年M_W7.8昆仑山地震是近半个世纪以来青藏高原发生的最大震级地震。同震破裂产生的巨大应力扰动驱动控制着显著震后形变。二十年尺度的大地测量数据记录了地震后长时间、大范围、时空依赖的震后形变演化过程及差异,揭示了昆仑山地震破裂段复杂的断层分段震后运动学特征、分段摩擦性质差异和青藏高原中北部岩石圈流变性质/结构横向各向异性。本文简要回顾昆仑山地震后基于二十年尺度时序InSAR和GPS的震后形变观测方法和时空特征,特别是时空密集的InSAR观测,是该构造区震后GPS观测的重要补充及其不可替代的观测手段;总结大范围震后形变模拟方法及其揭示的震后运动过程、多种动力学机制及其关系。最后总结提出昆仑山地震震后形变20年研究取得的科学认识及尚待深入研究的科学问题,一方面要持续性地对东昆仑断裂带大范围地表形变进行观测研究;另一方面,要不断更新震后形变模型,进一步深化对该断裂带地震周期形变、区域构造对周期形变控制作用、复杂断层运动时空演化机制的认识。      

Numerical modeling of the development of southeastern Red Sea continental margin

The Red Sea continental margin (RSCM) corresponds to a wide hinge zone between Red Sea and Arabian plate. This margin has been studied through geological and geophysical observations primarily in regard to the evolution of Red Sea rift. This margin is characterized by occurrence of thin sediments, significant onshore uplift, tectonic subsidence of the offshore sedimentary basin, active faulting and seismicity. Studies indicate that sedimentary sequences of the margin are deformed by faults and folds resulti...     

What triggered the early-to-mid Pleistocene tectonic transition across the entire eastern Mediterranean?

Subduction plays a fundamental role in plate tectonics and when interrupted it may trigger a series of geodynamic and sedimentary responses. Synchronous structural modifications recorded across the entire eastern Mediterranean region are dated to a relatively short period — early-to-mid Pleistocene. These deformations are documented within plates (e.g., Arabian, Sinai and African plates), along plate boundaries (e.g., Dead Sea and North Anatolian faults and Cyprus Arc), and in the Mediterranean basin. During the same period the northward subduction of the Sinai plate was interrupted when the Eratosthenes Seamount–Cyprus Arc collision initiated. Subduction–collision processes of the eastern Mediterranean serve as a unique modern analogue for similar settings worldwide. Understanding their association with accompanying neo-tectonic processes is therefore predominantly important. By fostering a detailed and comprehensive approach this research provides a coherent tectonic picture for the eastern Mediterranean early-to-mid Pleistocene tectonic transition in order to explore its triggering mechanisms. Since the Neogene convergence across the eastern Mediterranean was accompanied by Eurasian indentation by Arabia northward motion, westwards Anatolia escape and southwards Aegean propagation. This semi counterclockwise plate motion was temporarily interrupted by the incipient Seamount–Arc collision which is suggested here as a trigger of the early-to-mid Pleistocene tectonic transition.