Constraining quantitatively the timing and process of continent-continent collision using magmatic record: Method and examples

Based on the main driving force of plate motion(the slab pull force generated by the descent of the oceanic plate in subduction zones) and the three primary mechanisms for magma generation(adding fluid, increasing temperature, and decreasing pressure), the continent-continent collisional process has been divided into three stages, including initial collision, ongoing collision, and tectonic transition. These stages are characterized by normal calc-alkaline andesitic magma(dehydration of the oceanic crust to release fluids), the migration of calc-alkaline magma toward the trench(dehydration of the oceanic crust or an increase in temperature) or small-scale crust-derived peraluminous magma(heat from intra-crustal shearing), and extensive magmatism with compositional diversity induced by slab break-off(increasing temperature and decreasing pressure), respectively.On the basis of the obtained age of slab break-off, the timing of the initial continent-continent collision can be quantitatively back-dated using the convergence rate, depth of slab break-off, and subduction angle. The spatio-temporal migration of the magmatic activity of the Gangdese Batholith, the onset of magmatic flare-up, and the increase of magma temperature at 52–51Ma documented by the volcanic rocks of the Linzizong Pana Formation were most likely the result of the break-off of the Yarlung-Zangbo Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere at approximately 53 Ma. This proposed age of slab break-off suggests that the initial India-Asia collision likely occurred at approximately 55–54 Ma, which is consistent with the collision ages constrained by other abundant geological data(60–55 Ma). This magmatic method has been applied to the Bitlis orogenic belt in southern Turkey in the Arabia-Eurasia continental collision zone, yielding an age range of approximately 29–22 Ma for the initial Arabia-Asia continental collision that is close to the collision ages recently obtained by apatite fission-track dating(approximately20 Ma) and regional tectonic shortening(approximately 27 Ma). The intense folding of the Upper Cretaceous and the angular unconformity between the overlying Linzizong volcanic rocks in the southern Lhasa Terrane(90.69 Ma) are not related to the initial continental collision between India and Asia, but can be interpreted as the consequences of the strong coupling between the hot and young subducting oceanic crust immediately south of the spreading ridge and the overriding lithosphere or the subduction of the Neo-Tethys oceanic plateaux or seamounts. The tectonic event documented by the angular unconformity between the Linzizong Dianzhong Formation and the Nianbo Formation lasted approximately 3 Ma and likely marks the initial India-Asia collision. The significant deceleration of the Indian continent at approximately 51 Ma can be attributed to the disappearance of the slab pull force in the subduction zone due to the break-off of the Yarlung-Zangbo Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere. The descent of the eclogitized lower crust of the northern Indian continent provides the main driving force for the current northward motion of Indian plate. The weak deformation of the lithospheric plate in the overriding plate of the India-Asia collisional zone between 60 and 40 Ma can be attributed to the high-angle subduction related to the rollback of the Yarlung-Zangbo Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere after the initial India-Asia continental collision, the presence of the thick crust and high elevation on the southern margin of the Lhasa Terrane, and the decoupling between the mid-upper and lower crust and between the lower crust and lithospheric mantle of the Indian continent.     

The influence of Cretaceous paleolatitude variation of the Tethyan Himalaya on the India-Asia collision pattern

Identifying when, where, and how India and Asia collided is a prerequisite to better understand the evolution of the Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau. Whereas with essentially the same published paleomagnetic data, a large range of different India-Asia collision models have been proposed in the literature. Based upon the premise of a northwards-moving Indian plate during the Cretaceous times, we analyze the significant variations in relative paleolatitude produced by a nearly 90° counterclockwise(CCW)rotation of the plate itself during the Cretaceous. Interestingly, recent studies proposed a dual-collision process with a Greater India basin or post-Neo-Tethyan ocean for the India-Asia collision, mainly in the light of divergent Cretaceous paleolatitude differences of the Tethyan Himalaya between the observed values and expected ones computed from the apparent polar wander path of the Indian plate. However, we find that these varied paleolatitude differences are mainly resulted from a nearly 90° CCW rotation of a rigid/quasi-rigid Greater Indian plate during the Cretaceous. On the other hand, when the Indian craton and Tethyan Himalaya moved as two individual blocks rather than a united rigid/quasi-rigid Greater Indian plate before the India-Asia collision, current available Cretaceous paleomagnetic data permit only multiple paleogeographic solutions for the tectonic relationship between the Indian plate and the Tethyan Himalayan terrane. We therefore argue that the tectonic relationship between the Indian plate and the Tethyan Himalayan terrane cannot be uniquely constrained by current paleomagnetic data in the absence of sufficient geological evidence, and the so-called Greater India basin model is just one of the ideal scenarios.     

大陆碰撞过程中的多地体变形模式

几乎所有的大陆碰撞造山带都含有多个增生地体,它们是大陆造山带的重要组成部分.前人对地体拼贴过程及其相应地质记录都做过详细探讨,但对后期大陆持续汇聚过程中的多地体之间的变形行为及拆离模式目前研究得仍较为薄弱.为此,我们以"两地体"结构为代表,通过系统的动力学模型试验,来探讨多地体流变结构及其几何参数对大陆碰撞动力学过程的影响.模型结果显示,大陆碰撞过程中的地体变形行为主要受控于靠近主碰撞带的地体流变强度(确切来说是地壳流变强度,下同)及其几何宽度,而与远离主碰撞带的地体流变和几何属性关系较弱.同时,模型结果也揭示出大陆碰撞造山带中地体之间的相互俯冲仅发生在靠近主碰撞带一侧地体较宽的情况下,且总是弱地体向相对强的地体之下俯冲.该研究成果不仅对喜马拉雅—青藏高原造山带中地体变形演化给予重要的动力学启示,也对含有多地体结构的碰撞造山带的动力学演化研究提供一定的理论支撑.     

Metallogenesis within continental collision zones: Comparisons of modern collisional orogens

Modern collisional orogens represent the natural laboratory for the study of metallogeny in continental collision zones. The Pyrenees, Alps, Zagros and Himalaya are all associated with Neo-Tethyan subduction and represent the youngest collisional orogens on Earth. Here, we compare these four orogens in terms of their composition, architecture, tectonic evolution, and metallogenic systems. The four orogens can be divided into simple and composite types. Simple orogens are represented by the Pyrenees and the Alps, and are characterized by narrow linear shapes in plain view and symmetric structures in cross-section, are free of arc magmatism, and are associated with the Mississippi Valley Valley-type Pb-Zn and orogenic gold deposits. The mineral deposits that form in these simple collisional orogens are generally related to processes that occur in the middle and upper crust. In contrast, composite orogens, as exemplified by the Zagros-Iranian and Himalayan-Tibetan Plateaus, are associated with broad orogenic plateaus in plain view and asymmetrical structures in cross-section, record extensive arc magmatism in continental margins, and are associated with a variety of deposit types including carbonatite-related rare earth element (REE), porphyry Cu-Mo, orogenic Au, Mississippi Valley type Pb-Zn, and detachment-fault-related polymetallic deposits. Although the subduction of Neo-Tethys oceanic crust occurred before the creation of simple collisional orogens in the Pyrenees and the Alps, these areas do not show the record of continental arc magmatism. In contrast, the composite collisional orogens are associated with the development of huge continental margin arcs prior to continental subduction, and the subduction was followed by reactivation of the subduction-modified arc lithospheric material, generating the ore-forming systems in these regions.     

A review on the numerical geodynamic modeling of continental subduction, collision and exhumation

Continental subduction and collision normally follows oceanic subduction,with the remarkable event of formation and exhumation of high-to ultra-high-pressure(HP-UHP)metamorphic rocks.Based on the summary of numerical geodynamic models,six modes of continental convergence have been identified:pure shear thickening,folding and buckling,one-sided steep subduction,flat subduction,two-sided subduction,and subducting slab break-off.In addition,the exhumation of HP-UHP rocks can be formulated into eight modes:thrust fault exhumation,buckling exhumation,material circulation,overpressure model,exhumation of a coherent crustal slice,episodic ductile extrusion,slab break-off induced eduction,and exhumation through fractured overriding lithosphere.During the transition from subduction to exhumation,the weakening and detachment of subducted continental crust are prerequisites.However,the dominant weakening mechanisms and their roles in the subduction channel are poorly constrained.To a first degree approximation,the mechanism of continental subduction and exhumation can be treated as a subduction channel flow model,which incorporates the competing effects of downward Couette(subduction)flow and upward Poiseuille(exhumation)flow in the subduction channel.However,the(de-)hydration effect plays significant roles in the deformation of subduction channel and overriding lithosphere,which thereby result in very different modes from the simple subduction channel flow.Three-dimensionality is another important issue with highlighting the along-strike differential modes of continental subduction,collision and exhumation in the same continental convergence belt.     

Impact of climate on landscape form,sediment transfer and the sedimentary record

The relationship between climate, landscape connectivity and sediment export from mountain ranges is key to understanding the propagation of erosion signals downstream into sedimentary basins. We explore the role of connectivity in modulating the composition of sediment exported from the Frontal Cordillera of the south-central Argentine Andes by comparing three adjacent and apparently similar semi-glaciated catchment-fan systems within the context of an along-strike precipitation gradient. We first identify that the bedrock exposed in the upper, previously glaciated reaches of the cordillera is under-represented in the lithological composition of gravels on each of three alluvial fans. There is little evidence for abrasion or preferential weathering of sediment sourced from the upper cordillera, suggesting that the observed bias can only be explained by sediment storage in these glacially widened and flattened valleys of the upper cordillera (as revealed by channel steepness mapping). A detailed analysis of the morphology of sedimentary deposits within the catchments reveals catchment-wide trends in either main valley incision or aggradation, linked to differences in hillslope–channel connectivity and precipitation. We observe that drier catchments have poor hillslope–channel connectivity and that gravels exported from dry catchments have a lithological composition depleted in clasts sourced from the upper cordillera. Conversely, the catchment with the highest maximum precipitation rate exhibits a high degree of connectivity between its sediment sources and the main river network, leading to the export of a greater proportion of upper cordillera gravel as well as a greater volume of sand. Finally, given a clear spatial correlation between the resistance of bedrock to erosion, mountain range elevation and its covariant, precipitation, we highlight how connectivity in these semi-glaciated landscapes can be preconditioned by the spatial distribution of bedrock lithology. These findings give insight into the extent to which sedimentary archives record source erosion patterns through time.     

Crustal thickness variation across the northeast Iran continental collision zone from teleseismic converted waves

For the first time, we present the variation of crust–mantle boundary beneath the northeast Iran continental collision zone which is genetically part of the Alpine–Himalayan orogeny and beneath Central Iran which is a less-deformed tectonic block. The boundary was imaged by stacking teleseismic P–S converted phases and shows a strong variation of Moho from 27.5 km under Central Iran to 55.5 km beneath the Binalud foreland basin. The thickest crust is not located beneath the high topography of the Kopeh Dagh and Binalud mountain ranges suggesting that these mountain ranges are not supported by a crustal root. The simple gravity modeling of the Bouguer anomaly supports this idea.     

Large-scale cenozoic tectonics of Central and South-central Asia: Products of continental collision

Three basic tectonic units, the Eurasian continent, the Rigid Boundary Zone and the Indian continent, are recognized. The Rigid Boundary Zone is identified with aseismic lineaments on an epicenter map of the Himalayas and their vicinity. The origin of the Himalayan syntaxes, their re-entrant character, and the observation that most of the Himalayas are made up of rocks belonging geologically to the Indian peninsular shield, are explained by deformation of the Indian continent within this Rigid Boundary Zone since the continental collision. The focal mechanism solutions of six earthquakes in the Indian Peninsula support the inference derived from the model that the high stresses generated by the continental collision may be very extensive spatially, and that the entire Indian Peninsula may be under a state of left lateral shear along NNE vertical planes.     

Rapid early Miocene acceleration of uplift in the Gangdese Belt, Xizang (southern Tibet), and its bearing on accommodation mechanisms of the India-Asia collision

Five samples from a biotite-hornblende granodiorite phase of the 42.5 Ma Quxu pluton, Gangdese batholith, southern Tibet, have been collected at 250 m vertical intervals. Biotite from these rocks yields monotonically decreasing⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar isochron ages with decreasing elevation of 26.8 ± 0.2, 23.3 ± 0.5, 19.7 ± 0.3, 18.4 ± 0.4,and17.8 ± 0.1Ma (T_c = 335°C). Coexisting K-feldspars have virtually identical minimum apparent⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of 17.0 ± 0.4Ma (T_c = 285°C). These data indicate parts of southern Tibet experienced a pulse of uplift in the early Miocene with the rate of uplift rising from 0.07 to 4.4 mm/year in the interval 20 to 17 Ma. An apatite fission track age of 9.9 ± 0.9Ma from this locality constrains the average uplift rate at this site to about 0.81 mm/year between 17 and 9.9 Ma and 0.30 mm/year from 9.9 Ma to present. K-feldspar from the Dagze granite, 30 km to the east, near Lhasa, yields a minimum apparent⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 35.9 ± 0.9Ma (T_c = 227°C) which indicates an average uplift rate there of 0.21 mm/year since then. The marked pulse of uplift of the Quxu granodiorite and the difference in uplift history between the Dagze and Quxu plutons suggests southern Tibet has experienced discrete pulses of uplift variable in both space and time. These data are not consistent with models which require a large proportion of uplift of the Tibetan plateau to have occurred in the last 2 Ma. The data support the suggestion that convergence between India and Asia was largely accommodated by tectonic escape during the opening of the South China Sea 32 to 17 Ma ago and permit distributed shortening as a mechanism for crustal thickening and uplift of this part of the Tibetan plateau subsequent to 20 Ma.     

Can biomass burning produce a globally significant carbon-isotope excursion in the sedimentary record?

Negative carbon-isotope excursions have been comprehensively studied in the stratigraphic record but the discussion of causal mechanisms has largely overlooked the potential role of biomass burning. The carbon-isotopic ratios (δ¹³C) of vegetation, soil organic matter and peat are significantly lower than atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), and thereby provide a source of low ¹³C CO₂ when combusted. In this study, the potential role of biomass burning to generate negative carbon isotope excursions associated with greenhouse climates is modeled. Results indicate that major peat combustion sustained for 1000 yr increases atmospheric CO₂ from 2.5× present atmospheric levels (PAL) to 4.6× PAL, and yields a pronounced negative δ¹³C excursion in the atmosphere ( 2.4‰), vegetation ( 2.4‰) and the surface ocean ( 1.2‰), but not for the deep ocean ( 0.9‰). Release of CO₂ initiates a short-term warming of the atmosphere (up to 14.4 °C, with a duration of 1628 yr), which is consistent with the magnitude and length of an observed Toarcian excursion event. These results indicate that peat combustion is a plausible mechanism for driving negative δ¹³C excursions in the rock record, even during times of elevated pCO₂.     

A quantitative examination of modern sedimentary lithofacies formation on the glacially influenced Gulf of Alaska continental shelf

Continental-shelf lithofacies are described from a series of cores collected in the northern Gulf of Alaska, a high-energy paraglacial shelf experiencing rapid rates of sediment accumulation. Short-lived tracers (²³⁴Th and chlorophyll-a) indicate that during the annual peak in fluvial sediment input (summer), biologic sediment mixing coefficients in the surficial seabed are generally lower than other coastal environments (<20 cm² yr⁻¹) and mixing extends downward <10 cm.²¹⁰Pb geochronology indicates that sediment accumulation rates (time scales of 10–100 yr) are 0.1–3 cm yr⁻¹. The measured bioturbation and accumulation rates lead to predictions of moderate to bioturbated lithofacies, as observed. Primary depositional fabric is preferentially preserved where sediment accumulation rates >2 cm yr⁻¹ and non-steady sediment deposition occurs. Depositional fabric is also observed in strata at 50–100 m water depths and is similar in appearance to beds that may form through deposition of wave-induced fluid-mud flows, which have been observed forming on other shelves with moderate to high wave energy. Five general lithofacies can be identified for the study area: inner-shelf sand facies, interbedded sandy mud facies, moderate-to-well-bioturbated mud facies, gravelly mud facies, and Tertiary bedrock facies. The moderate-to-well-bioturbated mud facies is areally dominant, representing over 50% of the shelf area, although roughly equal volumes (∼0.4 km³) of strata with some preservation of primary fabric are annually accumulating. Lithofacies on this paraglacial shelf generally resemble mid- and low-latitude allochthonous shelf strata to a much greater degree than Holocene glacimarine strata formed on shelves dominated by icebergs and floating ice shelves. Paraglacial strata may be differentiated from non-glacial shelf strata by lower organic carbon concentrations, a relatively lower degree of bioturbation, and increased preservation of primary depositional fabric.     

Chemical record of the projectile in the graded fall-back sedimentary unit from the Ries Crater, Germany

The so-called “Graded Unit” comprises 17.2 m of the core from the research borehole Nördlingen 1973 and is thought to represent fall-back material, which has been sorted similar to tephra. Samples from six levels of these air-borne impact debris sediments in the Ries Crater have been analyzed for Ir, Ni, Co, Cr and Fe. The concentrations of these elements are negatively correlated with average grain size and accordingly the depth of the samples indicating the presence of a surface correlated component and are hence consistent with vapour deposition of meteoritic material on small dust grains. The largest Ir concentration found is 230 pg/g, a factor of 28 higher than the indigenous concentration. Enrichment factors in the uppermost layer of the “Graded Unit” are about 28 for Ir, approximately 2 for Fe, Co, Ni and 1.5 for Cr. If the enrichment of all elements determined were of meteoritic origin, then the “net meteoritic composition” is most closely matched by aubrites as suggested previously. However, it seems more likely that the observed concentration trends of Cr, Fe, Co and Ni are due to mineral sorting. Therefore the only as yet certain indication of meteoritic material is the presence of Ir, which is not sufficient to further constrain the nature of the projectile.     

Mesozoic terranes of the northwest Pacific continental margin (Russia): Radiolarian ages and sedimentary environments

Abstract Geological mapping using detailed tectonic and complex radiolarian analysis revealed significant northward displacement of a number of Russian Far and Northeast Asia terranes. It was recorded that some terranes possibly crossed the equator. Terranes of north-east Russia were composed of different allochthonous formations, ranging in age from Middle Triassic to Maestrichtian-Paleocene and accumulated from the margin to oceanic basins. The Middle to Upper Triassic interval included two formations: (i) volcanogenic, consisting of typical volcanic rocks of the island arcs (up to 800 m thick); and (ii) a chert-limestone-terrigenous one composed of marginal sandstone, siltstone, limestone and tuffic chert (about 400 m). Lower Jurassic allochthonous formations are represented by chert-terrigenous (about 300 m) and jasper-alkaline-basaltic (WPB-type) seamount deposits (about 100 m). Middle Jurassic to Hauterivian allochthonous terranes from the northern part of the Koryak-Kamchatka region include five formations: jasper (bedding jaspers with condensed limestone lenses with Buchias, 80 m), jasper-basalt (with MORB, 100-150 m), ferrotitanic basalt (WPB with lenses of jasper mainly composed of genus Parvicingula, about 75%, 150 m), terrigenous-volcanic (with MORB, IAT, CA basalts and olistostrome, 600 m), tuffic-jasper-basalt (MORB and deposits of arc-trench system, about 500 m) with the same age according to radiolarian data. Aptian? Albian-Maestrichtian ones are predominantly terrigenous-tuffaceous-siliceous. Moreover, the Early and Middle Jurassic faunas of the northwest Pacific margin contain many boreal elements similar to those of New Zealand (Southern Hemisphere), Japan, ODP Site 801. The Late Jurassic faunas of the Koryak and Kamchatka region are mainly North Tethyan and seldom Central Tethyan and are very closely related to those of the Americas. The Tithonian to Early Cretaceous radiolarian are predominantly Central Tethyan and Equatorial in contrast to Boreal Late Cretaceous. The combining in the same region at 60°N Pacific margin of the formations accumulated in different tectonic paleoenvironments and paleoclimatic provinces, is good evidence for the possible significant northward displacement of some terranes in the northwestern Pacific.     

40 年来江苏石梁河水库重金属污染的沉积记录

根据石梁河水库沉积物粒度和重金属元素(Cu,Cr,Zn,As和Pb)含量的分析,结合137Cs放射性比活度精确定年,研究了石梁河水库沉积速率和重金属的污染变化特征,并利用地累积指数法评价了重金属的污染程度.结果表明:石梁河水库 40年来平均淤积速率为3.85cm/a,Cu,Cr和zn地累积指数一直小于1,处于轻微污染;As污染水平变化较大.现处于低水平的轻度污染;Pb污染水平自柱底始持续恶化,目前地累积指数大于1,且有污染加剧趋势.     

Geochemical modeling of evaporation processes on Mars: Insight from the sedimentary record at Meridiani Planum

New data returned from the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission have revealed abundant evaporites in the sedimentary record at Meridiani Planum. A working hypothesis for Meridiani evaporite formation involves the evaporation of fluids derived from the weathering of martian basalt and subsequent diagenesis. On Earth, evaporite formation in exclusively basaltic settings is rare. However, models of the evaporation of fluids derived from experimentally weathering synthetic martian basalt provide insight into possible formation mechanisms. The thermodynamic database assembled for this investigation includes both Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ in Pitzer's ion interaction equations to evaluate Fe redox disequilibrium at Meridiani Planum. Modeling results suggest that evaporation of acidic fluids derived from weathering olivine-bearing basalt should produce Mg, Ca, and Fe-sulfates such as jarosite and melanterite. Calculations that model diagenesis by fluid recharge predict the eventual breakdown of jarosite to goethite as well as the preservation of much of the initial soluble evaporite component at modeled porosity values appropriate for relevant depositional environments (< 0.30). While only one of several possible formation scenarios, this simple model is consistent with much of the chemical and mineralogical data obtained on Meridiani Planum outcrop.     

Long-period eccentricity control on sedimentary sequences in the continental Madrid Basin (middle Miocene,Spain)

The middle Miocene Valdearenas–Muduex section in the internally-drained, continental Madrid Basin (central Spain) is dated bio-magnetostratigraphically between 15.2 Ma and 11.5 Ma. The section contains two formation-scale, sedimentary sequences, that both consist of a siliciclastic lower part and a calcareous upper part. Siliciclastic sedimentation took place in distal floodplain and fluvial environments, while limestones resulted from carbonate precipitation in calcic soil profiles and in ephemeral lacustrine water bodies. Spectral analysis of the L* colour time series points to the influence of the ～ 405-kyr and 0.97-Myr eccentricity cycles, while the bases of the two calcareous intervals correlate to successive minima of the 2.4-Myr eccentricity cycle. The 405-kyr cycle lags maximum eccentricity, whereas the 0.97 and 2.4-Myr cycles lag minimum eccentricity, each by approximately a quarter of a cycle. No obliquity forcing is detected. The observed orbital configuration of 2.4-Myr minima at the base of limestone-dominated intervals is similar to a previously documented Late Miocene shift in the Teruel Basin of northeast Spain. Our results indicate that long-period eccentricity climate forcing may well be a significant player on long, tectonic time scales in continental basin fill.     

利用重力观测约束2011日本Tohoku大地震的震源机制

2011年3月11日,日本东北部(Tohoku)太平洋海域发生M_w9.0特大地震.一些国际学术机构用不同的震相和反演方法,计算了大地震的震源机制解.但这些结果存在一定的差异.地球长周期自由振荡的振幅主要依赖于地震矩的大小及地震断层的破裂方式,可以约束地震的震源机制、地震大小及持续时间.本文利用地球自由振荡₀S₀简正模对Tohoku大地震的震源机制解进行分析和约束.₀S₀振幅大小与地震断层的倾角(dip)、滑动方向角(slip)、震源深度及地震断层的破裂时间有关.我们利用震源机制解得到大地震后自由振荡模拟值,利用超导重力仪得到自由振荡的高精度重力观测值.二者比较后的结果显示:由GCMT震源机制解得到的₀S₀振幅与观测值符合较好,而由USGS CMT震源机制解模拟的结果明显大于观测值.2011 Tohoku地震为逆冲型浅源大地震.进一步的分析表明:逆冲型浅源大地震的断层倾角对₀S₀振幅的影响很大,而滑动方向角以及震源深度对₀S₀振幅的影响较小.USGS CMT震源机制解中较大的断层倾角是导致其₀S₀振幅显著偏离观测值的主要原因.     

利用重力观测约束2011日本Tohoku大地震的震源机制

2011年3月11日,日本东北部(Tohoku)太平洋海域发生Mw9.0特大地震.一些国际学术机构用不同的震相和反演方法,计算了大地震的震源机制解.但这些结果存在一定的差异.地球长周期自由振荡的振幅主要依赖于地震矩的大小及地震断层的破裂方式,可以约束地震的震源机制、地震大小及持续时间.本文利用地球自由振荡0S0简正模对Tohoku大地震的震源机制解进行分析和约束.0S0振幅大小与地震断层的倾角(dip)、滑动方向角(slip)、震源深度及地震断层的破裂时间有关.我们利用震源机制解得到大地震后自由振荡模拟值,利用超导重力仪得到自由振荡的高精度重力观测值.二者比较后的结果显示:由GCMT震源机制解得到的0S0振幅与观测值符合较好,而由USGS CMT震源机制解模拟的结果明显大于观测值.2011 Tohoku地震为逆冲型浅源大地震.进一步的分析表明:逆冲型浅源大地震的断层倾角对0S0振幅的影响很大,而滑动方向角以及震源深度对0S0振幅的影响较小.USGS CMT震源机制解中较大的断层倾角是导致其0S0振幅显著偏离观测值的主要原因.     

Tectonic record of convergence changes in a collision area: the Boso and Miura peninsulas, Central Japan

Late Cenozoic formations in Boso and Miura have been affected by several tectonic events. Tectonic analysis enables us to reconstruct six different paleostress types: (1) early extension affecting the Oligocene/early Miocene Mineoka Group, (2) and (3), relatively minor compressional and extensional events probably early Pliocene in age, (4) major NNE-SSW compression dominating prior to 2 or 3 Ma ago, and (5) and (6) more recent major NNW-SSE compression to the west and WNW-ESE extension to the east, both types affecting the Pleistocene and prevailing since 1–2 Ma ago. The counterclockwise change from NNE-SSW to NNW-SSE compression is not accurately dated, but very likely occurred between 2 and 3 Ma ago; it is compared to similar evolutions in other areas of the Izu collision zone. We conclude that it corresponds to a major counterclockwise change in the direction of plate convergence (from SSE-NNW to SE-NW). The relationships between the directions of convergence and the distributions of Plio-Quaternary compressional paleostresses in and around the collision zone are described through a simple analogy, for the two stages of Plio-Quaternary collision. This counterclockwise change in stress fields and relative motions, also described in the Taiwan collision zone along the same Philippine Sea plate-Eurasia boundary, is interpreted as a major event at the scale of the plate. The possible significances of the other paleostress types identified in Boso are discussed. We conclude that tectonic analysis in and along collision boundaries provides a key for understanding kinematic evolution.