Crustal structure of mainland China from deep seismic sounding data

Since 1958, about ninety seismic refraction/wide angle reflection profiles, with a cumulative length of more than sixty thousand kilometers, have been completed in mainland China. We summarize the results in the form of (1) a new contour map of crustal thickness, (2) fourteen representative crustal seismic velocity–depth columns for various tectonic units, and, (3) a Pn velocity map. We found a north–south-trending belt with a strong lateral gradient in crustal thickness in central China. This belt divides China into an eastern region, with a crustal thickness of 30–45 km, and a western region, with a thickness of 45–75 km. The crust in these two regions has experienced different evolutionary processes, and currently lies within distinct tectonic stress fields. Our compilation finds that there is a high-velocity (7.1–7.4 km/s) layer in the lower crust of the stable Tarim basin and Ordos plateau. However, in young orogenic belts, including parts of eastern China, the Tianshan and the Tibetan plateau, this layer is often absent. One exception is southern Tibet, where the presence of a high-velocity layer is related to the northward injection of the cold Indian plate. This high-velocity layer is absent in northern Tibet. In orogenic belts, there usually is a low-velocity layer (LVL) in the crust, but in stable regions this layer seldom exists. The Pn velocities in eastern China generally range from 7.9 to 8.1 km/s and tend to be isotropic. Pn velocities in western China are more variable, ranging from 7.7 to 8.2 km/s, and may display azimuthal anisotropy.     

The thickness and nature of seismic discontinuities based on deep seismic sounding data

Models are presented which illustrate the various methods used for the determination of the thickness and nature of deep seismic boundaries according to the observed amplitude and frequency of subcritical reflected waves. From this study it becomes clear that the model which most nearly satisfies the observational requirements is one in which the boundaries are represented by a zone of thin diverse lamellae which produce localized velocity inversion.     

三门峡断陷盆地及邻区深部结构及成因——来自深地震反射与大地电磁测深的证据

近年来,围绕三门峡断陷盆地中的油气、地热资源做了大量的工作,成因机制研究较少,严重制约了矿产资源的勘探开发。本文在前人研究工作基础上,结合野外地质调查并利用高精度深反射地震剖面、大地电磁（MT）、重磁等地球物理探测技术,对三门峡盆地进行综合研究。发现三门峡盆地主要由东、西2个负花状构造构成,西花状构造体大于东花状构造体;盆地东部边缘以观音堂隆起与洛阳凹陷相邻,观音堂隆起发育有壳内透镜状低速体,其东、西两侧均发育有规模较大的隐伏逆断层。研究区内莫霍面为大约5 km厚度滑脱层,在深反射地震剖面上表现为蚯蚓状反射特征,指示滑脱层为西向运动。莫霍面滑脱层上部与下部新发现多条弧形断层。地质与地球物理资料综合研究表明,莫霍面滑脱层的解耦作用是三门峡断陷盆地花状构造形成的主因;在不同时空构造力系作用下,形成研究区新生代全地壳旋转花状构造盆地。     

Kinematics of a deep-seated landslide derived from photogrammetric, GPS and geophysical data

The deep-seated landslide located at the intersection of the Gradenbach and Möll valleys near Döllach, Austria, has been the target of many previous investigations [Kronfellner-Kraus, G., 1980. Neue Untersuchungsergebnisse in Wildbächen — Der Talzuschub in Abhängigkeit von Niederschlägen. Int. Symp. Interpraevent Bad Ischl 1: 179–192; Weidner, S., Moser, M., Lang, E., 1998. Influence of hydrology on sagging of mountain slopes (“Talzuschübe”) — New results of time series analysis. 8th International IAEG Congress, Vancouver, Canada, Balkema, Rotterdam, 1259–1266; Weidner, S., 2000. Kinematik und Mechanismus tiefgreifender alpiner Hangdeformationen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der hydrologischen Verhältnisse. Dissertation, Friedrich–Alexander-Universität Erlangen–Nürnberg, 246.]. In this paper, photogrammetric, GPS and geophysical data have been utilized to derive a constraint on the kinematics of the sagging process. The photogrammetric models have been based on aerial photographs from 1962 and 1996. Displacement vectors of about 50 individual characteristic points have been determined; these clearly show the area of the sagging slope. From 1999 to 2004, eleven GPS campaigns have been carried out, yielding very accurate displacement vectors at four monitoring points. Information about the internal structure of the slope was determined using seismic surveys.

The displacements observed by photogrammetry and GPS have shown a rather uniform movement of the whole sagging slope, with a slight longitudinal compression of 0.6%. In order to extend the kinematic consideration to 3D, a special form of the equation of continuity (conservation of mass) has been applied to the 1962–1996 photogrammetric data, together with the cross-sections derived from the seismic data. The average velocities through cross-sections have been calculated by integrals of the mass-balance above and below these cross-sections. Changes of the total rock mass, due to accumulation and especially to erosion, as well as an overall compaction of 1.5% between 1962 and 1996, have been considered. The calculated average velocities through a cross-section and the surface velocities independently determined by photogrammetry agree within an uncertainty of 15%. The results indicate a block movement with shear concentration at the basal sliding surface.     

Structure and evolution of the Cauvery Shear Zone system, Southern Granulite Terrain, India: Evidence from deep seismic and other geophysical studies

The Southern Granulite Terrain with exposed Archean lower crustal rocks is studied using various geophysical tools. The crustal structure derived from seismic reflection and refraction/wide-angle reflection studies is used to understand the tectonic evolution of the region. Deep seismic reflection section along the Kolattur–Palani segment shows an oppositely dipping reflection fabric near the Moyar–Bhavani shear zone, which is interpreted as a signature of collision between the Dharwar craton and another crustal block in the south. The thickened crust due to collision was delaminated during the orogenic collapse and modified the central part, covering the Cauvery Shear Zone system, located between the Moyar–Bhavani and Karur–Oddanchatram shear zones. The delaminated lower crust is altered by magmatic underplating as evidenced by the high velocity layer just above the Moho. The velocity model of the region indicates crustal thickening at the boundary of the Dharwar craton and Moyar–Bhavani shear zone and thinning further south. Back-scattered seismic wave field with negative moveout and the Moho-offset indicate the spatial location and strike-slip nature of the shear zones. Present study suggests that the late Archean collision and suturing of the Dharwar craton with the southern crustal block at the Moyar–Bhavani shear zone may be responsible for the evolution of late Archean granulites. Late Neoproterozoic rifting is observed along the paleo-fault zones. The seismic studies constrained by gravity, magnetic and magnetotelluric data suggest that the Moyar–Bhavani and Karur–Oddanchatram shear zones of the Cauvery Shear Zone system mark terrane boundaries/suture zones.     

空间数据存储研究及其在岩石圈深部探测数据中的应用

深部地球物理探测数据是岩石圈结构研究的重要资料,然而由于地学数据本身的多来源、多学科、海量等特点阻碍了数据的共享,而GIS技术恰好以强大的多学科交叉和空间数据处理功能为数据发布提供了新的途径。在GIS中信息的显示和分析方法都取决于地理信息数据模型,因此在利用GIS技术建立数据共享平台时,建立一个符合数据体查询和分析要求的数据模型尤为重要。笔者对几种空间数据存储方式和主流的空间数据模型进行了深入研究,最终结合深部地球物理探测数据的特点,以Geodatabase为基础建立了一个数据模型,为数据发布奠定了基础。     

Distribution of eruptive volcanic basalt in the South China Sea and adjacent areas by interpreting gravity,magnetic and seismic data

Volcanic basalt eruption activity in the South China Sea and adjacent areas occurred strongly in Cenozoic E ra. However, it is difficult to define their ranges and spatial locations.This paper presents the methods of reduction to the magnetic equator in low latitudes to bring out a better correlation between magnetic anomalies and their causing-sources; high-frequency filtering is to separate gravity and magnetic anomalies as well as information about the volcanic basalts in the upper part of the Earth’s crust; 3D total gradient is to define the spatial location of high density and magnetic bodies. The distribution of eruptive volcanic basalt is determined by multi-dimensional correlation analysis between high frequency gravity and magnetic anomalies with weighted total gradient 3D.The results from the above-mentioned methods have shown that the distribution of the eruptive volcanic basalt is mainly concentrated along the South China Sea’s sea floor-spreading axis, transitional crust, Manila trench and some large faults zone. These results are improved by existing boreholes and seismic data in the study area.     

Characteristic interactions and evaluation of the parameters of the transport equation and formation,including porosity,from data of measurements by some nuclear geophysical methods

An important but problematic component of nuclear geophysical technologies is computer inversion of measurement data based on the equation of particle transport. In this paper, we propose an approach and iterative methods for this inversion that are applicable to many problems of evaluation formation characteristics, including elemental composition, from data of corresponding logging methods. This approach is based on defining characteristic elements, interactions, and trajectories and using the superposition principle for transport processes, and linear a priori constraints on unknowns are used. In comparison with the previous publications of the author, this paper deals with a broader type of measurement data, including the reading ratio of detectors and normalized measurements. The iterative methods are specified for problems of determining the porosity and density from data of neutron-neutron and gamma-gamma logs, respectively. For the first of them, the results of numerical experiments are presented.     

The deep structure of the central Alps inferred from both geophysical and geological data

Gravity surveys of the past century established that mountains have roots, seismic refraction lines shot in the second half of this century confirmed the downbulge of the Moho under the Alps, and recent reflection traverses provided new details on the behaviour of crustal layers in the deep part of the Alps. However, geophysical data are ambiguous geologically. For models of the root in terms of rock distribution to be tectonophysically acceptable, they must be the retrodeformable result of kinematic sequence that fits the geological surface data. For a cross-section through the Swiss Alps based on refraction data and somewhat modified by the recent reflection traverses, a kinematic model compatible with large-scale geological data may be obtained by the superposition of three Neogene phases with alternating vergence. Although Alpine collision is largely dextrally compressive in the central Alps, the N-S component may be discussed in a cross-section. Particularly puzzling geophysical features include a high-velocity body in the middle crust and the disappearance of the layered foreland crust in the root. In order to account for these phenomena, it is proposed that the crustal root is interpreted as the result of complex reshuffling of middle and lower crustal masses as well as large-scale phase transformations. The mid-crustal highvelocity body is interpreted as a delaminated section of the lower crust of the Adria plate that was wedged into the middle crust of the Alps in the middle Miocene. The disappearance of the foreland lower crust is attributed to eclogitization attendant on the subduction of continental crust. Material balance estimates suggest that during Alpine collision large volumes of continental crust have disappeared through subduction.     

The Laramide orogeny: Evidence from cocorp deep crustal seismic profiles in the wind river mountains, wyoming

Deep crustal reflection data that are critical for the interpretation of Laramide structure have been obtained by the Consortium for Continental Reflection Profiling (COCORP). The Laramide orogeny, which occurred from the late Cretaceous to early Eocene, is characterized in Wyoming by large uplifts of Precambrian basement, commonly flanked by reverse faults. The attitude of these faults at depth has been a major tectonic problem and is very important for deciding whether horizontal or vertical crustal movements were primarily responsible for the basement uplifts. COCORP has run 158 km of deep seismic reflection profiles (recording to 20-sec two-way travel time) across the southeastern end of the Wind River Mountains, the largest of these Laramide uplifts. Reflections from the thrust fault flanking the Wind River uplift can be clearly traced on the profiles to at least 24-km depth and possibly as deep as about 36 km with a fairly uniform apparent dip of 30°–35°. Other reflection events subparallel to the main Wind River thrust are present in the seismic profiles and may represent other faults. There is at least 21 km of crustal shortening along the thrust. There is no evidence in the reflection profiles for large-scale folding of the basement; the Wind River Mountains were formed predominantly by thrust movements. Gravity anomalies in the Wind River Mountains can be modeled by a thrust that displaces dense material in the lower crust. If the thrust ever cut the Moho, the effect is not observed in the gravity today. A proposed model for the presence of uplifted basement in Wyoming invokes a shallowly dipping, subducted Farallon plate beneath the North American continent; drag between the two plates localized compressional stresses in an area over 800 km into the North American plate causing large thrusts to develop. The earth's crust seems to have fractured as a fairly rigid plate     

Crustal structure in the Barents-Kara region from detailed surveys by the method of deep seismic sounding. Paper 2

Seismogeologic sections for the Barents-Kara region along geotraverses 1-AR, 2-AR, and 3-AR with a total length of about 4000 km were obtained using the GODOGRAF software package developed at the Department of Seismometry and Geoacoustics of the Moscow State University. The data were travel times of refracted waves excited by approximately 100 sources along each traverse. This paper reports sections for the 3-AR traverse covering areas of the White Sea, Pechora Sea, and Kara Sea, and a geological interpretation of these. The sections cover depths down to 40–50 km and show basic crustal discontinuities, fold-thrust, rift, and paleospreading structural features, and paleosubduction zones. We characterize the possible character of the junction between the South Kara and North Kara basins. A geodynamic interpretation of the structures is provided for the Barents-Kara region.     

Deep structure of the baikal and other continental rift zones from seismic data

Abyssal variations beneath the Baikal rift zone are revealed in an irregular seismic stratification of the crust, the presence of an intracrust waveguide and by the vast (> 200,000 km²) underlying area of anomalously low velocity (P_n = 7.6−7.8 km/sec) uppermost mantle. In its abyssal structure the Baikal rift is heterogeneous along the strike, with sharp changes in crustal thickness (35–50 km).Comparison of first-arrival seismic-velocity curves and also the respective velocity columns reveals the essential similarity of upper-mantle seismic cross-sections for all continental rift zones. The anomalous upper layer of the mantle (ca. 7.7 km/sec) is relatively thin (15-13 km) and can be linked with the mantle waveguide only locally.     

East Avalonia,the third partner in the Caledonian collisions: evidence from deep seismic reflection data

Further evidence for the existence of the terrane East Avalonia (Cadomia) in north-west Europe, its boundaries and its role in the Caledonian collisional processes comes from studies of deep seismic reflection data at sea and on land. Various sutures are found in the north-east and the north-west, and a generally poor reflectivity dominates in the major part. Further details of reflectivity patterns support the idea that a huge terrane which split from the northern rim of Gondwana moved northward and collided with the merging plates Laurentia-Baltica. Its docking features are analysed.     

Proterozoic sutures and terranes in the southeastern Baltic Shield interpreted from BABEL deep seismic data

A hitherto unknown terrane and its bounding sutures have been revealed by a combined study of normal-incidence and wide-angle seismic data along the BABEL profile in the Baltic Sea. This Intermediate Terrane is situated between a Northern Terrane of Svecofennian age and a Southwestern Terrane of Gothian age. It is delimited upwards by two low-angle and oppositely dipping sutures and occupies mainly middle and lower crustal levels with a width of 300 km at Moho level. The 1.86 Ga suture against the Northern Terrane is imaged by a prominent almost continuous NE-dipping crustal reflection from 3.5 to 14 s twt over 175 km. Where it downlaps on the Moho, sub-Moho velocities change from 8.2 to 7.8 km/s (±0.2) over less than 25 km. A relatively strong, NE-dipping normal-incidence and wide-angle reflection at 19–23 s twt indicates that the suture extends into the upper mantle. The pervasive NE-dipping reflection fabric of the Intermediate Terrane is interpreted as shear zones that developed during collision and possibly were reactivated by later events. High Poisson's ratios suggest a mafic composition or high fluid content. The 1.86 Ga collision was probably succeeded by continental break-up and removal of an unknown continent, except for the Intermediate Terrane. Subsequent formation of an east-dipping subduction zone further to the west led to the emplacement of 1.81-1.77-Ga-old granitoids in the southern part of the Transscandinavian Igneous Belt. The 1.65-1.60 Ga suture against the Southwestern Terrane is defined by a semi-continuous band of strong SW-dipping reflections between 3 and 8 s twt over 65 km, which are interpreted as a low-angle thrust zone along which Gothian crust overrode the Intermediate Terrane. The identification of three individual seismic terranes in the southeastern part of the Baltic Shield provides new evidence for Palaeoproterozoic plate tectonic processes.     

松辽盆地北部石炭—二叠纪地层厚度：来自深反射地震的证据

在松Ⅰ～松Ⅵ6条深反射地震剖面上依据震相特征并结合地质演化过程分析识别石炭—二叠系,分析其层位反射特征及同相轴特征,建立松辽盆地北部地区石炭—二叠系地震震相特征识别标志。主要震相特征为中—强反射能量,局部存在高值,整体同相轴连续—较连续,由南到北、由西向东规律变化。利用已有的钻遇石炭—二叠系的探井资料和地震波传播速度,得到研究区时间-深度转换关系。由研究区石炭—二叠系相位追踪对比后的反射时间分布,计算石炭—二叠纪地层顶界面与底界面在深反射地震时间剖面上的走时之差,通过时深转换得出研究区基底石炭—二叠纪地层厚度和分布。全区地层分布不很均匀,主要在中央隆起带以东地区及西部断陷区出现2个厚度高值区;地层整体由浅到深大致可分为上、中、下3层,且地震震相特征互不相同。松辽盆地北部石炭—二叠系分布对东北地区主力油层之下的深层油气勘探提供了有价值的依据。     

广东省及邻区新生代以来构造运动与地震活动分区的研究

综合分析多年来地震地质调查资料,将广东省及部分邻区划分为具不同构造活动特点的6个区,分别论述、分析这些区内新生代以来的断裂构造、火山喷发、第四纪沉积及地震活动等.结果认为,由断层样品热释光测定确定的断层最近期活动年龄主要是在中更新世和晚更新世,沿海地带主要为晚更新世和全新世.新生代以来构造具继承性活动的地区是地震最活动地区,如琼雷地区.同时,由于历史上发生过强震,地震后至今具较大速率下沉地区,在今后相当长时间内可能是不易发生强震地区,如琼北东部和南澎-南澳地区;Ms6级地震将主要发生在晚更新世以来的新生盆地,如潮汕盆地和近岸海湾地区;Ms5级地震在一定条件下,几乎可能发生在省内的任何地区.     

Comparison of P- and S-wave velocity profiles obtained from surface seismic refraction/reflection and downhole data

High-resolution seismic-reflection/refraction data were acquired on the ground surface at six locations to compare with near-surface seismic-velocity downhole measurements. Measurement sites were in Seattle, WA, the San Francisco Bay Area, CA, and the San Fernando Valley, CA. We quantitatively compared the data in terms of the average shear-wave velocity to 30-m depth (V_s30), and by the ratio of the relative site amplification produced by the velocity profiles of each data type over a specified set of quarter-wavelength frequencies. In terms of V_s30, similar values were determined from the two methods. There is <15% difference at four of the six sites. The V_s30 values at the other two sites differ by 21% and 48%. The relative site amplification factors differ generally by less than 10% for both P- and S-wave velocities. We also found that S-wave reflections and first-arrival phase delays are essential for identifying velocity inversions. The results suggest that seismic reflection/refraction data are a fast, non-invasive, and less expensive alternative to downhole data for determining V_s30. In addition, we emphasize that some P- and S-wave reflection travel times can directly indicate the frequencies of potentially damaging earthquake site resonances. A strong correlation between the simple S-wave first-arrival travel time/apparent velocity on the ground surface at 100 m offset from the seismic source and the V_s30 value for that site is an additional unique feature of the reflection/refraction data that could greatly simplify V_s30 determinations.