Electrical Structure of the Crust Beneath the Ordos Block

The Ordos block is a stable tectonic unit since the Cenozoic. Whether low-resistivity layers exist in the middle and lower crust of this kind block is an open question. This work attempts to reveal the entire crustal structure of the block based on interpretation of magnetotelluric data collected along the profile across this region. The result shows that a layered structure characterizes the crust of the Ordos block, with a low-resistivity layer at depth of about 20km, presumably associated with fluids there. In contrast, in the areas of active tectonics on the east and west of the block, there are no such layered electric structures in the crust, and the low-resistivity zones may be related to the decollement zones (or ductile shear zones) in the crust. The difference in electric structure of crust between the Ordos Block and neighboring areas is of significance to analyze the movement and deformation of varied blocks in the continent.     

八五三地震台地壳结构与泊松比浅析

整理收集2017年1月—2018年9月八五三地震台记录到的远震地震事件,采用频率域反褶积方法提取P波径向接收函数,运用H-Kappa叠加方法反演台站下方地壳厚度及壳内物质泊松比.结果表明:八五三地震台下方的地壳厚度为34.6km,泊松比值较低,为0.226;反映了台站下方地壳物质岩性二氧化硅含量较高,熔融度低的长英质岩...     

甘肃省各数字测震台下方地壳速度结构研究

利用甘肃省数字台网的资料,应用远震接收函数方法对各个台站下方的地壳结构进行了分析研究.研究结果表明,Moho面的深度都在50 km左右,甘南的Moho面深度普遍大于河西;地壳可以分为两层,20 km为其分界面.上地壳普遍存在低速层,其成因不是岩石熔融所致,而是其它地球物理和地球化学因素所致.另外各台站下方地表盖层的速度也存在很大差异.     

北京地区主要活动断裂深部速度结构特征及强震构造分析

根据分别由人工地震测深速度结构剖面数字化和天然地震层析成像建立的北京地区三维地壳速度结构模型,本文绘制了剖面图。同时将剖面两侧5km的地震震中投影到剖面上,分析了北京地区主要活动断裂的深部速度结构特征,证实两种方法得到的地壳速度结构模型具有很大的相似性。同时,顺义凹陷、马池口凹陷下方存在近垂直的深断裂,此深断裂可能为未来的发震断裂,地壳浅部与此对应的活动断裂是顺义-前门-良乡断裂北段、黄庄-高丽营断裂北段以及清河断裂,地壳内部的深断裂与地壳浅部控制盆地发育的活动断裂之间可能处于"汇而未交"的状态,具有地震孕育的深部构造背景。     

Velocity Structure Beneath Active Faults and Seismic Tectonic Characteristics in the Beijing Area

Velocity structure beneath active faults in the Beijing area has been discussed,based on the digital crustal model of velocity from deep seismic sounding profiles and tomography imaging of P waves. We found that there exists nearly vertical deep faults beneath the Shunyi Depression and the Machiko Depression,which are very likely to be seismogenic faults in the future. In the superficial crust,the north segment of the Shunyi-QianmenLiangxiang fault,the north segment of the Huangzhuang-Gaoliying fault and th...     

Geophysical Investigation of Lithosphere Structure Beneath Sri Lanka Using Surface and Internal Load Variations

This paper describes a method for interpreting the lateral changes in the geological structure of the lithosphere by iteratively calculating the spatial variation of a bottom-to-top loading ratio. We use Forsyth’s coherence method, based on multi-taper spectral analysis on overlapping window areas. We discuss the geological findings and their comparison with existing geological interpretations for the Sri Lankan region. The low thickness of the elastic plate in the Sri Lankan region suggests a high geothermal gradient. The lithospheric geological structure beneath the Sri Lankan region is consistent with the main crustal units of Sri Lanka, which belong to different ancient plates. Together with interpretations based on metamorphic rock units, our findings support the existence of thrust contact in the central highlands of Sri Lanka.     

Structure of the Crust and Upper Mantle Beneath the Zhangbei-Shangyi Earthquake Area and Its Surroundings

The study of deep-seated structure in the Zhangbei-Shangyi earthquake area and its surroundings indicates that in comparison with the Shanxi rift system, the North China rifted basin, the Yanshanian fold belt on both sides, and the Zhangjiakou-Penglai tectonic belt have lower resistivity, and a distinctly different velocity interface in the crust and depth distribution of Moho discontinuity. The Yanqing- Huai'lai basin bisects the Zhangjiakou-Penglai tectonic belt into two segments, the northwestern and the southeastern segments. The latest magnetotelluric sounding and investigation indicate that the electrical structure within the Zhangbei-Shangyi earthquake area is different to a certain degree from that in its surroundings. There exists a nearly NNW-trending structure in the crust. The main shock and most aftershocks occurred above the low-resistivity zone in the crust.     

Tomographic Imaging of the Seismic Structure Beneath the East Anatolian Plateau, Eastern Turkey

The high level of seismic activity in eastern Turkey is thought to be mainly associated with the continuing collision of the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates. The determination of a detailed three-dimensional (3D) structure is crucial for a better understanding of this on-going collision or subduction process; therefore, a body wave tomographic inversion technique was performed on the region. The tomographic inversion used high quality arrival times from earthquakes occurring in the region from 1999 to 2001 recorded by a temporary 29 station broadband IRIS-PASSCAL array operated by research groups from the Universities of Bo?azi?i (Turkey) and Cornell (USA). The data was inverted and consisted of 3,114 P- and 2,298 S-wave arrival times from 252 local events with magnitudes (M _D) ranging from 2.5 to 4.8. The stability and resolution of the results were qualitatively assessed by two synthetic tests: a spike test and checkerboard resolution test and it was found that the models were well resolved for most parts of the imaged domain. The tomographic inversion results reveal significant lateral heterogeneities in the study area to a depth of ~20?km. The P- and S-wave velocity models are consistent with each other and provide evidence for marked heterogeneities in the upper crustal structure beneath eastern Turkey. One of the most important features in the acquired tomographic images is the high velocity anomalies, which are generally parallel to the main tectonic units in the region, existing at shallow depths. This may relate to the existence of ophiolitic units at shallow depths. The other feature is that low velocities are widely dispersed through the 3D structure beneath the region at deeper crustal depths. This feature can be an indicator of the mantle upwelling or support the hypothesis that the Anatolian Plateau is underlain by a partially molten uppermost mantle.     

Study on Shear Wave Velocity Structure and Velocity Ratio Beneath Ordos Block and Its Eastern and Southern Margins

Using pure S wave fitting method, we studied the shear wave velocity structures under the Ordos block and its eastern and southern marginal areas. The results show that the velocity structure beneath Yulin station in the interior of Ordos block is relatively stable, where no apparent change between high and low velocity layers exists and the shear wave velocity increases steadily with the depth. There is a 12km thick layer at the depth of 25km under this station, with an S wave velocity (Vs=3.90km/s) lower than that at the same depth in its eastern and southern areas (Vs≥4.00km/s). The crust under the eastern margin of Ordos block is thicker than that of the Yulin station, and the velocity structures alternate between the high and low velocity layers, with more low velocity layers. It has the same characteristic as having a 10km-thick low velocity layer (Vs=3.80km/s) in the lower crust but buried at a depth of aout 35km. Moreover, we studied the Vp/Vs ratio under each station in combination with the result of P wave velocity inversion. The results show that, the average velocity ratio of the Yulin station at the interior of Ordos block is only 1.68, with a very low ratio (about 1.60) in the upper crust and a stable ratio of about 1.73 in the mid and lower crust, which indicates the media under this station is homogenous and stable, being in a state of rigidity. But at the stations in the eastern and southern margins of the Ordos block, several layers of high velocity ratio (about 1.80) have been found, in which the average velocity ratio under Kelan and Lishi stations at the eastern margin is systemically higher than that of the general elastical body waves (1.732). This reflects that the crust under the marginal areas is more active relatively, and other materials may exist in these layers. Finally, we discussed the relationship among earthquakes, velocity structures beneath stations and faults.     

An Evaluation of Proposed Mechanisms of Slab Flattening in Central Mexico

Central Mexico is the site of an enigmatic zone of flat subduction. The general geometry of the subducting slab has been known for some time and is characterized by a horizontal zone bounded on either side by two moderately dipping sections. We systematically evaluate proposed hypotheses for shallow subduction in Mexico based on the spatial and temporal evidence, and we find no simple or obvious explanation for the shallow subduction in Mexico. We are unable to locate an oceanic lithosphere impactor, or the conjugate of an impactor, that is most often called upon to explain shallow subduction zones as in South America, Japan, and Laramide deformation in the US. The only bathymetric feature that is of the right age and in the correct position on the conjugate plate is a set of unnamed seamounts that are too small to have a significant effect on the buoyancy of the slab. The only candidate that we cannot dismiss is a change in the dynamics of subduction through a change in wedge viscosity, possibly caused by water brought in by the slab.     

Electrical and Thermal Anomalies in the Central Andean Subduction Zone

—An enhancement of the electrical conductivity in the upper layers in the subduction zones of southern Peru and northern Argentina is found by analyzing the solar quiet geomagnetic variations. This feature appears in a zone associated with large subduction angles. In this region high values of heat flow have been measured, therefore a one-dimensional thermal model is proposed using regional characteristic parameters to reproduce these values. It is found that thermal convection necessarily plays a contributing role. This effect may be produced by the ascending magma and fluids, which can explain the enhancement of the electrical conductivity.     

Passive Seismology and Deep Structure in Central Italy

—In the last decade temporary teleseismic transects have become a powerful tool for investigating the crustal and upper mantle structure. In order to gain a clearer picture of the lithosphere-asthenosphere structure in peninsular Italy, between 1994 and 1996, we have deployed three teleseismic transects in northern, central, and southern Apennines, in the framework of the project GeoModAp (European Community contract EV5V-CT94–0464). Some hundreds of teleseisms were recorded at each deployment which lasted between 3 and 4 months. Although many analyses are still in progress, the availability of this high quality data allowed us to refine tomographic images of the lithosphere-asthenosphere structure with an improved resolution in the northern and central Apennines, and to study the deformation of the upper mantle looking at seismic anisotropy through shear-wave splitting analysis. Also, a study of the depth and geometry of the Moho through the receiver function technique is in progress. Tomographic results from the northernmost 1994 and the central 1995 teleseismic experiments confirm that a high-velocity anomaly (HVA) does exist in the upper 200–250 km and is confined to the northern Apenninic arc. This HVA, already interpreted as a fragment of subducted lithosphere is better defined by the new temporary data, compared to previous works, based only on data from permanent stations. No clear high-velocity anomalies are detected in the upper 250 km below the central Apennines, suggesting either a slab window due to a detachment below southern peninsular Italy, or a thinner, perhaps continental slab of Adriatic lithosphere not detectable by standard tomography. We found clear evidence of seismic anisotropy in the uppermost mantle, related to the main tectonic processes which affected the studied regions, either NE–SW compressional deformation of the lithosphere beneath the mountain belt, or arc-parallel asthenospheric flow (both giving NW–SE fast polarization direction), and successive extensional deformation (～E–W trending) in the back-arc basin of northern Tyrrhenian and Tuscany. Preliminary results of receiver function studies in the northern Apennines show that the Moho depth is well defined in the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic regions while its geometry underneath the mountain belt is not yet well constrained, due to the observed high complexity.     

Mantle Transition Zone Structure Beneath Southeastern China and its Implications for Stagnant Slab and Water Transportation in the Mantle

We determined depth variation of the 410- and 660-km discontinuities beneath southeastern China by common-converted-point stacking of \(\rm P\) -wave receiver functions of 121 permanent Chinese seismic stations. We then combined the results with seismic velocity variation to estimate temperature and water content variations in the mantle transition zone of the region. Previous tomographic studies have shown a stagnant slab in the mantle transition zone in eastern Asia that is connected to subduction of the western Pacific. Temperature variations obtained clearly outline the shape of the stagnant slab, with its western edge at 113.5 \(^\circ\) E and the southern edge at 28.5 \(^\circ\) N. The correlation between the location of the stagnant slab and surface tectonics suggests that the Cenozoic extension in eastern China is closely associated with the subduction of the western Pacific and its eastward migration. The water content of the stagnant slab is lower than in surrounding slabs, suggesting that the water has already been released from the subducting slab into the upper mantle.     

Thermal Structure of the Ionian Slab

We propose a thermal model of the subducting Ionian microplate. The slab sinks in an isothermal mantle, and for the boundary conditions we take into account the relation between the maximum depth of seismicity and the thermal parameter L_th of the slab, which is a product of the age of the subducted lithosphere and the vertical component of the convergence rate. The surface heat-flux dataset of the Ionian Sea is reviewed, and a convective geotherm is calculated in its undeformed part for a surface heat flux of 42 mW m^–2, an adiabatic gradient of 0.6 mK m^–1, a mantle kinematic viscosity of 10¹⁷ m² s^–1 and an asthenosphere potential temperature of 1300°C. The calculated temperature-depth distribution compared to the mantle melting temperature indicates the decoupling limit between lithosphere and asthenosphere occurs at a depth of 105 km and a temperature of 1260°C. A 70–km thick mechanical boundary layer is found. By considering that the maximum depth of the seismic events within the slab is 600 km, a L_th of 4725 km is inferred. For a subduction rate equal to the spreading rate, the corresponding assimilation and cooling times of the microplate are about 7 and 90 Myr, respectively. The thermal model assumes that the mantle flow above the slab is parallel and equal to the subducting plate velocity of 6 cm yr^–1, and ignores the heat conduction down the slab dip. The critical temperature, above which the subduced lithosphere cannot sustain the stress necessary to produce seismicity, is determined from the thermal conditions governing the rheology of the plate. The minimum potential temperature at the depth of the deepest earthquake in the slab is 730°C.     

Upper Mantle Seismic Structure Beneath Southern Africa: Constraints on the Buoyancy Supporting the African Superswell

We present new one-dimensional SH-wave velocity models of the upper mantle beneath the Kalahari craton in southern Africa obtained from waveform inversion of regional seismograms from an Mw = 5.9 earthquake located near Lake Tanganyika recorded on broadband seismic stations deployed during the 1997–1999 Southern African Seismic Experiment. The velocity in the lithosphere beneath the Kalahari craton is similar to that of other shields, and there is little evidence for a significant low velocity zone beneath the lithosphere. The lower part of the lithosphere, from 110 to 220 km depth, is slightly slower than beneath other shields, possibly due to higher temperatures or a decrease in Mg number (Mg#). If the slower velocities are caused by a thermal anomaly, then slightly less than half of the unusually high elevation of the Kalahari craton can be explained by shallow buoyancy from a hot lithosphere. However, a decrease in the Mg# of the lower lithosphere would increase the density and counteract the buoyancy effect of the higher temperatures. We obtain a thickness of 250 ± 30 km for the mantle transition zone, which is similar to the global average, but the velocity gradient between the 410 and 660 km discontinuities is less steep than in global models, such as PREM and IASP91. We also obtain velocity jumps of between 0.16 ± 0.1 and 0.21 ± 0.1 km/s across the 410 km discontinuity. Our results suggest that there may be a thermal or chemical anomaly in the mantle transition zone, or alternatively that the shear wave velocity structure of the transition zone in global reference models needs to be refined. Overall, our seismic models provide little support for an upper mantle source of buoyancy for the unusually high elevation of the Kalahari craton, and hence the southern African portion of the African Superswell.