On the Problem of Distinction between Recent Geodynamics of Central and East Asia

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - Abstract—The Central Asian and East Asian transitional zones are distinguished in Central and East Asia south of the Late Precambrian–Paleozoic...     

On the tectonics of Asia

This report describes an interpretation of the tectonics of central Asia made from seismic and geologic data. It is suggested that central Asia is not a tectonically passive unit, as previously proposed by others, responding solely to the convergence of the Indian plate with Asia. We postulate that the tectonics of central Asia can be represented by the motion of a few continental blocks which are influenced by spreading from the Baikal rift zone as well as compression due to the collision of the Indian plate. Here, a block is defined as a tectonic unit, within a continental plate, with boundaries delineated by broad zones of high seismicity with respect to the interior of the unit. Five tectonic units are postulated for central Asia. These are: the Siberian block, the East and West China blocks, the Southeast Asian block; and the Indian plate. An unusual phenomenon is noted along the boundary between the Siberian and West China blocks. There is general horizontal crustal compression along this boundary from the Hindu Kush north-eastward to the southern tip of Lake Baikal; however, there is general horizontal extension eastward from Lake Baikal through the Stanovoy range. Thus the West China block, to the south of this boundary, seems to be turning clockwise about a point near the southern tip of Lake Baikal. The major known faults within this block, which strike mainly northwest-southeast, may be interpreted as shear zones where interior stresses, due to the block rotation, are released. We cannot support this suggestion with an analytical model because of the uncertainties in various model parameters and geometries. The suggested model gives a possible explanation of why India, to the south of the Himalayas, is almost completely aseismic while the regions to the north and northeast have higher seismicity.     

Miocene Jiali faulting and its implications for Tibetan tectonic evolution

The Karakoram–Jiali Fault Zone (KJFZ) comprises a series of right-lateral shear zones that southerly bound the eastward extrusion of northern Tibet relative to India and stable Eurasia. Here we present new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age data from the Puqu and Parlung faults, two easternmost branches of the Jiali fault zone, which indicate a main phase of the KJFZ shearing from ∼18 to 12 Ma. Thus, the Tibetan eastward extrusion bounded by principal strike-slip fault zones started and was probably most active around the middle Miocene, an interval marked also by active east–west extension in southern Tibet. The coincidence of these two tectonic events strongly suggests a common causal mechanism, which is best explained as oblique convergence between India and Asia. Under the framework of this mechanism, the extension in southern Tibet is not a proxy for the plateau uplift. The KJFZ activity was furthermore coincident with right-lateral displacements along the Gaoligong and Sagaing faults in southeast Asia. This defines a Miocene deformation record for the regional dextral accommodation zone that, in response to the continuing India–Asia collision, may have accounted for the initiation and prolonged history of clockwise rotation of the Tibetan extrusion around the eastern Himalayan Syntaxis.     

Morphotectonics of the Mongolia-Siberian mountain belt

The mountains of north-eastern Inner Asia comprise the Mongolia-Siberian orogenic belt which has a complex structure. The southern flank of the belt consists of a chain of large domal uplifts. The Baikal rift zone is located on the northern flank. The central segment is composed of zones of linear warping. The tectonic landforms rest on a large domal basement uplift. The morphology of the latter is paragenetically connected with the shape of the asthenolith underlying the belt. The neotectonic zones are also connected with the deep structure elements.The Mongolia-Siberian mountain belt is a group of orogenic forms typical of intracontinental mountain areas.     

The new GPS evidence for the region of Bering microplate

The question concerning the integrity of major tectonic plates is still unclear for several regions covering the plate junction zones. The Northeast Asia is one such region, where there is no common concept of the configuration of plate boundaries. From the classical viewpoint, the dynamics of Northeast Asia is determined by the superposition of the relative rotations of the three major plates (Eurasian, North American and Pacific). According to the alternative viewpoint, the fragments that were split from these plates rotate independently in the form of microplates (Bering, Okhotsk, and Amur). The analysis of kinematics for the GPS stations located in eastern Chukotka, western Alaska, and on the Bering Sea islands suggests the existence of the Bering microplate rotating clockwise relative to the North American plate.     

喀喇昆仑断层与塔什库尔干地震形变带

喀喇昆仑断层位于我国新疆、西藏和阿富汗、克什米尔之间,是亚洲大陆中部一条巨型的右旋走滑断裂带,长约1000km,呈北西向展布,十分醒目。喀喇昆仑断层和阿尔金断层形成一个巨大的挤出构造,使青藏高原向东运动,对东亚的新构造和地震活动具有重要的控制作用。木吉-塔什库尔干盆地是公格尔山和慕士塔格山西侧一条串珠状断陷盆地带,东西两侧发育系列山前活动断裂,主要表现为正断层。这里曾发生多次强震活动,3条地震形变带(地震断层)已被发现。塔什库尔干断裂带呈北北西走向,是喀喇昆仑断层北部的一条分支     

Variations in short-period shear-wave attenuation in the Baikal Rift Zone and their relationship to seismicity

This paper presents results from a study of variations in short-period shear-wave attenuation in the lithosphere of the Baikal Rift Zone (BRZ). We used earthquake records made at the Ulan-Bator station (ULN) at epicentral distances of ～400–1300 km. The ratios of maximum amplitudes in the Sn and Pn waves were considered. We show that these ratios are on the whole considerably higher than those in other areas of Central Asia. It was found that zones of low shear wave attenuation coincide with the rupture zones of large earthquakes that occurred during the 19th and 20th centuries. We identified zones of high attenuation where no large (M～ > 7.0) seismic events have occurred during at least 180 years. The hypothesis we propose is that precursory processes before future large earthquakes may be occurring in these zones. We discuss the question of whether wave attenuation characteristics may be related to seismicity.     

Long-term variation of total ozone

The long-term variation of total ozone is studied for 1957 up to date for different latitude zones. The 3-year running averages show that, apart from a small portion showing parallelism with sunspot cycles, the trends in different latitude zones are dissimilar. In particular, where northern latitudes show a rising trend, the southern latitudes show an opposite (decreasing) trend. In the north-temperate group, Europe, North America and Asia show dissimilar trends. The longer data series (1932 ownards) for Arosa shows, besides a solar-cycle-dependent component, a steady level during 1932–1953 and a down-trend thereafter up to date. Very localised but long-lasting circulation patterns, different in different geographical regions, are indicated.     

The relationship of recent vertical movements to the morphostructural pattern of the Kazakh shield

The geodetic data on recent vertical crustal movements within the Kazakh shields is in good correlation with its development in the Holocene (according to a study of juvenile river terraces); they point to gradual transition of the shield to the platform morphostructures of Western Siberia and a contrasting joining with the Central Asia orogenic belt. Small gradients of recent vertical movements dominate the shield. Moderate gradients are typical of local structures, whereas increased and extremely high gradients belong to active deep fault zones.     

The characteristics of the shear-wave attenuation field in the Altai lithosphere and their relationship to seismicity

The short-period S-wave attenuation field has been mapped for the lithosphere of the Altai and adjacent areas in Mongolia and southern Siberia. A total of approximately 500 earthquake seismograms were used. These were recorded at the Makanchi and Ulan-Bator stations at distances of ~300–1900 km. It is shown that the attenuation of shear waves is much stronger in the west of the area of study compared with the east. A V-shaped band of high attenuation in the upper mantle has been identified in the west of the area where the epicenters of the magnitude 6.9 1990 Zaisan and the magnitude 7.3 2003 Chuya earthquakes were situated; a similar band extends northwestward to the west of Lake Ubsu Nur. The attenuation is comparatively low in the rupture zones of large (М ≥ 7.0) pre-1970 earthquakes. It was concluded that fluid-charged zones are formed in the lithosphere prior to large earthquakes in the Altai, as well as in other areas of Central Asia. Following large seismic events, the fluids were rising into the crust from the upper mantle during a few tens of years, thus reducing the attenuation of Sn waves. We have identified zones of high attenuation with no significant earthquakes being recorded there during historical time. It is our opinion that earthquake precursory processes may be occurring in these zones.     

天山的晚新生代构造变形及其地球动力学问题

天山是大陆内部典型的新生代复活造山带，其新生代构造变形的方式，变形量，速度及过程等对于认识大陆内部造山带的变形机理有着重要的意义。本文在对南北天山主要活动构造地质填图和综合研究的基础上，重点探讨了天山的晚新生代构造变形特征及其动力学问题。早更新世以来，特别是早，中更新世之间，天山的构造活动由内部向南北两侧扩展，使得两侧的新生代凹陷逐渐褶皱成山，形成数排新生代褶皱带，整个天山的现代构造活动是一种扇形     

A present-day tectonic stress map for eastern Asia region

Introduction Tectonically the eastern Asia refers to the region bounded by the following three active tec-tonic zones: in the east the western Pacific subduction zone, including Japan trench, Ryukyu trench and Philippine trench; in the southwest the Himalaya continental collision zone and the Burma-arc-Java-trench subduction zone; in the northwest the Tianshan-Baikal continental defor-mation zone (Figure 6). In the world the eastern Asia is one of the regions with the strongest pre-sent-da…     

Depth distribution of Moho and tectonic framework in eastern Asian continent and its adjacent ocean areas

It is the essence of the study on the dynamics of eastern Asian continent to investigate the ef-fects of geophysical field and the process of the deep block boundaries, and furthermore, to estab-lish a geodynamic physical-mathematical model based on the d…     

Palinspastic restorations for the south Tien Shan mountains and Tajik depression based on paleomagnetic data

In terms of plate tectonic concepts, horizontal movement are responsible for the formation of fold belts, and modern structures are interpreted by the position of the belt relative to the zones of plate collision. Paleomagnetic data allow the reconstruction of the former positions of these zones relative to a geographic grid, their pre-deformation patterns being important to the solution of problems in fold belt tectonics (Van der Voo et al., 1980; Khramov et al., 1982).Fold structures within the south-western spurs of the Tien Shan Mountains and the intermontane basins separating them were the first to be studied (Rzhevsky, 1966). Paleomagnetic studies aimed at understanding the tectonic setting of the region have been undertaken during the ensuing years and also cover adjacent areas of Central Asia (Khramov et al., 1982).In this paper an attempt is made to summarize some paleomagnetic results, produced palinspastic reconstructions of the region and produce a framework to help understand the formation of one of the crucial parts of the Alpine-Himalayan belt.     

全球地幔垂直流动速度研究

用高分辨率地震体波速度成像以及相关的地球物理资料,计算地幔垂直流动形式及流动速度,得到全球地幔流垂直运动模式.从全球尺度来看,地幔流基本可划分为以下几个区域：欧亚大陆—澳大利亚、北美洲—南美洲为两个大规模下降流区域,西印度洋—非洲及大西洋、中南太平洋及东太平洋为两个大规模地幔上升流区域.地幔上升流起源于核幔边界,主要表现在地幔中部和上地幔下部.地幔垂直流动速度约每年1～4cm.地幔流动对地表板块运动、海洋中脊和中隆、俯冲带和碰撞带的分布起着控制作用.地幔上升流与地表现代热点有密切关系.从东亚尺度看,地幔流大体分为三个区域：东亚边缘裂谷系和西太平洋边缘海为上升流、西伯利亚地幔深度表现为物质下降流、青藏高原—缅甸—印度尼西亚特提斯俯冲带地幔下降流,这三个区域地幔流动与地表的西太平洋构造域、亚洲构造域和特提斯构造域相吻合.勾勒出南海地区构造特征：从上到下的大体结构是上部呈“工"字型、中间为圆柱型、底部呈盾形的地幔上升流.     

1906年新疆玛纳斯大震区的多层次逆冲构造与深部结构

通过对天山北麓 190 6年玛纳斯 7 7级地震区的浅层地震探测资料、石油地震反射剖面、二维电性结构剖面、深地震反射剖面的研究 ,发现玛纳斯地震区多层次活动构造系统的根带 ,它通过脆 -韧转换带与天山活动构造块体内上地壳中的低速、高导层连为一体。低速、高导层可能是天山地壳内正在活动的韧性剪切带 ,而齐古逆断裂 -褶皱带下的脆 -韧转换带是连接深部活动韧性剪切带与地壳浅部脆性破裂的枢纽 ,也是现今孕育和发生大地震的重要构造部位。 190 6年玛纳斯地震发生在脆韧转换带的底部 ,地震区的活动逆断裂和褶皱只是部分记录了深部韧性剪切带活动的信息     

Remote sensing-based artificial surface cover classification in Asia and spatial pattern analysis

Artificial surfaces, characterized with intensive land-use changes and complex landscape structures, are important indicators of human impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. Without high-resolution land-cover data at continental scale, it is hard to evaluate the impacts of urbanization on regional climate, ecosystem processes and global environment. This study constructed a hierarchical classification system for artificial surfaces, promoted a remote sensing method to retrieve subpixel components of artificial surfaces from 30-m resolution satellite imageries(Globe Land30) and developed a series of data products of high-precision urban built-up areas including impervious surface and vegetation cover in Asia in 2010. Our assessment, based on multisource data and expert knowledge, showed that the overall accuracy of classification was 90.79%. The mean relative error for the impervious surface components of cities was 0.87. The local error of the extracted information was closely related to the heterogeneity of urban buildings and vegetation in different climate zones. According to our results, the urban built-up area was 18.18×104 km2, accounting for 0.59% of the total land surface areas in Asia; urban impervious surfaces were 11.65×104 km2, accounting for 64.09% of the total urban built-up area in Asia. Vegetation and bare soils accounted for 34.56% of the urban built-up areas. There were three gradients: a concentrated distribution, a scattered distribution and an indeterminate distribution from east to west in terms of spatial pattern of urban impervious surfaces. China, India and Japan ranked as the top three countries with the largest impervious surface areas, which respectively accounted for 32.77%, 16.10% and 11.93% of the urban impervious surface area of Asia. We found the proportions of impervious surface and vegetation cover within urban built-up areas were closely related to the economic development degree of the country and regional climate environment. Built-up areas in developed countries had relatively low impervious surface and high public green vegetation cover, with 50–60% urban impervious surfaces in Japan, South Korea and Singapore. In comparison, the proportion of urban impervious surfaces in developing countries is approaching or exceeding 80% in Asia. In general, the composition and spatial patterns of built-up areas reflected population aggregation and economic development level as well as their impacts on the health of the environment in the sub-watershed.     

The geological diversity of island arc volcanism: Northeast Russia

Paleovolcanological and paleotectonic reconstructions developed for the continent-ocean transition zone in Northeast Asia demonstrate a high diversity of island arc volcanic settings. There are two main types of island arc volcanism recognized so far, (i) volcanic arcs of euliminary systems (VAES) and (ii) intrageosynclinal volcanic arcs, including areas of insular volcanism (IIV). The volcanic arcs of euliminary systems include the present-day Kuril-Kamchatka, Aleutian, and the Paleozoic- Early Cretaceous Taigonos volcanic arcs. The latter is considered to be a part of the Talovka-Taigonos euliminary system (TTES), an old double island arc system analogous to present-day systems, the Kuril-Kamchatka and Aleutian ones. Both the TTES and similar present-day euliminary systems are structural complexes that confine concentrically-zoned geosyncline areas on the side of the Pacific. The characteristic features of the VAES include a long history of evolution, stable (calc-alkaline) basalt-andesite composition of volcanic products, and transverse geochemical zonation. Geophysical evidence reveals the complicated processes of endogenous crustal accretion and destruction of continental crust within the VAES zones. The IIV follow the structural pattern of the corresponding geosynclinal system. Their evolution is relatively short, while the spatial position and the composition of their magmatic bodies may considerably vary at different stages of evolution of the geosynclinal systems. Most island arc zones are characterized by calc-alkaline volcanism, but potassium alkaline, alkali-ultrabasic, and ultrabasic rocks also occur in some structures. The settings of intrageosynclinal insular volcanism are diverse and include (a) volcanic overcompensation, (b) geoanticlinal uplift, and (c) volcanotectonic downwarping during the orogenic stage of geosynclines. The calc-alkaline volcanism of island environments in geoanticline zones is likely related to the endogenous accretion of continental crust within a geosyncline system. Intrageosynclinal island-arc volcanism is still very poorly understood. Investigation of this phenomenon is one of the urgent tasks of paleovolcanology.     

Continental drift,plateau uplift,and the evolutions of monsoon and arid regions in Asia,Africa, and Australia during the Cenozoic

Monsoon and arid regions in the Asia-Africa-Australia(A-A-A) realm occupy more than 60% of the total area of these continents. Geological evidence showed that significant changes occurred to the A-A-A environments of the monsoon and arid regions, the land-ocean configuration in the Eastern Hemisphere, and the topography of the Tibetan Plateau(TP) in the Cenozoic. Motivated by this background, numerical experiments for 5 typical geological periods during the Cenozoic were conducted using a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model to systemically explore the formations and evolutionary histories of the Cenozoic A-A-A monsoon and arid regions under the influences of continental drift and plateau uplift. Results of the numerical experiments indicate that the timings and causes of the formations of monsoon and arid regions in the A-A-A realm were very different. The northern and southern African monsoons existed during the mid-Paleocene, while the South Asian monsoon appeared in the Eocene after the Indian Subcontinent moved into the tropical Northern Hemisphere. In contrast, the East Asian monsoon and northern Australian monsoon were established much later in the Miocene. The establishment of the tropical monsoons in northern and southern Africa, South Asia, and Australia were determined by both the continental drift and seasonal migration of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone(ITCZ), while the position and height of the TP were the key factor for the establishment of the East Asian monsoon. The presence of the subtropical arid regions in northern and southern Africa,Asia, and Australia depended on the positions of the continents and the control of the planetary scale subtropical high pressure zones, while the arid regions in the Arabian Peninsula and West Asia were closely related to the retreat of the Paratethys Sea. The formation of the mid-latitude arid region in the Asian interior, on the other hand, was the consequence of the uplift of the TP.These results from this study provide insight to the important roles played by the earth's tectonic boundary conditions in the formations and evolutions of regional climates during geological times.     

The Yanshan orogeny and late Mesozoic multi-plate convergence in East Asia—Commemorating 90th years of the “Yanshan Orogeny”

The Yanshan movement/orogeny has been proposed for 90 years, which is of special significance in the history of geological research in China. This study conducted a review by synthesizing major achievements regarding episodic deformation features, sedimentary and magmatic records of the Yanshan orogeny in China, and clarified the episodic tectono-magmatism and its geodynamic origins. The tectonic implications of the Yanshan orogeny are discussed in the context of global plate tectonics and supercontinent reconstruction. Lines of evidence from structural, sedimentary and magmatic data suggest that the Yanshan orogeny represents a regional-scale tectonic event that affected the entire China continent in late Mesozoic period. Numerous age and structural constraints consistently indicate that the Yanshan orogeny was initiated in the Jurassic(at ～170±5 Ma). and was characterized by alternating stages of crustal shortening at ～170–136 Ma, crustal extension at ～135–90 Ma, and weak shortening at ～80 Ma. The 170–136 Ma crustal shortening was reflected in the generation of two regional stratigraphic unconformities(the Tiaojishan and Zhangjiakou unconformities), which were initially named the A and B episodes of "the Yanshan Orogeny" by Mr.Wong Wenhao in 1928. Geodynamically, the Yanshan orogeny in East Asia was associated with nearly coeval oceanic subduction and continental convergence in the Paleo-Pacific, Neo-Tethys, and Mongol-Okhotsk tectonic domains. As a consequence, three giant accretionary-collisional tectonic systems were formed along the continental margins of East Asia, i.e., the Mongol-Okhotsk, Bangonghu-Nujiang, and SE China subduction-and collision-related accretionary systems. The Yanshan orogeny induced widespread crustal-scale folding and thrusting, tectonic reactivation of long-lived zones of crustal weakness,and extensive magmatism and mineralization in intraplate regions. Based on the time principle of supercontinent assembly and break-up, we propose that the mid-Late Jurassic multi-plate convergence in East Asia might represent the initiation of the assembly of the Amasia supercontinent, and the Yanshan orogeny might be the first "stirrings" that is a prerequisite for the birth of the Amasia supercontinent.