Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic wrench tectonics in eastern Australia: Insights from the North Pine Fault System (southeast Queensland)

The North Pine Fault System (NPFS) in SE Queensland belongs to a series of NNW-striking sinistral faults that displaced Paleozoic to Cenozoic rock units in eastern Australia. We have studied the geometry and kinematics of the NPFS by utilizing gridded aeromagnetic data, digital elevation models, and field observations. The results indicate that all segments of the NPFS were subjected to sinistral reverse strike-slip faulting. Restorations of displaced magnetic anomalies indicate sinistral offsets ranging from ∼3.4 to ∼8.2 km. The existence of a (possibly) Late Triassic granophyre dyke parallel to one of the fault segments, and the occurrence of NNW-striking steeply dipping strike-slip and normal faults in the Late Triassic-Early Cretaceous Maryborough Basin, indicate that the NPFS has likely been active during the Mesozoic. We propose that from Late Cretaceous to early Eocene, NNW-striking faults in eastern Australia, including the NPFS, were reactivated with oblique sinistral-normal kinematics in response to regional oblique extension associated with the opening of the Tasman and Coral Seas. This interpretation is consistent with the modeled dominant NNE- to NNW-directed horizontal tensional stress in the Eocene. The latest movements along the NPFS involved sinistral transpressional kinematics, which was possibly related to far-field contractional stresses from collisional tectonics at the eastern and northern boundaries of the Australian plate in the Cenozoic. This sinistral-reverse oblique kinematics of the NPFS in the Cenozoic is in line with ∼ESE to ENE orientations of the modeled maximum horizontal stress in SE Queensland.     

Underground Measurements of Electromagnetic Radiation Related to Stress-induced Fractures in the Odenwald Mountains (Germany)

The regional stress field at Wald-Michelbach (Odenwald Mountains, Germany) induces a secondary stress field around the space of the local railway tunnel. Resulting maximum shear stresses produce microfractures, which emit electromagnetic radiation (EMR). From EMR measured along the cross section and the long axis of the tunnel, the regional stress field is determined by a correlation of detected impulses per time with stresses calculated from the orientation of the tunnel, its diameter, and topographic load. The major horizontal principal stress has an azimuth of 103°. At times, strongly alternating EMR values are observed, which indicate electromagnetic disturbances of unknown origin. Such disturbances are identified by repeated measurements and are not evaluated. The repeated measurements, which are not disturbed, differ with median 112 impulses per 100 ms. This difference corresponds to 0.037 MPa and indicates a good reproducibility of the results. Regional stress magnitudes and the WNW-ESE orientation of the major horizontal principal stress indicate a minor N – S directed tensional force at the western shoulder of the Upper Rhine Graben.     

Moment tensors,state of stress and their relation to faulting processes in Gujarat,western India

Time domain moment tensor analysis of 145 earthquakes (M_w 3.2 to 5.1), occurring during the period 2006–2014 in Gujarat region, has been performed. The events are mainly confined in the Kachchh area demarcated by the Island belt and Kachchh Mainland faults to its north and south, and two transverse faults to its east and west. Libraries of Green's functions were established using the 1D velocity model of Kachchh, Saurashtra and Mainland Gujarat. Green's functions and broadband displacement waveforms filtered at low frequency (0.5–0.8 Hz) were inverted to determine the moment tensor solutions. The estimated solutions were rigorously tested through number of iterations at different source depths for finding reliable source locations. The identified heterogeneous nature of the stress fields in the Kachchh area allowed us to divide this into four Zones 1–4. The stress inversion results indicate that the Zone 1 is dominated with radial compression, Zone 2 with strike-slip compression, and Zones 3 and 4 with strike-slip extensions. The analysis further shows that the epicentral region of 2001 M_W 7.7 Bhuj mainshock, located at the junction of Zones 2, 3 and 4, was associated with predominant compressional stress and strike-slip motion along ∼ NNE-SSW striking fault on the western margin of the Wagad uplift. Other tectonically active parts of Gujarat (e.g. Jamnagar, Talala and Mainland) show earthquake activities are dominantly associated with strike-slip extension/compression faulting. Stress inversion analysis shows that the maximum compressive stress axes (σ₁) are vertical for both the Jamnagar and Talala regions and horizontal for the Mainland Gujarat. These stress regimes are distinctly different from those of the Kachchh region.     

Spatial variation of crustal strain in the Kachchh region,India: Implication on the Bhuj earthquake of 2001

The Kachchh province of Western India is a major seismic domain in an intraplate set-up. This seismic zone is located in a rift basin, which was developed during the early Jurassic break-up of the Gondwanaland. The crustal strain determined from the GPS velocity data of post-seismic time period following the 2001 Bhuj earthquake indicates a maximum strain rate of ∼266 × 10⁻⁹ per year along N013°. Focal mechanism solutions of the main event of 26 January 2001 and the aftershocks show that the maximum principal stress axis is close to this high strain direction. Maximum shear strain rate determined from the GPS data of the area has similar orientation. The unusually high strain rate is comparable in magnitude to the continental rift systems. The partitioning of the regional NE–SW horizontal stress (S_Hmax) by the pre-existing EW-striking boundary fault developed the strike–slip components parallel to the regional faults, the normal components perpendicular to the faults, NE-striking conjugate Riedel shear fractures and tension fractures. The partitioned normal component of the stress is considered to be the major cause for compression across the regional EW faults and development of the second-order conjugate shear fractures striking NE–SW and NW–SE. The NE-striking transverse faults parallel to the anti-Riedel shear planes have become critical under these conditions. These anti-Riedel planes are interpreted to be critical for the seismicity of the Kachchh region. The high strain rate in this area of low to moderate surface heat flow is responsible for deeper position of the brittle–ductile transition and development of deep seated seismic events in this intraplate region.     

Shear-wave splitting in the southeast of Cathaysia block, South China

This study is focused on Fujing Province in China, southeast of Cathaysia block (SECB). The present work benefits from the data provided by the Fujian Seismic Network (FJSN) to study the seismic anisotropy in the crust. By means of a systematic analysis and adequate software package, we examine shear-wave splitting from data recorded at ten FJSN stations during the period January 1999 to December 2003. The results demonstrate that the average fast wave polarization is N109.4° E ± 42.6°, corresponding to the horizontal principal compressive stress in the test zone, and the average normalized slow wave time delay is 2.5 ± 1.5 ms/km. The predominant polarizations at stations in the eastern part of SECB are in the N–W direction, which suggests that they are related to the regional horizontal principal compressive stress and also to the strikes of faults. In contrast, the predominant polarizations at two stations in the western part of SECB are in the N–E direction. This polarization direction does not coincide with the direction of the horizontal principal compressive stress, but it follows the strikes of near faults, thus suggesting the influence of the local tectonics and a change in the stress field. The results prove that the predominant polarizations are parallel to the strikes of faults whenever the stations are on active faults. At a few stations near the coastal line, some polarizations show a certain amount of scatter which may be caused by crossing faults and irregular topography. Finally, the spatial distribution of time delays depicts strong lateral variations near the coast just where the seismic activity is comparatively bigger, so that the magnitude of anisotropy seems to be consistent with the most seismically active area.     

Paleoseismic indications along ‘aseismic’ fault segments in the guadalentín depression (SE Spain)

The Guadalentín Depression, located in SE Spain (Murcia Region), is bounded by two of the main NE-SW master faults of the Eastern Betics Cordilleras: The Lorca-Alhama and the Palomares left-lateral strike-slip faults. Available earthquake data indicate that, in the last 600 years, some sectors of the Lorca-Alhama Fault and the entire sector of the Palomares Fault have not been associated with significant historical seismicity. However, they show a wide range of diagnostic features of earthquake surface displacements on late Pleistocene and Holocene alluvial and colluvial surfaces. Aside from the left-lateral offsets recorded along 045–050 ° master fault strands of the Lorca-Alhama Fault, major paleoseismic surface displacements show different kinematics in relation to the broad orientation of the fault strands: (1) vertical normal displacements along 010–020 ° trending faults mainly preserved as degraded fault scarps of 2.5-1.8 m high (Aljibejo site); and (2) vertical reverse displacements, with average offsets of 0.2 – 1 m, along 065–080 ° subsidiary faults. In this last group, the younger one (Carraclaca Baths site) remains as a fault scarp of 0.8 m height affecting a cascade tufa which was active until the Spanish Roman Period (2nd Century B.C. to 6th Century A.D.). In other cases, reverse offsets resulted in smaller displacements (0.26 m) of paleosols, but show a recurrent behaviour (La Escarihuela site). The strongest earthquakes recorded in the study area did not exceed more than Mb 4.5 or MSK Intensity VIII (historical) with no evidence of coseismic rupture. Therefore, the preliminary data presented here seem to indicate that the paleoseismic activity on both faults is capable of producing coseismic surface displacements, probably reaching magnitudes of at least 6.5. These data show that paleoseismic studies based on geomorphological analyses are a useful tool in the assessment of the relative degree of activity of apparently ‘aseismic’ fault traces.     

Paleostress orientation from 3-D orientation distribution of microcracks in quartz from the Cretaceous granodiorite core samples drilled through the Nojima Fault, south-west Japan

Abstract The orientations of both healed extension microcracks and microcracks in quartz grains sealed mostly by carbonate minerals were measured from Cretaceous granodiorite core samples drilled along the Nojima Fault, southwest Japan. The preferred orientations of both healed and sealed microcracks consist of approximately three orthogonal sets, (components) A, B and C, in which A strikes NS–NW-SE and dips vertically, B strikes EW–NE-SW and dips vertically, and C is subhorizontal. Both the healed and sealed microcracks were possibly formed by hydraulic fracturing, and the successive release of tensile stress due to pore fluid overpressure in the principal stress directions could have caused this microcracking in mutually orthogonal directions. The quartz grains are also very moderately plastically deformed, which is indicated by the occurrence of kink bands and undulose extinction. The association of healed microcracks and kink bands in the quartz suggests that these microstructures formed under subgreenschist facies conditions (≈300°C) during hydrothermal activity that could have occurred immediately after the emplacement of granodiorite during the Late Cretaceous period. Based on both the preferred orientation of microcracks, and c-axis fabrics of kinked and unkinked grains (so called kink method), it is inferred that the σ₁-and σ₃-axis were oriented horizontally in NS–NW-SE and EW–NE-SW directions, respectively. The inferred paleostress field does not conform to the east–west-trending compression during the Quaternary period, but to the activation of EW–NE-SW-trending, left–lateral strike–slip faults during the Late Cretaceous period in southwest Japan.     

阿尔泰山东缘主要活动断裂影像特征分析

文中采用遥感资料,对阿尔泰山东缘的主要活动断裂———科布多(Hovd)断裂与哈尔乌苏湖(Har-Nuur)断裂进行研究,从地貌特征上对断裂进行详细分析,揭示其几何学和运动学特征。初步研究表明阿尔泰山东缘的活动断裂规模、滑动速率和强地震活动并不弱于其西南缘。其中科布多断裂走向NNW,右旋走滑,长约600km,中更新世(Q2p)以来最大水系右旋位错约9.0km,滑动速率可达3.8～12.3mm/a,平均滑动速率约7.8mm/a;哈尔乌苏湖断裂走向NNW,右旋走滑,长约480km,全新世以来活动性明显增强,第四纪洪积扇上发现有最新的断裂迹象。阿尔泰山东缘的新构造运动与强地震活动,除了与印度-欧亚板块碰撞作用有关外,可能还与局部地区的动力学过程有关     

FOCAL FAULTS AND STRESS FIELD CHARACTERISTICS OF M7.0 JIUZHAIGOU EARTHQUAKE SEQUENCE IN 2017

On August 8, 2017, Beijing time, an earthquake of M7.0 occurred in Jiuzhaigou County, Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province, with the epicenter located at 33.20°N 103.82°E. The earthquake caused 25 people dead, 525 people injured, 6 people missing and 170000 people affected. Many houses were damaged to various degrees. Up to October 15, 2017, a total of 7679 aftershocks were recorded, including 2099 earthquakes of M ≥ 1.0. The M7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquake occurred in the northeastern boundary belt of the Bayan Har block on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where many active faults are developed, including the Tazhong Fault(the eastern segment of the East Kunlun Fault), the Minjiang fault zone, the Xueshan fault zone, the Huya fault zone, the Wenxian fault zone, the Guanggaishan-Daishan Fault, the Bailongjiang Fault, the Longriuba Fault and the Longmenshan Fault. As one of the important passages for the eastward extrusion movement of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(Tapponnier et al., 2001), the East Kunlun fault zone has a crucial influence on the tectonic activities of the northeastern boundary belt of Bayan Kala. Meanwhile, the Coulomb stress, fault strain and other research results show that the eastern boundary of the Bayan Har block still has a high risk of strong earthquakes in the future. So the study of the M7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquake' seismogenic faults and stress fields is of great significance for scientific understanding of the seismogenic environment and geodynamics of the eastern boundary of Bayan Har block. In this paper, the epicenter of the main shock and its aftershocks were relocated by the double-difference relocation method and the spatial distribution of the aftershock sequence was obtained. Then we determined the focal mechanism solutions of 24 aftershocks(M ≥ 3.0)by using the CAP algorithm with the waveform records of China Digital Seismic Network. After that, we applied the sliding fitting algorithm to invert the stress field of the earthquake area based on the previous results of the mechanism solutions. Combining with the previous research results of seismogeology in this area, we discussed the seismogenic fault structure and dynamic characteristics of the M7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquake. Our research results indicated that:1)The epicenters of the M7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquake sequence distribute along NW-SE in a stripe pattern with a long axis of about 35km and a short axis of about 8km, and with high inclination and dipping to the southwest, the focal depths are mainly concentrated in the range of 2~25km, gradually deepening from northwest to southeast along the fault, but the dip angle does not change remarkably on the whole fault. 2)The focal mechanism solution of the M7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquake is:strike 151°, dip 69° and rake 12° for nodal plane Ⅰ, and 245°, 78° and -158° for nodal plane Ⅱ, the main shock type is pure strike-slip and the centroid depth of the earthquake is about 5km. Most of the focal mechanism of the aftershock sequence is strike-slip type, which is consistent with the main shock's focal mechanism solution; 3)In the earthquake source area, the principal compressive stress and the principal tensile stress are both near horizontal, and the principal compressive stress is near east-west direction, while the principal tensile stress is near north-south direction. The Jiuzhaigou earthquake is a strike-slip event that occurs under the horizontal compressive stress.     

Kinematics of the eastern part of the North Anatolian Fault Zone

The North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ), which marks the boundary between Anatolia and the Eurasian plate, is one of the world's most seismically active structures. Although the eastern part of NAFZ has high seismic hazard, there is a lack of geodetic information about the present tectonics of this region. Even though many scientists would like to study this area, geographical and logistical problems make performing scientific research difficult. In order to investigate contemporary neotectonic deformation on the eastern NAFZ and in its neighborhood, a relatively dense Global Positioning System (GPS) monitoring network was established in 2003. Geodetic observations were performed in three GPS campaigns in an area of 350 km × 200 km with 12-month intervals. In addition, 14 new GPS stations were measured far from the deforming area. Since this region includes the intersection of the NAFZ and the East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ), deformation is complex and estimating seismic hazard is difficult. One important segment is the Yedisu segment and it has not broken since the 1784 earthquake. After the 1992 Erzincan and 2003 Pulumur earthquakes, the Coulomb stress loading on the Yedisu segment of the NAFZ has increased significantly, emphasizing the need to monitor this region. We computed the horizontal velocity field with respect to Eurasia and strain rates field as well. GPS-derived velocities relative to Eurasia are in the range of 16–24 mm/year, which are consistent with the regional tectonics. The principal strain rates were derived from the velocity field. Results show that strain is accumulating between the NAFZ and EAFZ along small secondary fault branches such as the Ovacik Fault (OF).     

Remote sensing-GIS and GPR studies of two active faults,Western Gangetic Plains,India

Northern parts of the Ganga–Yamuna Interfluve in the Gangetic Plains, India have been investigated by remote sensing and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) techniques. Digital analysis of remote sensing data and Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques were used to locate a new active transverse Muzaffarnagar Fault and confirmed an earlier described Solani-II Fault in almost flat or gently sloping terrain. The Solani-II and Muzaffarnagar faults are members of two major systems of surficial faults i.e. longitudinal and transverse faults, respectively. Longitudinal faults are curvilinear in nature, trending N–S in the northern regions and veering to E–W in the southern regions of the plains and transverse faults are normal to the longitudinal faults occurring in the Upper Gangetic plains.GPR survey was carried out by common offset method across the Muzaffarnagar and the Solani-II faults, using a 100 MHz antenna. Our GPR data indicate that both regions around the Solani-II Fault and Muzaffarnagar Fault are characterized by 2–3 major steeply dipping normal faults at shallow depth (< 20 m). One of the major faults is always associated with cliffs on the surface. In addition, a number of smaller synthetic and antithetic faults are present, thus forming members of an array covering wide regions. Also, several small folds observed in all the three radargrams which are probably seismites. Both the Solani-II and Muzaffarnagar faults probably developed at about 2.5 ka and almost at the same time fans were deposited on the downthrown block of the Muzaffarnagar Fault.     

中国大陆东部现今构造应力状态

本文依据原地应力测量(套芯解除法90余个,水压致裂法6个),结合油田测井、震源机制解和断层现今活动资料等,综合研究了该地区的现今构造应力场特征,认为: 1.中国大陆东部地区现今构造应力状态似乎具有分区性.华北地区最大主应力方向为近东西向,太行山以西地区转为北北东向,华南地区为北西向.一个地区的主压应力方向在地下几十米至4000米大体是一致的. 2.华北地区地表以下几十米内的最大水平主压应力值一般在2——6MPa,而华南地区似乎比华北地区略高,两区的最大和最小水平主压应力平均差值也不相同。 3.现代活动的郯庐断裂带上,其剪切应力值远低于断裂带以外地区,离断裂带一定距离后,趋于区域正常值. 4.大震的发生,明显地影响极震区的应力场,但在一定时间内能恢复到原有的区域应力状态.      

CHARACTERISTICS OF FOCAL MECHANISMS AND STRESS FIELD IN THE EASTERN BOUNDARY OF SICHUAN-YUNNAN BLOCK AND ITS ADJACENT AREA

This study is devoted to a systematic analysis of the stress state of the eastern boundary area of Sichuan-Yunnan block based on focal mechanisms of 319 earthquakes with magnitudes between M3.0 and M6.9, occurring from January 2009 to May 2018. We firstly determined the mechanism solutions of 234 earthquakes by the CAP method, using the broadband waveforms recorded by Chinese regional permanent networks, and collected 85 centroid moment tensor solutions from the GCMT. Then we investigated the regional stress regime through a damp linear inversion. Our results show that:1)the focal mechanisms of moderate earthquakes are regionally specific with three principal types of focal mechanisms:the strike-slip faulting type, the thrust faulting type and the normal faulting type. The strike-slip faulting type is significant in the eastern boundary area of Sichuan-Yunnan block along the Xianshuihe-Xiaojiang Fault, the Daliangshan Fault, and the Zhaotong-Lianfeng Fault. The thrust faulting type and the combined thrust/strike-slip faulting type are significant along the Mabian-Yanjin Fault, Ebian-Yanfeng Fault and the eastern section of Lianfeng Fault; 2)The most robust feature of the regional stress regime is that, the azimuth of principal compressive stress axis rotates clockwise from NWW to NW along the eastern boundary of Sichuan-Yunnan Block, and the clockwise rotation angle is about 50 degrees. Meanwhile, the angels between the principal compressive axis and the trend of eastern boundary of Sichuan-Yunnan Block remain unchanged, which implies a stable coefficient of fault friction in the eastern boundary fault zone of Sichuan-Yunnan Block. The movement of the upper crust in the southeastern Tibetan plateau is a relatively rigid clockwise rotation. On the whole, the Xianshuihe-Xiaojiang Fault is a small arc on the earth, and its Euler pole axis is at(21°N, 88°E). The Daliangshan Fault is surrounded by the Anninghe-Zemuhe Fault, which formed a closed diamond shape. When the Sichuan-Yunnan block rotates clockwise, the Daliangshan Fault locates in the outer of the arc, while the Anninghe-Zemuhe Fault is in the inward of the arc, and from the mechanical point of view, left-lateral sliding movement is more likely to occur on the Daliangshan Fault. Our results can be the evidence for the study on the "cut-off" function of the Daliangshan Fault based on the stress field background; 3)The regional stress regime of the eastern boundary faults zone of the Sichuan-Yunnan Block is the same as the south section of the Dalianshan Fault, and the focal mechanism results also reveal that the Dalianshan Fault is keeping left-lateral strike-slip. There may be the same tectonic stress field that controls the earthquake activities in the southern section of Daliangshan Fault and Zhaotong-Lianfeng Fault. The regional stress regime of Zhaodong-Lianfeng Fault is also the same with the Sichuan-Yunnan Block, which implies that the control effect of the SE movement of the Sichuan-Yunnan block may extend to Weining.     

Seismic anisotropy of the crust in Yunnan, China： Polarizations of fast shear-waves

Introduction Anisotropy of the crust is a common phenomenon(Crampin,1984).Shear-wave splitting can be used to study the earthquake anisotropic characteristic in crust,to analyze crustal stress field condition,and to describe the static and the dynamic state of the related anisotropic parameters(GAO et al,1999).Shear-wave splitting is quite sensitive to anisotropy.The domestic scholars applied shear-wave splitting to studying the crustal anisotropy(YAO et al,1992;GAO and FENG,1990).The st…     

THE STATIC STRESS TRIGGERING INFLUENCES OF THE 2015 MW6.4 PISHAN,XINJIANG EARTHQUAKE ON THE NEIGHBORING AREAS

Based on the rupture models of the 2015 Pishan M_W6.4 earthquake and half space homogeneous elastic model, the Coulomb stress changes generated by the earthquake are calculated on the active faults near the earthquake region. The horizontal stress changes and the displacement field are estimated on the area around the epicenter. Results show that:(1)The Coulomb stress is decreased in the west of the western Kunlun frontal thrust fault(9.5×10³Pa), and increased in the east of the western Kunlun frontal thrust fault and the middle of the Kangxiwa faults. More attention should be taken to the seismic rick of the east of the western Kunlun frontal thrust fault; (2)Based on the analysis on the location of the aftershocks, it is found that most of the aftershocks are triggered by the earthquake. In the region of increased Coulomb attraction, the aftershock distribution is more intensive, and in the area of the Coulomb stress reduction, the distribution of aftershocks is relatively sparse; (3)The horizontal area stress increases in the north and south of the earthquake(most part of the Qaidam Basin and the northwest of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau), and decreases in the east and west of the earthquake(northern part of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau and eastern part of the Pamir Mountains). In the epicenter area, the principal compressive stress presents nearly NS direction and the principal extensional stress presents nearly EW direction. The principal compressive stress shows an outward radiation pattern centered on the epicenter with the principal extensional stress along the direction of concentric circles. The principal compressive stress presents NW direction to the west of the epicenter, and NE to the east of the epicenter. With the increase of radius, the stress level gradually decays with 10⁷Pa in the epicenter and hundreds Pa in the Maidan Fault which is in the north of the Qaidam Basin.     

COULOMB STRESS CHANGE ON ACTIVE FAULTS IN SICHUAN-YUNNAN REGION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR SEISMIC HAZARD

Coulomb stress change on active faults is critical for seismic hazard analysis and has been widely used at home and abroad. The Sichuan-Yunnan region is one of the most tectonically and seismically active regions in Mainland China, considering some highly-populated cities and the historical earthquake records in this region, stress evolution and seismic hazard on these active faults capture much attention. From the physical principal, the occurrence of earthquakes will not only cause stress drop and strain energy release on the seismogenic faults, but also transfer stress to the surrounding faults, hence alter the shear and normal stress on the surrounding faults that may delay, hasten or even trigger subsequent earthquakes. Previously, most studies focus on the coseismic Coulomb stress change according to the elastic dislocation model. However, the gradually plentiful observation data attest to the importance of postseismic viscoelastic relaxation effect during the analysis of seismic interactions, stress evolution along faults and the cumulative effect on the longer time scale of the surrounding fault zone. In this paper, in order to assess the seismic hazard in Sichuan-Yunnan region, based on the elastic dislocation theory and the stratified viscoelastic model, we employ the PSGRN/PSCMP program to calculate the cumulative Coulomb stress change on the main boundary faults and in inner blocks in this region, by combining the influence of coseismic dislocations of the M≥7.0 historical strong earthquakes since the Yongsheng M7.8 earthquake in 1515 in Sichuan-Yunnan region and M≥8.0 events in the neighboring area, and the postseismic viscoelastic relaxation effect of the lower crust and upper mantle. The results show that the Coulomb stress change increases significantly in the south section of the Xianshuihe Fault, the Anninghe Fault, the northern section of the Xiaojiang Fault, the southern section of the Longmen Shan Fault, the intersection of the Chuxiong-Jianshui Fault and the Xiaojiang Fault, and the Shawan section of the Litang Fault, in which the cumulative Coulomb stress change exceeds 0.1MPa. The assuming different friction coefficient has little effect on the stress change, as for the strike-slip dominated faults, the shear stress change is much larger than the normal stress change, and the shear stress change is the main factor controlling the Coulomb stress change on the fault plane. Meanwhile, we compare the Coulomb stress change in the 10km and 15km depths, and find that for most faults, the results are slightly different. Additionally, based on the existing focal mechanism solutions, we add the focal mechanism solutions of the 5 675 small-medium earthquakes(2.5≤M≤4.9)in Sichuan-Yunnan region from January 2009 to July 2019, and invert the directions of the three principal stresses and the stress shape factor in 0.1°×0.1° grid points; by combining the grid search method, we compare the inverted stress tensors with that from the actual seismic data, and further obtain the optimal stress tensors. Then, we project the stress tensors on the two inverted nodal planes separately, and select the maximum Coulomb stress change to represent the stress change at the node. The results show that the cumulative Coulomb stress change increase in the triple-junction of Sichuan-Yunnan-Tibet region is also significant, and the stress change exceeds 0.1MPa. Comprehensive analysis of the Coulomb stress change, seismic gaps and seismicity parameters suggest that more attention should be paid to the Anninghe Fault, the northern section of the Xiaojiang Fault, the south section of the Xianshuihe Fault, the southern section of the Longmen Shan Fault and the triple-junction of the Sichuan-Yunnan-Tibet region. These results provide a basis for future seismic hazard analysis in the Sichuan-Yunnan region.     

云南地区地壳介质各向异性——快剪切波偏振特性

通过对云南遥测地震台网2000年1月1日——2003年12月31日4年资料的分析, 使用剪切波分裂SAM综合分析方法,获得了云南地区10个数字地震台站的快剪切波偏振结果. 结果表明, 云南地区大部分台站的快剪切波偏振优势方向主要为近N——S或NNW方向; 位于活动断裂上的台站的快剪切波偏振优势方向与活动断裂的走向一致;与GPS主压应变方向一致,与区域主压应力方向基本一致;少数台站的快剪切波偏振较为复杂,或与活动断裂的走向及GPS主压应变方向不一致. 这样的台站总是位于几个断裂的交会处,反映了复杂的断裂背景和复杂的应力分布特征. 快剪切波偏振优势方向代表了原地最大主压应力方向,受到区域应力场和断裂分布等多种因素的控制.      

Crustal seismic anisotropy in Yunnan, Southwestern China

Using seismic data recorded by Yunnan Telemetry Seismic Network from January 1, 2000, to May 31, 2005, the polarization directions of fast shear waves are obtained at 15 seismic stations by SAM technique, which is a systematic analysis method on shear-wave splitting. The results show that predominant directions of polarizations of fast shear waves at most stations are mainly nearly in the N–S or NNW directions in Yunnan. The predominant polarization directions of fast shear waves at stations located on the active faults are consistent with the strike of active faults, directions of regional principal compressive strains from GPS measurement, and directions of regional principal compressive stress. A few of the stations show that polarization patterns of fast shear waves are more complicated or inconsistent with the strike of active faults and the directions of principal GPS compressive strains; these stations are always located at the junction of several faults. We conclude that the predominant polarization direction of fast shear waves indicates that the direction of the in situ maximum principal compressive stress is controlled by multiple tectonic aspects, such as the regional stress field and faults.     

ANALYSIS OF EVOLUTION OF THE RIYUESHAN FAULT SINCE LATE PLEISTOCENE USING STRUCTURAL GEOMORPHOLOGY

The northeastern margin of Tibetan plateau is an active block controlled by the eastern Kunlun fault zone, the Qilian Shan-Haiyuan fault zone, and the Altyn Tagh fault zone. It is the frontier and the sensitive area of neotectonic activity since the Cenozoic. There are widespread folds, thrust faults and stike-slip faults in the northeastern Tibetan plateau produced by the intensive tectonic deformation, indicating that this area is suffering the crustal shortening, left-lateral shear and vertical uplift. The Riyueshan Fault is one of the major faults in the dextral strike-slip faults systems, which lies between the two major large-scale left-lateral strike-slip faults, the Qilian-Haiyuan Fault and the eastern Kunlun Fault. In the process of growing and expanding of the entire Tibetan plateau, the dextral strike-slip faults play an important role in regulating the deformation and transformation between the secondary blocks. In the early Quaternary, because of the northeastward expansion of the northeastern Tibetan plateau, tectonic deformations such as NE-direction extrusion shortening, clockwise rotation, and SEE-direction extrusion occurred in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan plateau, which lead to the left-lateral slip movement of the NWW-trending major regional boundary faults. As the result, the NNW-trending faults which lie between these NWW direction faults are developed. The main geomorphic units developed within the research area are controlled by the Riyueshan Fault, formed due to the northeastward motion of the Tibet block. These geomorphic units could be classified as:Qinghai Lake Basin, Haiyan Basin, Datonghe Basin, Dezhou Basin, and the mountains developed between the basins such as the Datongshan and the Riyueshan. Paleo basins, alluvial fans, multiple levels of terraces are developed at mountain fronts. The climate variation caused the formation of the geomorphic units during the expansion period of the lakes within the northeastern Tibetan plateau. There are two levels of alluvial fans and three levels of fluvial terrace developed in the study area, the sediments of the alluvial fans and fluvial terraces formed by different sources are developed in the same period. The Riyueshan Fault connects with the NNW-trending left-lateral strike-slip north marginal Tuoleshan fault in the north, and obliquely connects with the Lajishan thrust fault in the south. The fault extends for about 180km from north to south, passing through Datonghe, Reshui coal mine, Chaka River, Tuole, Ketu and Xicha, and connecting with the Lajishan thrusts near the Kesuer Basin. The Riyueshan Fault consists of five discontinuous right-step en-echelon sub-fault segments, with a spacing of 2~3km, and pull-apart basins are formed in the stepovers. The Riyueshan Fault is a secondary fault located in the Qaidam-Qilian active block which is controlled by the major boundary faults, such as the East Kunlun Fault and the Qilian-Haiyuan Fault. Its activity characteristics provide information of the outward expansion of the northeastern margin of Tibet. Tectonic landforms are developed along the Riyueshan Fault. Focusing on the distinct geomorphic deformation since late Pleistocene, the paper obtains the vertical displacement along the fault strike by RTK measurement method. Based on the fault growth-linkage theory, the evolution of the Riyueshan Fault and the related kinetic background are discussed. The following three conclusions are obtained:1)According to the characteristics of development of the three-stage 200km-long steep fault scarp developed in the landforms of the late Pleistocene alluvial fans and terraces, the Riyueshan Fault is divided into five segments, with the most important segment located in the third stepover(CD-3); 2)The three-stage displacement distribution pattern of the Riyueshan Fault reveals that the fault was formed by the growths and connections of multiple secondary faults and is in the second stage of fault growth and connection. With CD-3 as the boundary, the faults on the NW side continue to grow and connect; the fault activity time on the SE side is shorter, and the activity intensity is weaker; 3)The extreme value of the fault displacement distribution curve indicates the location of strain concentration and stress accumulation. With the stepover CD-3 as the boundary, the stress and strain on NW side are mainly concentrated in the middle and fault stepovers. The long-term accumulation range of stress on the SE side is relatively dispersed. The stress state may be related to the counterclockwise rotation inside the block under the compression of regional tectonic stress.