Structural evidence for large-scale top-to-the-north normal displacement along the Median Tectonic Line in southwest Japan

Abstract   The Median Tectonic Line (MTL) is a first-order tectonic boundary that separates the Sanbagawa and Ryoke Metamorphic Belts. Strike-slip movements on the MTL have been well documented by many workers. New field based structural studies in the Sanbagawa Belt close to the MTL reveal a large number of secondary faults and semibrittle shear bands indicating a top-to-the-north normal sense of displacement. The strikes of these shear zones and their spatial distributions suggest that development of these structures is related to movements on the MTL. These results imply that the MTL has a large-scale normal shear component on a regional scale that can help account for the exhumation of the Sanbagawa Belt. Our proposed history of the MTL can also account for changes in the geometry of folds in the Sanbagawa Belt.     

Development of composite planar fabric in mylonites along the Median Tectonic Line, southwest Japan

Abstract Mylonites along the Median Tectonic Line, southwest Japan commonly contain shear bands comprising S(-C)-Ss fabrics. This paper stresses the lithologic control on the orientation, dimension and development of shear bands by comparing the microstructure of the shear bands in different rock types (P mylonites, F mylonites, micaceous phyllonite and quartzose phyllonite). There is no significant change of the α angles (average 21–24°) between Ss and S toward the centre of the shear zone (viz. increasing the intensity of mylonitization) and it is different from the S-C relationship in a narrow sense.
The generation of the composite planar fabric can be classified into four different strain partitioning models: S only type without any slip surface (model A); S-C type (model B); S-Ss type with Ss-slip precedence (model C), and S-Ss type with S-slip precedence (model D). Model C is proposed in this paper and is similar to the model for the generation of Riedel shears in brittle shear zones. An unstable slip between porphyroclasts and the matrix during ductile flow can easily initiate shear bands. Formation of a composite planar fabric is initiated according to model A, followed by model C in conditions of increasing strain, and then model D when the angle between S and the shear zone boundary becomes small enough (α/2 = 10°) to produce S-slip. Thus the generation of the shear bands probably begins in the early stages of shear deformation and continues until the latest stages.     

Paleocene large-scale normal faulting along the Median Tectonic Line, western Shikoku, Japan

Abstract   The Median Tectonic Line (MTL) in southwest Japan, a major east–west-trending arc-parallel fault, has been defined as the boundary fault between the Cretaceous Sambagawa metamorphic rocks and Ryoke granitic and metamorphic rocks, which are unconformably covered by the Upper Cretaceous Izumi Group. The juxtaposition by faulting occurred after the deposition of the Izumi Group. Based on detailed fieldwork and previous studies, the authors reconstruct the kinematic history along the MTL during the Paleogene period, which has not been fully understood before. It is noted that although the strata of the Izumi Group along the MTL dip gently, east–west-trending north-vergent folds with the wavelength of ∼300 m commonly develop up to 2 km north from the MTL. Along the MTL, a disturbed zone of the Izumi Group up to 400 m thick, defined by the development of boudinage structures with the transverse boudin axis dipping nearly parallel to the MTL, occurs. Furthermore, east–west-trending north-vergent folds with the wavelength of 1–5 m develop within the distance up to 60 m from the MTL. The disturbed zone with the map-scale north-vergent folds along the MTL, strongly suggests that they formed due to normal faulting with a top-to-the-north sense along the MTL. Considering that the normal faulting is associated with the final exhumation of the Sambagawa metamorphic rocks, and its juxtaposition against the Izumi Group at depth, this perhaps occurred before the denudation of the Sambagawa metamorphic rocks indicated by the deposition of the Lower Eocene Hiwada-toge Formation. Dynamic equilibrium between crustal thickening at depth (underplating) and extension at shallow level is a plausible explanation for the normal faulting because the arc-normal extension suggests gravity as the driving force.     

Fluid inclusion microthermometry for P–T constraints on normal displacement along the Median Tectonic Line in Northern Besshi area,Southwest Japan

The Median Tectonic Line (MTL) is a first‐order tectonic boundary that separates the Sanbagawa and Ryoke metamorphic belts. Documented large‐scale top‐to‐the‐north normal displacements along this fault zone have the potential to contribute to the exhumation of the Sanbagawa high‐pressure metamorphic belt. Fluid inclusion analyses of vein material formed associated with secondary faults within the Sanbagawa belt affected by movement on the MTL show normal movement was initially induced under temperatures greater than around 250°C. Microstructures of quartz and K‐feldspar comprising the vein material suggest a deformation temperature of around 300°C, supporting the results of fluid inclusion analyses and suggesting deformation at depths of around 10 km. The retrograde P–T path of the Sanbagawa metamorphic rocks and the estimated isochore of the fluid inclusions do not intersect. The semi‐ductile structures of surrounding rocks and lack of evidence for hydrothermal metamorphism around the veins imply the temperature of the rocks was similar to that of the fluid. These observations suggest fluid pressure of the veins was lower than lithostatic pressure close to the MTL.     

Recognition of shear heating on a long‐lived major fault using Raman carbonaceous material thermometry: implications for strength and displacement history of the MTL,SW Japan

The extent to which movement on major faults causes long term shear heating is a contentious issue and an important aspect in the debate about the strength of major faults in the crust. Comparing the results of experimental work on the kinetics of crystallization of carbonaceous material with results of thermal modeling show that the Raman carbonaceous material (CM) geothermometer is well suited to studying shear heating on geological time scales in suitable lithologies exposed around exhumed major fault zones. The Median Tectonic Line (MTL), SW Japan, is the largest on‐land fault in Japan with a length of > 800 km. Application of Raman CM thermometry to pelitic schist adjacent to the fault reveals the presence of a rise in peak temperature of around 60 °C over a distance of around 150 m perpendicular to the MTL fault plane. The spatial association of this thermal anomaly with the fault implies it is due to shear heating. Thermal modeling shows the recorded thermal anomaly and steep temperature gradient is compatible with very high rates of displacement over time scales of a few thousand years. However, the implied displacement rates lie outside those generally observed. An alternative explanation is that an originally broader thermal anomaly that developed during strike slip faulting was shortened due to the effects of normal faulting. Constraints on displacement rate, width of the original anomaly, duration of heating and peak temperature imply a coefficient of friction, μ, greater than 0.4.     

Petrographic and mineralogical study of hydrothermal alteration of the Rokko Granite at Hakusui-kyo and Horai-kyo along the Arima-Takatsuki Tectonic Line in western Japan

Field, hand specimen, and microscopic investigations alongside X-ray diffraction analyses revealed four types of hydrothermal alteration (Type-A, -B, -C, and -D) based on the mode of occurrence of altered rocks and alteration mineral assemblage at Hakusui-kyo and Horai-kyo along the Arima-Takatsuki Tectonic Line (ATTL) in western Japan. Type-A alteration locally occurred as gray alteration halos with sulfide minerals. Type-B and -C alterations were confined to fault gouge veins and occurred as greenish-gray veins and brown veins, respectively. Type-C alteration crosscut Type-B alteration. These alterations were associated with a number of granitic fragments including cohesive breccia and micrographic facies. Type-D alteration occurred locally in brown sediments. Different mineralogical features in the four alterations are summarized as (Type-A) illite; (Type-B) chlorite; (Type-C) limonite (Fe³⁺ hydroxides and goethite) and calcite; and (Type-D) limonite. We propose that the alterations can be broadly divided into Paleocene hydrothermal alteration (Type-A) and post-Late Miocene hydrothermal alteration (Type-B, -C, and -D): Type-A alteration occurred at approximately 200 °C during hydrothermal activity after a granitic intrusion in Late Cretaceous; Type-B, -C and -D alterations occurred under hydrothermal activity accompanying deep fluids with repeated ascents invoked by the seismicity of the ATTL after the Late Miocene. The fluids may have been the “Arima-type thermal waters” (i.e., mixtures of convective groundwater and Na-Ca-Cl-HCO₃-type fluids). Type-B alteration occurred in fractures at depths where the temperature was ≥150 °C. Type-C alteration overprinted Type-B alteration as a result of mixing of new deep fluids and descending oxidized meteoric water near the surface. Fe³⁺ hydroxides and calcite precipitated from the fluids due to the oxidation of Fe²⁺ and the degassing of CO₂, respectively, at ambient to near-boiling temperatures. When the ascending fluids gushed out from the fractures, they generated Type-D alteration at the surface under similar temperature conditions due to the oxidation of Fe²⁺.     

Orthopyroxene–cordierite mafic gneiss from the Nomamisaki metamorphic rocks,Southern Kyushu,Japan: Implication for western continuation of the Usuki–Yatsushiro Tectonic Line

We describe an orthopyroxene–cordierite mafic gneiss from the Nomamisaki metamorphic rocks in the Noma Peninsula, southern Kyushu, Japan. The mineral assemblage of the gneiss is orthopyroxene, cordierite, biotite, plagioclase, and ilmenite. Thermometry based on the Fe–Mg exchange reaction between orthopyroxene and biotite yields a peak metamorphic temperature of 680°C. The stability of cordierite relative to garnet, quartz, and sillimanite defines the upper limit of the peak metamorphic pressure as 4.4 kbar. These features indicate that the Nomamisaki metamorphic rocks underwent low‐pressure high‐temperature type metamorphism. Although a chronological problem still remains, the Nomamisaki metamorphic rocks can be regarded as a western continuation of the Higo Belt. The Usuki–Yatsushiro Tectonic Line, which delineates the southern border of the Higo Belt, is therefore located on the east of the Nomamisaki metamorphic rocks in southern Kyushu.     

Style of fluid flow and deformation in and around an ancient out-of-sequence thrust: An example from the Nobeoka Tectonic Line in the Shimanto accretionary complex, Southwest Japan

To understand the characteristics of deformation of an out-of-sequence thrust (OST) and the style of fluid flow along it, we investigated the Nobeoka Tectonic Line, which has been interpreted as a deep OST (7–9 km), in the Shimanto accretionary complex, Southwest Japan. The shear zone in the footwall differs significantly in the along-strike direction not only in thickness, which varied from 100 to 300 m, but also in lithology and mineral vein development. These variations might reflect primarily differences in lithology; that is, the sandstone-dominant shear zone with a large amount of mineral veins precipitated in microcracks is relatively thick, whereas the shale-dominant shear zone with a small amount of veins and with textures indicating highly pressurized pore fluid, is thinner. By comparison with characteristics of a shallow OST (3–5 km), we conclude that the shallow OST has experienced repeated brittle failure with rapid slip and focused fluid flow whereas the deep OST has experienced both brittle and ductile deformation, followed by fluid flow of various styles, depending on the lithology.     

兰州马衔山-兴隆山活动断裂系的构造变形特征和机制

详细考察获得了兰州马衔山—兴隆山活动断裂系4条断裂的几何细结构、新活动性等定量资料。其中马衔山北缘断裂为一条规模大、活动性强的全新世逆左旋走滑断裂，而马衔山南缘断裂、兴隆山南缘断裂和兴隆山北缘断裂等其它3条断裂均为其伴生的逆断裂，为晚更新世活动断裂。它们在深部均可以归并到马衔山北缘断裂这一主走滑断裂带上，是兰州地区重要的控震断裂，影响和制约着本区的地震活动。     

Characteristics of Tectonic Deformation and Mechanisms for the Active Maxianshan-Xinglongshan Fault System in the Lanzhou Area

A detailed investigation permitted us to obtain quantitative data concerning fine geometric structures of 4 faults of the active Maxianshan-Xinglongshan fault system and the latest movement along them. Of them the northern Maxianshan border fault is a large-scale, strongly active Holocene reverse sinistral strike-slip fault, the other 3 faults, the southern Maxianshan border fault and the southern Xinglongshan border and the northern Xinglongshan border faults are the accompanying active late-Pleistocene thrust faults, which are incorporated into the main strike-slip fault, the northern Maxianshan border fault at depth. It is the most important earthquake-controlling fault in the Lanzhou area, the fault influences and constrains the seismic activity in the area.     

罗云山山前断裂带阶地调查研究及其构造意义

Located at the west of the Linfen basin, the Luoyunshan piedmont fault zone controls the western boundary of the basin. According to the measurements of the terraces in eight gullies along the Luoyunshan fault zone, five levels of terraces, namely T1～T5 have developed in these gullies. The heights of terraces T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 are about 3m, 8～10m, about 20m, about 30m and 40～50m, respectively. The dating data of the terraces and investigation of the faulted landforms show that the Luoyunshan fault zone has experienced much activity since the Late Quaternary. The uplift rate of the terraces was 0.41mm/a since the Middle-Late Pleistocene, and 0.75mm/a since the Holocene. The increasing trend of uplift rate of the terraces along the Luoyunshan fault zone from the Middle-Late Pleistocene to Holocene indicates the tendency of gradual tectonic uplift of the fault zone since the late Quaternary. This is in good agreement with the increasing trend of subsidence rate of the Linfen basin from the Late Pleistocene to Holocene.     

Fault geometrical model of Dujiangyan section in Longmenshan fault zone

The focal mechanism solution on the seismic fault plane can reflect the geometric and kinematic characteristics of faults, and it is an important way to further study the fine structure of fault plane. From the focal mechanism solution of the earthquakes around the Dujiangyan fault in Longmenshan fault zone, we derived the average dip angle of Dujiangyan fault is 45.1° based on the seismic moment tensor theory. In order to refine the fault geometry structure, this paper decomposed it into multiple sub-fault planes along the length and width of the fault plane and forms a number of models A13, B13, A23 a, A23 b, A23 c, B23 a,B23 b and B23 c, then calculated the sub-fault's dip of each model. In order to clarify exactly which one of the fault models is closest to the real fault model, the fault slip was carried out for each model in turn, then compared the surface displacement of each model with GPS observations. The results show that B23 c model with high dip in shallow and small dip in deep is the best model, the lengths of each subfault of Dujiangyan fault from south to north are 33 km, 21 km and 46 km, respectively. When the depth of the fault bottom is about 11 km, the dip angles are 70.56°, 67.41° and 45.55°.When the depth of the fault bottom is about 30 km, The fault dip angles are 44.55°, 29.18° and 44.25°.     

基于余震重定位和震源机制解研究青海玛多MS7.4地震序列的发震构造和断裂形态

2021年5月22日02时04分(北京时间),青海果洛州玛多县发生M_S7.4地震,震后余震不断.地质调查和卫星观测对地表断裂痕迹有较好的约束.然而,对于理解区域应力场、地震的产生、传播和终止具有重要意义的地下断层几何结构的约束精度略显不足.利用国家地震台网的连续波形记录,本研究首先基于双差定位法对玛多地震震后25天的余震序列进行重定位,结果显示余震序列大致沿NWW向的江错断裂呈线性分布,位于主震震中两侧,延伸总长~170 km.主震东南侧存在一余震稀疏区,在断裂带东西两端余震分布转向且出现分叉现象,反映出发震断层的复杂几何形态,这与前人研究结果基本一致.进一步采用波形反演方法和P波初动极性反演方法,获得了玛多震源区132个中小余震的震源机制解与震源矩心深度,并基于此对该主余型地震的发震构造与断裂形态进行了初步分析.震源机制解结果表明,玛多M_S7.4主震的发震断裂主要为左旋走滑性质,余震与主震性质整体相同,在断裂带东段存在部分逆冲型余震.震源机制解约束的区域主应力方向约N60°E,与区内整体走滑断裂作用相一致.余震震源深度略微起伏,主要集中在10~12 km,且浅部余震较少,表明浅部应力可能主要通过主震释放,余震深度分布可能限定了主震同震破裂的下边界.玛多主震破裂起始于断裂带走向和倾向发生明显变化的位置,表明断裂带的复杂几何结构可能是此次玛多M_S7.4地震初始破裂空间分布的决定因素.主震破裂结束的两端都有"马尾状"构造(或次级断层),表明这种分叉断层复杂的几何形态可能控制着主震破裂的最终位置.     

巴彦浩特断裂北段晚第四纪活动特征及其区域地震构造意义

巴彦浩特断裂位于阿拉善地块与鄂尔多斯地块相互作用的边界构造带上,其晚第四纪活动特征和古地震数据对全面理解贺兰山周边区域地震构造和地震危险性具有重要意义,为此在研究相对薄弱的巴彦浩特断裂北段开展了断错地貌和古地震槽探研究。观测显示巴彦浩特断裂阿拉善左旗以北段以右旋走滑活动为主兼具逆倾滑,断层西盘相对抬升,在浅表形成半正花状构造组合。年代（56.28±4.04）~（82.2±5.78）ka的冲洪积地貌面上冲沟断错137 m,并在东侧形成断塞塘地貌,估计断层右旋走滑速率为1.67~2.43 mm/a。探槽揭示了3次具有显著地表逆倾滑破裂的强震事件,时间分别为（56.28±4.04）~（55.33±3.04）、（32.79±2.22）~（13.76±1.1）、（13.76±1.1）~（7.86±0.43）ka,逆倾滑量分别为0.44、0.35、0.29 m。与前人在巴彦浩特断裂南段的古地震研究进行对比,可知这3次古地震可能仅为部分事件记录。结合已有研究成果建立了贺兰山周边区域地震构造模型,贺兰山西侧右旋走滑的巴彦浩特断裂强震发震能力不容忽视,贺兰山两侧盆地不同性质断裂系共同构成了阿拉善地块与鄂尔多斯地块的活动边界构造带。     

大兴安岭西坡德尔布干断裂地球物理特征与构造属性

对1∶250万重力异常向上延拓不同高度并分别计算135°方向水平导数,德尔布干断裂表现为北东向延伸的重力场分界线,采用基于DCT法欧拉反褶积对1∶10万高精度重磁数据向上延拓0~20 km追踪断裂轨迹,并进行1∶100万大地电磁测深反演和海拉尔盆地地震剖面解释,识别出德尔布干断裂具有向南东倾斜,切割深度至下地壳的特征.结合实测地质剖面和显微构造研究,认为德尔布干断裂的构造属性不是地块之间和不同时期造山带之间的拼接带,而是在晚侏罗世-早白垩世切割至下地壳北东向延伸的大型伸展变形带,也是晚中生代隆起区与根河-拉不大林-海拉尔盆地之间的控盆边界断裂带.     

Tectonic analysis of mine tremor mechanisms from the Upper Silesian Coal Basin

Fault network of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB) is built of sets of strike-slip, oblique-slip and dip-slip faults. It is a typical product of force couple which acts evenly with the parallel of latitude, causing horizontal and anti-clockwise movement of rock-mass. Earlier research of focal mechanisms of mine tremors, using a standard fault plane solution, has shown that some events are related to tectonic directions in main structural units of the USCB. An attempt was undertaken to analyze the records of mine tremors from the period 1992–1994 in the selected coal fields. The digital records of about 200 mine tremors with energy larger than 1×10⁴ J (M _L >1.23) were analyzed with SMT software for seismic moment tensor inversion. The decomposition of seismic moment tensor of mine tremors was segmented into isotropic (I) part, compensated linear vector dipole (CLVD) part and double-couple (DC) part. The DC part is prevalent (up to 70%) in the majority of quakes from the central region of the USCB. A group of mine tremors with large I element (up to 50%) can also be observed. The spatial orientation of the fault and auxiliary planes were obtained from the computations for the seismic moment DC part. Study of the DC part of the seismic moment tensor made it possible for us to separate the group of events which might be acknowledged to have their origin in unstable energy release on surfaces of faults forming a regional structural pattern. The possible influence of the Cainozoic tectonic history of the USCB on the recent shape of stress field is discussed.     

西江断裂鹤山—江门段的构造活动性

西江断裂鹤山－江门段由了哥山断裂,天台山断裂,鹅公山断裂,岐祥里断裂和横坑里断裂等５条断裂组成,并以斜列形式分布在西江左右岸。断裂明显控制或影响西江水道的发育,在中更新世晚期至晚更新世中晚期曾发生多次活动。与西江断裂的其它断裂段比较,该断裂的活动性地较弱。     

Geology and thermochronometry of the east edge of the Median Batholith (Median Tectonic Zone): a new perspective on Permian to Cretaceous crustal growth of New Zealand

Abstract We report new field, petrological and isotopic data and interpretations from one of New Zealand’s major basement geological boundaries, the contact between the east side of the Median Batholith (formerly Median Tectonic Zone) and the allochthonous Mesozoic terranes of the Eastern Province. In the Nelson and Hollyford–Eglinton areas this contact is a Cenozoic fault, the Median Tectonic Line of earlier workers. However, in the Longwood Range, unfaulted pre-Cenozoic geological relations are preserved intact. Our new Ar–Ar, U–Pb and isotopic data show that the Median Batholith in the Longwood Range consists of two suites. (i) Eastern, isotopically primitive (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i = 0.702 to 0.703; ?_NdT = + 7 to + 8) trondhjemite and gabbroic rocks of Permian age that we believe are part of the intraoceanic Brook Street arc of the Eastern Province. (ii) Western, isotopically more evolved (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i = 0.703 to 0.704; ?_NdT = + 3 to + 5) quartz diorites, quartz monzodiorites and rare granites of Middle Triassic to Early Jurassic age that we correlate with a pulse of magmatism elsewhere in the Median Batholith. Field observations in the Longwood Range indicate intrusive, not faulted, contacts between these units and constrain accretion of the Brook Street Terrane to Gondwana to have occurred 230–245 Ma. Intra-batholith shear zones (T ~ 600°C and P ~ 0.2–0.3 GPa) were active at approximately 220 Ma. Modelling of K-feldspar Ar incremental heating ages indicate that most of the Longwood Range had cooled below 175°C by the Middle Jurassic and experienced no subsequent reheating. Significant additional post-accretionary Early Cretaceous and Cenozoic thermotectonic activity in Median Batholith in the Hollyford-Eglinton area is indicated by a new 140 ± 2 Ma U-Pb zircon date on a Largs ignimbrite, as well as by Cenozoic K-feldspar Ar–Ar ages in the Middle Triassic Mistake Diorite.     

Volcanic history and tectonics of the Southwest Japan Arc

Abstract Remarkable changes in volcanism and tectonism have occurred in a synchronous manner since 1.5–2 Ma at the junction of the Southwest Japan Arc and the Ryukyu Arc. Although extensive volcanism occurred in Kyushu before 2 Ma, the subduction-related volcanism started at ca 1.5 Ma, forming a NE–SW trend volcanic front, preceded by significant changes in whole-rock chemistry and mode of eruptions at ca 2 Ma. The Median Tectonic Line has intensified dextral motion since 2 Ma, with a northward shift of its active trace of as much as 10 km, accompanied by the formation of rhomboidal basins in Central Kyushu. Crustal rotation and incipient rifting has also occurred in South Kyushu and the northern Okinawa Trough over the past 2 million years. We emphasize that the commencement age of these events coincides with that of the transition to the westward convergence of the Philippine Sea plate, which we interpret as a primary cause of these synchronous episodes. We assume that the shift in subduction direction led to an increase of fluid component contamination from subducted oceanic slab, which then produced island-arc type volcanism along the volcanic front. Accelerated trench retreat along the Ryukyu Trench may have caused rifting and crustal rotation in the northern Ryukyu Arc.     

鲜水河断裂带库仑应力演化与强震间关系

以鲜水河断裂带为研究区,首先验证了该断裂带上1893年以来M6.7以上地震的相互触发作用,然后采用更符合实际的分层黏弹介质模型研究强震震后黏滞松弛引起的库仑应力变化对后续地震的影响,并基于负位错理论计算鲜水河断裂带10个断层段的震间长期构造加载作用引起的断层上的应力积累.在此基础上,讨论同震、震后、震间效应引起的累积库仑应力变化与区域强震活动的关系,给出断层上库仑应力随时间的演化.结果表明,鲜水河断裂带上1893年以来发生的7次强震均在其前面一系列强震及构造应力加载的驱使下发生,同震、震后、震间三方面效应均引起了鲜水河断裂带不可忽略的库仑应力变化.对断层上的库仑应力状态的研究,可进一步为揭示地震的发生规律、找寻危险断层段提供线索.