Characteristics of Paleoseismic Activity Along the TianqiaogouHuangyangchuan Fault on the Eastern Section of the Qilian Mountains

1INTRODUCTION TheTianqiaogou Huangyangchuanfault(alsocalledGulangfault)isanimportantpartofanactivefaultzoneontheeasternsectionofthenorthernQilianMountains.Therecentactivityofthefaulthasbeenstudiedtodifferentdegrees(WanFuling,1987;InstituteofGeology,StateS…     

Early history of the Izu–Bonin – Mariana arc system: Evidence from Belau and the Palau Trench

Volcanic rocks of the Kyushu–Palau Ridge (KPR) from Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) site 448 and from Belau comprise a low-to-medium-K arc tholeiitic series. Belau rocks include (probable) Mid-Eocene low-Ca type-3 boninite and pre-Early Oligocene–Early Miocene low-K arc tholeiitic basalt, basaltic andesite, andesite and dacite. Palau Trench samples include sparsely phyric high-Mg, -Cr and -Ni rocks which resemble the Belau boninite and Izu–Bonin – Mariana (IBM) system boninites. The high-Mg Palau Trench samples also resemble other primitive arc lavas (e.g. arc picrites). Their chemistry suggests an origin involving steep thermal gradients in multiply depleted mantle. Subduction of hot, young lithosphere under a young hot upper plate is postulated to explain this occurrence. The KPR is inferred to be the source of Eocene boninite and arc tholeiitic terranes presently in forearc regions of the IBM system. A model is presented here showing how many IBM boninites may have originated in a small area near Belau. These have migrated eastward by episodic back-arc opening accompanying eastward migration of arcs and trenches. Oldest known KPR rocks ( ca 47.5 Ma at DSDP site 296), and presumed KPR-derived exotic terranes of Guam ( ca 43.8 Ma), presage the postulated Eocene ( ca 42–43 Ma) change in Pacific plate motion invoked as the cause of subduction initiation at the KPR. The KPR has been rotated more than 40° clockwise since the Eocene, thus the age mismatch may indicate a different tectonic style, for example transtension or transpression, in earliest KPR history.     

浙江沿海潜在区域地震海啸风险分析

采用COMCOT海啸模型建立三重网格模型模拟了2011年3月11日日本东北部9.0级地震引发的海啸发生、发展以及在我国东南沿海传播过程。震源附近浮标站以及浙江沿海的潮位站实测资料验证结果显示,大部分监测站首波到达时间和海啸波的计算值相差在15%以内,表明模型可较好的模拟海啸在计算域内的传播过程。研究表明日本南海海槽、冲绳海槽以及琉球海沟南部是影响浙江沿海主要的区域潜在震源,通过情景计算分别模拟3个潜在震源9.1级、8.0级和8.7级地震引发的海啸对浙江沿海的海啸风险,计算结果表明,海啸波产生后可在3~8h内传至浙江省沿岸,海啸波达1~3m,最大可达4m,此时浙江沿岸面临Ⅲ~Ⅳ级海啸风险,达到淹没至严重淹没等级。     

Physical conditions producing slab stagnation: Constraints of the Clapeyron slope, mantle viscosity, trench retreat, and dip angles

Recent seismic tomography has revealed various morphologies in the subducted lithosphere. In particular, significant flattening and stagnation of slabs around the 660-km boundary are seen in some areas beneath the northwestern Pacific subduction zones. We examined the cause of slab stagnation in terms of the Clapeyron slope of the phase transformation from ringwoodite to perovskite + magnesiowüstite, trench retreat velocity, dip angles, and high viscosity of the lower mantle based on two-dimensional (2-D) numerical simulations of thermal convection. In particular, we examined the conditions necessary for slab stagnation assuming a very small absolute value of the Clapeyron slope, which were proposed based on recent high-pressure, high-temperature (high P–T) experiments. Our calculations show that slabs tend to stagnate above the 660-km boundary with an increasing absolute value of the Clapeyron slope, viscosity jump at the boundary, and trench retreat velocity and a decreasing initial dip angle. Stagnant slabs could be obtained numerically for a realistic range of parameters obtained from high P–T experiments and other geophysical observations combining buoyancy, high lower-mantle viscosity, and trench retreat. We found that a low dip angle of a descending slab at the bottom of the upper mantle plays an important role in slab stagnation. Two main regimes underlie slab stagnation: buoyancy-dominated and viscosity-dominated regimes. In the viscosity-dominated regime, it is possible for slabs to stagnate above the 660-km boundary, even when the value of the Clapeyron slope is 0 MPa/K.     

Seismicity and stress field in Okinawa Trough and Ryukyu regions

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2015年3月新不列颠MS7.4地震震源及邻区构造应力场特征

2015年3月30日至5月15日,巴布亚新几内亚-新不列颠地区发生了一系列地震.为研究该地区的构造应力环境及孕震背景,本文基于Global CMT目录,对新不列颠区域浅部进行构造应力场反演,拟得到高精度的应力图像.反演结果显示：（1）沿着南、北俾斯麦块体边界的区域构造应力场呈走滑体系,最大主压应力轴方位呈SWW-NEE向.（2）所罗门海的NW和NE走向的海沟处于压缩状态,所罗门海块体向新不列颠和所罗门群岛俯冲的板块弯曲部分是局部拉张.（3）受俯冲带的北向推挤,南俾斯麦板块顺时针旋转的挤压,太平洋板块向西部运动汇聚作用,新不列颠岛东北部与新爱尔兰岛南部交汇区域呈现明显非均匀应力状态.（4）此次地震序列的大多数走滑型和逆冲型地震,可能是所罗门海块体俯冲运动,和南俾斯麦块体与太平洋板块的近EW向挤压作用共同引发.

     

Morphology and tectonics of the Yap Trench

We conducted swath bathymetry and gravity surveys the whole-length of the Yap Trench, lying on the southeastern boundary of the Philippine Sea Plate. These surveys provided a detailed morphology and substantial insight into the tectonics of this area subsequent the Caroline Ridge colliding with this trench. Horst and graben structures and other indications of normal faulting were observed in the sea-ward trench seafloor, suggesting bending of the subducting oceanic plate. Major two slope breaks were commonly observed in the arc-ward trench slope. The origin of these slope breaks is thought to be thrust faults and lithological boundaries. No flat lying layered sediments were found in the trench axis. These morphological characteristics suggest that the trench is tectonically active and that subduction is presently occurring. Negative peaks of Bouguer anomalies were observed over the arc-ward trench slope. This indicates that the crust is thickest beneath the arc-ward trench slope because the crustal layers on the convergent two plates overlap. Bouguer gravity anomalies over the northern portion of the Yap Arc are positive. These gravity signals show that the Yap Arc is uplifted by dynamic force, even though dense crustal layers underlie the arc. This overlying high density arc possibly forces the trench to have great water depths of nearly 9000 m. We propose a tectonic evolution of the trench. Subduction along the Yap Trench has continued with very slow rates of convergence, although the cessation of volcanism at the Yap Arc was contemporaneous with collision of the Caroline Ridge. The Yap Trench migrated westward with respect to the Philippine Sea Plate after collision, then consumption of the volcanic arc crust occurred, caused by tectonic erosion, and the distance between the arc and the trench consequently narrowed. Lower crustal sections of the Philippine Sea Plate were exposed on the arc-ward trench slope by overthrusting. Intense shearing caused deformation of the accumulated rocks, resulting in their metamorphism in the Yap Arc.     

Lateral soil–pipeline interaction in sand backfill: Effect of trench dimensions

Current analytical methodologies for the evaluation of soil pressures on laterally displaced pipelines, as in the case of differential (e.g. fault-induced) permanent ground movements, allow the use of sand fill material properties under the condition that the size of the trench is adequate so that the failure surface develops fully within the sand fill (i.e. “free field” response). The accuracy of this assumption is investigated in this paper by means of numerical analyses, which employ a number of advanced features, such as pipe-backfill interface elements, large strain formulation and mesh rezoning. Following verification against well-documented experimental data, the analyses investigate: (a) the shape and size of the failure mechanism, as well as, (b) the potential trench effects on soil pressures and pipeline strains in the case of a strike-slip fault rupture. It is shown that for small embedment depths soil failure extends to the ground surface, in the form of a general shear failure mechanism, while for larger depths it becomes progressively localized and surrounds the pipeline. It is also shown that, for most cases of pipeline diameter and embedment depth, common trench dimensions cannot contain the “free field” failure surface dimensions. Finally, analyses for limited trench dimensions, reveal that the ultimate soil pressure increases exponentially with decreasing trench width, leading to high bending strains in pipelines subjected to differential lateral ground displacements.     

Archaeo- and palaeoseismological investigations in Northern Thessaly (Greece): Insights for the seismic potential of the region

Northern Thessaly may represent an important seismic gap within the broader Aegean Region, with major faults bordering the ESE–WNW trending Late Pleistocene–Holocene Tyrnavos Basin. In order to obtain information about the characteristics of past earthquakes and improve our knowledge on the seismic potential of the investigated area, historical and archaeological observations are analysed and compared with the results of palaeoseismological trenches excavated across one of the major bordering structures, the Tyrnavos Fault. The former data clearly document (i) a strong seismic activity affecting the area during the last 2–3 ka and (ii) the occurrence of recent earthquakes not included in the seismic catalogues. Also, the sedimentological, structural and chronological data (TL, OSL and AMS) obtained from the palaeoseismological trenches indicate Late Pleistocene to Holocene morphogenic activity of the Tyrnavos Fault, characterised by vertical co-seismic displacements of 20–40 cm and possible return periods of a few thousands of years. Advantages and limitations in using historical and archaeoseismological data are discussed, as well as the problems arising from analysing low slip-rate faults.     

南海东部古扩张脊的俯冲机制

南海东部古扩张脊处于欧亚板块和太平洋板块的汇聚地带,其东侧为马尼拉海沟、北吕宋海槽和西吕宋海槽, 由于受到多个构造单元的相互作用, 使其处于复杂的构造环境中。南海东部古扩张脊俯冲过程的研究对深入理解南海海盆构造演化、火山及地震活动等具有重要意义,同时也是今后南海构造研究的重要方向之一。在总结前人研究基础之上,探讨南海东部古扩张脊俯冲时间、俯冲深度及动力学过程。南海板块在16Ma之后,由于菲律宾板块NW向仰冲的作用,使南海东部古扩张脊被动地沿马尼拉海沟进行俯冲,形成了现今马尼拉海沟中段的构造格局。古扩张脊俯冲深度为200~300km,并且在约100km处发生板片撕裂,造成古扩张脊两侧俯冲角度的不同。