Latest active age and model of the faults in Longquanshan fault belt

Longquanshan fault belt belongs to Longmenshan foreland uplift, which is closely related to the uplift evolution of Longmenshan in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In order to explore the fault activity model, period and era characteristics of Longquanshan fault belt, some gouge samples were collected at different fault locations of Longquanshan fault belt. SEM was adopted for trace and dissolution micromorphology observation, and ESR was used to test the latest active age. Combined with the regional seismic data, further research on the seismic potential of Longquanshan fault belt was conducted. The results show that the main model of activity in Longquanshan fault belt is stick slip, with creep characteristics. The faults are characterized by multiple periods of activity. The strong acitivity era is the Early Pleistocene-Middle Pleistocene, there were obvious activities in the Late Pleistocene, and there weren’t any obvious activities in the Pliocene. The latest active ages measured by SEM, ESR, TL range from (1210±121) to (110±10.0) ka. The latest active age and activity is characterized with segmen tation, featured with weak activity in the middle segments and strong activity in the north and south segments. Longquanshan fault belt is an active fault belt with certain seismic potential. The earthquakes are distributed zonally along Longquanshan fault belt. However, its activity has been greatly reduced, compared with Longmenshan fault belt in the western part.