Exploration and Research of Deep Crustal Structures in the Zhangzhou Basin and Its Vicinity

INTRODUCTIONThe Zhangzhou basinislocated onthe southeast coast of Fujian Province .Interms of geotectonicunits ,it lies in the east Fujian volcanic fault-depression zone between the Wuyi-Daiyun mountainupheaval zone and depression zone of Taiwan Straits of the south China block. In terms ofseismotectonics ,it islocatedinthe middle sectionof the southeasterncoastal seismic zone .In history,the area was influenced by repeated destructive earthquakes , and the seismic activity was closely…

Exploration and Research of Deep Crustal Structures in the Zhangzhou Basin and Its Vicinity

The Zhangzhou basin is located at the middle section of the southeast coast seismic zone of the mainland of China. Using high-resolution refraction and wide-angle reflection/refraction seismic profiling of Zhangzhou basin and its vicinity, we have obtained the crustal geometric structure and velocity structure as well as the geometric configuration and structural relationship between the deep and shallow fractures. The results show that the crust in the region is divided into the upper crust and lower crust. The thickness of the upper crust is 16.5km- 18.8km, and that of the lower crust is 12.0km- 13.0km. The upper crust is further divided into an upper and lower section. In the lower section of the upper crust, there is a low-velocity layer with a velocity of about 6.00km/s; the depth of the top surface of the low-velocity layer is about 12.0km, and the thickness is about 5.0km. The lower crust is also divided into an upper and lower section. The depth of Moho is 29.0km- 31 .8km There are 6 normal faults in the shallow crust in this region, and most of them extend downwards to a depth of less than 4kin, the maximum depth is about 5km. Below the shallow normal faults, there is a conjectural high-dip angle deep fault zone. The fault zone extends downwards till the Moho and upwards into the low-velocity layer in lower section of the upper crust. The deep and shallow faults are not tectonically connected. The combination character of deep and shallow structures in the Zhangzhou basin indicates that the Jiulongjiang fault zone is a deep fault zone with distinct characteristics and a complex deep and shallow structure background. The acquisition of deep seismic exploration results obviously enhanced the reliability of explanation of deep-structural data and the exploration precision of the region. The combination of deep and shallow structures resulted in uniform explanation results. The delamination of the crust and the characteristic of the structures are more precise and explicit. We discovered for the first time the combination characteristics of extensional structures and listric faults in the upper crust. This is not only helpful to the integrative judgment of earthquake risk in Zhangzhou and its vicinity, but also of importance for deepening the knowledge of deep dynamic processes in the southeast coast seismic zone.