Recent Activity of the Badu-Longwei Segment, Guguan-Xiangong Fault in Southern Liupanshan, Constrained by Rhythmic Sediment Lithology and Geomorphic Characteristics

This study's objective was to investigate the Guguan‐Xiangong Fault, which lies in the southern Liupanshan area, through satellite image interpretation and field observations. Guguan‐Xiangong Fault is divided into five subsegments; among these, the Badu‐Longwei segment has been the most recently active. The geomorphic features of the Badu‐Longwei segment are clearly displayed, including multiple high fault scarps with fresh bedrock free faces. There is significant evidence for Holocene activity of the three fault sections, located in Renhuashu, Tianjiagou, and Xinjiecun respectively. The three sections feature distinct episodic deposition and fault scratches. Based on ¹⁴C‐dating and field observations on the three fault sections, two or more paleoearthquakes across the Badu‐Longwei fault segment are ascertained, between 5874±116 and 5430±140 a BP, and after 2037±83 a BP respectively. The Badu‐Longwei segment of the Guguan‐Xiangong Fault is preliminarily extrapolated as the seismogenic structure of the 600 A.D. Qin‐Long earthquake.