Jurassic Tectonic Revolution in China and New Interpretation of the “Yanshan Movement”

With acquisition and accumulation of new data of structural geological investigations and high-resolution isotopic dating data, we have greatly improved our understanding of the tectonic events occurring in eastern China during the period from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous and may give a new interpretation of the nature, timing and geodynamic settings of the “Yanshan Movement”. During the Mid-Late Jurassic （165±5 Ma）, great readjustment of plate amalgamation kinematics took place in East Asia and the tectonic regime underwent great transformation, thus initiating a new tectonic regime in which the North China Block was the center and different plates converged toward it from the north, east and southwest and forming the “East Asia convergent” tectonic system characterized by intracontinental subduction and orogeny. As a consequence, the crustal lithosphere of the East Asian continent thickened considerably during the Late Jurassic, followed immediately by Early Cretaceous substantial lithospheric thinning and craton destruction featured by drastic lithospheric extension and widespread volcano-magmatic activities, resulting in a major biotic turnover from the Yanliao biota to Jehol Biota. Such a tremendous tectonic event that took place in the continent of China and East Asia is the basic connotation of the “Yanshan Movement”. In the paper, according to the deformation patterns, geodynamic settings and deep processes, the “Yanshan Movement” is redefined as the Late Jurassic East Asian multi-directional plate convergent tectonic regime and its associated extensive intracontinental orogeny and great tectonic change that started at -165±5 Ma. The substantial lithospheric attenuation in East China is considered the post-effect of the Yanshanian intracontinental orogeny and deformation.

Seismogenic Structure around the Epicenter of the May 12,2008 Wenchuan Earthquake from Micro-seismic Tomography

A three-dimensional local-scale P-velocity model down to 25 km depth around the main shock epicenter region was constructed using 83821 event-to-receiver seismic rays from 5856 aftershocks recorded by a newly deployed temporary seismic network. Checkerboard tests show that our tomographic model has lateral and vertical resolution of -2 km. The high-resolution P-velocity model revealed interesting structures in the seismogenic layer： （1） The Guanxian-Anxian fault, Yingxiu-Beichuan fault and Wenchuan-Maoxian fault of the Longmen Shan fault zone are well delineated by sharp upper crustal velocity changes; （2） The Pengguan massif has generally higher velocity than its surrounding areas, and may extend down to at least -10 km from the surface; （3） A sharp lateral velocity variation beneath the Wenchuan-Maoxian fault may indicate that the Pengguan massif＇s western boundary and/or the Wenchuan-Maoxian fault is vertical, and the hypocenter of the Wenchuan earthquake possibly located at the conjunction point of the NW dipping Yingxiu-Beichuan and Guanxian-Anxian faults, and vertical Wenchuan-Maoxian fault; （4） Vicinity along the Yingxiu- Beichuan fault is characterized by very low velocity and low seismicity at shallow depths, possibly due to high content of porosity and fractures; （5） Two blocks of low-velocity anomaly are respectively imaged in the hanging wall and foot wall of the Guanxian-Anxian fault with a -7 km offset with -5 km vertical component.

Co-seismic Faults and Geological Hazards and Incidence of Active Fault of Wenchuan Ms 8.0 Earthquake,Sichuan,China

There are two co-seismic faults which developed when the Wenchuan earthquake happened. One occurred along the active fault zone in the central Longmen Mts. and the other in the front of Longmen Mts. The length of which is more than 270 kin and about 80 km respectively. The co-seismic fault shows a reverse flexure belt with strike of N45°-60°E in the ground, which caused uplift at its northwest side and subsidence at the southeast. The fault face dips to the northwest with a dip angle ranging from 50° to 60°. The vertical offset of the co-seismic fault ranges 2.5-3.0 m along the Yingxiu- Beichuan co-seismic fault, and 1.5-1.1 m along the Doujiangyan-Hanwang fault. Movement of the coseismic fault presents obvious segmented features along the active fault zone in central Longmen Mts. For instance, in the section from Yingxiu to Leigu town, thrust without evident slip occurred; while from Beichuan to Qingchuan, thrust and dextral strike-slip take place. Main movement along the front Longmen Mts. shows thrust without slip and segmented features. The area of earthquake intensity more than IX degree and the distribution of secondary geological hazards occurred along the hanging wall of co-seismic faults, and were consistent with the area of aftershock, and its width is less than 40km from co-seismic faults in the hanging wall. The secondary geological hazards, collapses, landslides, debris flows et al., concentrated in the hanging wall of co-seismic fault within 0-20 km from co-seismic fault.

Seismogenic Tectonics and Dynamics of the 2011 Ms5.9 Yingjiang Earthquake in Yunnan, China

In the southern South-North Seismic Zone,China,seismic activity in the Yingjiang area of western Yunnan increased from December 2010,and eventually a destructive earthquake of Ms5.9 occurred near Yingjiang town on 10 March 2011.The focal mechanism and hypocenter location of the mainshock suggest that the Dayingjiang Fault was the site of the mainshock rupture.However,most of foreshocks and all aftershocks recorded by a portable seismic array located close to the mainshock occurred along the N-S-striking Sudian Fault,indicating that this fault had an important influence on these shocks.Coulomb stress calculations show that three strong （magnitude ≥5.0） earthquakes that occurred in the study region in 2008 increased the coulomb stress along the plane parallel to the Dayingjiang Fault.This supports the Dayingjiang Fault,and not the Sudian Fault,as the seismogenic fault of the 2011 Ms5.9 Yingjiang earthquake.The strong earthquakes in 2008 also increased the Coulomb stress at depths of ≤5 km along the entire Sudian Fault,and by doing so increased the shallow seismic activity along the fault.This explains why the foreshocks and aftershocks of the 2011 Yingjiang earthquake were located mostly on the Sudian Fault where it cuts the shallow crust.The earthquakes at the intersection of the Sudian and Dayingjiang faults are distributed mainly along a belt that dips to the southeast at ～40°,suggesting that the Dayingjiang Fault in the mainshock area also dips to the southeast at ～40°.