Using large dynamite shots to image the structure of the Moho from deep seismic reflection experiment between the Sichuan basin and Qinling orogen

The Qinling orogen was formed as a result of the collision between the North and South China blocks. The Qinling orogen represents the location at which the southern and northern parts of the Chinese mainland col- lided, and it＇s also the intersection of the Central China orogen and the north-south tectonic belt. There is evidence of strong deformation in this orogen, and it has had a long and complex geological history. We investigated the structure of the Moho in the southern Qinling orogen using large dynamite shot imaging techniques. By integrating the analysis of the single-shot and the move-out corrections profile, we determined the structure of the Moho beneath the northern Dabashan thrust belt and the southern Qinling orogen, including the mantle suture beneath Fenghuang mountain. The Moho is divided into two parts by the mantle suture zone beneath Fenghuang mountain： （1） from Ziyang to Hanyin, the north-dipping Moho is at about 45-55 km depth and the depth increases rapidly; and （2） from Hanyin to Ningshan, the south-dipping Moho is at about 40-45 km depth and shallows slowly. The mantle suture is located beneath Fenghuang mountain, and the Moho overlaps at this location： the shallower Moho is connected to the northern part of China, and the deeper Moho is connected to the southern part. This may indicate that the lithosphere in the Sichuan basin subducts to the Qinling block and that the subduction frontier reaches at least as far as Fenghuang mountain.

200-kg large explosive detonation facing 50-km thick crust beneath west Qinling,northeastern Tibetan plateau

It is difficult to acquire deep seismic reflection profiles on land using the standard oil-industry acquisition parameters. This is especially true over much of Tibetan plateau not only because of severe topography and rapid variation of both velocity and thickness of near-surface layer, but also strong attenuation of seismic wave through the thickest crust of the Earth. Large explosive sources had been successfully detonated in US, but its application in Tibetan plateau rarely has an example of good quality. Presented herein is the data of a 200-kg single shot we recorded in west Qinling, northeastern Tibetan plateau. The shot gather data with phenomenal signal-to-noise ratios illustrate the energy of the Prop phase. Although the observations are only limited to the northeastern Tibetan plateau and thus cannot comprise an exhaustive study, they nevertheless suggest that large explosions may be a useful exploration tool in Tibetan Plateau where standard seismic sources and profiling methods fail to produce adequate data of low crust.

Characteristic of crustal structure in the Shulu fault basin and its vicinity

The deep seismic reflection profiling carried out in Xingtai earthquake area provides a new knowledge of the crustal structure of the Shulu fault basin and its vicinity. In the Ningjin-Xinhe and Lincheng-Julu deep seismic reflection profiles trending in NWW, CDP stack profiles respectively show a one-side fault basin (i. e. Shulu fault basin) within TWT 4. 0s. The width of the basin is about 15 km (Eogene system boundary), and Xinhe fault extends to below TWT 4. 0s (i. e. 8 km deep) with listric shape as a main boundary fault. These profiles also display distinctly a detachment in mid-crust. The Xinhe fault extends downward and converges to the detachment. The results of deep seismic sounding and magnetotelluric sounding indicate the low-velocity and highconductive zone beneath the detachment, which is beneficial to the detach between upper and lower plates. The Renxian-Ningjin deep seismic reflection profile trending in NNE lies within the fault basin, which shows the complicated structure of the basin. The shallow part of the profile is divided into three sub-basins by three lateral uplifts. In the mid-lower crust from Gengzhuangqiao to Xiaohezhuang of the profile, there are a lot of strong reflection events with laminae structure, which have been deformed strongly. Two NWW-trending profiles also have similar reflection feature. This may indicate that there is a relative large region where the magma upwell into mid-lower crust. The abnormal low velocity zone in lower crust indicates that the magmatism is still strong at present. The magmatism may be an important factor of the tectonic active region.