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.

Lithospheric structure and faulting characteristics of the Helan Mountains and Yinchuan Basin： Results of deep seismic reflection profiling

The Helan Mountains and Yinchuan Basin （HM-YB） are located at the northern end of the North-South tectonic belt, and form an intraplate tectonic deformation zone in the western margin of the North China Craton （NCC）. The HM-YB has a complicated history of formation and evolution, and is tectonically active at the present day. It has played a dominant role in the complex geological structure and modem earthquake activities of the region. A 135-km-long deep seismic reflection profile across the HM-YB was acquired in early 2014, which provides detailed information of the lithospheric structure and faulting characteristics from near-surface to various depths in the region. The results show that the Moho gradually deepens from east to west in the depth range of 40-48 km along the profile. Significant differences are present in the crustal structure of different tectonic units, including in the distribution of seismic velocities, depths of intra-cmstal discontinuities and undulation pattern of the Moho. The deep seismic reflection profile further reveals distinct structural characteristics on the opposite sides of the Helan Mountains. To the east, The Yellow River fault, the eastern piedmont fault of the Helan Mountains, as well as multiple buried faults within the Yinchuan Basin are all normal faults and still active since the Quaternary. These faults have controlled the Cenozoic sedimentation of the basin, and display a ＂negative-flower＂ structure in the profile. To the west, the Bayanhaote fault and the western piedmont fault of the Helan Mountains are east-dipping thrust faults, which caused folding, thrusting, and structural deformation in the Mesozoic stratum of the Helan Mountains uplift zone. A deep-penetrating fault is identified in the western side of the Yinchuan Basin. It has a steep inclination cutting through the middle-lower crust and the Moho, and may be connected to the two groups of faults in the upper crest. This set of deep and shallow fault system consists of both strike-slip, thrust, and normal faults formed over different eras, and provides the key tectonic conditions for the basin-mountains coupling, crustal deformation and crust-mantle interactions in the region. The other important phenomenon revealed from the results of deep seismic reflection profiling is the presence of a strong upper mantle reflection （UMR） at a depth of 82-92 km beneath the HM-YB, indicating the existence of a rapid velocity variation or a velocity discontinuity in that depth range. This is possibly a sign of vertical structural inhomogeneity in the upper mantle of the region. The seismic results presented here provide new clues and observational bases for further study of the deep structure, structural differences among various blocks and the tectonic relationship between deep and shallow processes in the western NCC.

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.

地震反射剖面揭示阿尔泰山陆内逆冲造山机制

The Altai orogen is a typical intracontinental orogen in Central Asia that experienced far-field deformation associated with Indian-Eurasian plate convergence. This region is characterized by uplift comparable to that of the Tianshan Mountains but has a distinct strain rate. Half of the Indo-Asia strain is accommodated by the Tianshan Mountains, whereas the Altai Mountains accommodates only 10%. To elucidate how the Altai Mountains produced such a large amount of uplift with only one-fifth of the strain rate of the Tianshan Mountains, we constructed a detailed crustal image of the Altai Mountains based on a new 166.8-km deep seismic reflection profile. The prestack migration images reveal an antiform within the Erqis crust, an ~10 km Moho offset between the Altai arc and the East Junggar area, and a major south-dipping(30° dip) thrust in the lower crust beneath the Altai Mountains, which is connected to the Moho offset. The south-dipping thrust not only records the southward subduction of the Ob-Zaisan Ocean in the Paleozoic but also controlled the Altai deformation pattern in the Cenozoic with the Erqis antiform. The Erqis antiform prevented the extension of deformation to the Junggar crust. The southdipping thrust in the lower crust of the Altai area caused extrusion of the lower crust, generating uplift at the surface, thickening of the crust, and steep(~10 km) Moho deepening in the Altai Mountains. This process significantly widened the deformation zone of the Altai Mountains. These findings provide a new geodynamic model for describing how inherited crustal structure controls intraplate deformation without strong horizontal stress.

Crustal and upper mantle structure and deep tectonic genesis of large earthquakes in North China

From the 1960 s to 1970 s, North China has been hit by a series of large earthquakes. During the past half century,geophysicists have carried out numerous surveys of the crustal and upper mantle structure, and associated studies in North China.They have made significant progress on several key issues in the geosciences, such as the crustal and upper mantle structure and the seismogenic environment of strong earthquakes. Deep seismic profiling results indicate a complex tectonic setting in the strong earthquake areas of North China, where a listric normal fault and a low-angle detachment in the upper crust coexist with a high-angle deep fault passing through the lower crust to the Moho beneath the hypocenter. Seismic tomography images reveal that most of the large earthquakes occurred in the transition between the high-and low-velocity zones, and the Tangshan earthquake area is characterized by a low-velocity anomaly in the middle-lower crust. Comprehensive analysis of geophysical data identified that the deep seismogenic environment in the North China extensional tectonic region is generally characterized by a low-velocity anomalous belt beneath the hypocenter, inconsistency of the deep and shallow structures in the crust, a steep crustalal-scale fault,relative lower velocities in the uppermost mantle, and local Moho uplift, etc. This indicates that the lithospheric structure of North China has strong heterogeneities. Geologically, the North China region had been a stable craton named the North China Craton or in brief the NCC, containing crustal rocks as old as ～3.8 Ga. The present-day strong seismic activity and the lower velocity of the lower crust in the NCC are much different from typical stable cratons around the world. These findings provide significant evidence for the destruction of the NCC. Although deep seismic profiling and seismic tomography have greatly enhanced knowledge about the deep-seated structure and seismogenic environment, some fundamental issues still remain and require further work.