Effective elastic thickness of the lithosphere from joint inversion in western China and its implications

The western China lies in the convergence zone between Eurasian and Indian plates.It is an ideal place to study the lithosphere dynamics and tectonic evolutions on the continental Earth.The lithospheric strength is a key factor in controlling the lithosphere dynamics and deformations.The effective elastic thickness(T_(e))of the lithosphere can be used to address the lithospheric strength.Previous researchers only used one of the admittance or coherence methods to investigate the T_(e) in the western China.Moreover,most of them ignored the internal loads of the lithosphere during the T_(e) calculation,which can produce large biases in the T_(e) estimations.To provide more reliable T_(e) estimations,we used a new joint inversion method that integrated both admittance and coherence techniques to compute the T_(e) in this study,with the WGM2012 gravity data,the ETOPO1 topographic data,and the Moho depths from the CRUST1.0 model.The internal loads are considered and investigated using the load ratio(F).Our results show that the joint inversion method can yield reliable T_(e) and F values.Based on the analysis of T_(e) and F distributions,we suggest(1)the northern Tibetan Plateau could be the front edge of the plate collision of Eurasian and Indian plates;(2)the southern and part of central Tibetan Plateau have a strong lithospheric mantle related to the rigid underthrusting Indian plate;(3)the southeastern Tibetan Plateau may be experiencing the delamination of lithosphere and upwelling of asthenosphere.

Effective Elastic Thickness of the Lithosphere in the Mariana Subduction Zone and Surrounding Regions and Its Implications for Their Tectonics

To understand the rheology,structure,and tectonics of the lithosphere in the Mariana subduction zone and surrounding regions,we calculated the effective elastic thickness of the lithosphere(Te)in these areas using the improved moving window admittance technique(MWAT)method.We find that smaller data grid spacing can better reflect Te variations in the subduction zone.The Te of the study region ranges from 0 to 47 km.The Te is reduced from 40 km on the seaward side of the outer-rise region to 1-2 km along the trench axis.The lithospheric breaking distance from the trench axis ranges from 0 to 250 km.We suggest that the intermediate Te values in seamounts and high Te values on the seaward side of the outer-rise region respectively reflect the‘fossil’rheological state and current lithospheric strength of the Pacific plate.The faulting induced by the downward bending of subducting plate not only ruptures the lithosphere but also contributes to the mantle serpentinization,significantly reducing the lithospheric strength.The largest breaking distance of the Ogasawara Plateau may be due to the increase in the mass load of the subducting plate in the Ogasawara Plateau and the significant horizontal bending force in the plate caused by the resistance of seamounts to subduction.Furthermore,a good positive correlation exists between the breaking distance and subduction dip angle along the trench axis.We suggest that the subducting plate with a larger breaking distance is likely to form a larger subduction angle.

Effective Elastic Thickness of Southeast Part ofArctic Ocean-Eurasia Continent-PacificOcean Geoscience Transect

The effective lithospheric elastic thickness of the continent is an important parameter for examination of the large-scale structure and analyses of the mechanism of isostatic compensation within the plate, and a parameter standing for the strength of the lithosphere. The Te values along Quanzhou-Heishui, the southeast section of the Arctic Ocean-Eurasian Continent-Pacific Ocean geoscience transect, are estimated by using the coherence technique developed by Forsyth. Studies of the feature of the coherence between gravity and topography suggest that at short wavelengths (6. 6-100 km) for each data box that is used to estimate Te, the plate is strong enough to support topographic loads and gravity and topography are uncorrelated. At long wavelengths where the plate is deflected by surface and subsurface loads are compensated by the flexure model. Sichuan land-stone with low heat-flow values has high Te values whereas in Ninghua, Datian, land-stone with high heat-flow values has low Te values, which reflects a correlation, low heat-flow values corresponding to high Te values and high heat-flow values corresponding to low Te values. Te values can be divided into two sections: northwest high section and southeast low section. There is roughly a positive correlation between crustal thickness and effective elastic thickness of the lithosphere.

Multitaper spectral method to estimate the elastic thickness of South China: Implications for intracontinental deformation

The effective elastic thickness （Te） represents the thickness of the elastic layer or the flexural rigidity of the lithosphere, the equivalent of which can be calculated from the spectral analysis of gravity and topographic data. Studies of Te have profound influence on intracontinental deformation, and coupling of the tectonic blocks. In this paper, we use the multitaper spectral estimation method to calculate the coherence between Bouguer gravity and topography data, and to obtain the Te map of South China. Through the process of correction, we discuss the relationships of Te versus heat flow, and Te versus seismicity. The results show that Te distribution of South China is affected by three factors：the original age, which controls the basic feature;the Mesozoic evolution, which affects the Te distribution;and the neotectonic movement, which shaped the final distribution. The crust age has a positive correlation with the first-order Te distribution;thus the Yangtze Craton has a relatively higher Te （about 50 km） whereas the Te in Cathaysia block is only 10e20 km. By analysis and comparison among the tectonic models of South China, the Te distribution can be well explained using the flat-subduction model. As is typical with neotectonics, the region with a higher heat flow is related with a lower Te. The seismicity does not have a clear relationship with Te, but the strong seismicity could cause a low Te. Seismogenic layer （Ts） has a similar trend as Te in the craton, whereas in other areas the relationship is complex.

Three-dimensional admittance analysis of lithospheric elastic thickness over the Louisville Ridge

Using bathymetry and altimetric gravity anomalies, a 1°×9 1° lithospheric effective elastic thickness（Te） model over the Louisville Ridge and its adjacent regions is calculated using the moving window admittance technique. For comparison, three bathymetry models are used： general bathymetric charts of the oceans, SIO V15.1,and BAT_VGG. The results show that BAT_VGG is more suitable for calculating T e than the other two models. T e along the Louisville Ridge was re-evaluated. The southeast of the ridge has a medium Te of 10–20 km, while Te increases dramatically seaward of the Tonga-Kermadec trench as a result of the collision of the Pacific and IndoAustralian plates.

Lithospheric strength of the Anatolian plateau and implications for strong earthquake activity in Turkey

On February 6, 2023, the doublet earthquake including two main shocks with magnitudes MW7.8 and MW7.5, occurred near the western side of the East Anatolian Fault at the southeast boundary of the Anatolian Plateau in Turkey. Based on the WGM2012 Bouguer gravity anomaly data and the Etopo1topography data, this study first introduced a joint inversion of admittance and coherence functions and used the Bayesian optimal parameter estimation method to obtain the effective elastic thickness Teand loading ratio F of the lithosphere for various tectonic units in the Anatolian Plateau. Secondly, we discussed the characteristics and influencing factors of the lithospheric mechanical strength and analyzed its relationship with seismic activity. The lithospheric mechanical strength of the Anatolian Plateau showed clear lateral heterogeneity and a "weak-strong-weak" spatial pattern from east to west,reflecting various tectonic processes. At last, the strong seismic activity was found where the lithospheric strength was low in the Anatolian Plate. We also incorporated GPS strain rate and other results to investigate the tectonic background and primary causes of the MW7.8 and MW7.5 doublet earthquakes in Turkey. The results have a good insight into urban safety design in the Turkish region, including postdisaster rehabilitation, earthquake hazard assessment, and loss reduction.

Geothermal Characteristics and Geological Implications of Major Tectonic Units in China

On the basis of more than 900 heat flow data in China and the surrounding seas, the authors study the geothermal characteristics of major tectonic units in China. The spatial pattern of heat flow and other thermal parameters for lithosphere exhibit significant lateral variation, originating from the Cenozoic tectonothermal activities related to the subduction of the Pacific plate and the collision between India and Asia. The mechanical strength of the crust and the seismicity of tectonic units were strongly affected by geothermal characteristics of units. The crustal heat production rate also shows the lateral heterogeneity, implying the significant lateral variation of bulk composition of the crust in China.