Spatial differences of Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)among counties(cities)on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains

The county(city)located on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains is the primary area to solidify and extend the success of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,China in poverty alleviation.Its Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)are intertwined with the concerted economic and social development of Xinjiang and the objective of achieving shared prosperity within the region.This study established a sustainable development evaluation framework by selecting 15 SDGs and 20 secondary indicators from the United Nations’SDGs.The aim of this study is to quantitatively assess the progress of SDGs at the county(city)level on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains.The results indicate that there are substantial variations in the scores of SDGs among the nine counties and one city located on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains.Notable high scores of SDGs are observed in the central and eastern regions,whereas lower scores are prevalent in the western areas.The scores of SDGs,in descending order,are as follows:62.22 for Minfeng County,54.22 for Hotan City,50.21 for Qiemo County,42.54 for Moyu County,41.56 for Ruoqiang County,41.39 for Qira County,39.86 for Lop County,38.25 for Yutian County,38.10 for Pishan County,and 36.87 for Hotan County.The performances of SDGs reveal that Hotan City,Lop County,Minfeng County,and Ruoqiang County have significant sustainable development capacity because they have three or more SDGs ranked as green color.However,Hotan County,Moyu County,Qira County,and Yutian County show the poorest performance,as they lack SDGs with green color.It is important to establish and enhance mechanisms that can ensure sustained income growth among poverty alleviation beneficiaries,sustained improvement in the capacity of rural governance,and the gradual improvement of social security system.These measures will facilitate the effective implementation of SDGs.Finally,this study offers a valuable support for governmental authorities and relevant departments in their decision-making processes.In addition,these results hold significant reference value for assessing SDGs at the county(city)level,particularly in areas characterized by low levels of economic development.

MINERALIZATION AGES OF GOLD-HYDROTHERMAL DEPOSITS IN NORTHERN ZONE OF EASTERN KUNLUN MOUNTAINS BASED ON FISSION TRACK ANALYSIS

The age of mineralization in a mining area is a primary factor in various researches related to ore\|forming process. It is that the uncertainty of mineralization ages of gold ore deposits in northern zone of eastern Kunlun Mountains, Qinghai Province, restrains to probe the relationship of the deposits to the regional tectonic evolution. This paper documents the fission track method used to determine the ages of gold ore deposits in eastern Kunlun Mountains and considers the implication for the origin of the deposits.Eastern Kunlun Mountains is the northern part of the Qinghai—Tibet Plateau and is of three deep\|seated fault belts in about EW extension. This work mainly includes three gold ore districts. All of them, in the north of Mid\|Kunlun fault belt, belong to northern part of eastern Kunlun Mountains. The Yanjingou district, with geographical coordinate 96°00’E and 36°10’N, is located 60 km north of Hongqigou district . Both of them are large, typical tectonoalteration gold deposits and were formed in similar geological setting. Hongshuihe ore district is located 50 km east of Yanjingou district and includes tectonoalteration and magmatic cryptoexplosive gold deposits. Outcroped strata are dominantly Jinshuikou Group metamorphic rocks of Lower Proterozoic erathem. The occurrence area of igneous rocks, especially granitoid, accounts for about 90% in first two districts and become less in Hongshuihe district. The gold deposits occur in NW\|striking fault belts. The Rb\|Sr isochron age and K\|Ar isotopic age of Moyite relevant to the gold mineralization are respectively 228 25Ma and 207 1Ma. Rb\|Sr dating of diorite porphyrite is 209 09Ma. Sericite selected from Yanjingou orebody has 252 9Ma K\|Ar age. The ore in Hongqigou district has 197Ma K\|Ar age and 210Ma model age of Pb isotope of galena.

Geochemistry of the Cenozoic Potassic Volcanic Rocks in the West Kunlun Mountains and Constraints on Their Sources

The geochemical characteristics of the Cenozoic volcanic rocks from the north Pulu, east Pulu and Dahongliutan regions in the west Kunlun Mountains are somewhat similar as a whole. However, the volcanic rocks from the Dahongliutan region in the south belt are geochemically distinguished from those in the Pulu region (including the north and east Pulu) of the north belt. The volcanic rocks of the Dahongliutan region are characterized by relatively low TiO2 abundance, but more enrichment in alkali, much more enrichment in light rare earth elements and large ion lithosphile elements than those from the Pulu region. Compared with the Pulu region, volcanic rocks from the Dahongliutan region have relatively low 87Sr/86Sr ratios, and high εNd, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb. Their trace elements and isotopic data suggest that they were derived from lithospheric mantle, consisting of biotite- and hornblende-bearing garnet lherzolite, which had undertaken metasomatism and enrichment. On the primitive mantle-normalized patterns, they display remarkably negative Nb and Ta anomalies, indicating the presence of early-stage subducted oceanic crust. The metasomatism and enrichment resulted from the fluid released from the crustal materials enclosed in the source region in response to the uplift of asthenospheric mantle. Based on the previous experiments it can be inferred that the thickness of the lithosphere ranges from 75 to 100 km prior to the generation of the magmas. However, the south belt differs from the north one by its thicker lithosphere and lower degree of partial melting. The different thickness of the lithosphere gives rise to corresponding variation of the degree of crustal contamination. The volcanic rocks in the south belt are much more influenced by crustal contamination. In view of the tectonic setting, the generation of potassic magmas is linked with the uplift of asthenosphere resulted from large-scale thinning of the lithosphere after the collision of Indian and Eurasian plates, whereas the thinning of the lithosphere may result from delamination. The potassic magmas mainly resulted from partial melting of lithosphere mantle caused by the uplift of asthenosphere.

Digital Extraction of Altitudinal Belt Spectra in the West Kunlun Mountains Using SPOT-VGT NDVI and SRTM DEM

In this paper, a digital identification method for the extraction of altitudinal belt spectra of montane natural belts is presented. Acquiring the sequential spectra of digital altitudinal belts in mountains at an acceptable temporal frequency and over a large area requires extensive time and work if traditional methods of field investigation are to be used. Such being the case, often the altitudinal belts of a whole mountain or the belts at a regional scale are represented by single points. However, single points obviously cannot accurately reflect the spatial variety of altitudinal belts. In this context, a digital method was developed to extract the spectra of altitudinal belts from remote sensing data and SRTM DEM in the We.st Kunlun Mountains. By means of the 4km resolution SPOT-4 vegetation 10-day composite NDVI, the horizontal distribution of altitudinal belts were extracted through supervised classification, with a total classification accuracy of 72.23%. Then, a way of twice-scan was used to realize the automatic transition of horizontal maps to vertical belts. The classification results of remote-sensing data could thus be transformed automatically to sequential spectra of digital altitudinal belts. The upper and lower lines of the altitudinal belts were then extracted by vertical scanning of the belts. Relationships between the altitudinal belts based on the montane natural zones concerning vegetation types and the geomorphological altitudinal belts discussed. As a tentative method, were also the digital extraction method presented here is effective at digitally identifying altitudinal belts, and could be helpful in rapid information extraction over large-scale areas.

Analysis of Remote Sensing Images of Ground Ruptures Resulting from the Kunlun Mountain Pass Earthquake in 2001

On November 14, 2001, an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 8.1 occurred to the west of the Kunlun Mountain Pass which is near the border between Xinjiang and Qinghai of China. Since its epicenter is located in an area at an elevation of 4900 m where the environment is extremely adverse, field investigation to this event seems very difficult. We have performed interpretation and analysis of the satellite images of ETM, SPOT, Ikonos, and ERS-1/2SAR to reveal the spatial distribution and deformation features of surface ruptures caused by this large earthquake. Our results show that the rupture zone on the ground is 426 km long, and strikes N90-110°E with evident left-lateral thrusting. In spatial extension, it has two distinct sections. One extends from the Bukadaban peak to the Kunlun Mountain Pass, with a total length of 350 km, and trending N95-110°E. Its fracture plane is almost vertical, with clear linear rupture traces and a single structure, and the maximum left-lateral offset is 7.8 m. This section is the main rupture zone caused by the earthquake, which is a re-fracturing along an old fault. The other is the section from Kushuihuan to the Taiyang Lake. It is 26 km long, trending N90-105°E, with the maximum strike-slip displacement being 3 m, and is a newly-generated seismic rupture. In a 50 km-long section between the Taiyang Lake and the Bukadaban peak, no rupture is found on the ground. The eastern and western rupture zones may have resulted from two earthquakes. The macroscopic epicenter is situated at 65 km east of the Hoh Sai Lake. The largest coseismic horizontal offset in the macroscopic epicenter ranges from 7 m to 8 m. Based on the dislocation partition of the whole rupture zone, it is suggested that this rupture zone has experienced a process of many times of intensification and fluctuation, exhibiting a remarkable feature of segmentation.

Current patterns of plant diversity and phylogenetic structure on the Kunlun Mountains

Large-scale patterns of biodiversity and the underlying mechanisms that regulate these patterns are central topics in biogeography and macroecology.The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau serves as a natural laboratory for studying these issues.However,most previous studies have focused on the entire Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,leaving independent physical geographic subunits in the region less well understood.We studied the current plant diversity of the Kunlun Mountains,an independent physical geographic subunit located in northwestern China on the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.We integrated measures of species distribution,geological history,and phylogeography,and analyzed the taxonomic richness,phylogenetic diversity,and community phylogenetic structure of the current plant diversity in the area.The distribution patterns of 1911 seed plants showed that species were distributed mainly in the eastern regions of the Kunlun Mountains.The taxonomic richness,phylogenetic diversity,and genera richness showed that the eastern regions of the Kunlun Mountains should be the priority area of biodiversity conservation,particularly the southeastern regions.The proportion of Chinese endemic species inhabiting the Kunlun Mountains and their floristic similarity may indicate that the current patterns of species diversity were favored via species colonization.The Hengduan Mountains,a biodiversity hotspot,is likely the largest source of species colonization of the Kunlun Mountains after the Quaternary.The net relatedness index indicated that 20 of the 28 communities examined were phylo-genetically dispersed,while the remaining communities were phylogenetically clustered.The nearest taxon index indicated that 27 of the 28 communities were phylogenetically clustered.These results suggest that species colonization and habitat filtering may have contributed to the current plant diversity of the Kunlun Mountains via ecological and evolutionary processes,and habitat filtering may play an important role in this ecological process.

Gold Resources Potential Assessment in Eastern Kunlun Mountains of China Combining Weights-of-evidence Model with GIS Spatial Analysis Technique

Resources potential assessment is one of the fields in geosciences,which is able to take great advantage of GIS technology as a substitution of traditional working methods.The gold resources potential in the eastern Kunlun Mountains,Qinghai Province,China was assessed by combining weights-of-evidence model with GIS spatial analysis technique.All the data sets used in this paper were derived from an established multi-source geological spatial database,which contains geological,geophysical,geochemical and remote sensing data.Three multi-class variables,i.e.,structural intersection,Indosinian k-feldspar granite and regional fault,were used in proximity analysis to examine their spatial association with known gold deposits.A prospectivity map was produced by weights-of-evidence model based on seven binary evidential maps,all of which had passed a conditional independence test.The study area was divided into three target zones of high potential,moderate potential and low potential areas,among which high potential areas and moderate potential areas accounted for 20% of the total area and contained 32 of the 43 gold deposits.The results show that the gold resources potential assessment in the eastern Kunlun Mountains has a higher precision.

Decomposing InSAR LOS displacement into co-seismic dislocation with a linear in-terpolation model: A case study of the Kunlun Mountain M_s=8.1 earthquake

It has always been a difficult problem to extract horizontal and vertical displacement components from the InSAR LOS （Line of Sight） displacement since the advent of monitoring ground surface deformation with InSAR technique. Having tried to fit the firsthand field investigation data with a least squares model and obtained a preliminary result, this paper, based on the previous field data and the InSAR data, presents a linear cubic interpolation model which well fits the feature of earthquake fracture zone. This model inherits the precision of investigation data; moreover make use of some advantages of the InSAR technique, such as quasi-real time observation, continuous recording and all-weather measurement. Accordingly, by means of the model this paper presents a method to decompose the InSAR slant range co-seismic displacement （i.e. LOS change） into horizontal and vertical displacement components. Approaching the real motion step by step, finally a serial of curves representing the co-seismic horizontal and vertical displacement component along the main earthquake fracture zone are approximately obtained.

Discovery of Enclaves from Cenozoic PuluVolcanic Rocks in West Kunlun Mountains and ItsGeological Implications

In this paper, we present the occurrence and mineral components of the enclaves firstly discovered in the Cenozoic Pulu volcanic rocks in west Kunlun Mountains, and propose that the enclave is accumulated by fractional crystallization within high-level magma chamber. In addition, the chemical compositions of its primary magma are calculated. The calculated compositions are similar to those of the Kangxiwa volcanic rocks that belong to the same volcanic belt in the Pulu volcanic region, suggesting their origin from the same source region. However, the temperatures and oxygen fugacity of magmas at high-level magma chamber decreased along with fractional crystallization.

A Comparison about Metamorphism among the Oldest-Rock Units from Orogenic Belts of Dabie,Eastern Qinling and Eastern Kunlun of Central Mountain Ranges,China

The Dabie orogen, Eastern Qinling orogen and Eastern Kunlun orogen are the major components of the Central Mountain Ranges of China and each has distinctively metamorphic processes in their oldest rock units. The Dabie orogen oldest rock units had experienced an intermediate-higher pressure, upper amphibolite to lower granulite facies metamorphism in the Indosinian intracontinental subduction collision event. The clockwise pt path, synchronous attainment of t max and p max and a segment of high slope retrograde path suggest a tectono driven rapid exhumation of the oldest rock units to upper middle crustal level following the end of the subduction collision process. The oldest rock units, also called Qinling Group, of Eastern Qinling Mountains suffered intensively collisional metamorphism at an immature plate tectonic framework during Jinningian movement about 1 000 Ma ago. The clockwise pt path with reach of t max following several hundreds of MPa decreasing from p max suggests that the denudation of the deeply burial rock units was due essentially to isostatic relaxation. During the Caledonian stage, the highly metamorphosed oldest rock units suffered from a high t thermal event in arc environment and superimposed by contact metamorphism. After thermal peaks, the rock units were exhumed in a short distance and cooled down isobarically. No regional metamorphism higher than upper greenschist facies condition since 300 Ma has been traced within exposed rocks in the eastern portion of Northern Qinling orogen. The oldest rock units in the Eastern Kunlun orogen were metamorphosed to upper amphibolite facies to lower granulite facies rocks early or during the Luliang movement (some 1 800 Ma ago). The high grade metamorphic rock units had a long resident time at the deep crustal level, and were exhumed to middle upper crustal level during the Caledonian to Hercynian tectonometamorphic events. Shallow erosion of the orogenic belt led to good preservation of the low pressure metamorphic belt.

Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic Exhumation History of the L(u|¨)liang Mountains,North China Craton:Constraint from Fission-track Thermochronology

The Lüliang Mountains, located in the North China Craton, is a relatively stable block, but it has experienced uplift and denudation since the late Mesozoic. We hence aim to explore its time and rate of the exhumation by the fission-track method. The results show that, no matter what type rocks are, the pooled ages of zircon and apatite fission-track range from 60.0 to 93.7 Ma and 28.6 to 43.3 Ma, respectively; all of the apatite fission-track length distributions are unimodal and yield a mean length of -13 μm; and the thermal history modeling results based on apatite fission-track data indicate that the time-temperature paths exhibit similar patterns and the cooling has been accelerated for each sample since the Pliocene （c.5 Ma）. Therefore, we can conclude that a successive cooling, probably involving two slow （during c.75-35Ma and 35-5Ma） and one rapid （during c.5 Ma-0 Ma） cooling, has occurred through the exhumation of the Liiliang Mountains since the late Cretaceous. The maximum exhumation is more than 5 km under a steady-state geothermal gradient of 35℃/km. Combined with the tectonic setting, this exhumation may be the resultant effect from the surrounding plate interactions, and it has been accelerated since c.5 Ma predominantly due to the India-Eurasia collision.

Unraveling the distribution patterns of near-surface temperature lapse rates in the Northwestern Kunlun Mountains

The near-surface temperature lapse rates for the core area of the Kunlun Mountains remain critically unresolved due to data scarcity.Here,we revealed the spatial and temporal patterns of nearsurface temperature lapse rate in the Kunlun Mountain regions based on both long-term meteorological records(1961-2017)and field surveys measured data(2012-2017).The results showed that(1)The near-surface temperature lapse rates(β;)has spatiotemporal distribution patterns on the Northwestern Kunlun Mountains(NWKM),and in complex terrain areas the complexity of the temperature-elevation relationship cannot be explained by the constant environmental temperature lapse rate(0.65℃/100 m)throughout alone.(2)Theβ;for the daily mean,minimum,and maximum temperature on the north slopes in the Kunlun mountain area are 0.41,0.47,and 0.37℃/100 m and on the Tiznafu River(TR)basin are 0.51,0.47 and 0.53℃/100 m,respectively.(3)The variations ofβ;for daily maximum and minimum temperature of the two regions exhibit similar monthly characteristics,which are lower in the winter and spring months than in other months.A greatest variability ofβ;for the daily mean,minimum,and maximum temperature appears in winter and a light variability ofβ;occurs in spring.The seasonal variability ofβ;for daily maximum temperature is greater than that for daily minimum temperature,and the seasonal variability ofβ;for daily average temperature has the smallest variability.(4)There is no significant trend of change occurred in theβ;of NWKM.(5)The spatial and temporal variations ofβ;for the NWKM are linked to the geographic differences and climate factors.The results of Grey Relational Analysis showed that theβ;distribution is mainly influenced by the wind speed and relative humidity of the NWKM.

Zircon U-Pb Age,Geochemical,and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf Isotopic Constraints on the Time Frame and Origin of Early Cretaceous Mafic Dykes in the Wuling Mountain Gravity Lineament,South China

In view of the importance of mafic dyke swarms and their contribution to current scientific problems relating to South China,herein,we present the findings of studies on twenty–five representative mafic dykes cropping out in Hunan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,within the southern Wuling Mountain gravity lineament,China.These results include new zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb age,whole rock geochemical,Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic,and zircon Hf isotopic data for these dykes.The dykes formed between 131.5±1.2 and 121.6±1.1 Ma,and have typical doleritic textures.They fall into the alkaline and shoshonitic series,are enriched in light rare earth elements(LREE),some large ion lithophile elements(LILE;e.g.,Rb,Ba,and Sr),Th,U,and Pb,and are depleted in Nb,Ta,Hf,and Ti.Moreover,the dolerites have high initial 87 Sr/86 Sr ratios(0.7055–0.7057),negativeεNd(t)and zirconεHf(t)values(-14.8 to-11.9,-30.4 to-14.9),and relatively constant initial Pb isotopic ratios(that are EM1-like,16.77–16.94,15.43–15.47,and 36.84–36.92 for 206 Pb/204 Pb,207 Pb/204 Pb,and 208 Pb/204 Pb,respectively).These results indicate that the dykes were likely derived from magma generated through low-degree partial melting(1.0%–10%)of an EM1-like garnet–lherzolite mantle source.The parental magmas fractionated olivine,clinopyroxene,plagioclase,and Ti-bearing phases with negligible crustal contamination,during ascent and dyke emplacement.Several possible models have been proposed to explain the origin of Mesozoic magmatism along the Wuling Mountain gravity lineament.Herein we propose a reasonable model for the origin of these mafic dykes,involving the collision between the paleo-Pacific Plate and South China,which led to subsequent lithospheric extension and asthenosphere upwelling,resulting in partial melting the underlying mantle lithosphere in the Early Cretaceous,to form the parental magmas to the WMGL mafic dykes,as studied.

Co-seismic changes of well water level and volume strain meter in capital area and its vicinity,due to the Nov.14,2001 Ms8.1 Kunlun Mountain earthquake,China

The Kunlunshan Mountain Ms8.1 earthquake, occurred in Nov.14, 2001, is the first event with magnitude more than 8 in the China earthquake monitoring history, specifically at the beginning of digital techniques in precursor monitoring networks. Any investigation of recorded data on this earthquake is very important for testing the operation of the digital monitoring networks and understanding the preparation, occurrence, and adjustment of stress/strain of strong continental earthquakes. In this paper we investigated the coseismic response changes of well water level of groundwater and volume strain meter of bore hole in digital earthquake monitoring network of Capital area and its vicinity, due to the Nov.14, 2001 Ms8.1 Kunlun Mountain earthquake. The responding time, shapes or manners, amplitudes, and lasting time of well water level and strain-meters to seismic wave are studied in comparison. Then we discussed the possibility that the response changes of groundwater to strong distant earthquakes can be understood as one kind of observing evidence of stress/strain changes induced by distant earthquake.

Geological characteristics and metallogenic prospect of marine volcanic rock-type copper deposits in eastern Kunlun Mountains area, Xinjiang

The Katelixi Cu-Zn deposit is a marine volcanic rock-type copper deposit discovered for the first time in the Tokuzidaban Group in eastern Kunlun Mountains area. It is hosted in the Lower Carboniferous Tokuzidaban Group volcanic strata. The orebodies are obviously controlled by the strata and their ore-bearing rocks are a suite of greyish-green mafic tuffs, generally parallel-stratiform, stratoid and lenticular in form, occurring in limestone as well as in the contact between limestone and carbon-bearing siltstone. This ore deposit possesses distinct characteristics of marine volcanic rock sedimentaion. The geological, petrochemical and REE characteristics of its occurrence pro-vide strong evidence suggesting that this deposit is of marine volcanic rock sedimention origin, basically identical to those of some typical marine volcanic rock-type copper deposits in Xinjiang and other parts of China. Marine vol-canic rocks are well developed in the Lower Carboniferous Tokuzidaban strata in eastern Kunlun Mountains area. In addition to this deposit, we have also found a number of copper polymetallic ore deposits or occurrences in associa-tion with marine volcanc activities in many places where there is a good metallogenic prospect. A breakthrough in the understanding of ore prospecting and genesis has not only filled up the gap in prospecting this type of ore depos-its in this area, but also is of great significance in directing exploration of this type of ore deposits in this area.

AN ANALYSIS OF WATER RESOURCE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RIVERS IN THE NORTHERN SLOPE OF THE KUNLUN MOUNTAINS

There are 43 rivers of varying sizes in the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains, all of which originate from the Kunlun Mountains. Supplied by precipitation and melting water of glacier, the total runoff amounts to 87×108m3. The analysis shows that water quantity distribution of the rivers in the area is more in the west, and less in the east. While in the west, the water quantity of the Hotan River amounts to more than half of the total, in th eeast, most rivers are seasonal rivers except the Keriya River and the Qarqan River, which have relatively large amount of waters. From the analysis of inner structures of the runoff series of the major rivers, we can see that the annual runoff series of all rivers are mainly stable independent random series. Such characteristics of the time series are determined by the supply characteristics of the rivers. Some measures of rationally using water resources are proposed finally.

THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF THE WEST KUNLUN MOUNTAINS: A TECTONIC RECONSTRUCTION BASED ON STUDIES OF MAGMATISM

The Kunlun Mountains is situated in the north margin of the Tibetan plateau and is one of crucial areas for unraveling the tectonic evolutionary history of the plateau and Eurasia. However, there is no widely accepted model for this area. One of the reasons is that some basic issues for the tectonic reconstruction have not been well settled, they are: (1) Is the Kunlun Mountains an ancient accretion prism, or a mini continent with old basement?(2) What is the age of the Kudi ophiolite, early Paleozoic or late Paleozoic?(3) When did the South Kunlun Block accrete to the Tarim Block?(4) Do the fifth and the forth sutures represent different oceans, or they are just the chronologically different relics of the same ocean?(5) Did the Kunlun Mountains experience continuous subduction since Neoproterozoic?(6) When did the Paleo\|Tethys closed in the West Kunlun range?

Source process of the 14 November 2001 western Kunlun Mountain M_S=8.1 earth-quake

Based on digital teleseismic P-wave seismograms recorded by 28 long-period seismograph stations of the global seismic network, source process of the November 14, 2001 western Kunlun Mountain MS=8.1 (MW=7.8) earth- quake is estimated by a new inversion method. The result shows that the earthquake is a very complex rupture event. The source rupture initiated at the hypocenter (35.95°N, 90.54°E, focal depth 10 km, by USGS NEIC), and propagated to the west at first. Then, in several minutes to a hundred minutes and over a large spatial range, several rupture growth points emerged in succession at the eastern end and in the central part of the finite fault. And then the source rupture propagated from these rupture growth points successively and, finally, stopped in the area within 50 km to the east of the centroid position (35.80°N, 92.91°E, focal depth 15 km, by Harvard CMT). The entire rupture lasted for 142 s, and the source process could be roughly separated into three stages: The first stage started at the 0 s and ended at the 52 s, lasting for 52 s and releasing approximately 24.4% of the total moment; The sec- ond stage started at the 55 s and ended at the 113 s, lasting for 58 s and releasing approximately 56.5% of the total moment; The third stage started at the 122 s and ended at the 142 s, lasting for 20 s and releasing approximately 19.1% of the total moment. The length of the ruptured fault plane is about 490 km. The maximum width of the ruptured fault plane is about 45 km. The rupture mainly occurred within 30 km in depth under the surface of the Earth. The average static slip in the underground rocky crust is about 1.2 m with the maximum static slip 3.6 m. The average static stress drop is about 5 MPa with the maximum static stress drop 18 MPa. The maximum static slip and the maximum stress drop occurred in an area within 50 km to the east of the centroid position.

Estimation of the stress levels in the focal region before and after the 2001 M=8.1 Western Kunlun Mountain Pass earth-quake

A method estimating the stress level in the focal region of an earthquake is proposed here. Taking the 2001 M=8.1 Western Kunlun Mountain Pass earthquake as an example, we estimate its stress level in the focal region before and after it by this method. The results show that the stress level in the focal region just prior to the initiation of this event is approximately 6.3-8 MPa, and about 5-6.7 MPa remained in the focal region after its occurrence. The stress in the focal region decreased by roughly twenty percent after this event.

A discussion on Corioli force effect and aftershock activity tendency of the M=8.1 Kunlun Mountain Pass earthquake on Nov. 14, 2001

Following the theory and definition of the Corioli force in physics, the Corioli force at the site of the M=8.1 Kunlun Mountain Pass earthquake on November 14, 2001, is examined in this paper on the basis of a statistical research on relationship between the Corioli force effect and the maximum aftershock magnitude of 20 earthquakes with M7.5 in Chinese mainland, and then the variation tendency of aftershock activity of the M=8.1 earthquake is discussed. The result shows: a) Analyzing the Corioli force effect is an effective method to predict maximum aftershock magnitude of large earthquakes in Chinese mainland. For the sinistral slip fault and the reverse fault with its hanging wall moving toward the right side of the cross-focus meridian plane, their Corioli force pulls the two fault walls apart, decreasing frictional resistance on fault plane during the fault movement and releasing elastic energy of the mainshock fully, so the maximum magnitude of aftershocks would be low. For the dextral slip fault, its Corioli force presses the two walls against each other and increases the frictional resistance on fault plane, prohibiting energy release of the mainshock, so the maximum magnitude of aftershocks would be high. b) The fault of the M=8.1 Kunlun Mountain earthquake on Nov. 14, 2001 is essentially a sinistral strike-slip fault, and the Corioli force pulled the two fault walls apart. Magnitude of the induced stress is about 0.06 MPa. After a comparison analysis, we suggest that the aftershock activity level will not be high in the late period of this earthquake sequence, and the maximum magnitude of the whole aftershocks sequence is estimated to be about 6.0.