Crustal and uppermost mantle structure of the northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau from joint inversion of surface wave dispersions and receiver functions with P velocity constraints

Lithospheric structure beneath the northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau is of vital significance for studying the geodynamic processes of crustal thickening and expansion of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. We conducted a joint inversion of receiver functions and surface wave dispersions with P-wave velocity constraints using data from the Chin Array Ⅱ temporary stations deployed across the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Prior to joint inversion, we applied the H-κ-c method(Li JT et al., 2019) to the receiver function data in order to correct for the back-azimuthal variations in the arrival times of Ps phases and crustal multiples caused by crustal anisotropy and dipping interfaces. High-resolution images of vS, crustal thickness, and vP/vSstructures in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau were simultaneously derived from the joint inversion. The seismic images reveal that crustal thickness decreases outward from the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. The stable interiors of the Ordos and Alxa blocks exhibited higher velocities and lower crustal vP/vSratios. While, lower velocities and higher vP/vSratios were observed beneath the Qilian Orogen and Songpan-Ganzi terrane(SPGZ), which are geologically active and mechanically weak, especially in the mid-lower crust.Delamination or thermal erosion of the lithosphere triggered by hot asthenospheric flow contributes to the observed uppermost mantle low-velocity zones(LVZs) in the SPGZ. The crustal thickness, vS, and vP/vSratios suggest that whole lithospheric shortening is a plausible mechanism for crustal thickening in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, supporting the idea of coupled lithospheric-scale deformation in this region.

STREAMFLOW CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EASTERN QINGHAI-XIZANG PLATEAU

The eastern Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau is the headwater area for many large Asian rivers. Permafrost occurs above 4,200 m a.s.l. and glaciers occupy the summits and high valleys of the east-west trending mountain chains. Annual runoff generally increases with precipitation which is augmented southward by the rise in topography. Rainfall, snow melt, glacier melt and groundwater are the primary sources of stream flow, and the presence of permafrost enhances the flashiness of runoff response to rainfall and snowmelt events. Peak flows are concentrated between June and September. And winter is low flow season. Three types of runoff patterns may be distinguished according to their primary sources of water supply: snowmelt and rainfall, glacier melt and snowmelt, and groundwater. Large rivers generally drain more than one environments and their runoff regime reflects an integration of the various flow patterns on the plateau.

Effects of formal credit on pastoral household expense: Evidence from the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau of China

Formal credit is critical in agricultural production,allowing more expenditure and productive input,thereby improving farmers'welfare.In pastoral China,formal financial institutions are gradually increasing.However,a limited understanding remains of how formal credit affects herders'household expenses.Based on a survey of 544 herders from the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau of China,this study adopted the propensity score matching approach to identify the effect of formal credit on herders'total household expenses,daily expenses,and productive expenses.The results found that average age,grassland mortgage,and other variables significantly affected herders'participation in formal credit.Formal credit could significantly improve household expenses,especially productive expenses.A heterogeneity analysis showed that formal credit had a greater impact on the household total expense for those at higher levels of wealth;however,it significantly affected the productive expense of herders at lower wealth levels.Moreover,the mediating effect indicated that formal credit could affect herders'household income,thus influencing their household expenses.Finally,this study suggests that policies should improve herders'accessibility to formal credit.

Mechanism of Diabatic Heating on Precipitation and the Track of a Tibetan Plateau Vortex over the Eastern Slope of the Tibetan Plateau

Existing studies contend that latent heating(LH)will replace sensible heating(SH)to become the dominant factor affecting the development of the Tibetan Plateau vortex(TPV)after it moves off the Tibetan Plateau(TP).However,in the process of the TPV moving off the TP requires that the airmass traverse the eastern slope of the Tibetan Plateau(ESTP)where the topography and diabatic heating(DH)conditions rapidly change.How LH gradually replaces SH to become the dominant factor in the development of the TPV over the ESTP is still not very clear.In this paper,an analysis of a typical case of a TPV with a long life history over the ESTP is performed by using multi-sourced meteorological data and model simulations.The results show that SH from the TP surface can change the TPV-associated precipitation distribution by temperature advection after the TPV moves off the TP.The LH can then directly promote the development of the TPV and has a certain guiding effect on the track of the TPV.The SH can control the active area of LH by changing the falling area of the TPV-associated precipitation,so it still plays a key role in the development and tracking of the TPV even though it has moved out of the main body of the TP.

April-September minimum temperature reconstruction based on Sabina tibetica ring-width chronology in the central eastern Tibetan Plateau,China

Minimum temperatures have remarkable impacts on tree growth at high-elevation sites on the Tibetan Plateau,but the shortage of long-term and high-resolution paleoclimate records inhibits understanding of recent minimum temperature anomalies.In this study,a warm season(April–September)reconstruction is presented for the past 467 years(1550–2016)based on Sabina tibetica ring-width chronology on the Lianbaoyeze Mountain of the central eastern Tibetan Plateau.Eight warm periods and eight cold periods were identified.Long-term minimum temperature variations revealed a high degree of coherence with nearby reconstructions.Spatial correlations between our reconstruction and global sea surface temperatures suggest that warm season minimum temperature anomalies in the central eastern Tibetan Plateau were strongly influenced by large-scale ocean atmospheric circulations,such as the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation.

Influence of Qinghai-Xizang Plateau snow cover on interannual variability of Western North Pacific tropical cyclone tracks

Track density function(TDF)was computed for all Western North Pacific tropical cyclones(WNP TCs)tracks from 1950 to 2018,and the TDFs were further investigated using principal component analysis(PCA)to analyze their inter-annual spatial and temporal variability.Then,the relationships between each empirical orthogonal function(EOF)mode and the typhoon count,typhoon landfall count,track pattern,and the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau snow cover(QXPSC)were examined,and the possible physical mechanisms implied by the statistical relationship were explored.The results show the QXPSC significantly affected the surface-atmosphere heat exchange through snow cover(SC)level,then changed the East Asian summer monsoon regional circulation pattern,influenced the subtropical high-pressure system strength and location,and ultimately affected the WNP TCs track patterns and thus changed their landfall locations.

Present-day tectonic movement in the northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) plateau as revealed by earthquake activity

Characteristics of present-day tectonic movement in the northeastern margin of Qinghai-Xizang plateau (Tibetan) are studied based on earthquake data. Evidence of earthquake activity shows that junctures between blocks in this area consist of complicated deformation zones. Between the Gansu-Qinghai block and Alxa block there is a broad compressive deformation zone, which turns essentially to be a network-like deformation region to the southeast. The Liupanshan region, where the Gansu-Qinghai block contacts the Ordos block, is suffering from NE-SW compressive deformation. Junction zone between the Ordos and Alxa block is a shear zone with sections of variable trend. The northwestern and southeastern marginal region of the Ordos is under NNW-SSE extension. The above characteristics of present-day tectonic deformation of the northeastern Qinghai-Xizang plateau may be attributed to the northeastward squeezing of the plateau and the resistance of the Ordos block, as well as the southeastward extrusion of the plateau materials.

Relocation of earthquakes in northeastern region of Qinghai-Xizang plateau and characteristics of earthquake activity

The northeastern region of Qinghai-Xizang plateau is the junction part of the Qinghai-Xizang block, Alxa block and ordos block. To explore tectonic feature of this region 4 study profiles are selected by taking gcological background into consideration. The ML≥3.0 earthquakes located within 40 km on both sides of the selected profiles and ML≥4.0 earthquakes in the studied region have been relocated. Of the 388 relocated earthquakes, 36% shift their previously determined epicenters by more than 5 km. The amount of relocated earthquake with focal depth determination increases 50% more than that before relocation. In this quasi-trijunction region of the northeastem of Qinghai-Xizang plateau three m≥8 earthqutas occurred historically and microearthquates are quite active at present,implying a strong tectonic activity persists here to the present day.

Late Cenozoic Geology and Paleo-environment Change in the Eastern Edge of Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

There are late Cenozoic lacustrine deposits and loess and red clay and moraines in eastern edge of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Various genetic sediments recorded rich information on late Cenozoic paleo-environment changes. Xigeda lacustrine formed during 4.2 Ma B.P.-2.6 Ma B.P. There were 9 periodic warm-cold alternations. Eolian deposition in western Sichuan began at 1.15 Ma B.P. The loess-soil sequences recorded successively 14 paleo-monsoon climate cycles. Laterite in Chengdu plain recorded 5 stages of paleoclimatic stages since 1.13 Ma B.P. There was an old glacial period of 4.3 Ma B.P. in eastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. During Quaternary, there are 5 extreme paleoclimatic events corresponding with 5 glaciations.

The Tectonic Feature of a Quasi-Trij unction in the Northeastern Corner of Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

Quasi-trijunction is a type of popular structure for certain scale tectonic blocks in a continent. There are two kinds of quasi-trijunction in the conjoining area formed due to rotation of continental blocks. They are the clockwise type and the anticlockwise type of quasi-trij unction. The shape of a quasi-trij unction may be gradually changed associated with block rotation and tectonic evolution, but, sediments and structure in the conjoining area can record the history of tectonic evolution. Thus, studying a quasi-trij unction can reveal regional tectonic evolution.Regional tectonic movement, plane strain partitioning and characteristics of seismic activity can be studied based on kinematics and geometric analysis of a quasi-trijunction.The quasi-trijunction is a surface structure controlled by deep crustal movement. Tectonic activity may be different in three branches. In the quasi-trijunction in the northeastern corner of Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, the NWW-trending Qilianshan-Hexi corridor fault zone

Lateral variation of Pn velocity beneath northeastern marginal region of Qinghai- Xizang plateau

Pn arrival time data are collected from the bulletins of both national and regional seismological network in China. These data are tomographically inverted to map the lateral variation and anisotropy of Pn velocity in the northeast-ern marginal region of Qinghai-Xizang plateau. The average Pn velocity in this region is 8.09 km/s, being a little higher than the average for whole China. Higher velocity is found in tectonically stable Qaidam basin, while lower velocity is seen in and around tectonically active Shanxi graben. The region where the 1920 Haiyuan great earth-quake occurred shows a slightly low Pn velocity. A noticeable result is that, differing from the tectonically com-pressive Tianshan region, where Pn velocity is low, the Qilianshan region, where the Neotectonic deformation is also primarily compressive, shows high Pn velocity. In the uppermost mantle beneath the Ordos plateau Pn veloc-ity is inhomogeneous, varying from higher velocity in southwestern part to lower one in northeastern part. This may be attributed to possible movement of the Ordos block, as there are strong earthquakes all around the block.

The Impact of Atmospheric Heat Sources over the Eastern Tibetan Plateau and the Tropical Western Pacific on the Summer Rainfall over the Yangtze-River Basin

The variability of the summer rainfall over China is analyzed using the EOF procedure with a new parameter （namely, mode station variance percentage） based on 1951-2000 summer rainfall data from 160 stations in China. Compared with mode variance friction, the mode station variance percentage not only reveals more localized characteristics of the variability of the summer rainfall, but also helps to distinguish the regions with a high degree of dominant EOF modes representing the analyzed observational variable. The atmospheric circulation diagnostic studies with the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis daily data from 1966 to 2000 show that in summer, abundant （scarce） rainfall in the belt-area from the upper-middle reaches of the Yangtze River northeastward to the Huaihe River basin is linked to strong （weak） heat sources over the eastern Tibetan Plateau, while the abundant （scarce） rainfall in the area to the south of the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River is closely linked to the weak （strong） heat sources over the tropical western Pacific.

Dextral-Slip Thrust Faulting and Seismic Events of the Ms 8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake,Longmenshan Mountains,Eastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau

Dextral-slip thrust movement of the Songpan-Garze terrain over the Sichuan block caused the Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake of May 12, 2008 and offset the Central Longmenshan Fault （CLF） along a distance of -250 km. Displacement along the CLF changes from Yingxiu to Qingchuan. The total oblique slip of up to 7.6 m in Yingxiu near the epicenter of the earthquake, decreases northeastward to 5.3 m, 6.6 m, 4.4 m, 2.5 m and 1.1 m in Hongkou, Beichuan, Pingtong, Nanba and Qingchuan, respectively. This offset apparently occurred during a sequence of four reported seismic events, EQ1-EQ4, which were identified by seismic inversion of the source mechanism. These events occurred in rapid succession as the fault break propagated northeastward during the earthquake. Variations in the plunge of slickensides along the CLF appear to match these events. The Mw 7.5 EQ1 event occurred during the first 0-10 s along the Yingxiu-Hongkou section of the CLF and is characterized by 1.7 m vertical slip and vertical slickensides. The Mw 8.0 EQ2 event, which occurred during the next 10-42 s along the Yingxiu-Yanziyan section of the CLF, is marked by major dextralslip with minor thrust and slickensides plunging 25°-35° southwestward. The Mw 7.5 EQ3 event occurred during the following 42-60 s and resulted in dextral-slip and slickensides plunging 10° southwestward in Beichuan and plunging 73° southwestward in Hongkou. The Mw 7.7 EQ4 event, which occurred during the final 60-95 s along the Beichuan-Qingchuan section of the CLF, is characterized by nearly equal values of dextral and vertical slips with slickensides plunging 45°-50° southwestward. These seismic events match and evidently controlled the concentrations of landslide dams caused by the Wenchuan earthquake in Longmenshan Mountains.

Interannual and Decadal Variations of Snow Cover overQinghai-Xizang Plateau and Their Relationships to Summer Monsoon Rainfall in China

Interannual and decadal variations of winter snow cover over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (QXP) are analyzed by using monthly mean snow depth data set of 60 stations over QXP for the period of 1958 through 1992. It is found that the winter snow cover over QXP bears a pronounced quasi-biennial oscillation, and it underwent an obvious decadal transition from a poor snow cover period to a rich snow cover period in the late 1970’s during the last 40 years. It is shown that the summer rainfall in the eastern China is closely associated with the winter snow cov-er over QXP not only in the interannual variation but also in the decadal variation. A clear relationship ex-ists in the quasi-biennial oscillation between the summer rainfall in the northern part of North China and the southern China and the winter snow cover over QXP. Furthermore, the summer rainfall in the four cli-mate divisions of Qinling-Daba Mountains, the Yangtze-Huaihe River Plain, the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River showed a remarkable transition from drought period to rainy period in the end of 1970’s, in good correspondence with the decadal transition of the winter snow cover over QXP. Key words Snow cover over Qinghai-Xizang Plateau - Summer monsoon rainfall in China - Interannual and decadal variations This study was supported by the National Key Programme for Developing Basic Sciences (G 1998040900 Part I).

A Late Quaternary Climate Record Based on Multi-Proxies Analysis from the Jiaochang Loess Section in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau,China

We compared the stable carbon isotopic records from a loess transect of the Jiaochang in the eastern Tibetan Plateau, spanning the last -21,000 years, with multiproxy data for pedogenesis, including magnetic susceptibility, clay fraction, Fed/Fet ratio, carbonate and total organic carbon content, in order to probe the mechanisms of δ^13C values of organic matter and Late Quaternary climate variations in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Our results indicate that there is no simple relationship between δ^13C of organic matter and summer monsoon variations. The change in δ^13C values of organic matter （in accordance with the ratios of C3 to C4 plants） results from the interaction among temperature, aridity and atmospheric pCO2 level. Drier climate and lower atmospheric pCO2 level contribute to positive carbon isotopic excursion, while negative carbon isotopic excursion is the result of lower temperature and increased atmospheric pCO2 level. Additionally, our results imply that the Tibetan monsoon may play an important role in climate system in the eastern Tibet Plateau, which specifically reflects frequently changing climate in that area. The results provide new insights into the forcing mechanisms on both the δ^13C values of organic matter and the local climate system.

Episodes of Cenozoic Gold Mineralization on the Eastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau:40Ar/39Ar Dating and Implication for Geodynamic Events

A lot of new gold deposits have been found on the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during the past two decades. Among them, three main types of gold deposits have been recognized, including quartz-vein-type, shear- zone-type and porphyry-type. The former two types of gold deposits are mainly hosted within metamorphic rocks, while the latter is related to Cenozoic magmatism. Although all of these gold deposits are believed to have been formed during the uplift process of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the Cenozoic era (Wang et al., 2002b), precise isotopic age constraints have still been lacking until quite recently. This paper presents new 40Ar/39Ar data of some gold deposits on the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which indicate that gold mineralization in the region occurred in response to the episodic stages of the orogenies. Recently obtained 40Ar/39Ar data on quartz and feldspars from several gold deposits, such as the Sandiao deposit, the Baijintaizi deposit, the Pusagang deposits, provide new constraints on gold mineralization on the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Geochronological studies of gold deposits along the Daduhe River indicate that there are three stages of gold mineralization. The early two stages occurred as early as 65.1 Ma in the Shuibaiyang deposit and 58.95 Ma in the Ruoji deposit, while the latter stage occurred as late as 25.35 Ma in Baijintaizi and 24.70 Ma in Sandiao. Isotopic dating of three plagioclases from the Beiya deposit, Zhifanggou deposit and Luobodi deposit and a K-feldspar from the Jinchangqing deposit in Yunnan Province indicates that these deposits were formed at two stages. The Zhifanggou and Jinchangqing deposits have early stage records as old as 58.82 Ma in Zhifanggou and 55.49 Ma in Jinchangqing, but all of the above four deposits in Yunnan have late stage records of 23.18 Ma in Jinchangqing, 24.54 Ma in Zhifanggou, 24.60 Ma in Luobodi and 24.56 Ma in Hongnitang. The above results suggest that the gold deposits on the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were formed concentratedly at two main episodes, i.e. the end of the Paleocene (about 58 Ma) and the boundary between the Paleogene and the Neogene (about 25 Ma). The later episode appears to be looks like more important and was coupled with the Sichuan movement, which was extensively activated at that period. The beginning of the Cenozoic Era (about 65 Ma) might be another episode of gold mineralization, but only one deposit (Shuibaiyang) in this study has been proved to have been be formed at this stage and might be earlier than the initial collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasia Plate. In view of geology, the above three episodes of gold mineralization are associated with three events of tectonic- magmatism and/or fluid events. Even though the gold deposits (for example, the Shuibaiyang deposit, Ruoji deposit and Pusagang deposit) were formed at different episodes, all of them are genetically related to tectonic movements in large- scale shear zones. It looks like theat tectonic events (including large-scale strike-slip) between Paleogene and Neogene had a wide influence upon gold mineralization, with new deposits formed and old deposits enriched or superimposed to be a higher grade by new stage of mineralization. The above data suggest that gold deposits were not only concentrated in some areas, but also formed mainly at different boundaries of geological times, indicating that there existed some peak stages of gold mineralization (metallogenic episodes), and that the gold deposits were formed mainly by episodic mineralization.

Neotectonics of the Eastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau: New Geological Evidence for the Change from Early Pleistocene Transpression to Late Pleistocene-Holocene Strike-slip Faulting

We present in this paper some new evidence for the change during the Quaternary in kinematics of faults cutting the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. It shows that significant shortening deformation occurred during the Early Pleistocene, evidenced by eastward thrusting of Mesozoic carbonates on the Pliocene lacustrine deposits along the Minjiang upstream fault zone and by development of the transpressional ridges of basement rocks along the Anninghe river valley. The Middle Pleistocene seems to be a relaxant stage with local development of the intra-mountain basins particularly prominent along the Minjiang Upstream and along the southern segment of the Anninghe River Valley. This relaxation may have been duo to a local collapse of the thickened crust attained during the late Neogene to early Pleistocene across this marginal zone. Fault kinematics has been changed since the late Pleistocene, and was predominated by reverse sinistral strike-slip along the Minshan Uplift, reverse dextral strike-slip on the Longmenshan fault zone and pure sinistral strike-slip on the Anninghe fault. This change in fault kinematics during the Quaternary allows a better understanding of the mechanism by which the marginal ranges of the plateau has been built through episodic activities.

VARIATION OF d δ^(18)O/dT IN PRECIPITATION IN THE QINGHAI-XIZANG PLATEAU

The relations between δ18O and temperature on the different time scales were analysed,according to the data from Tuotuohe (34°13’N, 96°25’E; 4533 m a. s. l. ), Delingha (37°22’N,97°22’E; 2981 m a. s. l. ) and Xining (36°37’N, 101°46’E; 2261 m a. s. l. ) in the Qnghai-Xizang Plateau. The results show that the significance of d δ18O/dT on different time scales are different.The d δ18O/dT on the synoptic scale reflects the interdependent relation between δ18O and temperature in the short-term synoptic scale process; the d δ18O/d T on the seasonal scale reflects the relation between them whithin a year; and the d δ18O/d T on the climatic scale reflects the relation between them in the long-term climatic change. The calculated d δ18O/dT on climatic scale is very close to the theoretical values on the condition of advection transport for Tuotuohe Station. However, there are great differences between the calculated and the theoretical values for Delingha and Xining stations.

Crustal flow beneath the eastern margin of the Tibetan plateau

In large continental orogens, an important research topic is the behavior of deep crustal and upper mantle deformation, and the flow styles of ductile material. The morphology of the eastern margin of the Tibetan plateau, adjacent to the Sichuan basin, is characterized by very steep relief with high mountain ranges. The crust beneath this region slows the velocities in the middle and lower crust. We have adopted a relatively dense network to inverse the detailed structure of the crust and upper mantle along the eastern margin of the Tibetan plateau and Sichuan basin, using teleseismic data via receiver function analysis. The results are in-line with the hypothesis that viscous crustal material is flowing beneath the eastern margin of the Tibetan plateau and that this process drives overlying crustal material around the strong and rigid Sichuan basin. When the viscous material hits this obstruction, flows are divided into two or more branches with different directions. The upper part of the upwelling viscous flow produces the pressure to intrude the upper crust, thereby driving uplift of mountain ranges and high peaks. In contrast, the lower part of the downwelling viscous flow produces the pressure to intrude the lower crust and upper mantle to deepen the Moho discontinuity, causing observed crustal thickening.

Crustal Motion Characteristics in the Eastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau and Adjacent Regions after the Wenchuan Earthquake

The Wenchuan earthquake has altered the crustal motion characteristics in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent regions.Using discontinuous GPS survey data for 2008–2012, the velocity field for the Eurasia reference framework has been obtained, and the general trend of contemporary crustal motion after the occurrence of the Wenchuan earthquake has been studied.In addition, using the velocity field, the block movement velocity has been estimated by least-squares fitting.Furthermore, the properties and displacement rates of main faults have been obtained from the differences in velocity vectors of the blocks on both sides of the faults.The results reveal that there are no obvious changes in the general characteristics of crustal motion in this area after the Wenchuan earthquake.The earthquake mainly changed the rate of the movement of the Chuan-Qing block and caused variation in the movement direction of the South China block.The effect of the earthquake on faults is mainly reflected in variations in fault displacement velocity; there is no fundamental change in the properties of fault activity.The displacement rates of the Xianshuihe fault decreased by 3–4 mm/a, the Longmenshan fault increased by 9–10 mm/a, and the northern segment of the Anninghe fault increased by approximately 9 mm/a.Furthermore, the displacement rates of the Minjiang, Xueshan, Huya, Longquanshan, and Xinjin faults increased by 2–3 mm/a.This implies that the effects of the Wenchuan earthquake on crustal movement can mainly be observed in the Chuan-Qing, South China, and N-Chuan-Dian blocks and their internal faults, as well as the Xianshuihe and Longmenshan faults and the northern section of the Anninghe fault.The reason for this is that the Wenchuan earthquake disturbed the kinematic and dynamic balance in the region.