Deep Background of Wenchuan Earthquake and the Upper Crust Structure beneath the Longmen Shan and Adjacent Areas

By analyzing the deep seismic sounding profiles across the Longmen Shan, this paper focuses on the study of the relationship between the upper crust structure of the Longmen Shan area and the Wenchuan earthquake. The Longmen Shan thrust belt marks not only the topographical change, but also the lateral velocity variation between the eastern Tibetan Plateau and the Sichuan Basin. A low-velocity layer has consistently been found in the crust beneath the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, and ends beneath the western Sichuan Basin. The low-velocity layer at a depth of -20 km beneath the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau has been considered as the deep condition for favoring energy accumulation that formed the great Wenchuan earthquake.

Preliminary seismic anisotropy in the upper crust of the south segment of Xiaojiang faults and its tectonic implications

The Xiaojiang faults,striking north-tosouth(NS),and the Honghe faults,striking north-to-west(NW),are first-order block boundaries that intersect to form a concentrated stress zone at an acute angle in the southern part of the Sichuan-Yunnan rhombic block(SYB).It is also a crucial zone for material escaping from the Tibetan Plateau(TP)due to the collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate.In December 2017,the Institute of Earthquake Forecasting of the China Earthquake Administration(CEA)deployed a linear temporary seismic broadband array,the Honghe-Xiaojiang temporary Seismic Array(HX Array),across first-order block boundaries in the southern SYB.By using the waveform data of small earthquakes recorded by stations in the HX Array across Xiaojiang faults from 2017 to 2019,and by permanent seismic stations of the China National Earthquake Networks from 2012 to 2019,this paper adopts the systematic analysis method of shear-wave splitting(SWS),SAM method,to obtain preliminary results for seismic anisotropy in the upper crust.The study area can be divided into two subzones according to the spatial distribution of the directions of polarization of the fast shear-wave(PFS)at the stations:the northern zone(zone A,where the HX Array is located)and the southern zone(zone B,to the south of the HX Array).The results show that the directions of the PFS at stations in zone A were highly consistent,dominant in the NE direction,correlated with the in-situ principal compressive stress,and were seemingly unaffected by the Xiaojiang faults.The directions of the PFS as recorded at stations in zone B were more complicated,and were dominant in the NS direction parallel to that of the regional principal compressive stress.This suggests the joint influence of complex tectonics and regional stress in this narrow wedge area.By referring to the azimuthal anisotropy derived from seismic ambient noise in the southeast margin of the TP,the NS direction of the PFS in the middle and lower crust,and its EW direction in the upper mantle,this paper concludes that azimuthal anisotropy in the upper crust differed from that in the lower crust in the south segment of Xiaojiang faults,at least beneath the observation area,and azimuthal anisotropy in the crust was different from that in the upper mantle.The results support the pattern of deformation of ductile flow in the lower crust,and the decoupling between the upper and lower crusts as well as that between the crust and the mantle in the study area.The crustal directions of the PFS appeared to be independent of the Xiaojiang faults,suggesting that the influence of the South China block on the SYB passed through the Xiaojiang faults to the Yimen region.The results of this study indicate that anisotropic studies based on data on the dense temporary seismic array can yield clearer tectonic information,and reveal the complex spatial distribution of stress and deformation in the upper crust of the south segment of Xiaojiang faults.

Tomographic investigation of the upper crustal structure and seismotectonic environments in Yunnan Province

Investigation has been made for the upper crust structure and seismotectonic environments in Yunnan Province using the plentiful DSS data of the four profiles. The derived velocity model has a good relationship with the ex-posed basins, uplifts and faults. The low velocity anomaly corresponding to the volcano also has been revealed. There exists a prominent lateral inhomogeneity within the upper crust of Yunnan region. The depth of crystalline basement generally ranges from 0 km to 5 km, and the bedrocks are exposed on the ground directly in some places, nevertheless the thickness of sedimentary cover also can reach to 8 km or even 12 km at some large depressions. Although the Changning-Shuangjiang fault is a boundary between two first class tectonic units, its incision depth within the crust maybe shallow. On the other hand, known as the plates seam, the Honghe fault has a distinct evi-dence of extending into the mid-lower crust. The widely spread activity of the volcanoes in the geological era has a close relationship with the earthquakes occurrence nowadays. Despite of the ceasing of the volcanoes in some places on the ground, the material in the mid-lower crust is still active, and there still exists strong upward stress. As the ceasing of the volcanoes on the surface, most parts of the power from the lower crust and the upper mantle cannot be released; therefore it accumulates at some appropriate tectonic locations. Moreover, the saturation of the water from the basin, the action of other fluids, and the effects of the outer stress maybe another direct reason ac-count for the strong earthquakes occurrence in Yunnan region.

Finite element modeling of convective pore-fluid flow in fluid-saturated porous rocks within upper crust:An overview

Convective pore-fluid flow (CPFF) plays a critical role in generating mineral deposits and oil reservoirs within the deep Earth. Therefore, theoretical understanding and numerical modeling of the thermodynamic process that triggers and controls the CPFF are extremely important for the exploration of new mineral deposits and underground oil resources. From the viewpoint of science, the CPFF within the upper crust can be treated as a kind of thermodynamic instability problem of pore-fluid in fluid-saturated porous media. The key issue of dealing with this kind of problem is to assess whether a nonlinear thermodynamic system under consideration is supercritical. To overcome limitations of using theoretical analysis and experimental methods in dealing with the CPFF problems within the upper crust, finite element modeling has been broadly employed for solving this kind of problem over the past two decades. The main purpose of this paper is to overview recent developments and applications of finite element modeling associated with solving the CPFF problems in large length-scale geological systems of complicated geometries and complex material distributions. In particular, two kinds of commonly-used finite element modeling approaches, namely the steady-state and transient-state approaches, and their advantages/disadvantages are thoroughly presented and discussed.

Tomographic determination of the upper crustal structure in the Jiashi strong earthquake swarm region

A three-dimensional temporary seismic transmission array was arranged in a 50x60 km2 region around Jiashi strong earthquake swarm to receive seismic waves generated by 8 fires from different azimuths. With the inversion method without model blocks and using P and S reflections from Moho at critical distances, the 3-D images of P, S velocity perturbation and ratio vP/vS perturbation of the upper crust under the seismic array were reconstructed. Meanwhile, the seismicity of the Jiashi earthquake swarm was taken into consideration in the analysis of the seismogenesis. The results indicate that the upper crustal structure under the Jiashi strong earthquake swarm region is characterized by significant inhomogeneity both laterally and vertically. From 12 km depth, it is clear that there is an NNW-oriented high P-wave velocity anomalous body corresponding to the epicenter of the swarm with low-velocity anomaly around it, which is the direct cause of the strong earthquakes. High vP/vS is distributed in the same location, which may indicate the decline of shear strength of the source region owing to relative softness of the medium, this can be accounted as an explanation for the seismicity feature of the Jiashi strong earthquake swarm.

High-resolution seismic tomography of the upper crust in the source region of the April 20,2013 Lushan earthquake and its seismotectonic implications

Both P- and S-wave arrivals were collected for imaging upper crustal structures in the source region of the April 20, 2013 Lushan earthquake. High-resolution, three- dimensional P and S velocity models were constructed by travel-time tomography. Moreover, more than 3700 after- shocks of the Lushan earthquake were relocated via a grid search method. The P- and S-wave velocity images of the upper crust show largely similar characters, with high and low velocity anomalies, which mark the presence of sig- nificant lateral and vertical heterogeneity at the source region of the Lushan earthquake. The characteristics of the velocity anomalies also reflect the associated surface geo- logical tectonics in this region. The distributions of high velocity anomalies of both P- and S-waves to 18 km depth are consistent with the distributions of relocated after- shocks, suggesting that most of the ruptures were localized inside the high velocity region. In contrast, low P and S velocities were found in the surrounding regions without aftershocks, especially in the region to the northeast of the Lushan earthquake. For the relocated aftershocks of the Lushan earthquake from this study, we found that mostaftershocks were concentrated in a zone of about 40 km long and 20 km wide, and were located in the hanging wall of Dayi-Mingshan fault. The focal depths of aftershocks increase from the southeast to the northwest region in the direction perpendicular to the fault strike, suggesting that the fault ruptured at an approximate dip angle of 45°. The main depths of the aftershocks in the northwest of the main shock are significantly shallower than expected, revealing the different seismogenic conditions in the source region.

Upper crustal structure under Jingtai–Hezuo profile in Northeastern Tibet from topography-dependent eikonal traveltime tomography

The Northeastern Tibetan plateau records Caledonian Qilian orogeny and Cenozoic reactivation by continental collision between the Indian and Asian plates. In order to provide the constraint on the Qilian orogenic mechanism and the expansion of the plateau,wide-angle seismic data was acquired along a 430 km-long profile between Jingtai and Hezuo. There is strong height variation along the profile,which is dealt by topography flattening scheme in our crustal velocity structure reconstruction. We herein present the upper crustal P-wave velocity structure model resulting from the interpretation of first arrival dataset from topography-dependent eikonal traveltime tomography. With topography flattening scheme to process real topography along the profile,the evenness of ray coverage times of the image area（upper crust）is improved,which provides upper crustal velocity model comparable to the classic traveltime tomography（with model expansion scheme to process irregular surface）. The upper crustal velocity model shows zoning character which matcheswith the tectonic division of the Qaidam-Kunlun-West Qinling belt,the Central and Northern Qilian,and the Alax blocks along the profile. The resultant upper crustal P-wave velocity model is expected to provide important base for linkage between the mapped surface geology and deep structure or geodynamics in Northeastern Tibet.

Sulphide melt evolution in upper mantle to upper crust magmas,Tongling, China

Sulphide inclusions, which represent melts trapped in the minerals of magmatic rocks and xenoliths, provide important clues to the behaviour of immiscible sulphide liquids during the evolution of magmas and the formation of NieCueFe deposits. We describe sulphide inclusions from unique ultramafic clots within mafic xenoliths, from the mafic xenoliths themselves, and from the three silica-rich host plutons in Tongling, China. For the first time, we are able to propose a general framework model for the evolution of sulphide melts during the evolution of mafic to felsic magmas from the upper mantle to the upper crust. The model improves our understanding of the sulphide melt evolution in upper mantle to upper crust magmas, and provides insight into the formation of stratabound skarn-type FeeCu polymetallic deposits associated with felsic magmatism, thus promising to play an important role during prospecting for such deposits.

Investigation of upper crust anisotropy in Ghaen-Birjand region, east-central Iran

A number of aftershocks of the May 10th 1997, Zirkuh (Ghaen-Birjand) destructive earthquake have been used to investigate the anisotropy in the upper crust by observing shear wave splitting. Particle motion diagram and aspect ratio methods were used as two different approaches to obtain splitting parameters. Clear shear wave splitting was observed on the records of the selected aftershocks, indicating that the media in the region was highly anisotropic. By using particle motion method, the direction of fast shear wave was found 22°N±19°E, while the delay time between the fast and slow shear waves was obtained to be (65±16) ms. By aspect ratio method, the direction of fast shear wave was determined to be 35°N±18°E and the delay time between fast and slow shear waves was found to be (49±10) ms. For a simple horizontal layer with a thickness about 5 km and uniformly distributed anisotropy, a stress aligned cracks model was used and the result was interpreted in terms of vertical aligned cracks in the direction of N22°E, having a density about 0.01. It is assumed that cracks are fluid-filled since they are located in the upper crust. Finally, by using Hudson cracks model for three crack densities 0.005, 0.01, 0.03, the velocity curves of shear wave were plotted as a function of angle between the symmetrical axis of cracks and the azimuth of source to receiver. It was concluded that when shear wave was polarized parallel to the crack surface, the velocity was uniform, but the velocity curve varied clearly if shear wave was polarized perpendicular to the crack surface.

Upper crust structure of eastern A’nyemaqên suture zone: Results of Barkam-Luqu-Gulang deep seismic sounding profile

Barkam-Luqu-Gulang deep seismic sounding profile runs from north of Sichuan Province to south of Gansu Province. It is located at the northeastern edge of Tibetan Plateau and crosses eastern A＇nyemaqên suture zone. The upper crust structures around eastern A＇nyemaqên suture zone and its adjacent area are reconstructed based on the arrival times of refracted Pg and Sg waves by using finite difference method, ray tracing inversion, time-term method and travel-time curve analysis. The results show that the depth variation of basement along profile is very strong as indicated by Pg and Sg waves. The basement rose in Zoigê basin and depressed in eastern A＇nyemaqên suture zone, and it gradually rose again northward and then depressed. The results also indicate that eastern A＇nyemaqên suture zone behaves as inhomogeneous low velocity structures in the upper crust and is inclined to- ward the south. Hoh Sai Hu-Maqên fault, Wudu-Diebu fault and Zhouqu-Liangdang fault are characterized by low velocity distributions with various scales. The distinct variation in basement depth occurred near Hoh Sai Hu-Maqên fault and Zhouqu-Liangdang fault, which are main tectonic boundaries of A＇nyemaqên suture zone. Wudu-Diebu fault, located at the depth variation zone of the basement, possibly has the same deep tectonic background with Zhouqu-Liangdang fault. The strongly depressed basement characterized by low velocity distribution and lateral inhomogeneity in A＇nyemaqên suture zone implies crushed zone features under pinching action.

Rayleigh waves from correlation of seismic noise in Great Island of Tierra del Fuego,Argentina:Constraints on upper crustal structure

In this study, the ambient seismic noise cross-correlation technique is applied to estimate the upper structure of the crust beneath Great Island of Tierra del Fuego（TdF）, Argentina, by the analysis of shortperiod Rayleigh wave group velocities. The island, situated in the southernmost South America, is a key area of investigation among the interaction between the South American and Scotia plates and is considered as a very seismically active one. Through cross-correlating the vertical components of ambient seismic noise registered at four broadband stations in TdF, we were able to extract Rayleigh waves which were used to estimate group velocities in the period band of 2.5-16 s using a timefrequency analysis. Although ambient noise sources are distributed in homogeneously, robust empirical Green＇s functions could be recovered from the cross-correlation of 12 months of ambient noise, The observed group velocities were inverted considering a non-linear iterative damped least-squares inversion procedure and several 1-D shear wave velocity models of the upper crust were obtained.According to the inversion results, the S-wave velocity ranges between 1.75 and 3,7 km/s in the first10 km of crust, depending on the pair of stations considered. These results are in agreement to the major known surface and sub-surface geological and tectonic features known in the area. This study represents the first ambient seismic noise analysis in TdF in order to constraint the upper crust beneath this region.It can also be considered as a successful feasibility study for future analyses with a denser station deployment for a more detailed imaging of structure.

Crustal Stresses and Seismodynamic Characteristics in the Upper Crust

In this paper an approach to estimate near-surface seismodynamic features by using distance- amplitude reduction with geotectonic characteristics of the upper crust in the Eastern Anatolia is discussed. The data set used in this study consists of 287 regional earthquakes in the magnitude range of 3.0 - 6.1, epicentral distances between 15 km and 202 km and their focal depths reaching up to 13 km. The entire study area is divided into three tectonic blocks according to the distribu-tions of the earthquakes and the location of the fault segment. The estimated quality factor QP-S??values for the three regions ranged from 28.6 to 65, highlighting the regional differences in the seismodynamics of the crust. In Eastern Anatolia, the relatively low average quality factor values (QP: 37, QS: 55) show average (0.217) and average values ( P: 0.0166,?S: 0.017). The lowest QS?/QP? value 1.39 and the highest VP?/VS? value 1.65 are found at the Mus station. The highest Poisson’s ratio? ?and lowest absorption coefficient? ?were found in the Mus area. The variation in Q?,? ?and? indicates that the northern part (Erc and Kem region) of East Anatolia appears to be more active and heterogeneous compared with the southern part (Mus region) of East Anatolia.

Investigation of upper crust anisotropy in Ghaen-Birjand region, east-central Iran

A number of aftershocks of the May 10th 1997, Zirkuh (Ghaen-Birjand) destructive earthquake have been used to investigate the anisotropy in the upper crust by observing shear wave splitting. Particle motion diagram and aspect ratio methods were used as two different approaches to obtain splitting parameters. Clear shear wave splitting was observed on the records of the selected aftershocks, indicating that the media in the region was highly anisotropic. By using particle motion method, the direction of fast shear wave was found 22N19E, while the delay time between the fast and slow shear waves was obtained to be (6516) ms. By aspect ratio method, the direction of fast shear wave was determined to be 35N18E and the delay time between fast and slow shear waves was found to be (4910) ms. For a simple horizontal layer with a thickness about 5 km and uniformly distributed anisotropy, a stress aligned cracks model was used and the result was interpreted in terms of vertical aligned cracks in the direc-tion of N22E, having a density about 0.01. It is assumed that cracks are fluid-filled since they are located in the upper crust. Finally, by using Hudson cracks model for three crack densities 0.005, 0.01, 0.03, the velocity curves of shear wave were plotted as a function of angle between the symmetrical axis of cracks and the azimuth of source to receiver. It was concluded that when shear wave was polarized parallel to the crack surface, the velocity was uniform, but the velocity curve varied clearly if shear wave was polarized perpendicular to the crack surface.

Velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle in Xingtai earthquake region and its adjacent area

Two seismic refraction profiles which are perpendicular to each other, running through Xingtai earthquake region,reveal the anomalous variations of crust-mantle velocity structure and deep tectonics. Pg wave attenuatesrapidly with distance in the earthquake region. A group of strong reflections from a depth of 21. 0 km can be identified along the section from Longyao to the piedmont of Taihang Mountain, but P. waves characterized generally by strong amplitude are not obvious. Under the earthquake region and its western neighboring region, thecrustal velocity structure features high and low velocities changed alternatively. From North China plain toShanxi plateau, the velocity at the top of the upper mantle decreases progressively, while crustal thickness increases by 11 km. Moho uplifts locally in the earthquake region. The crustal fault stretching deeply to Moho andthe discontinuous sections of Moho in the earthquake region are supposed to be the channels and zones for magmatic intrusion. The uplifting of upper mantle and magmatic intrusion are responsible for the formation ofanomalous crust-mantle structures and extending basins, and for the occurrence of Xingtai earthquake as well.

Three dimensional shear wave velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle beneath China from ambient noise surface wave tomography

We determine the three-dimensional shear wave velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle in China using Green＇s functions obtained from seismic ambient noise cross-correlation. The data we use are from the China National Seismic Network, global and regional networks and PASSCAL stations in the region. We first acquire cross-correlation seismograms between all possible station pairs. We then measure the Rayleigh wave group and phase dispersion curves using a frequency-time analysis method from 8 s to 60 s. After that, Rayleigh wave group and phase velocity dispersion maps on 1°by 1°spatial grids are obtained at different periods. Finally, we invert these maps for the 3-D shear wave velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle beneath China at each grid node. The inversion results show large-scale structures that correlate well with surface geology. Near the surface, velocities in major basins are anomalously slow, consistent with the thick sediments. East-west contrasts are striking in Moho depth. There is also a fast mid-to-lower crust and mantle lithosphere beneath the major basins surrounding the Tibetan plateau （TP） and Tianshan （Junggar, Tarim, Ordos, and Sichuan）. These strong blocks, therefore, appear to play an important role in confining the deformation of the TP and constraining its geometry to form its current triangular shape. In northwest TP in Qiangtang, slow anomalies extend from the crust to the mantle lithosphere. Meanwhile, widespread, a prominent low-velocity zone is observed in the middle crust beneath most of the central, eastern and southeastern Tibetan plateau, consistent with a weak （and perhaps mobile） middle crust.

Element Abundances of China's Continental Crust and Its Sedimentary Layer and Upper Continental Crust

China's continental crust (CCC)has an average thickness of 47km,with the uppercontinental crust (CUCC)being 31 km and the sedimentary layer(CSL)5 km in thickness.The CCC,CUCC and CSL measure 12.437×10^17,8.005×10^17 and 1.146×10^17 metric tons in mass,respectively.The mass ratio of the upper continental crust to the lower one is 1.8:1.The element abundances were calculated for the CCC,CUCC and CSL respectively in terms of the chemical compositions of 2246 samples of various types and some complementary trace element data.The total abundance of 13 major elements accounts for 99.6% of the CCC mass while the other minor elements only account for 0.4%.REE characteristics,the abundance ratios of element pairs and the amounts of ore-forming elements are also discussed in the present paper.

Surface wave tomography of the crust and upper mantle of Chinese mainland and its neighboring region

The three dimensional S wave velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle of Chinese mainland and its neighboring region is obtained by genetic algorithm of surface wave tomography, with smoothness constraint, based on 25 wave group velocities for the periods from 10 s to 92 s, measured from long period Rayleigh waves recorded by 11 stations of CDSN and 12 digital seismometers surrounding China. The S wave velocity image is shown on two latitudinal sections along 30°N and 38°N, two longitudinal sections along 90°E and 120°E, and four horizontal slices at the different depths.

Group velocity distribution of Rayleigh waves and crustal and upper mantle velocity structure of the Chinese mainland and its vicinity

Based on the long period digital surface wave data recorded by 11 CDSN stations and 11 IRIS stations, the dispersion curves of the group velocities of fundamental mode Rayleigh waves along 647 paths, with the periods from 10 s to 92 s, were measured by multi-filter. Their distribution at 25 central periods within the region of 18~54N, 70~140E was inverted by Dimtar-Yanovskaya method. Within the period from 10 s to 15.9 s, the group velocity distribution is laterally inhomogeneous and is closely related to geotectonic units, with two low velocity zones located in the Tarim basin and the East China Sea and its north regions, respectively. From 21 s to 33 s, the framework of tectonic blocks is revealed. From 36.6 s to 40 s, the lithospheric subdivision of the Chinese mainland is obviously uncovered, with distinct boundaries among the South-North seismic belt, the Tibetan plateau, the North China, the South China and the Northeast China. Four cross-sections of group velocity distribution with period along 30N, 38N, 90E and 120E, are discussed, respectively, which display the basic features of the crust and upper mantle of the Chinese mainland and its neighboring regions. There are distinguished velocity differences among the different tectonic blocks. There are low-velocity-zones (LVZ) in the middle crust of the eastern Tibetan plateau, high velocity featured as stable platform in the Tarim basin and the Yangtze platform, shallow and thick low-velocity-zone in the upper mantle of the North China. The upper mantle LVZ in the East China Sea and the Japan Sea is related to the frictional heat from the subduction of the Philippine slab and the strong extension since the Himalayan orogenic period.

Chemical composition of upper crust in eastern China

In an area of 3. 3 ×106 km" within eastern China, 28 253 rock samples were collected systematically and combined into 2 718 composite samples which were analyzed by 15 reliable methods using national preliminary certified reference materials (CRMs) for data quality monitoring. The average chemical compositions of the exposed crust, the sedimentary cover and the exposed basement as well as the upper crust for 76 chemical elements in eastern China are given.

3-D seismic tomography for velocity and interface structure of the crust and upper mantle(theoreticalpart)

A method of three dimensional (3-D) model parameterization is presented that makes forward and inverse problems become easy. The velocity and interface structure of crust and upper mantle are described by a set of highly smoothed functions. Shooting ray tracing method is chosen to calculate the ray paths for both forward and inverse problems. The partial derivatives of traveltime with respect to parameters of the model grids are calculated analytically while rays are being traced. Because velocity and interface functions have second-order continuous partial derivatives, the geometrical shadow zones at the surface caused by scattering and focusing of ray paths can be prevented. After ray tracing, an equation consisting of matrix and vectors for inverse problem is obtained. We use singular value decomposition method with damped factor to solve the equation. A synthetic data set which consists of several in-line profiles is used to test the methods. The results show that the methods are robust. Compared with the two dimensional method, the 3-D inversion method can give the right position of interfaces and the velocity structure when the crustal model is complicated.