Below-Moho Earthquakes of Tibet,Himalaya,the Indian Foreland,and Worldwide:How,Where and Why?

We seek to understand lithospheric rheology by mapping continental earthquake depths relative to Moho depth,across the entire India/Asia convergent orogen,and eventually worldwide.Such mapping has particular value in geothermometry,and potentially in identifying regions of delamination.How:We are extending our Sn/Lg method beyond amplitude ratios of regional seismic phases measured on arrays(array Sn/Lg method,Wang and Klemperer,2021)to include frequency proxies for earthquake depth relative to Moho(Wang&Klemperer,2024a,b;Harris et al.,2024).

Surface Rupture and Co-seismic Displacement Produced by the Ms 8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake of May ^(12)th,2008,Sichuan,China:Eastwards Growth of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

An earthquake of Ms 8 struck Wenchuan County, western Sichuan, China, on May 12^th, 2008 and resulted in long surface ruptures （〉300 km）. The first-hand observations about the surface ruptures produced by the earthquake in the worst-hit areas of Yingxiu, Beichuan and Qingchuan, ascertained that the causative structure of the earthquake was in the central fault zones of the Longmenshan tectonic belt. Average co-seismic vertical displacements along the individual fault of the Yingxiu-Beiehuan rupture zone reach 2.514 m and the cumulative vertical displacements across the central and frontal Longmenshan fault belt is about 5-6 m. The surface rupture strength was reduced from north of Beichuan to Qingchuan County and shows 2-3 m dextral strike-slip component. The Wenchuan thrust-faulting earthquake is a manifestation of eastward growth of the Tibetan Plateau under the action of continuous convergence of the Indian and Eurasian continents.

Tempo-spatial rupture process of the 1997Mani, Xizang(Tibet), China earthquake of Ms=7.9

An earthquake of Ms=7.4 occurred in Mani, Xizang (Tibet), China on November 8, 1997. The moment tensor ofthis earthquake was inverted using the long period body wave form data from China Digital Seismograph Network(CDSN). The apparent source time functions (AS TFs) were retrieved from P and S waves, respectively, using thedeconvolution technique in frequency domain, and the tempo-spatial rupture process on the fault plane was imagedby inverting the azimuth dependent AS TFs from different stations. The result of the moment tensor inversionindicates that the P and T axes of earthquake-generating stress field were nearly horizontal, with the P axis in theNNE direction (29), the T axis in the SEE direction (122) and that the NEE-SWW striking nodal plane andNNW-SSE striking nodal plane are mainly left-lateral and right-lateral strike-slip, respectively; that this earthquakehad a scalar seismic moment of 3.4xl02o N. .m, and a moment magnitude of Mw=7.6. Taking the aftershock distribution into account, we proposed that the earthquake rupture occurred in the fault plane with the strike of 250,the dip of 88 and the rake of 19. On the basis of the result of the moment tensor inversion, the theoretical seismograms were synthesized, and then the AS T Fs were retrieved by deconvoving the synthetic seismograms fromthe observed seismograms. The A S T Fs retrieved from the P and S waves of different stations identically suggestedthat this earthquake was of a simple time history, whose ASTF can be approximated with a sine function with thehalf period of about 10 s. Inverting the azimuth dependent A S T Fs from P and S waveforms led to the imageshowing the tempo-spatial distribution of the rupture on the fault plane. From the 'remembering' snap-shots, therupture initiated at the western end of the fault, and then propagated eastward and downward, indicating an overallunilateral rupture. However, the slip distribution is non-uniform, being made up of three sub-areas, one in thewestern end, about 10 km deep ('western area'), another about 55 kin away from the western end and about 35 Iondeep ('eastern area'), the third about 30 km away from the western end and around 40 km deep ('central area').The total rupture area was around 70 km long and 60 km wide. From the 'forgetting' snap-shots, the rupturingappeared quite complex, with the slip occurring in different position at different time, and the earthquake being ofthe characteristics of 'healing pulse'. Another point we have to stress is that the locations in which the ruptureinitiated and terminated were not where the main rupture took place. Eventually, the static slip distribution wascalculated, and the largest slip values of the three sub-areas were 956 cm, 743 cm and 1 060 cm, for the western.eastern and central areas, respectively. From the slip distribution, the rupture mainly distributed in the fault about70 km eastern to the epicenter; from the aftershock distribution. however, the aftershocks were very sparse in thewest to the epicenter while densely clustered in the east to the epicenter It indicated that the Maul Ms=7.9 earthquake was resulted from the nearly eastward extension of the NEE-SWW to nearly E-W striking fault in thenorthwestern Tibetan plateau.

Representative value of cross-fault in the northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet block and case analysis of the 2016 Menyuan Ms6.4 earthquake

The equation for determining cross-fault representative value is calculated based on hanging wall and foot wall reference level surfaces. The cross-fault data reliability are analyzed base on the stability of reference datum and observation points, thereby facili- tating plotting of the representative value curves after removing interference. The spatial and temporal characteristics of fault deformation abnormalities before the 2016 Menyuan Ms6.4 earthquake, as well as the fault-movement characteristics reflected by representa- tive value, are summarized. The results show that many site trends had changed 1-3 years before the Menyuan Ms6.4 earthquake in the Qilian Fault, reflecting certain background abnormalities. The short-term abnormalities centrally had appeared in the 6 months to 1 year period before the earthquake near and in the neighborhood of the source region, demonstrating a significantly increased number of short-term abnormalities. Many sites near and in the neighborhood of the source region had strengthened inverse activities or had changed from positive to inverse activities in the most recent 2-3 years, which reflect stress-field enhancements or adjustment features.

Effect of Kunlun Ms 8.1 earthquake on crustal deformation in northeastern edge region of Qinghal-Tibet plateau

Seismic fault parameters can be inversed with Okada model based on deformation data before and after earthquakes in focal region and its adjacent area. Co-seismic displacements can be simulated by using these parameters,and then regional velocity field obtained by deducting the co-seismic displacements from the observed displacements by GPS method. We processed and analyzed the data in the northeastern edge region of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau observed during 2001 -2003 in two steps： firstly, the displacements generated by Kunlun MsS. 1 earthquake of 2001 in this region was simulated, and secondly, deducted the co-seismic displacements from it and obtained the horizontal crustal velocity field. The results reveal ： 1 ） the effect of Kunlun Ms8.1 earthquake on crustal deformation in this region is significant; 2 ）the velocity field obtained with this method is better than the original GPS velocity field in reflecting the status of regional crustal movement and strain.

Timing and Spouting Height of Sand Boils Caused by Liquefaction during the 2010 Mw 6.9 Yushu Earthquake, Tibetan Plateau, China

The 2010 Mw 6.9 Yushu earthquake produced a ~33-km-long co-seismic surface rupture zone along the pre-existing active Yushu Fault on China’s central Tibetan Plateau. Sand boils occurred along the tension cracks of the co-seismic surface rupture zone, and locally spouted up above the ground to coat the top of limestone blocks that had slid down from an adjacent ~300-m-high mountain slope. Based on our observations, the relations between the arrival times of P- and S-waves at the sand-boil location and the seismic rupture velocity, we conclude that 1) the sand boils occurred at least 18.24 s after the main shock;2) it took at least 4.09 - 9.79 s after the formation of co-seismic surface rupture to generate liquefaction at the sand-boil location;3) the spouting height of sand boils was at least 65 cm. Our findings help to clarify the relationships between the timing of lique-faction and the spouting height of sand boils during a large-magnitude earthquake.

Study on the Anomaly of Small Earthquake Activity Before Moderate-strong Earthquake in the Northeast Margin of the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Block

26 earthquakes with MS ≥5. 0 have been recorded in the northeast margin of the Qinghai- Xizang (Tibet) block since 1980,22 of which were relatively independent of other moderate- strong earthquakes. Research on the increase of small earthquake activity before the 22 moderate-strong earthquakes has indicated that small earthquake activity was enhanced before 17 of the moderate-strong earthquakes. Though the increased seismicity is a common phenomenon in the northeast margin of the Qinghai-Xizang ( Tibet ) block,we have difficulty in predicting the moderate-strong earthquakes by this phenomenon. In order to predict the moderate-strong earthquakes through the increased seismicity of small earthquakes,this paper attempts to propose a new method, which calculates small earthquake frequency through the change of distribution pattern of small earthquakes, based on the characteristics of small earthquake activity in the northeastern Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) block,and then make primary applications. The result shows that we are able to obtain obvious anomalies in the frequency of small earthquakes before moderate strong earthquakes through the new method,with little spatial range effect on the amplitude of this small earthquake frequency anomaly. We can obtain mid to short-term anomaly indices for moderate-strong earthquakes in the northeast margin of the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) block.

Analysis on Characteristics of Seismic Damage of the Nepal M_S8.1 Earthquake in the Tibet Area of China

On April 25,2015,a M_S8. 1 earthquake occurred in Nepal. In the Tibet area of China,this earthquake caused heavy casualties and damage to housing,roads,communications,other lifeline engineering, water conservancy and other infrastructure. This paper introduces the basic situation of the earthquake,and based on the investigation and assessment of seismic intensity,the damage of the disaster area is analyzed,and building types and damage to the lifeline systems and various industries are given. Through the analysis of the characteristics of the earthquake disaster,this paper points out the existing problems in seismic fortification,and finally puts forward proposals for the prevention and control of earthquake geological disasters, scientific planning for the restoration and reconstruction,strengthening earthquake prevention and disaster reduction propaganda,improving the awareness of earthquake preparedness in the agricultural and pastoral areas,strengthening the guidance and supervision of housing construction in rural areas to reduce the casualties and losses,and promoting the harmonious development of economy in Tibet.

Study on Statistical Features About Weak Earthquake Activity Before Moderately Strong Earthquakes in the Middle Northern Part of the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Block

In regards to the earthquakes recording M ≥ 5.0 that occurred in middle northern part of the Qinghai-Xizang （Tibet） Block from 1970 - 2003, in this study we describe the temporal and spatial centralization features of the weak earthquakes and the enhancement and anomalous quiescence of their seismic activity before main shocks through 4 parameters, which are basically not correlated： earthquake time centralization degree parameter Ct, earthquake space centralization degree parameter Cd, η value and weak earthquake frequency and so on. On the basis of calculation results, it has been seen that before earthquakes with M ≥ 5.0 took place in the middle northern part of the Qinghal-Xizang （Tibet） Block, the frequency of weak earthquakes often shows ascent and drop, their strength shows an obvious enhancement and the centralization distribution with time and space is evident.

Lithospheric structure and deformation in SE Tibet revealed by ambient noise and earthquake surface wave tomography: Recent advances and perspectives

High-resolution lithospheric structure is essential for understanding the tectonic evolution and deformation patterns of the southeastern Tibetan plateau. This is now possible due to recent advances in ambient noise and earthquake surface wave tomography, and great improvements in data coverage from dense portable array stations deployed in SE Tibet. In this review paper, I first give a brief overview of the tomographic methods from ambient noise and earthquake surface waves, and then summarize the major findings about the lithospheric structure and deformation in SE Tibet revealed by ambient noise and earthquake surface wave tomography as well as by other seismic and geophysical observations. These findings mainly include the 3-D distribution of mechanically weak zones in the mid-lower crust, lateral and vertical variations in radial and azimuthal anisotropy, possible interplay of some fault zones with crustal weak zones, and importance of strike-slip faulting on upper crustal deformation. These results suggest that integration of block extrusion in the more rigid upper-middle crust and channel flow in the more ductile mid-lower crust will be more compatible with the current geophysical observations. Finally I discuss some future perspective researches in SE Tibet, including array-based tomography, joint inversion using multiple seismic data, and integration of geodynamic modeling and seismic observations.

Features of seismicity in Xinjiang and its possible reason after the Yutian M_S7.4 earthquake,2008

The paper discusses quantitatively the influence of the Yutian Ms7.4 earthquake of March 21, 2008 and Wuqia Ms6.9 earthquake of October 5, 2008 on regional seismicity in Xinjiang, and explains primarily the possible reason of earthquake activity feature in Xinjiang after the Yutian Ms7.4 earthquake by analyzing the static Coulomb failure stress change produced by the Yutian Ms7.4 earthquake and Wuqia Ms6.9 earth-quake, and the seismicity feature of Ms≥3 earthquakes in the positive Coulomb stress change region of Kashi-Wuqia joint region, the central segment of Tianshan Mountain and Kalpin block. The result shows that the Yutian Ms7.4 earthquake of March 21, 2008, may encourage the Wuqia Ms6.9 earth-quake of October 5, 2008, and the Yutian Ms7.4 earthquake and Wuqia Ms6.9 earthquake may change the seismicity state in the central segment of Tianshan Mountain, Kalpin block and Kashi-Wuqia joint region, and encourage the subsequent Ms≥3 earthquakes.

Co-seismic deformation of the 2010 Mw6. 9 Yushu earthquake from InSAR images

Co-seismic ground-surface deformation of the Yushu earthquake on April 14, 2010 is studied on the basis of interferometry principle by using InSAR images from ALOS PALSAR and ENVISAT ASAR pairs. The observed maximum line-of-sight displacement is 54 cm, which is equivalent to a sinistral strike slip of 180 cm on the surface. The location of macro-epicenter is very close to the epicenter determined by in situ investigation, suggesting that InSAR is an ideal tool for quick identification of the macro-epicenter, and thus for timely disaster assessment after a destructive earthquake.

A Preliminary Study on the Use of NCEP Temperature Images and Additive Tectonic Stress from Astro-Tidal-Triggering to Forecast Short-Impending Earthquakes

Taking the three earthquakes which occurred in Tibet, China during the period of July 12 to August 25, 2004 as an example,the paper analyses the M_S≥6.0 earthquakes that occurred in China and M_S≥7.0 earthquakes that occurred overseas since May of 2003 by combining the image data from the National Center for Environmental Prediction of America(NCEP)with the additive tectonic stress from astro-tidal-triggering (ATSA) and makes the following conclusions: The abnormal temperature image data of NCEP can better reflect the spatial-temporal evolution process of tectonic earthquake activity; The ATSA has an evident triggering effect on the activity of a fault when the terra stress is in critical status; using the NCEP images and the ATSA to forecast short-impending earthquake is a new concept; The three earthquakes occurred during the same phase of the respective ATSA cycle, i.e. that occurred at the time when the ATSA reached the relatively steady end of a peak, rather than at the time when the variation rate was maximal. In addition, the author discovered that the occurrence time of other earthquake cases during 2003～2004 in Tibet was also in the same phase of the above-mentioned cycles, and therefore, further study of this feature is needed with more earthquake cases in other areas over longer periods of time.

An M6.9 earthquake at Mainling,Tibet on Nov.18,2017

At 06:34(CST)on Nov.18,2017,an M6.9 earthquake occurred in the Mainling County,Nyingchi Region of Xizang Autonomous Region,China.The epicenter is located at 95.02°E,29.75°N and the focal depth is about 10 km(Figure 1).The epicenter is about 100 km from the Mainling County.The average elevation within 5 km is about 3100 m.This earthquake has caused widespread concern among members of government,research institutions,and public media.

The Deep Geophysical Structure of the Middle Section of the Longmen Mountains Tectonic Belt and its Relation to the Wenchuan Earthquake

Investigation of the deep geophysical structure of the Longmen Mountains tectonic belt and its relation to the Wenchuan Earthquake is important for the study of earthquakes.By using magnetotelluric sounding profiles of the Luqu-Zhongjiang and Anxian-Suining; seismic sounding profiles of the Sichuan Maowen-Chongqing Gongtan,the Qinghai Huashi Gorge-Sichuan Jianyang,and the Batang-Zizhong; and magnetogravimetric data of the Longmen Mountains region,the deep geophysical structure of the Songpan-Ganzi block,the western Sichuan foreland basin,and the Longmen Mountains tectonic belt and their relation was discussed.The eastward extrusion of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau thrusts the Songpan-Ganzi block upon the Yangtze block,which obstructs the eastward movement of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.The Maoxian-Wenchuan,Beichuan-Yingxiu,and Anxian-Guanxian faults of the Longmen Mountains fault belt dip to northwest with different dip angles and gradually converge in the deeper parts.Geophysical structure suggests that an intracrustal low-velocity,low-resistivity,and high-conductivity layer is common between the middle and upper crust west of the Longmen Mountains tectonic belt but not in the upper Yangtze block.The Sichuan Basin has a thick low-resistance sedimentary layer on a stable high-resistance basement; moreover,there are secondary paleohighs and depression structures at the lower part of the western Sichuan foreland basin with characteristic of high magnetic anomalies,whereas the Songpan-Ganzi block has a high resisitivity cover of upper crust and continues to a low-resistance layer.Considering the Longmen Mountains tectonic belt as the boundary,there are Bouguer gravity anomalies of ＂one belt between two zones.＂ Thus,we infer that there is a corresponding relation between the inferred crystalline basement of the Songpan block and the underlying basin basement of the Longmen Mountains fault belt.Furthermore,there may be an extensive ancient Yangtze block,which is west of the Ruoergai block.In addition,the crust-mantle ductile shear zone under the Longmen Mountains tectonic belt is the main fault,whereas the Beichuan-Yingxiu and Anxian-Guanxian faults at the surface are earthquake faults.The Wenchuan Ms 8.0 earthquake might be attributed to the collision of the Yangtze block and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.The eastward obduction of the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and eastward subduction of its deeper part under the influence of the collision of the Indian,Pacific,and Philippine Plates with the Eurasia Plate might have caused the Longmen Mountains tectonic belt to cut the Moho and extend to the middle and upper crust; thus,creating high stress concentration and rapid energy release zone.

Real-time prediction of earthquake potential damage:A case study for the January 8,2022 M_(S) 6.9 Menyuan earthquake in Qinghai,China

It is critical to determine whether a site has potential damage in real-time after an earthquake occurs,which is a challenge in earthquake disaster reduction.Here,we propose a real-time Earthquake Potential Damage predictor(EPDor)based on predicting peak ground velocities(PGVs)of sites.The EPDor is composed of three parts:(1)predicting the magnitude of an earthquake and PGVs of triggered stations based on the machine learning prediction models;(2)predicting the PGVs at distant sites based on the empirical ground motion prediction equation;(3)generating the PGV map through predicting the PGV of each grid point based on an interpolation process of weighted average based on the predicted values in(1)and(2).We apply the EPDor to the 2022 M_(S) 6.9 Menyuan earthquake in Qinghai Province,China to predict its potential damage.Within the initial few seconds after the first station is triggered,the EPDor can determine directly whether there is potential damage for some sites to a certain degree.Hence,we infer that the EPDor has potential application for future earthquakes.Meanwhile,it also has potential in Chinese earthquake early warning system.

An examination of the presence and topography of the D'' discontinuity under the Russia–Kazakhstan border region using seismic waveform data from a deep earthquake in Spain

The D＇＇ layer,which is located atop the core–mantle boundary,has long been an area of focus for global seismology studies. A widely used approach to study the discontinuities in the D＇＇ layer involves the use of the SdS phases between the S and ScS phases,which requires that certain stringent conditions be satisfied with respect to an epicentral distance and earthquake depth. Therefore,this approach is only practical for investigating the presence and topography of velocity interfaces in certain local regions around the world. The Russia–Kazakhstan border region has been a ‘‘blind spot＇＇ with respect to this detection method. The seismic network deployed in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau has recorded relatively clear SdS phases for the MS6.3 earthquake that occurred in Spain on April 11,2010,allowing this blind spot to be studied. This paper compares the observed waveforms and synthetics and uses the travel times of the relevant phases to obtain a D＇＇ discontinuity depth between2,610 and 2,740 km in the examined area. This study provides the first results regarding the depth of the D＇＇ layer discontinuity for this region and represents an important addition to the global studies of the D＇＇ layer.

Tectonic Stress Analysis of Future Large Earthquake Zones along the Bayan Har Block Boundary,Tibet Plateau

The Bayan Har block is mainly bounded by the east Kunlun fault zone to the north, Garze-Yushu -Xianshuihe fault zone to the south and Longmenshan fault zone to the east （Fig. 1）. In the past 20 years, large earthquakes have occurred frequently along this block＇s boundaries, which has received much attention among geoscientists. Whether large earthquakes will happen （and where） along this block＇s boundary faults in the future are two key problems that need to be addressed. This study calculates the accumulated tectonic stress and superposition of the coulomb stress caused by fault slip of 16 large earthquakes since 1904, and evaluates the possible locations of future earthquakes that may occur around this block.

Earthquake Activity Features Before Earthquakes with M_S≥7.0 in the Central-Northern Qinghai-Xizang(Tibet) Block

We have studied the seismicity features of M_S≥5.0 earthquakes two years before strong earthquakes with M_S≥7.0 occurred in the central-northern Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) block since 1920. The results have showed that there is an obvious gap or quiescence of M_S5.0～6.9 earthquakes near epicenters. We have also studied statistical seismicity parameters of M_S5.0～6.9 earthquakes in the same region since 1950. The results have showed that earthquakes with M_S≥7.0 occurred when earthquake frequency is relatively high and earthquake time, space accumulation degrees are rising. And the prediction effect R value scores are between 0.4～0.7. We have concluded that, before earthquakes with M_S≥7.0 in the central-northern Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) block, M_S5.0～6.0 earthquake activity in the whole area increased and accumulated in time and space, but earthquakes with M_S≥7.0 occurred where M_S5.0～6.0 earthquake activity was relatively quiet.

Correlated Features of Horizontal Movement-Deformation on the North and East Margins of the Qinghai-Xizang Block before the Kunlun Earthquake with M_S=8.1

The high-precision GPS data observed from the northeast margin of the Qinghai-Xizang （Tibet） block and the Sichuan-Yunnan GPS monitoring areas in 1991 （1993）, 1999 and 2001 revealed that： before the Kunlun earthquake with Ms =8.1 on November 14, 2001, the dynamic variation features of horizontal movement-deformation field in the north and east marginal tectonic areas of the Qinghai-Xizang （Tibet） block had some correlated features. That is to say, under the general background of inherited movement, the movement intensifies in the two areas weakened synchronously and the state of deformation changed when the great earthquake was impending. Analysis and study in connection with geological structures showed that before the Kunlun Ms8.1 earthquake, the correlated variations of movement-deformation on the boundaries of Qinghai-Xizang （Tibet） block were related to the disturbing stress field caused by the extensive and rapid stress-strain accumulation in the late stage of large earthquake preparation. Owing to the occurrence of large earthquake inside the block, the release of large amount of strain energy, and the adjustment of tectonic stress field, in relevant structural positions （especially zones not penetrated by historical strong earthquake ruptures） in boundary zones where larger amount of strain energy was accumulated, stress-strain may be further accumulated or else released through rupture.