The Late Quaternary slip rate along the Maqu segment of the eastern Kunlun Fault was estimated using a combination of high-resolution remote sensing imagery interpretation, field observations and differential Global P...The Late Quaternary slip rate along the Maqu segment of the eastern Kunlun Fault was estimated using a combination of high-resolution remote sensing imagery interpretation, field observations and differential Global Positioning System（GPS） measurements of offset river terraces, and 14 C dating of snail shells collected from offset risers. The results show that the left-slip rate along the segment is 3–5 mm/a, and that the vertical slip rate is 0.3–0.5 mm/a. Both the horizontal and vertical slips on the segment remain consistent over a distance of ~100 km. It means that no slip gradient as previously suggested occurred along the Maqu segment, and which thus might behave as an independent seismogenic fault. Judging from multiple relationships among young terrace offsets, we infer that co-seismic surface rupture produced by a characteristic earthquake with a magnitude of Ms7.0–7.5 on the Maqu fault could generate a horizontal slip of 4.5–5 m and a vertical slip of 0.45–0.5 m, with a corresponding ratio（Dh/Dv） of about 9. Two surface rupture events must have occurred over the past 3300 years, the latest one possibly between 1485 cal BP and 1730 cal BP.展开更多
The Kunlun Fault,an active fault on the border between the Bayan Har and Kunlun-Qaidam blocks,is one of the major left lateral strike-slip faults in the Tibetan Plateau.Previous research has not reached a consensus on...The Kunlun Fault,an active fault on the border between the Bayan Har and Kunlun-Qaidam blocks,is one of the major left lateral strike-slip faults in the Tibetan Plateau.Previous research has not reached a consensus on agreeable slip rates along much of its length and the slip rate gradient along the eastern part,both of which play critical roles in a range of models for the eastward extrusion and thickened crust of the Tibetan Plateau.New slip rates have been determined at sites along the eastern part of the Kunlun Fault by dating deposits and measuring atop displaced fluvial terrace risers.Field investigations and interpretation of satellite images reveal geometrical features of the fault and the late Quaternary offset,new earthquake ruptures and surface-rupturing segmentation,from which long-term slip rates and earthquake recurrence intervals on the fault are estimated.The tectonic geomorphology method has determined that the long-term horizontal slip rates on the Tuosuohu,Maqin and Maqu segments from west to east are 11.2±1,9.3±2,and 4.9±1.3 mm/a while their vertical slip rates are 1.2±0.2,0.7±0.1,and 0.3 mm/a in the late Quaternary.Results indicate that the slip rates regularly decrease along the eastern ～300 km of the fault from >10 to <5 mm/a.This is consistent with the decrease in the gradient such that at the slip rate break point is at the triple point intersection with the transverse fault,which in turn is transformed to the Awancang Fault.The vector decomposition for this tectonic transformation shows that the western and eastern branches of the Awancang Fault fit the slip-partitioning mode.The slip rate of the southwestern wall is 4.6 mm/a relative to the northeastern wall and the slip direction is 112.1°.The mid-eastern part of the Kunlun Fault can be divided into three independent segments by the A'nyêmaqên double restraining bend and the Xigongzhou intersection zone,which compose the surface rupture segmentation indicators for themselves as well as the ending point of the 1937 M7.5 Tuosuohu earthquake.The average recurrence interval of the characteristic earthquakes are estimated to be 500-1000 a,respectively.The latest earthquake ruptures occurred in AD 1937 on the western Tuosuohu segment,as compared to ～514-534 a BP on the Maqin segment,and ～1055 to 1524 a BP on the Maqu segment.This may indicate a unidirectional migration for surface rupturing earthquakes along the mid-eastern Kunlun Fault related to stress triggered between these segments.Meanwhile,the long-term slip rate is obtained through the single event offset and the recurrence interval,which turn out to be the same results as those determined by the offset tectonic geomorphology method,i.e.,the decreasing gradient corresponds to the geometrical bending and the fault's intersection with the transverse fault.Therefore,the falling slip rate gradient of the mid-eastern Kunlun Fault is mainly caused by eastward extension of the fault and its intersection with the transverse fault.展开更多
The nearly EW-trending East Kunlun fault zone is the north boundary of the Bayan Har block.The activity characteristics and the position of the eastern end of its eastward extension are of great significance to probin...The nearly EW-trending East Kunlun fault zone is the north boundary of the Bayan Har block.The activity characteristics and the position of the eastern end of its eastward extension are of great significance to probing into the dynamic mechanism of formation of the east edge of the Tibetan Plateau,and also lay the foundation for seismic risk assessment of the fault zone.The following results are obtained by analysis based on satellite image interpretation of landforms,surface rupture survey,terrace scarp deformation survey,and terrace dating data on the eastern part of the East Kunlun fault zone:(1)the Luocha segment is a Holocene active fault,where a reverse L-shape paleoearthquake surface rupture zone of about 50 km long is located;(2)the Luocha segment is characterized by left-lateral slip movement under the compression-shear condition since the later period of the Late Pleistocene,with a rate of 7.68–9.37 mm/a and a vertical slip rate of 0.7–0.9 mm/a,which are basically in accord with the activity rate of segments on its west side.The results indicate that it is a part of eastward extension of the East Kunlun fault zone;(3)the high-speed linear horizontal slip of the nearly EW-trending East Kunlun fault zone is blocked by the South China block at east,and transforms into the vertical movement of the nearly SN-NNE trending Minjiang fault zone and the Longmenshan fault zone,and the uplift of Longmenshan and Minjiang.The area where transform of the two tectonic systems occurred confines the position of the east end;(4)Luocha segment and Maqu segment constitute the"Maqu seismic gap",so,seismic risk at Maqu segment is higher than that at Luocha segment,which should attract more attention.展开更多
基金support of the Natural Science Foundation of China(41472178)the China Geological Survey projects(1212011120167,12120114002211)
文摘The Late Quaternary slip rate along the Maqu segment of the eastern Kunlun Fault was estimated using a combination of high-resolution remote sensing imagery interpretation, field observations and differential Global Positioning System（GPS） measurements of offset river terraces, and 14 C dating of snail shells collected from offset risers. The results show that the left-slip rate along the segment is 3–5 mm/a, and that the vertical slip rate is 0.3–0.5 mm/a. Both the horizontal and vertical slips on the segment remain consistent over a distance of ~100 km. It means that no slip gradient as previously suggested occurred along the Maqu segment, and which thus might behave as an independent seismogenic fault. Judging from multiple relationships among young terrace offsets, we infer that co-seismic surface rupture produced by a characteristic earthquake with a magnitude of Ms7.0–7.5 on the Maqu fault could generate a horizontal slip of 4.5–5 m and a vertical slip of 0.45–0.5 m, with a corresponding ratio（Dh/Dv） of about 9. Two surface rupture events must have occurred over the past 3300 years, the latest one possibly between 1485 cal BP and 1730 cal BP.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40821160550 and 40974057)International Scientific Joint Project of China (Grant No. 2009DFA21280)
文摘The Kunlun Fault,an active fault on the border between the Bayan Har and Kunlun-Qaidam blocks,is one of the major left lateral strike-slip faults in the Tibetan Plateau.Previous research has not reached a consensus on agreeable slip rates along much of its length and the slip rate gradient along the eastern part,both of which play critical roles in a range of models for the eastward extrusion and thickened crust of the Tibetan Plateau.New slip rates have been determined at sites along the eastern part of the Kunlun Fault by dating deposits and measuring atop displaced fluvial terrace risers.Field investigations and interpretation of satellite images reveal geometrical features of the fault and the late Quaternary offset,new earthquake ruptures and surface-rupturing segmentation,from which long-term slip rates and earthquake recurrence intervals on the fault are estimated.The tectonic geomorphology method has determined that the long-term horizontal slip rates on the Tuosuohu,Maqin and Maqu segments from west to east are 11.2±1,9.3±2,and 4.9±1.3 mm/a while their vertical slip rates are 1.2±0.2,0.7±0.1,and 0.3 mm/a in the late Quaternary.Results indicate that the slip rates regularly decrease along the eastern ～300 km of the fault from >10 to <5 mm/a.This is consistent with the decrease in the gradient such that at the slip rate break point is at the triple point intersection with the transverse fault,which in turn is transformed to the Awancang Fault.The vector decomposition for this tectonic transformation shows that the western and eastern branches of the Awancang Fault fit the slip-partitioning mode.The slip rate of the southwestern wall is 4.6 mm/a relative to the northeastern wall and the slip direction is 112.1°.The mid-eastern part of the Kunlun Fault can be divided into three independent segments by the A'nyêmaqên double restraining bend and the Xigongzhou intersection zone,which compose the surface rupture segmentation indicators for themselves as well as the ending point of the 1937 M7.5 Tuosuohu earthquake.The average recurrence interval of the characteristic earthquakes are estimated to be 500-1000 a,respectively.The latest earthquake ruptures occurred in AD 1937 on the western Tuosuohu segment,as compared to ～514-534 a BP on the Maqin segment,and ～1055 to 1524 a BP on the Maqu segment.This may indicate a unidirectional migration for surface rupturing earthquakes along the mid-eastern Kunlun Fault related to stress triggered between these segments.Meanwhile,the long-term slip rate is obtained through the single event offset and the recurrence interval,which turn out to be the same results as those determined by the offset tectonic geomorphology method,i.e.,the decreasing gradient corresponds to the geometrical bending and the fault's intersection with the transverse fault.Therefore,the falling slip rate gradient of the mid-eastern Kunlun Fault is mainly caused by eastward extension of the fault and its intersection with the transverse fault.
基金supported by the Systematic Scientific Investigation of Yushu Earthquake(Grant No.02106601)National Key Basic Research Program of China(Grant No.2008CB42570)Basic Research Fund of Institute of Earthquake Science(Grant No.02092437)
文摘The nearly EW-trending East Kunlun fault zone is the north boundary of the Bayan Har block.The activity characteristics and the position of the eastern end of its eastward extension are of great significance to probing into the dynamic mechanism of formation of the east edge of the Tibetan Plateau,and also lay the foundation for seismic risk assessment of the fault zone.The following results are obtained by analysis based on satellite image interpretation of landforms,surface rupture survey,terrace scarp deformation survey,and terrace dating data on the eastern part of the East Kunlun fault zone:(1)the Luocha segment is a Holocene active fault,where a reverse L-shape paleoearthquake surface rupture zone of about 50 km long is located;(2)the Luocha segment is characterized by left-lateral slip movement under the compression-shear condition since the later period of the Late Pleistocene,with a rate of 7.68–9.37 mm/a and a vertical slip rate of 0.7–0.9 mm/a,which are basically in accord with the activity rate of segments on its west side.The results indicate that it is a part of eastward extension of the East Kunlun fault zone;(3)the high-speed linear horizontal slip of the nearly EW-trending East Kunlun fault zone is blocked by the South China block at east,and transforms into the vertical movement of the nearly SN-NNE trending Minjiang fault zone and the Longmenshan fault zone,and the uplift of Longmenshan and Minjiang.The area where transform of the two tectonic systems occurred confines the position of the east end;(4)Luocha segment and Maqu segment constitute the"Maqu seismic gap",so,seismic risk at Maqu segment is higher than that at Luocha segment,which should attract more attention.
