Characteristics of Late-Quaternary Activity and Seismic Risk of the Northeastern Section of the Longmenshan Fault Zone

Following the 2008 Wenchuan M8 earthquake,the seismic risk of the northeastern section of the Longmenshan fault zone and the adjacent Hanzhong basin has become an issue that receives much concern.It is facing,however,the problem of a lack of sufficient data because of little previous work in these regions.The northeastern section of the Longmenshan fault zone includes three major faults：the Qingchuan fault,Chaba-Lin＇ansi fault,and Liangshan south margin fault,with the Hanzhong basin at the northern end.This paper presents investigations of the geometry,motion nature,and activity ages of these three faults,and reveals that they are strike slip with normal faulting,with latest activity in the Late Pleistocene.It implies that this section of the Longmenshan fault zone has been in an extensional setting,probably associated with the influence of the Hanzhong basin.Through analysis of the tectonic relationship between the Longmenshan fault zone and the Hanzhong basin,this work verifies that the Qingchuan fault played an important role in the evolution of the Hanzhong basin,and further studies the evolution model of this basin.Finally,with consideration of the tectonic setting of the Longmenshan fault zone and the Hanzhong basin as well as seismicity of surrounding areas,this work suggests that this region has no tectonic conditions for great earthquakes and only potential strong events in the future.

Late Quaternary Activity of the Chuxiong-Nanhua Fault and the 1680 Chuxiong Ms6 3/4 Earthquake

In this paper,according to the results of the satellite imagery interpretation and field investigation,we study the active features and the latest active times of the ChuxiongNanhua fault,the Quaternary basins formation mechanism,and the relationship between the fault and the 1680 Chuxiong M_S6 3/4earthquake. Several Quaternary profiles at Lvhe,Nanhua reveal that the fault has offset the late Pleistocene deposits of the T2 and T3 terraces of Longchuan river, indicating that the fault was obviously active in late Quaternary. The Chuxiong-Nanhua fault has been dominated by dextral strike slip motion in the late Quaternary,with an average rate of 1. 6-2. 0 mm/a. Several pull apart Quaternary basins of Chuxiong,Nanhua,and Ziwu etc. have developed along the fault.The 1680 Chuxiong M_S6 3/4earthquake and several moderate earthquakes have occurred near the fault. The Chuxiong-Nanhua fault are the seismogenic structure of those earthquakes,the latest fault movement was in the late-Pleistocene,and even the Holocene.In large area,the Chuxiong-Nanhua fault and the eastern Qujiang fault and the Shiping fault composed a set of NW-trending oblique orientation active faults,and the motion characteristics are all mainly dextral strike slip. The motion characteristics,like the red river fault of the Sichuan-Yunnan Rhombic Block southwestern boundary,are concerned with the escaping movement of the Sichuan-Yunnan Rhombic Block.

Geological Observations from a Palaeolake Basin, Lamayuru, Ladakh, Northwestern Himalaya

A well known Buddhist monastery of Lamayuru is located in a village about 128 Km West of Leh. It is situated on more than 100 m thick Late Quaternary palaeolake deposits which are surrounded by rocks of Lamayuru Formation. Geologically, the Lamayuru Formation includes the Lamayuru and Namikala flysch deposits of Triassic-Jurassic age. This Formation is composed of shales, schist and phyllites. This Lamayuru Formation forms the base and source of palaeolake deposits. In Late-Pleistocene (35 ka B.P.) the Lamayuru River was dammed due to tectonically triggered landslide and the Lamayuru palaeolake came into existence. The sedimentation in the palaeolake basin commenced at 35 ka B.P. and culminated at 1 ka B.P. The deposits of palaeolake consist of carbonaceous mud, sand, silty clay and matrix supported breccia. The palaeolake deposits are a product of complex interplay of lacustrine, fluvio-deltaic to colluvial processes. The research study shows the prevalence of glacio-lacustrine conditions during the major part of depositional history as evidenced by the dominance of varves in these deposits.

Slip Rate and Strong Earthquake Dislocation along the Moxi-Mianning Segment of the Xianshuihe-Anninghe Fault Zone

The results from interpretation of the aerophotos and in-situ seismogeological researches show that there are some obvious late-Quaternary activities along the Moxi-Mianning segment of the Xianshuihe-Anninghe fault zone, with the characteristics of sinistral-slip movement accompanied by some significant vertical slip components. Since late-Quaternary, the average horizontal slip rate of the segment at the south of Moxi along the Xianshuihe fault is 6.0～9.9mm/a and 4.7～5.3mm/a along the segment at the north of Mianning of the Anninghe fault. The results from the investigation of coseismic dislocation and ground rupture show that the ground rupture caused by 1876 Kangding-Luding earthquake with M 7 3/ 4 can extend to the south of Tianwan. The segment at the north of Mianning of the Anninghe fault has a background for producing M7.5 earthquake and the geological record of the last strong earthquake must be the proofs of the 1327 earthquake with M>6.0 with poor historical records.