Evidence of ancient rock-ice avalanches along the China-Bhutan Chomolhari Range,and their implications for demise of the summit

Large-scale rock-ice avalanches resulting from the interaction of tectonics and climate are characterized with high mobility,huge volumes of sediment,and rapid denudation,being a major agent of landscape evolution in high altitude mountainous regions.Specifically,the extreme glaciated slope failures often transform into extraordinarily large and mobile debris flows,resulting in disastrous consequences such as sedimentation and desertification.Due to a dearth of on-site observation data and experimental data collection,our comprehension of the geomorphic and kinematic characteristics of rock-ice avalanches remains poor.Here we report a cluster of ancient rock-ice avalanches spreading along the Chomolhari range of the China-Bhutan Himalayas.By integrating remote sensing image interpretation with detailed field investigations,we demonstrate the geomorphic and sedimentary characteristics of four events among the avalanches.The estimated volumes of the four are 23.73 Mm³,39.69 Mm³,38.43 Mm³,and 38.25 Mm³,respectively.The presence of pre-existing moraines or alluvial fans constrained their movement,resulting in deposition features such as marginal digitated lobes at higher elevations and large depressed areas in the interior.Applying the Savage-Hutter theory,we calculate the basal friction angle and travel angle of these ancient rock-ice avalanches that are both less than 10°,affirming the similarity of these avalanches in the study area to those occurring in other regions.Our study significantly contributes to understanding the geomorphic and kinematic characteristics of rock-ice avalanches in high-altitude mountainous regions,providing valuable insights into their response to the disproportionate growth of Himalayan peaks.

Revisiting Late Quaternary Slip-rate along the Maqu Segment of the Eastern Kunlun Fault, Northeast Tibet

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.

The First Quantitative Slip-Rate Estimated Along the Ashikule Fault at the Western Segment of the Altyn Tagh Fault System

As one of the longest strike-slip fault in Asia,the Altyn Tagh Fault（ATF）defines the northern boundary of the Tibetan Plateau and plays a significant role inaccommodating the deformation resulting from the IndiaAsia convergence.

Slip-Rate on the Middle Altyn Tagh Fault since the Holocene Period

By analyzing high-resolution SPOT images and in combination with fieldwork and chronometry, three typical fault-offset sites on the south-middle Altyn Tagh strike-slip fault were studied to obtain the sinistral horizontal slip rate of the fault. At Annanba, the left-lateral strike-slip rate on a branch of the south Altyn Tagh fault is 7.5±1.7 mm/a since 9.36±0.73ka BP. At Seven Spring, the fault has four branches and the left-lateral strike-slip rate on one of them is 2.3±0.5mm/a since 13.86±1.07ka BP, and it is deduced that the total slip-rate of all the four branches is 6.9±1.5～ 9.2±2.0 mm/a since Holocene. At Yuemakeqi, the left-lateral strike-slip rate of the fault is 10.6±3.0mm/a since 4.73±0.38 ka BP. A slip-rate of 7～11mm/a on the middle segment of the Altyn Tagh fault (between 88°30’E and 93°05’E) since Holocene can be deduced from the three sites mentioned above and the result is similar to the latest GPS observation.

Paleoseismological trenching and seismic hazard assessment of the Bozkurt Segment of the Maymundağı Fault, Acıgöl Graben, SW Türkiye

The Acıgöl Graben in SW Turkey,ca.50-55 km in length and 11-15 km in width,formed during the Miocene to Quaternary periods.This graben is bounded by active normal faults of MaymundağıFault(MF)to the northwest and the GemişFault Zone(GFZ)to the southeast that have triggered significant earthquakes,causing considerable damage.This study focuses on the Bozkurt segment of the MF,which caused a damaging earthquake(Mw 6.0)in 2019 and another significant earthquake in 1886 during historical times.A paleoseismological trench survey along the Bozkurt segment revealed at least two faulting events,with the last event producing a vertical displacement of 0.25 m.The Optical Stimulated Luminescence(OSL)dating indicates that the last earthquake occurred 3.13±0.33 ka BP,while the penultimate earthquake occurred 4.0±0.72 ka BP.These dates correspond to a long-term slip rate of approximately 0.36±0.11 mm/a and a mean recurrence interval of 2.08 ka,short-term slip rate 0.78±0.16 mm/a and recurrence interval of 0.96 ka,and compatible with the mean sedimentation rate of 0.26 mm/a,calculated from drill logs in Acıgöl basin-fill.Considering the 6 km length of the Bozkurt segment and its vertical displacement of 0.25 m in the last event,this segment has the potential to generate earthquakes ranging from 5.6 to 5.9 Mw.Long-term slip rates derived from geomorphological data are 0.56 mm/year to the north and 0.64 mm/a to the south of the graben,indicating higher subsidence on the southern margin.These rates are in accordance with the slip rates calculated from the paleoseismological trench survey and sedimentation rate from the drill-log.These indications show that the Bozkurt segment is an active Holocene fault with relatively long recurrence intervals and low-slip rate.Consequently,the paleoseismological studies in combination with geomorphological data are important tool to assess seismic hazards and to define the characteristics of individual fault segments.

Average slip-rate and recent large earthquake ruptures along the Garzê-Yushu fault

Our field investigation obtains new evidence of the later Quaternary activity and recent large earthquake ruptures of the Garzê-Yushu fault. The average left-lateral slip-rate along the fault is determined to be (12 ± 2) mm/a for the last 50000 years from both offset landforms and ages of the correlative sediments. This result is very close to the estimated average left-lateral slip-rate for the Xianshuihe fault, suggesting that the horizontal movement along the northern boundary of the Sichuan-Yunnan active tectonic block and the northeastern boundary of the Qiangtang active tectonic block has been basically harmonious during the later Quaternary period. Remains of ground ruptures of recent large earthquakes have been discovered along all 3 segments of the fault, of which, the 1896 rupture on the northwestern segment is at least 70 km long, and its corresponding earthquake could be of moment magnitude 7.3. The latest rupture on the middle segment of the fault has a length of about 180 km, and was produced by an unknown-age large earthquake that could have a moment magnitude of about 7.7. Along the southeastern segment of the fault, the latest unknown-age rupture is about 65 km long and has a maximum left-lateral coseismic displacement of 5.3 m, and its corresponding earthquake is estimated to be as large as about 7.3 of moment magnitude. Based on relevant investigation, an inference has been drawn that the later two large earthquakes probably occurred in 1854 and 1866, respectively. These demonstrate that the individual segments of the studied Garzê-Yushu fault are all able to produce large earthquakes.