Deep tectonics and seismogenic mechanisms of the seismic source zone of the Jishishan M_(s)6.2 earthquake on December 18,2023,at the northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau

On December 18,2023,an M_(s)6.2 earthquake occurred in Jishishan,Gansu Province,China.This earthquake happened in the eastern region of the Qilian Orogenic Belt,which is situated at the forefront of the NE margin of the Tibetan Plateau(i.e.,Qinghai-Tibet Plateau),encompassing a rhombic-shaped area that intersects the Qilian-Qaidam Basin,Alxa Block,Ordos Block,and South China Block.In this study,we analyzed the deep tectonic pattern of the Jishishan earthquake by incorporating data on the crustal thickness,velocity structure,global navigation satellite system(GNSS)strain field,and anisotropy.We discovered that the location of the earthquake was related to changes in the crustal structure.The results showed that the Jishishan M_(s)6.2 earthquake occurred in a unique position,with rapid changes in the crustal thickness,Vp/Vs,phase velocity,and S-wave velocity.The epicenter of the earthquake was situated at the transition zone between high and low velocities and was in proximity to a low-velocity region.Additionally,the source area is flanked by two high-velocity anomalies from the east and west.The principal compressive strain orientation near the Lajishan Fault is primarily in the NNE and NE directions,which align with the principal compressive stress direction in this region.In some areas of the Lajishan Fault,the principal compressive strain orientations show the NNW direction,consistent with the direction of the upper crustal fast-wave polarization from local earthquakes and the phase velocity azimuthal anisotropy.These features underscore the relationship between the occurrence of the Jishishan M_(s)6.2 earthquake and the deep inhomogeneous structure and deep tectonic characteristics.The NE margin of the Tibetan Plateau was thickened by crustal extension in the process of northeastward expansion,and the middle and lower crustal materials underwent structural deformation and may have been filled with salt-containing fluids during the extension process.The presence of this weak layer makes it easier for strong earthquakes to occur through the release of overlying rigid crustal stresses.However,it is unlikely that an earthquake of comparable or larger magnitude would occur in the short term(e.g.,in one year)at the Jishishan east margin fault.

Quantification of the concrete freeze–thaw environment across the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau based on machine learning algorithms

The reasonable quantification of the concrete freezing environment on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau(QTP) is the primary issue in frost resistant concrete design, which is one of the challenges that the QTP engineering managers should take into account. In this paper, we propose a more realistic method to calculate the number of concrete freeze–thaw cycles(NFTCs) on the QTP. The calculated results show that the NFTCs increase as the altitude of the meteorological station increases with the average NFTCs being 208.7. Four machine learning methods, i.e., the random forest(RF) model, generalized boosting method(GBM), generalized linear model(GLM), and generalized additive model(GAM), are used to fit the NFTCs. The root mean square error(RMSE) values of the RF, GBM, GLM, and GAM are 32.3, 4.3, 247.9, and 161.3, respectively. The R^(2) values of the RF, GBM, GLM, and GAM are 0.93, 0.99, 0.48, and 0.66, respectively. The GBM method performs the best compared to the other three methods, which was shown by the results of RMSE and R^(2) values. The quantitative results from the GBM method indicate that the lowest, medium, and highest NFTC values are distributed in the northern, central, and southern parts of the QTP, respectively. The annual NFTCs in the QTP region are mainly concentrated at 160 and above, and the average NFTCs is 200 across the QTP. Our results can provide scientific guidance and a theoretical basis for the freezing resistance design of concrete in various projects on the QTP.

Plume-lithosphere interaction in the Comei Large Igneous Province: Evidence from two types of mafic dykes in Gyangze, south Tibet, China

Two suites of mafic dykes,T1193-A and T1194-A,outcrop in Gyangze area,southeast Tibet.They are in the area of Comei LIP and have indistinguishable field occurrences with two other dykes in Gyangze,T0902 dyke with 137.7±1.3 Ma zircon age and T0907 dyke with 142±1.4 Ma zircon age reported by Wang YY et al.(2016),indicating coeval formation time.Taking all the four diabase dykes into consideration,two different types,OIB-type and weak enriched-type,can be summarized.The“OIB-type”samples,including T1193-A and T0907 dykes,show OIB-like geochemical features and have initial Sr-Nd isotopic values similar with most mafic products in Comei Large Igneous Provinces(LIP),suggesting that they represent melts directly generated from the Kerguelen mantle plume.The“weak enriched-type”samples,including T1194-A and T0902 dykes,have REEs and trace element patterns showing withinplate affinity but have obvious Nb-Ta-Ti negative anomalies.They show uniform lowerεNd(t)values(−6‒−2)and higher 87Sr/86Sr(t)values(0.706‒0.709)independent of their MgO variation,indicating one enriched mantle source.Considering their closely spatial and temporal relationship with the widespread Comei LIP magmatic products in Tethyan Himalaya,these“weak enriched-type”samples are consistent with mixing of melts from mantle plume and the above ancient Tethyan Himalaya subcontinental lithospheric mantle(SCLM)in different proportions.These weak enriched mafic rocks in Comei LIP form one special rock group and most likely suggest large scale hot mantle plume-continental lithosphere interaction.This process may lead to strong modification of the Tethyan Himalaya lithosphere in the Early Cretaceous.

Climate Change Characteristics and Return Periods of Heavy Precipitation in the Northeast Side of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

[ Objective] The study aimed to discuss analyze climate change characteristics and return periods of heavy precipitation in the northeast side of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. [ Method] Based on the data of daily precipitation from 1943 to 2008 in 6 representative meteorological stations in Linxia located in the northeast side of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the climate change characteristics of heavy precipitation were analyzed, and the return periods of heavy precipitation were calculated by Pearson-Ill probability distribution method. [ Result] Days of heavy precipitation in Linxia region in- creased conspicuously since the 1990s. The return periods of heavy precipitation in the six stations on August 20, 2008 were consistent with the re- sults of artificial estimation. [ Conclusion] The research could provide scientific references for the reasonable utilization of climate resources, disas- ter prevention and rational arranqement of anricultural plantina svstems in Linxia reaion.

Contribution of external forcing to summer precipitation trends over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Southwest China

在过去的60年中,全球气候经历了快速变暖和短暂的变暖停滞,而中国的区域降水也经历了多样而复杂的变化.本文分析了1961年至2014年外强迫因子对青藏高原和中国西南地区夏季降水趋势的影响.观测数据显示,青藏高原的夏季降水呈增加趋势,而中国西南地区的夏季降水呈减少趋势,这两个相邻地区的夏季降水变化趋势相反.利用CMIP6数据,本文研究了不同外强迫因子对两个区域夏季降水趋势的影响.结果表明,温室气体对青藏高原夏季降水的增加具有显著影响,而气溶胶在中国西南地区夏季降水减少中起主要作用。

Hydrogen isotopic composition of plant leaf wax in response to soil moisture in an arid ecosystem of the northeast Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

The hydrogen isotopic composition of plant leaf wax（δDwax） is used as an important tool for paleohydrologic reconstruction. However, the understanding of the relative importance of environmental and biological factors in determining δDwax values still remains incomplete. To identify the effects of soil moisture and plant physiology on δDwax values in an arid ecosystem, and to explore the implication of these values for paleoclimatic reconstruction, we measured δD values of soil water（δDwater） and δDwax values in surface soils along two distance transects extending from the lakeshore to wetland to dryland around Lake Qinghai and Lake Gahai on the northeast Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that the δDwater values were negatively correlated with soil water content（SWC）（R^2=0.9166）, and ranged from –67‰ to –46‰ with changes in SWC from 6.2% to 42.1% in the arid areas of the Gangcha（GCh） and Gahai（GH） transects. This indicated that evaporative D-enrichment in soil water was sensitive to soil moisture in an arid ecosystem. Although the shift from grasses to shrubs with increasing aridity occurred in the arid area of the GH transect, the δDwax values in surface soils from the arid areas of the two transects still showed a negative correlation with SWC（R^2=0.6835）, which may be due to the controls of primary evaporative D-enrichment in the soil water and additional transpirational D-enrichment in the leaf water on the δDwaxvalues. Our preliminary research suggested that δDwax values can potentially be applied as a paleo-humidity indicator on the northeast Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

THERMAL STRUCTURE OF LITHOSPHERE IN THE QAIDAM BASIN, NORTHEAST QINGHAI-TIBET PLATEAU

The Qaidam Basin is a petroleum province in Northeastern Qinghai—Tibetan plateau, China. The Basin is bounded by the Aljin Mountains to the Northwest, the Qilian Mountains to the Northeast, the Qimantager Mountains to the Southeast and East Kunlun Mountains to the Southwest. The average elevation of the basin and these mountains are 2700m and 3000～ 5000 m respect to the sea level, respectively. The basin was developed on the pre\|Mesozoic basement. Thickness of Tertiary system is more than 10000m in the basin,but Quaternary is mainly in the eastern basin with thickness more than 3000m. The lithology in Mesozoic and Cenozoic of the basin are mainly sandstone, shale, calcic rocks and the interlayers of sandstone and shale.

Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of the Arcuate Structures in the Northeast Tibetan Plateau

The northeast Tibetan plateau contains important inlbrmation on the northeastward growth of the Tibetan plateau. It is bounded by the Ordos Block to the east, the Alxa Block to the north, and the Tibetan Plateau to the south （inset in Fig. 1; Tapponnier et al., 2001）, and has undergone complex intracontinental deformation during the Cenozoic. In this region, the northeast-convex arcuate structures developed northeastward, and are composed of a series of Cenozoic NW-SE-trending basin-and-range terrain, i.e., the Haiyuan-Xingrenbu basin, Tongxin basin and Hongsipu basin, the Yueliang Shan-Nanhua Shan- Huangjiawa Shan, Xiang Shan-Xiangjing Shan, Yantong Shan and Luo Shan-Niushou Shah, which is geometrically similar with the American basin-range tectonics.

Monitoring the impact of climate change and human activities on grassland vegetation dynamics in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China during 2000–2015

Climate change and human activities can influence vegetation net primary productivity(NPP), a key component of natural ecosystems. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China, in spite of its significant natural and cultural values, is one of the most susceptible regions to climate change and human disturbances in the world. To assess the impact of climate change and human activities on vegetation dynamics in the grassland ecosystems of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, we applied a time-series trend analysis to normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) datasets from 2000 to 2015 and compared these spatiotemporal variations with trends in climatic variables over the same time period. The constrained ordination approach(redundancy analysis) was used to determine which climatic variables or human-related factors mostly influenced the variation of NDVI. Furthermore, in order to determine whether current conservation measures and programs are effective in ecological protection and reconstruction, we divided the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau into two parts: the Three-River Headwater conservation area(TRH zone) in the south and the non-conservation area(NTRH zone) in the north. The results indicated an overall(73.32%) increasing trend of vegetation NPP in grasslands throughout the study area. During the period 2000–2015, NDVI in the TRH and NTRH zones increased at the rates of 0.0015/a and 0.0020/a, respectively. Specifically, precipitation accounted for 9.2% of the total variation in NDVI, while temperature accounted for 13.4%. In addition, variation in vegetation NPP of grasslands responded not only to long-and short-term changes in climate, as conceptualized in non-equilibrium theory, but also to the impact of human activities and their associated perturbations. The redundancy analysis successfully separated the relative contributions of climate change and human activities, of which village population and agricultural gross domestic product were the two most important contributors to the NDVI changes, explaining 17.8% and 17.1% of the total variation of NDVI(with the total contribution >30.0%), respectively. The total contribution percentages of climate change and human activities to the NDVI variation were 27.5% and 34.9%, respectively, in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Finally, our study shows that the grassland restoration in the study area was enhanced by protection measures and programs in the TRH zone, which explained 7.6% of the total variation in NDVI.

STYLE AND CONSEQUENCE OF STRAIN PARTITION IN THE NORTHEAST MARGIN OF QINGHAI—TIBET PLATEAU

The Northeastern margin of Qinghai—Tibet plateau,here refers to the region bounded by Western Qinling fault zone and Longshoushan—Liupanshan tectonic zone, where obliquely compression deformation occurred with the NE\|trending maximum principle axis of stress, with Ordos Massif to the east, Alaxa Block to the north, and Qinghai—Tibet plateau to the southwest. The main structure in this region is Haiyuan—Gulang transpression zone. It consists of a series of active faults: the Haiyuan fault zone, the Tianjingshan fault zone, the Yantongshan fault zone and the Niushoushan—Luoshan fault zone.

Variable hydrological effects of herbs and shrubs in the arid northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China

This study aims to assess the hydrological effects of four herbs and four shrubs planted in a selfestablished test area in Xining Basin of northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. The RainfallIntercepting Capability(RIC) of the herbs and shrubs was evaluated in rainfall interception experiment at the end of the third, fourth and fifth month of the growth period in 2007. The leaf transpiration rate and the effects of roots on promoting soil moisture evaporation in these plants were also assessed in transpiration experiment and root-soil composite system evaporation experiment in the five month's growth period. It is found that the RIC of the fourstudied herbs follows the order of E. repens, E. dahuricus, A. trachycaulum and L. secalinus; the RIC of the four shrubs follows the order of A. canescens, Z. xanthoxylon, C. korshinskii and N. tangutorum. The RIC of all the herbs is related linearly to their mean height and canopy area(R^2 ≥ 0.9160). The RIC of all the shrubs bears a logarithmic relationship with their mean height(R^2 ≥ 0.9164), but a linear one with their canopy area(R^2 ≥ 0.9356). Moreover, different species show different transpiration rates. Of the four herbs, E. repens has the highest transpiration rate of 1.07 mg/(m^2·s), and of the four shrubs, A. canescens has the highest transpiration rate(0.74 mg/(m^2·s)). The roots of all the herbs and shrubs can promote soil moisture evaporation. Of the four herbs, the evaporation rate of E. repens root-soil composite system is the highest(2.14%), and of the four shrubs,the root-soil composite system of A. canescens has the highest evaporation rate(1.41%). The evaporation rate of the root-soil composite system of E. dahuricus and Z. xanthoxylon bears a second-power linear relationship with evaporation time(R^2 ≥ 0.9924). The moisture content of all the eight root-soil composite systems decreases exponentially with evaporation time(R^2 ≥ 0.8434). The evaporation rate and moisture content of all the plants' root-soil composite systems increases logarithmically(R^2 ≥ 0.9606) and linearly(R^2 ≥ 0.9777) with root volume density. The findings of this study indicate that among the four herbs and four shrubs, E. repens and A. canescens possess the most effective hydrological effects in reducing the soil erosion and shallow landslide in this region.

Water Environmental Degradation of the Source Area of the Yellow River on Northeast Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The issue on water environmental degradation in the source area of the Yellow River has been one of very serious ecological and socially economic problems. The temporal-spatial changes of water environment led to the decreasing of land capacity and river disconnecting. The status of water environmental degradation in this paper was analyzed based on the data and field investigation. The results indicated that the surface water area in the region has obviously decreased owing to the climate changes and human irrational use of water resources and the continuous lowering of the regional groundwater table and the steadily decreasing tendency of the flow rate in the source areas of the Yellow River.

Formation and Evolution of the Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic Ruo'ergai Basin,Northeastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The Middle Triassic Ladinian-Upper Triassic Norian series in the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Ruo’ergai basin of Songpan area is characterized of large thick shallow marine-deep marine fine grained clastic.The strata are regionally unconformable between each adjacent two of the Middle-Late Triassic fine grained clastic,the Jurassic coal-containing clastic,the Cretaceous-Paleogene variegated coarse clastic。

Evolution of the Late Cenozoic Tectonic Stress Regime in the Tianshui Basin,Northeast Tibetan Plateau

The Tianshui Basin,located inside the western Qinling orogenic belt and northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau （Fig.1）,is a NE-trending Late Cenozoic basin,which documents the neotectonic response of the northeastward growth of Tibetan Plateau.

Analysis of Doppler Radar Data about a Super Monomer Hailstorms in the Northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

[Objective] The Doppler radar data about a super monomer hailstorms in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the Zhongchuan Airport in the Lanzhou City on September 6,2010 was studied.[Method] By dint of routine data and radar data,the low vortex shear line type and the super monomer hailstorm around the Zhongchuan Airport in the Lanzhou City on September 6,2010 were expounded.Basic product and secondary product of Doppler radar were used in this process to reflect the characteristics of strong convection weather.Some characteristics of this process shall be explored.[Result] A small gush of cold air from the cold vortex of 500 hPa in the middle and high layer provided impacts.The warm shear line provided water vapor and energy in the 700 hPa.There was strong convective weather in the upper air.Such 10 minutes of hailstorm was rarely seen in the drought land in the northwest.The characteristics of the strong convection were distinct and typical.The front showed no echo form.However,it can not be reflected in 'strong wedge' in another form.In this process,characteristics of BWER and middle scale cyclone were distinct.And this was a typical hailstorm process caused by super monomer.[Conclusion] The study provided some helpful references for the forecast of strong convection weather in the Zhongchuan Airport in Lanzhou City.

Gravity evidence of underplating in the northeastern margin area of Qinghai-Tibet plateau

Based on leveling data in 1972 -2011 and relative-gravity data in 1993 -2011, we obtained a longterm vertical crustal-deformation rate of 1.62mm/a and a relative-gravity variation rate of 0.62 × 10^-8 ms^-2a^-1 for the northeastern margin area of Qinghai-Tibet plateau. After removing the contributions from the observed vertical movement and inferred surface denudation, we obtain a gravity-variation rate of 0.73 × 10^-8 ms^-2a^-1 attributable to the mass changes beneath the crust. This positive change suggests that the total mass under the observation stations was gradually increasing. We consider this result to be the gravitational evidence of underplating beneath the study area, and propose that the underplating was caused by collision betwen the Indian plate and Tibetan plateau and by gravitation-potential induced deviatoric stress.

Late Cenozoic Normal Faulting on the Western Side of Wenquan Graben, Central Qianghai-Xizang(Tibet) Plateau

A near NS-strike east-dipping normal fault is developed on the western side of Wenquan graben in the central Qinghai-Xizang(Tibet) Plateau. It is the western marginal fault of the graben and has been intensely active. It is a product of the near EW extension and deformation of the central northern Qinghai-Xizang(Tibet) Plateau since the late Cenozoic under the effect of the collision of the India and Eurasia plates. Since the late Cenozoic, the maximum vertical displacement on the fault was greater than 2.1km, and the dislocated Mesozoic fold stratum reveals a maximum accumulative throw of 6.0±2.2km. Quaternary faulting took place many times along the fault, creating multi-set piedmont fault facets and multi-level fault scarplets. According to the height of fault scarps that result from the vertical offset of the late Quaternary strata and geomorphic provinces, the maximum slip rate of the fault is estimated to have been less than 1.2mm/a since the late Quaternary, averaging 0.45mm/a. The trenching across the fault reveals that at least 3 paleoearthquakes of varied magnitudes have occurred since the late Epipleistocene. In view of the characteristics of Cenozoic faulting, it is concluded that the fault will act as a dominant seismogenic fault for earthquakes of M6.0 to M7.0 that are most likely to occur in the future.

Modeling the Dynamic Gravity Variations of Northeastern Margin of Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau by Using Bicubic Spline Interpolation Function

In this paper, the spatial-temporal gravity variation patterns of the northeastern margin of Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau in 1992～2001 are modeled using bicubic spline interpolation functions and the relations of gravity change with seismicity and tectonic movement are discussed preliminarily. The results show as follows: ① Regional gravitational field changes regularly and the gravity abnormity zone or gravity concentration zone appears in the earthquake preparation process; ② In the significant time period, the gravity variation shows different features in the northwest, southeast and northeast parts of the surveyed region respectively, with Lanzhou as its boundary; ③ The gravity variation distribution is basically identical to the strike of tectonic fault zone of the region, and the contour of gravity variation is closely related to the fault distribution.

C:N:P stoichiometry of perennial herbs’ organs in the alpine steppe of the northern Tibetan Plateau

The patterns of C:N:P stoichiometry across ecosystems are important in understanding biogeochemical processes. The stoichiometry of nutrients at the leaf and root level have been reported previously, but relationships of other plant organs, such as stems and the reproductive organs, remain unclear. We collected 228 samples of leaves, roots, stems and reproductive organs from 11 common plant species at 25 sites on the Tibetan Plateau to explore the relationships of C:N:P stoichiometry both within and across plant organs. The average C concentrations in the roots, leaves, stems and reproductive organs were 427.32, 410.51, 421.11 and 416.72 mg g-1, respectively. The shoot tissues(leaves, stems and reproductive organs) had significantly higher N and P concentrations than the roots. The N and P concentrations had a significant positive correlation within the same organ. The nutrient concentrations(N and P) and nutrient ratios(C:N, C:P and N:P) were significantly correlated across all pairwise organ combinations. Our data suggest that alpine perennial herbs share similar evolutionary histories and have constrained patterns of covariation for C concentrations, with differential patterns for N and P stoichiometry across organs. Our data also indicate that covarying sets of nutrient traits are consistent across environments and biogeographical regions and demonstrate convergent evolution in plant nutritional characteristics in extreme alpine environments.

Spatial and temporal change patterns of net primary productivity and its response to climate change in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau of China from 2000 to 2015

The vegetation ecosystem of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau in China,considered to be the′′natural laboratory′′of climate change in the world,has undergone profound changes under the stress of global change.Herein,we analyzed and discussed the spatial-temporal change patterns and the driving mechanisms of net primary productivity(NPP)in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau from 2000 to 2015 based on the gravity center and correlation coefficient models.Subsequently,we quantitatively distinguished the relative effects of climate change(such as precipitation,temperature and evapotranspiration)and human activities(such as grazing and ecological construction)on the NPP changes using scenario analysis and Miami model based on the MOD17A3 and meteorological data.The average annual NPP in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau showed a decreasing trend from the southeast to the northwest during 2000–2015.With respect to the inter-annual changes,the average annual NPP exhibited a fluctuating upward trend from 2000 to 2015,with a steep increase observed in 2005 and a high fluctuation observed from 2005 to 2015.In the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau,the regions with the increase in NPP(change rate higher than 10%)were mainly concentrated in the Three-River Source Region,the northern Hengduan Mountains,the middle and lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River,and the eastern parts of the North Tibet Plateau,whereas the regions with the decrease in NPP(change rate lower than–10%)were mainly concentrated in the upper reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River and the Ali Plateau.The gravity center of NPP in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau has moved southwestward during 2000–2015,indicating that the increment and growth rate of NPP in the southwestern part is greater than those of NPP in the northeastern part.Further,a significant correlation was observed between NPP and climate factors in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.The regions exhibiting a significant correlation between NPP and precipitation were mainly located in the central and eastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau,and the regions exhibiting a significant correlation between NPP and temperature were mainly located in the southern and eastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.Furthermore,the relative effects of climate change and human activities on the NPP changes in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau exhibited significant spatial differences in three types of zones,i.e.,the climate change-dominant zone,the human activity-dominant zone,and the climate change and human activity interaction zone.These research results can provide theoretical and methodological supports to reveal the driving mechanisms of the regional ecosystems to the global change in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.