Current horizontal strain field in Chinese mainland derived from GPS data

Abstract

The current crustal horizontal strain field is given in the paper based on the horizontal movement rates obtained from about 400 GPS stations located in Chinese mainland and its surrounding areas. The results show: a) The horizontal strain in Chinese mainland is “strong in the west and weak in the east” and the shear strain is larger than the normal strain (absolute magnitude). The general strain magnitude is 10−8/a and in local regions is 10−7/a, but the strain distribution is not homogeneous; b) The regions with the most significant NS-trending strains are the Himalayas belt along the western segment of Chinese southern boundary, the segment of 36°N–42°N along the western boundary and the northern margin of Qaidam block; c) The EW-trending strain variation along the western margin is the maximum and it is characterized by the alternatively positive and negative variations from the west to the east; d) The regions with larger magnitudes of R EN (NE-trending shear strain) and R max (maximum shear strain) are Himalayas belt, the segment of 36°N–42°N along the western boundary, the western part of Qaidam block, Sichuan-Yunnan (Chuan-Dian) rhombic block and the border area of Alxa, Qilian and Tarim blocks; e) The surrounding area of Qinghai-Xizang (Qingzang) block is mainly superfacial contraction and its interior is basically superfacial expansion. The area to its north is mainly superfacial contraction with the maximum magnitude along the western boundary and the minimum magnitude in the eastern part (except Yanshan tectonic zone); f) In the west of the western part, the principal compressive strain is in the SN direction and the principal tensile strain is in the EW direction, while in the eastern margin area of the western part, the principal compressive strain is proximate EW and the principal tensile strain is about SN. The principal strain direction of Chuan-Dian rhombic block has changed greatly. In the northern part, it is compression in the EW and tension in the SN, while in the southern part, it is just the opposite; g) The strain pattern in Chinese mainland might be the integration of “block mode” and “successive deformation mode”. In addition, the shear strain might be the small-scale dominant strain. Such a result might be resulted from the collision of Indian plate and the boundaries coupling, and it is also closely related to the motion of deep-seated matters and the physical nature of crustal medium. Therefore, it should be noted that since the GPS stations are not homogenous in spatial distribution, the obtained strain fields and the scales of the strain should be different.