Abstract
The current work describes the combined data of three field campaigns, spanning 2009–2013. Their joint gravity and GPS observations thoroughly cover the sites of lithospheric flexure between the Sichuan Basin and the Eastern Tibetan Plateau. The study area’s free-air gravity anomalies (FGAs) are updated by using a remove-and-restore algorithm which merges EGM2008 data with in situ observations. These new FGAs show pairs of positive and negative anomalies along the eastern edges of the Tibetan Plateau. The FGAs are used to calculate effective elastic thickness (T e) and load ratios (F) of the lithosphere. Admittance analysis indicates the T e of Longmen Shan (LMS) to be 6 km, and profile analysis indicates that the T e of the Sichuan Basin excesses 30 km. The load ratio (F 1 = 1) confirms that the lithospheric flexure of the LMS area can be attributed solely to the surface load of the crust.
Highlights
The Tibetan Plateau was formed and continues to be shaped by tectonic forces involved in the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates
The new free-air gravity anomalies (FGAs) are found around the Longmen Shan (LMS) area (Fig. 5b) by adding the predicted residuals gres to the corresponding EGM2008 data, and the standard deviation between observed and predicted by LSC is 0.43 mGal
Based on the in situ joint gravity and GPS observations conducted in the past several years, a dense network was constructed between the Sichuan Basin and the eastern Tibetan Plateau (Fig. 2)
Summary
The Tibetan Plateau was formed and continues to be shaped by tectonic forces involved in the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Merging the modeled EGM2008 data with in situ observations could render the FGAs in the study area more reliable.
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