Late Holocene activity and historical earthquakes of the Qiongxi thrust fault system in the southern Longmen Shan fold-and-thrust belt, eastern Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

The 12 May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (Mw 7.9) generated a 285-km-long surface rupture zone along the Longmen Shan fold-and-thrust belt (LSFTB) on the eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau. The Wenchuan earthquake did not rupture into the southwestern Longmen Shan, along which there is no evidence for large paleo- or historical earthquakes. Seismic reflection profiles and field investigations reveal that the 50-km-long Qiongxi thrust fault (QTF) of the southern LSFTB is currently active. The QTF consists of three west-dipping ramp segments overlain by fault-bend folds rooted in a regional detachment that transfers shortening from the mountain belt into the Sichuan basin. Trench investigations, coupled with interpretations of seismic reflection profiles and radiocarbon results, show that a recent surface-rupturing earthquake occurred on the QTF during the Late Ming to Qing Dynasty, between AD 1600 and 1800. In addition, seismic reflection profile and topographic analysis indicate the presence of a subtle topographic, produced by kink-band migration folding above a fault bend at about 5km depth. These findings confirm that the QTF is a significant seismic hazard, and that it should be incorporated into current regional seismic hazard models for the densely populated Sichuan basin.