Systematic deflection and offset of the Yangtze River drainage system along the strike-slip Ganzi-Yushu-Xianshuihe Fault Zone, Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

The Ganzi-Yushu-Xianshuihe Fault Zone (GYXFZ) is a typical active strike-slip fault that has triggered many large historic earthquakes, including the 2010 Mw 6.9 Yushu earthquake in the central Tibetan Plateau. This fault zone extends for ca. 800km from the central Tibetan Plateau to its southeastern margin and varies in trend from WNW-ESE in the northwestern segment of the fault zone to NNW-SSE in the southeastern segment, having the geometry of an arc projecting northeastwards. In this study, we present evidence for the systematical sinistral deflection and/or offset of the Yangtze River and its branch stream channels and valleys along the GYXFZ. Topographic analysis of three-dimensional (3D) perspective images constructed using digital elevation model (DEM) data, 0.5m-resolution WorldView and GeoEye images, and 15m-resolution Landsat-Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) images, together with analysis of geological structures, reveals the following: (i) the main river channels and valleys of the Yangtze River drainage system show systematic sinistral deflections and/or offsets along the GYXFZ; (ii) various amounts of sinistral offset have accumulated on the tributary stream channels, valleys, and gullies of the Yangtze River along the fault, with a linear relation, D=aL, between the upstream length L from the deflected point and the offset amount D with a certain coefficient a; (iii) the maximum amount of sinistral offset is up to ca. 60km, which was accumulated in the past 13–5Ma; and (iv) the long-term average strike-slip rate is ca. 4.6–12mm/year. Geological and geomorphic evidence, combined with geophysical data, demonstrates that the GYXFZ is currently active as one of the major seismogenic faults in the Tibetan Plateau, dominated by left-lateral strike-slip motion. Our findings supply important evidence for the tectonic evolution of strike-slip faults in the Tibetan Plateau since the Eurasia-India continental collision.