The large-scale distribution of great shallow intraplate earthquakes in mainland China and adjacent areas and seismic coupling along plate margins

Abstract

In mainland China and its surroundings the large-scale distribution of great, shallow, intraplate earthquakes shows that there are four main areas of high intraplate seismicity which are (a) the Northern China Seismic Area in east China (30°–42°N); (b) the Southeast-coast Seismic Area in eastern China (19°–25°N); (c) the North-south trending Seismic Area in western China and its surroundings (Burma–China–Mongolia); (d) the Central Asian Seismic Area in west China and its surroundings (Pamirs–Tianshan Mts–Baikal). These four intraplate seismic areas are approximately perpendicular to those sections of the Eurasian plate boundary where the Eurasian plate has a strong seismic coupling with the North American–Pacific Ocean–Philippine Sea plates, and with the Indian plate. The large-scale uneven distribution of intraplate seismicity in China and its surroundings may be controlled by heterogeneity in the stress state on different sections of the plate boundary.