Longmenshan Tectonic Belt Research Articles

Analysis on multi period activity and evolution of Yingxiu-Beichuan fault in Longmenshan area

As the boundary between the Yangtze Craton and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Longmenshan tectonic belt is known for its typical fault-slip systems and strong Cenozoic activities. Due to the complexity of the structure of the orogenic belt, the tectonic evolution and formation mechanism of the Longmenshan tectonic belt have been controversial. This paper essentially focuses on the geological isotopic chronology limitation of the fault activity of the Longmenshan Central Fault (Yingxiu-Beichuan Fault). The K-Ar dating of the illite in the fault gouge sample on the fault surface reveals that the direct age of the fault would be about 111 Ma. Combined with the previous age results, the following results are obtained: The Yingxiu-Beichuan fault was a multi-stage active fault in the Mesozoic, which was active in the Late Triassic (229–216 Ma), Early Jurassic (190–171 Ma) and the end of Early Cretaceous (130–110Ma). This paper analyzes the evolution of the central fault through regional geological evolution, seismic profile analysis and structural physical simulation experiment, and the following main results are obtained: Animaqing Paleo-Tethys Ocean on the northern margin of the Songpan Garze Block and the Jinshajiang Paleo Tethys Ocean in the southern margin were closed successively in the Middle and Late Triassic, Such a fact essentially occurred under the influence of differential uplift, that is, the pre-existing Yingxiu-Beichuan fault changed from a normal fault to a reverse fault in the Late Triassic, and then reactivated. Under the influence of the gravity slip mechanism, the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault was active until it ceased in the Early Jurassic. Since then, affected by the closure of the Middle Tethys Ocean, in the Early Cretaceous, the fault developed again, and branch faults developed in front of the fault. During the Himalayan period, due to the collision and ccocnnection of the Eurasian plate and the Indian plate, the fault was reactivated.

Structural analysis of the foreland basin of the southern Longmenshan tectonic belt: New insights from magnetic fabrics

Multi‐scale intracontinental deformations were developed in response to the tectonic evolution of the southern Longmenshan tectonic belt (LMS) on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Detailed studies, including field structural analysis and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS), were conducted on sedimentary rocks in the foreland basin of the southern Longmenshan tectonic belt (FBSL) in order to better understand the tectonic evolution of the southern LMS. Field observations show that FBSL deformations are mainly characterized by broad and gentle folds in a NE–SW direction and shallow thrust faults. At least two sedimentary discontinuities and two‐stage deformations occurred after the deposition of Cretaceous strata. Samples of magnetic fabrics from the Qionglai–Changshiba profile were characterized by the triaxial magnetic susceptibility ellipsoids common in sedimentary rocks. The magnetic fabrics of the profile represent a weak deformation that was associated with layer‐parallel shortening before folding and mainly reflect the Mesozoic–Cenozoic NW–SE convergence. There are also the following atypical magnetic fabrics: magnetic foliation that is oblique to the bedding and that was associated with layer‐parallel simple shearing during folding; and magnetic lineation that is to varying degrees oblique to the strike of bedding and represents a superposition of structures. Based on the correlation results of magnetic fabrics for samples of different ages, a tectonic superposition since the Late Indosinian Orogeny was found in FBSL. By combining field structural analysis and magnetic fabrics, it was suggested herein that the FBSL is a propagation product of Mesozoic–Cenozoic deformations of southern LMS to the southeast, which therefore experienced a composite superposition of deformations. This finding provides the basis for a comprehensive understanding of the southern LMS and may shed light on the uplift of the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and the tectonic response of its eastern boundary.

Basic Characteristics and Evolution of Geological Structures in the Eastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Based on field geological survey and stratigraphic profile survey in the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the basic characteristics and evolution of geological structure in the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are studied. The Dongyuan area of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is divided into the late Cenozoic period and the current period. During the Late Cenozoic, the Pliocene Xigeda lacustrine deposits develops from 4.2 MaBP to 2.6 MaBP, with 9 cold-warm climate change stages. There are 4.3 MaBP old glacial period in this area, and 5 extreme paleoclimate events in Quaternary. At present, the horizontal movement intensity and mode of different tectonic zones are determined by the northward extrusion, eastward extrusion and rotation around the eastern tectonic junction in the study area, and the stages of the movement state changing with time are related to the gestation and occurrence of extra-large earthquakes. At present, the three-dimensional crustal movement shows that the tectonic activity differentiation of mountain and basin, which is related to tectonic dynamic environment and deep material activity, is related to the compression, shortening and uplift of plateau mountain and the extension and subsidence of basin, reflecting the inheritance of neotectonic activity. Through practical analysis, it is found that the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is composed of Minshan fault block and Longmenshan structural belt. The left-lateral dislocation of Minjiang fault is roughly the same as the vertical dislocation. In Longmenshan tectonic belt, the right-lateral dislocation of Maowen-Wenchuan fault, Beichuan-Yingxiu fault and other main faults is the same as the vertical dislocation.

Transformation of coseismic faults in the northern Longmenshan tectonic belt, eastern Tibetan Plateau: Implications for potential earthquakes and seismic risks

Increasingly frequent earthquakes in the Longmenshan (LMS) tectonic belt are linked to the ongoing eastward growth of the Tibetan Plateau during the Late Cenozoic. Following the devastating 2008 Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake in the central LMS and the 2013 Ms 7.0 Lushan earthquake in the southern segment, an unexpected Ms 5.4 Qingchuan earthquake occurred on September 30, 2017 in the northern LMS. We synthesize focal mechanism solutions, relocated aftershocks, regional geology, and seismic reflection profiles in order to determine the pre-existing faults and active fault system in the northern LMS, thus to better assess potential seismic hazards. At a seismically resolvable scale, we identify a large structural wedge at the basement that is cross-cut by numerous multiphase and multi-behavior active faults. Our seismotectonic model indicates that the seismogenic fault responsible for the 2017 Ms 5.4 Qingchuan earthquake is a pre-existing thrust fault with a dip of ∼34° in the frontal thrust ramp. Reactivation of this fault then triggered the activity of the co-seismic strike-slip fault that was formed in the 2008 Wenchuan event. The seismic interpretation, focal mechanism solutions, and aftershock distribution indicate that two sub-segment faults with different geometries are distinguished along the northern LMS. Accordingly, a transformation of the coseismic fault with different geometry and kinematics is formed. With the constraints that the mainshock and aftershocks occurred on two different faults, we propose that both the frontal ramp thrust fault and the recently-formed strike-slip fault are tectonically active. This study highlights the importance of the influence of the pre-existing fault system on the evolution of the northern LMS during the Late Cenozoic. The rapid uplift of the eastern Tibetan Plateau and the complex fault system indicate the potential for seismic risks in the northern LMS.

Gravity field and deep seismogenic environment in the Longmen Shan and adjacent regions, Eastern Tibetan Plateau

In this paper, we adopt the methods of Euler deconvolution, source parameter imaging (SPI), source edge detection (SED), inversion of the Moho interface, and three-dimensional (3-D) visualization of the crust for the inversion of the Bouguer gravity anomaly of the Longmen Shan and adjacent regions, analyse the 3-D structure, deep structure, and deformation characteristics of the crust, and investigate the cause of the deep seismogenic environment and the Wenchuan earthquake. The research indicates that the Longmen Shan fault zone is characterized by a NE-trending large gravity gradient zone with a gradient value that exceeds 3.7 mGal/km. The Euler diagram reveals that there is a low-density anomaly body in the lower crust of the Longmen Shan fault zone that is a NE-trending narrow strip approximately 100 km long, 65 km wide and 35–50 km deep. The Songpan-Garze block on the northwest side does not have the material source and pathway of the lower crustal flow in the Euler diagram. Therefore, the low-density anomaly body is related to the upwelling of the mantle heat flow below it. In comparison with the Songpan-Garze and Chuan-Dian blocks, the strength of the field source of the Sichuan Basin is high (−175 to −96 mGal), indicating that the average density of the crust is high, and the depth of the field source is stable at 15–25 km. The SED map reveals that there has been counter-clockwise rotation of the Sichuan Basin since the Cenozoic. The SPI shows that the Longmen Shan fault zone is narrowly located in the beaded linear “shallow source anomaly” belt and that its two sides are stable areas of deep source anomalies, indicating characteristics of crustal hardness on both sides, so that it is prone to accumulate stress and strain. The Moho depth across the Longmen Shan descends from 41.8 km in the east to 61.6 km in the west. The complex intersection of high-density and low-density anomaly bodies appears in the deep part of the Longmen Shan tectonic belt, and the crustal structure is fragmented. Moreover, there is a strong abrupt change in the Moho topography, and therefore, this region has a deep environment for the genesis of strong earthquakes. The dextral strike-slip movement of the Longmen Shan fault zone is caused by the movement of the Songpan-Garze block and the counter-clockwise rotation of the Sichuan Basin; therefore, the counter-clockwise rotation of the Sichuan Basin is one of the important dynamic backgrounds for the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.

The Identification of Large‐Giant Bedrock Landslides Triggered by Earthquake in the Longmenshan Tectonic Belt

The identification of large-giant bedrock landslides triggered by earthquake aims to the landslide prevention and control.Previous studies have described the basic characteristics,distribution,and the formation mechanism of seismic landslides(Bijan Khazai et al.,2003;Chong Xu et al.,2013;Lewis a.Owen et al.,2008;Randall W.Jibson et al.,2006).However,few researches have focused on the early identification indicators of large-giant

THE STRONG MOTION RECORDS OF THEMs8.0 WENCHUAN EARTHQUAKE BY THE DIGITAL STRONG EARTHQUAKE NETWORK IN SICHUAN AND THE NEIGHBORING REGION

The Ms8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake of May 12, 2008 resulted in oblique dextral-thrust motion in the Longmen Shan tectonic belt resulted. During this earthquake event, 133 sets of three-component acceleration records were collected by the digital earthquake network in Sichuan Province. By using these records and some strong motion records from the networks in Shanxi and Gansu provinces, contours of peak ground acceleration were determined. These contours are elliptically shaped with the major axis oriented in a northeast direction. The peak acceleration decayed more gradually toward the northeast, parallel to the rupture propagation than toward the southwest, indicating a directivity effect. The peak acceleration also decayed more gradually toward the northwest, on the hanging wall, than toward the southeast on the footwall. A relatively high rate of attenuation in the peak acceleration was also evident on the Yingxiu-Beichuan section of the fault; this can be attributed to the seismic source fracture pattern and rupture progress. The measured peak vertical and horizontal ground acceleration components were far larger than the design values prescribed by the Code for Seismic Design of Buildings (GB50011-2001). As distance from the rupture increased, the acceleration response spectrum gradually became dominated by long-period motions. A large velocity pulse was also measured at a distance of about 80–100 km from the fault.

Catastrophic landslides associated with the M8.0 Wenchuan earthquake

Numerous earthquake-induced landslides occurred in the Longmenshan tectonic belt associated with the 12th May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake where the vertical acceleration was greater than the horizontal ground motion. Many of these landslides originated in the steep mountain terrain which amplified the effect of the ground shaking. Three typical landslides are discussed: the Niujuangou sturzstrom, the Chengxi rock slide and the 1,100 million m3 Daguangbao rock slide. Having discussed the individual slides and some previously published models, a mechanism to explain both the very fast velocity of the slides and their long run-out distance is proposed, taking into account aerodynamic principles. The model postulates that air trapped in the steep-sided valley by the collapsing rock mass forms a “cushion-effect” on which the debris moves.

Surface rupture and hazard characteristics of the Wenchuan Ms 8.0 earthquake, Sichuan, China

Longmen Shan is located the special joint be-tween Tibetan Plateau inland in the west and Yangtze craton in the east. Consisting of a se-ries of parallel imbricated thrust, it develops, from the west to the east, the Maoxian- Wenchuan, Beichuan-Yingxiu and Pengxian- ﹡This research was supported by China National Natural Science Foundation grant 40841010, 40972083 and China National Science and Technology supporting Plan Foundation grant 2006BAC13B02-07, 2006BAC13B01-604. Guanxian faults. The Wenchuan earthquake is a thrust with strike-slip type, and thre surface ruptures are located on the Beichuan-Yingxiu fault zone and Pengxian-Guanxian fault zone. The surface rupture on the Beichuan-Yingxiu fault shows the thrust and dextral slip charac-teristic. The maximum vertical displacement of the surface rupture is about 10.3 m and the maxi-mum right-lateral displacement is about 5.85m. Though the vertical displacements and the hori-zontal displacements in the different segments have certain differences, as a whole, the ratio of the vertical displacement and the horizontal dis-placement is close to 1:1. The surface rupture on the Pengxian-Guanxian fault shows thrust and dextral characteristic. The rates of vertical dis-placements and the horizontal displacements ones on the most other segments are between 1:3 and 1:2. So the Beichuan- Yingxiu fault is a dextral-slip and thrust fault and the average ver-tical displacement is equal to the average hori-zontal displacement, while the Pengxian- Guan xian fault is thrust fault with a little dextral-slip component. The total intensity area above Ⅵ de-gree of the Wenchuan earthquake is about 333000 km2. The high earthquake intensity line stretches to N40-50°E along Longmen Shan tectonic belt. The rate of the long axis and the minor is betw- een 8:1 and 10:1. Three Ⅺ intensity regions are isolated in distribution. It presents a multipoint instantaneous characteristic of the rupture.

Surface Rupture and Co‐seismic Displacement Produced by the Ms 8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake of May 12th, 2008, Sichuan, China: Eastwards Growth of the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau

AbstractAn earthquake of Ms 8 struck Wenchuan County, western Sichuan, China, on May 12th, 2008 and resulted in long surface ruptures (>300 km). The first‐hand observations about the surface ruptures produced by the earthquake in the worst‐hit areas of Yingxiu, Beichuan and Qingchuan, ascertained that the causative structure of the earthquake was in the central fault zones of the Longmenshan tectonic belt. Average co‐seismic vertical displacements along the individual fault of the Yingxiu‐Beichuan rupture zone reach 2.5‐4 m and the cumulative vertical displacements across the central and frontal Longmenshan fault belt is about 5–6 m. The surface rupture strength was reduced from north of Beichuan to Qingchuan County and shows 2–3 m dextral strike‐slip component. The Wenchuan thrust‐faulting earthquake is a manifestation of eastward growth of the Tibetan Plateau under the action of continuous convergence of the Indian and Eurasian continents.