Junmeng Zhao

The boundary between the Indian and Asian tectonic plates below Tibet

The fate of the colliding Indian and Asian tectonic plates below the Tibetan high plateau may be visualized by, in addition to seismic tomography, mapping the deep seismic discontinuities, like the crust-mantle boundary (Moho), the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB), or the discontinuities at 410 and 660 km depth. We herein present observations of seismic discontinuities with the P and S receiver function techniques beneath central and western Tibet along two new profiles and discuss the results in connection with results from earlier profiles, which did observe the LAB. The LAB of the Indian and Asian plates is well-imaged by several profiles and suggests a changing mode of India-Asia collision in the east-west direction. From eastern Himalayan syntaxis to the western edge of the Tarim Basin, the Indian lithosphere is underthrusting Tibet at an increasingly shallower angle and reaching progressively further to the north. A particular lithospheric region was formed in northern and eastern Tibet as a crush zone between the two colliding plates, the existence of which is marked by high temperature, low mantle seismic wavespeed (correlating with late arriving signals from the 410 discontinuity), poor Sn propagation, east and southeast oriented global positioning system displacements, and strikingly larger seismic (SKS) anisotropy.

ML Amplitude Tomography in North China

We have selected 10,899 M L amplitude readings from 1732 events re- corded by 91 stations, as reported in the Annual Bulletin of Chinese Earthquakes (ABCE), and have used tomographic imaging to estimate the lateral variations of the quality factor Q0 (Q at 1 Hz) within the crust of Northern China. Estimated Q0 values vary from 115 to 715 with an average of 415. Q0 values are consistent with tectonic and topographic structure in Eastern China. Q0 is low in the active tectonic regions having many faults, such as the Shanxi and Yinchuan Grabens, Bohai Bay, and Tanlu Fault Zone, and is high in the stable Ordos Craton. Q0 values are low in several topographically low-lying areas, such as the North China, Taikang-Hefei, Jianghan, Subei-Yellow Sea, and Songliao basins, whereas it is high in mountainous and uplift regions exhibiting surface expressions of crystalline basement rocks: the Yinshan, Yanshan, Taihang, Qinlin, Dabie and Wuyi Mountains, and Luxi and Jiaoliao Uplifts. Quality-factor estimates are also consistent with Pn- and Sn-velocity patterns. High- velocity values, in general, correspond with high Q0 and low-velocity values with low Q0. This is consistent with a common temperature influence in the crust and uppermost mantle.

Imaging Poisson's Ratio of the Uppermost Mantle beneath China

We have obtained a Poissons ratio image of the uppermost mantle beneath China by performing tomographic inversion of travel-time differences between Sn and Pn. The arrival pairs were selected from the Annual Bulletin of Chinese Earthquakes from 1985 to 2007 and from the International Seismological Center (ISC) data set between 1985 and 2005. The data include 58,663 arrival pairs from 10,486 earthquakes recorded at 204 stations. The average Poissons ratio is 0.266. The preliminary tomographic results show that (1) the pseudowave velocity is high and the velocity ratio (V(P)/V(S)) and Poissons ratio are low in the stable cratons around the Tibetan Plateau such as the Tarim and Junggar basins, the Ordos craton, and the southern region of the Sichuan basin; (2) a low pseudowave velocity and high velocity ratio and Poissons ratio exist in the central and northern Tibetan Plateau, the North-South Seismic Zone, and north China; and (3) the high velocity ratio and Poissons ratio region in the Tibetan Plateau extends to the surrounding cratons, suggesting that the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau results from a high Poissons ratio or partially melted rocks beneath the plateau and that the softer rocks have intruded into the upper mantle of surrounding cratons.

Crustal structure of northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau by receiver function inversion

Using seismic data of about one year recorded by 18 broadband stations of ASCENT project, we obtained 2547 receiver functions in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. The Moho depths under 14 stations were calculated by applying the H-κ domain search algorithm. The Moho depths under the stations with lower signal-noise ratio (SNR) were estimated by the time delay of the PS conversion. Results show that the Moho depth varies in a range of ∼40–60 km. The Moho near the Haiyuan fault is vague, and its depth is larger than those on its two sides. In the Qinling-Qilian Block, the Moho becomes shallower gradually from west to east. To the east of 105°E, the average depth of the Moho is 45 km, whereas the west is 50 km or even deeper. Combining our results with surface wave research, we suggest a boundary between the Qinling and the Qilian Mountains at around 105°E. S wave velocities beneath 15 stations have been obtained through a linear inversion by using Crust2.0 as an initial model, and the crustal thickness that was derived by H-κ domain search algorithm was also taken into account. The results are very similar to the results of previous active source studies. The resulting figure indicates that low velocity layers developed in the middle and lower crust beneath the transition zone of the Tibet Block and western Qinling, which may be related to regional faults and deep earth dynamics. The velocity of the middle and lower crust increases from the Songpan Block to the northeastern margin of Tibetan Plateau. Based on the velocity of the crust, the distribution of the low velocity zone and the composition of the curst (Poisson’s ratio), we infer that the crust thickening results from the crust shortening along the direction of compression.

Detailed Configuration of the Underthrusting Indian Lithosphere Beneath Western Tibet Revealed by Receiver Function Images

We analyze the teleseismic waveform data recorded by 42 temporary stations from the Y2 and ANTILOPE-1 arrays using the P and S receiver function techniques to investigate the lithospheric structure beneath western Tibet. The Moho is reliably identified as a prominent feature at depths of 55-82 km in the stacked traces and in depth migrated images. It has a concave shape and reaches the deepest location at about 80 km north of the Indus-Yarlung suture (IYS). An intra-crustal discontinuity is observed at ~55 km depth below the southern Lhasa terrane, which could represent the upper border of the eclogitized underthrusting Indian lower crust. Underthrusting of the Indian crust has been widely observed beneath the Lhasa terrane and correlates well with the Bouguer gravity low, suggesting that the gravity anomalies in the Lhasa terrane are induced by topography of the Moho. At ~ 20 km depth, a mid-crustal low velocity zone (LVZ) is observed beneath the Tethyan Himalaya and southern Lhasa terrane, suggesting a layer of partial melts that decouples the thrust/fold deformation of the upper crust from the shortening and underthrusting in the lower crust. The Sp conversions at the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) can be recognized at depths of 130-200 km, showing that the Indian lithospheric mantle is underthrusting with a ramp-flat shape beneath southern Tibet and probably is detached from the lower crust immediately under the IYS. Our observations reconstruct the configuration of the underthrusting Indian lithosphere and indicate significant along strike variations.

Modelling of current crustal tectonic deformation in the Chinese Tianshan orogenic belt constrained by GPS observations

It is important to discover the deformation characteristics of the Tianshan mountain range for a better understanding of the geodynamics of the Tianshan orogenic belt. Constrained by the GPS-derived velocity vectors of crustal movement, the current velocity field, stress field and strain rate in the Tianshan mountains have been retrieved from a three-dimensional numerical model presented in this paper by using the finite-element code ANSYS, on the basis of geological structures, tectonic regimes, active fault belts and seismic velocity structures of the crust and upper mantle. The results suggest that: (1) the general direction of crustal movement is NNE, and yet gradually turns to NE from west to east; (2) the regional stress field is characterized by near N–S tectonic compression, resulting in crustal shortening in the near N–S direction as well; and (3) the shortening strain rate is ~10−8 a−1 and decreases gradually from west to east. Our results support the opinion that the crustal deformation of the Tianshan mountain range is controlled by the clockwise rotation of the Tarim basin.

Internal deformation of lithosphere beneath central Tibet

We use a large number of high-quality P-wave arrival-time data recorded by the Hi-CLIMB project to determine a 3-D model of azimuthal anisotropy tomography beneath central Tibet. In the Himalayan block, variations of fast velocity orientation (FVO) are revealed from the crust to the upper mantle. In contrast, the FVO in the Lhasa block exhibits only a slight difference between the lower crust and upper mantle, reflecting a coherent deformation there. Different FVOs are revealed near the Bangong-Nujiang suture, which may reflect anisotropies in different parts of the underthrusting Indian plate. In the upper mantle beneath the Qiangtang block, a strong anisotropy is revealed in the shallower part, whereas a weak anisotropy appears in the deeper part, suggesting that a two-layer anisotropy model is applicable there. A layered lithosphere is detected in the eastern part of the Lhasa block, whereas a consistent FVO is revealed in its western part. Our results indicate that strong deformation has occurred in both the Indian and Eurasian lithospheres.