Shunping Pei

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.

Ductile Gap between the Wenchuan and Lushan Earthquakes Revealed from the Two-dimensional Pg Seismic Tomography

A high-resolution two-dimensional Pg-wave velocity model is obtained for the upper crust around the epicenters of the April 20, 2013 Ms7.0 Lushan earthquake and the May 12, 2008 Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, China. The tomographic inversion uses 47235 Pg arrival times from 6812 aftershocks recorded by 61 stations around the Lushan and Wenchuan earthquakes. Across the front Longmenshan fault near the Lushan earthquake, there exists a strong velocity contrast with higher velocities to the west and lower velocities to the east. Along the Longmenshan fault system, there exist two high velocity patches showing an “X” shape with an obtuse angle along the near northwest-southeast (NW-SE) direction. They correspond to the Precambrian Pengguan and Baoxing complexes on the surface but with a ~20 km shift, respectively. The aftershock gap of the 2008 Wenchuan and the 2013 Lushan earthquakes is associated with lower velocities. Based on the theory of maximum effective moment criterion, this suggests that the aftershock gap is weak and the ductile deformation is more likely to occur in the upper crust within the gap under the near NW-SE compression. Therefore our results suggest that the large earthquake may be hard to happen within the gap.

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.

Pn Tomographic Velocity and Anisotropy beneath the Iran Region

We present tomographic velocity and anisotropy models of the uppermost mantle beneath the Iran region. A total of 74,375 Pn phase readings from 86 stations of the Iranian network and 133 stations of the International Seismological Centre are used in the investigation. The study uses the Pn travel‐time tomography method proposed by Hearn (1996). The tomography results show some interesting anomalies. The average Pn velocity under the Iran region is approximately 8.0  km/s, and the maximum velocity perturbations are approximately 3%–4%. High Pn velocities under the Zagros Mountains and the Caspian Sea may be due to the presence of oceanic crust/lithosphere material. Low Pn velocities were found under the Alborz and Caucasus regions and may be due to higher temperatures or partial melting resulting from volcanoes and mid‐Cenozoic volcanic/plutonic rocks in these regions. The inversion velocities support the idea that the subduction of the Arabian plate into the mantle beneath the Iranian plateau may have resulted in the upwelling of hot material. The well‐resolved Pn anisotropy model is jointly obtained with a velocity model for the areas with good ray‐path coverage. In the plate collision regions (Zagros and Alborz), the fast Pn anisotropy direction is oriented parallel to the collision arc and to large reverse faults due to pure shear deformation from cross‐fault compression and along‐fault extension. Under the Caucasus regions, the Pn anisotropy results indicate that the preferred alignment of olivine crystals is parallel to the plate movement direction; however, the surface fault strike is at an angle of nearly 45° with the crustal movement direction and anisotropy. These differing deformations suggest potential decoupling between the crust and upper mantle. The possible decoupling and differing deformation between the crust and upper mantle are easily enhanced under high temperatures due to volcanoes and supported by low velocities beneath the Caucasus. We validate the existence of Pn anisotropy under these regions by azimuthal averaging of the apparent Pn velocity.

High‐resolution seismic tomography of the 2015 Mw7.8 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal: Evidence for the crustal tearing of the Himalayan rift

The Mw7.8 Gorkha Earthquake struck Nepal and ruptured the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates. We conducted 2D Pg-wave tomography to clarify the seismogenic structure and try to understand causal mechanisms for this large earthquake, using the aftershock data recorded by 15 broadband seismic stations located near the China-Nepal border. Our high-resolution results show that coseismic slip area of the main shock is consistent with the high P-wave velocity anomaly, and the region of maximum slip has a larger area with higher velocity than the region of initial slip, possibly resulting in the dominant low-frequency radiation of energy observed after the dominant high-frequency radiation of energy in the source rupture process. The boundary between these regions of contrasting high and low seismic velocity anomalies suggests a potential crustal tearing at the southern end of the Tangra Yum Co Rift, possibly resulting from different thrust speeds in the Greater Himalaya.

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.

S-n velocity tomography beneath the Himalayan collision zone and surrounding regions

We present a tomographic Sn velocity model of the uppermost mantle beneath the Himalayan collision zone and surrounding regions. A total of 43,905 Sn phases are used in the investigation. The average Sn velocity in the study area is approximately 4.6 km/s, and the velocity perturbations reach 0.2 km/s. The Sn velocity distribution is consistent with Pn tomography results obtained previously. High velocities are found under the Indian plate, the Tarim Basin, and the Sichuan Basin, whereas low Sn velocities are found beneath the Myanmar region, the Hindu-Kush region, and the Lhasa block and western Qiangtang block. These results support the idea that the lithosphere of the Indian plate is subducted into the mantle and causes the upwelling of hot material. The east-west variability of the Sn velocity beneath the Indian plate and southern Tibet indicates that the underthrusting of the Indian continental lithosphere may be in a piecewise manner. The differences between the thermal structure of the crust and upper mantle in southern Tibet suggest that this region may be represented by a tectonic model of hot crust and cold mantle, supporting the idea that crustal material flow may occur in this region.

Anisotropic upper crust above the aftershock zone of the 2013 Ms 7.0 Lushan earthquake from the shear wave splitting analysis

We have conducted a systematic shear wave splitting analysis using 1000 selected aftershocks with M > 2 from the 2013 Ms 7.0 Lushan earthquake along the Longmenshan fault system in southwest China. Polarization directions of fast shear waves show a bimodal distribution with one dominant direction approximately parallel to the fault strike and the other close to the regional maximum horizontal compressive stress direction. This indicates that in this area mechanisms causing crustal seismic anisotropy are both stress induced and fault zone structure controlled. Delay times between fast and slow shear waves do not show a clear trend of increase for deeper events, suggesting the anisotropic zone is mostly above the aftershocks, which are generally located below 8 km. We further applied a shear wave splitting tomography method to measured delay times to characterize the spatial distribution of seismic anisotropy. The three-dimensional anisotropic percentage model shows strong anisotropy above 8 km but low anisotropy below it. The mainshock slip zone and its aftershocks are associated with very low or negligible anisotropy and high velocity, indicating that the zones with high anisotropy and low velocity above 8 km are mechanically weak and it is difficult for stress to accumulate there. The main and back reverse fault zones are associated with high anisotropic anomalies above ∼8 km, likely caused by shear fabric or microfractures aligned parallel to the fault zone.