Imaging the Indian subcontinent beneath the Himalaya

The rocks of the Indian subcontinent are last seen south of the Ganges before they plunge beneath the Himalaya and the Tibetan plateau. They are next glimpsed in seismic reflection profiles deep beneath southern Tibet, yet the surface seen there has been modified by processes within the Himalaya that have consumed parts of the upper Indian crust and converted them into Himalayan rocks. The geometry of the partly dismantled Indian plate as it passes through the Himalayan process zone has hitherto eluded imaging. Here we report seismic images both of the decollement at the base of the Himalaya and of the Moho (the boundary between crust and mantle) at the base of the Indian crust. A significant finding is that strong seismic anisotropy develops above the decollement in response to shear processes that are taken up as slip in great earthquakes at shallower depths. North of the Himalaya, the lower Indian crust is characterized by a high-velocity region consistent with the formation of eclogite, a high-density material whose presence affects the dynamics of the Tibetan plateau.     

Gas seepage on the sea floor of Okinawa Trough Miyako Section

A marine geophysical survey was carried out,on the R/V Science 1 of the Institute of Oceanography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS), in 2000, at the Miyako Section of Okinawa Trough. Here we present seismic and acoustic evidence of a gas seep on the sea floor on the western part of the Okinawa Trough, near the lower slope of the East China Sea Slope and discuss the possibility of related formation of gas hydrate. A gas column reflection was observed in echo-sounder data above a section where the sea floor reflector was missing, on both the echo-sounder and the seismic data for line H14. The seismic data also show an acoustic curtain reflection and a turbidity reflection at this section.These anomalies are the evidence of the existence of a gas seep, which occupies .an area 2.2 km in diameter. Based on the acoustic curtain on line H14, we believe that the amount of gas contained in the sediments below the gas seep is larger than 1% by volume of sediment. Tectonically, the gas seep developed in a small basin controlled by basement uplift in the north, south and east. The thickness of the sediment layer can be greater than 3.5 km. A mud diapir structure was found in layer D beneath the gas seep. Over-pressure may occur due to the large sediment thickness and also the tectonic basement uplift in the north, south, and east. The mud diapir could be the preferential pathway for methane-rich fluids. The acoustic curtain may indicate that free gas related to the gas seep can be formed on the sea floor. We also note that the layer above the acoustic curtain on profile H14 may contain gas hydrate.     

Mapping the Hawaiian plume conduit with converted seismic waves

The volcanic edifice of the Hawaiian islands and seamounts, as well as the surrounding area of shallow sea floor known as the Hawaiian swell, are believed to result from the passage of the oceanic lithosphere over a mantle hotspot. Although geochemical and gravity observations indicate the existence of a mantle thermal plume beneath Hawaii, no direct seismic evidence for such a plume in the upper mantle has yet been found. Here we present an analysis of compressional-to-shear (P-to-S) converted seismic phases, recorded on seismograph stations on the Hawaiian islands, that indicate a zone of very low shear-wave velocity (< 4 km s(-1)) starting at 130-140 km depth beneath the central part of the island of Hawaii and extending deeper into the upper mantle. We also find that the upper-mantle transition zone (410-660 km depth) appears to be thinned by up to 40-50 km to the south-southwest of the island of Hawaii. We interpret these observations as localized effects of the Hawaiian plume conduit in the asthenosphere and mantle transition zone with excess temperature of approximately 300 degrees C. Large variations in the transition-zone thickness suggest a lower-mantle origin of the Hawaiian plume similar to the Iceland plume, but our results indicate a 100 degrees C higher temperature for the Hawaiian plume.     

埕岛地区中生界和古生界构造应力场数值模拟及裂缝分析

用有限元法模拟了埕岛地区中、古生界燕山、喜山两期构造应力场。研究结果表明 ,燕山期构造应力场应力值变化大 ,断裂活动强烈 ,产生的裂缝大部分为大裂缝。从裂缝性质和分布看 ,北部和西南部易产生张性裂缝 ,东南部易产生剪性裂缝。喜山期应力值变化小 ,且断裂活动逐渐停止 ,使微裂缝大量发育 ,主要分布在埕岛地区的北部和南部 ,这些地区是较好的油气开发区。     

青藏高原南缘新生代磨拉石的沉积特征

青藏高原南缘前陆盆地中的磨拉石主要沉积在小喜马拉雅带和次喜马拉雅带中 ,次之出现在冲积平原带。最老的新生代磨拉石为分布于 Potwar高原 (巴基斯坦 )的 Murree组 ,时代为始新世中期 -早中新世末。前陆盆地中分布最广泛的为 Siwalik群 ,它占据了次喜马拉雅带的绝大部分 ,时代主要为中新世 -上新世早期。更新的磨拉石主要分布在山前冲积平原带中 ,为第四纪的冲积物。总的来看 ,前陆盆地中的新生代磨拉石表现出向上变粗变厚、向南变细变新的变化趋势 ,并有盆地西部先沉积的特征。结合前人关于古印度扇、印度扇、孟加拉扇的研究资料 ,可以发现青藏高原南缘的造山作用具有向南生长的特点 ,同时该区出现早期东高西低、后期西高东低的地形变化过程。     

六盘山盆地西南缘构造与油气勘探潜力分析

六盘山盆地是在古生代褶皱基底上发育起来的中新生代沉积盆地.地面构造调查、地震与非地震勘探表明,喜马拉雅运动以来,在盆地西南缘山带发育由多条逆冲断层及夹于其中的逆冲席所组成的复杂的叠瓦型冲断构造,该构造带与酒西盆地祁连山山前带具有类似的构造特征和油气成藏背景,成藏地质条件优越,是六盘山盆地最有利的油气勘探区之一.     

Ductile deformation within Upper Himalaya Crystalline Sequence and geological implications, in Nyalam area, Southern Tibet

The South Tibet Detachment System(STDS) is a flat normal fault that separates the Upper Himalaya Crystalline Sequence(UHCS) below from the Tethyan Sedimentary Sequence(TSS) above.Timing of deformations related to the STDS is critical to understand the mechanism and evolution of the Himalaya collision zone.The Nyalam detachment(ND)(～86°E) locates in the middle portion of STDS(81°-89°E).Dating of deformed leucocratic dykes that are most probably syntectonic at different depth beneath the ND,allow us to constrain the timing of deformation.(1) Dyke T11N37 located ～3500 m structurally below the ND emplaced at 27.4± 0.2 Ma;(2) Dyke T11N32 located ～1400 m structurally below the ND emplaced at 22.0±0.3 Ma;(3) T11N25 located within the top to the north STD shear zone,～150 m structurally below the ND,emplaced at 17.1±0.2 Ma.Combining ND footwall cooling history and T11N25 deformation temperature,we indicate a probable onset of top to the north deformation at ～16 Ma at this location.These results show an upward younging of the probable timing of onset of the deformation at different structural distance below the ND.We then propose a new model for deformation migration below the ND with deformation starting by pure shear deformation at depth prior to ～27.5 Ma that migrates upward at a rate of ～ 0.3 mm/a until ～18 Ma when deformation switches to top to the north shearing in the South Tibet Detachment shear zone(STDsz).As deformation on the ND stops at 14-13 Ma this would imply that significant top to the North motion would be limited to less than 5 Ma and would jeopardize the importance of lower channel flow.     

Plateau 'pop-up' in the great 1897 Assam earthquake

The great Assam earthquake of 12 June 1897 reduced to rubble all masonry buildings within a region of northeastern India roughly the size of England, and was felt over an area exceeding that of the great 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Hitherto it was believed that rupture occurred on a north-dipping Himalayan thrust fault propagating south of Bhutan. But here we show that the northern edge of the Shillong plateau rose violently by at least 11 m during the Assam earthquake, and that this was due to the rupture of a buried reverse fault approximately 110 km in length and dipping steeply away from the Himalaya. The stress drop implied by the rupture geometry and the prodigious fault slip of 18 +/- 7 m explains epicentral accelerations observed to exceed 1g vertically and surface velocities exceeding 3 m s-1 (ref. 1). This quantitative observation of active deformation of a 'pop-up' structure confirms that faults bounding such structures can penetrate the whole crust. Plateau uplift in the past 2-5 million years has caused the Indian plate to contract locally by 4 +/- 2 mm yr-1, reducing seismic risk in Bhutan but increasing the risk in northern Bangladesh.     

安康汉江大桥南引桥抗震验算

本文通过对汉江大桥南引桥进行反应谱分析，表明汉江大桥南引桥能满足抗震设防要求，对同类型桥型的抗震设计验算具有一定的参考意义。     

Present-Day crustal deformation field in China continent inverted from GPS observations, earthquake moment tensor and quaternary fault slip rates

Based on the bi-cubic Bessel spline function method, we have inverted the present-day crustal horizontal velocity field and deformation field in China continent by combining with 410 GPS observations, 327 seismic moment tensors of earthquakes and fault slip rates in China and its neighboring areas, and considered the geological and geophysical parameters at the same time. The results reveal that the crustal movement mostly takes on compression in SN-NE direction and extension in EW-NW direction in China continent. The continent is rotating southeast and takes on a clockwise rotation image from the west to the east, particularly in the southeast of Tibet and Chuan-dian area. Different blocks have different deformation in China continent. The south China, Ordos and Northeast block have good integrity.The deformation in the western part of China is obviously stronger than that in the eastern part. The strong strains are focused on the Himalaya, east Tibet,west Tian Shan and Chuandian block etc. The deformation at the joint of blocks is stronger than that within the blocks. The China continent deformation not only has the strike-slip faulting and extrusion feature but also has the crustal shortening and thickening feature.     

Seismology: speed and size of the Sumatra earthquake

Our seismological results reveal that Indonesia's devastating Sumatra-Andaman earthquake on 26 December 2004 was 2.5 times larger than initial reports suggested--second only to the 1960 Chilean earthquake in recorded magnitude. They indicate that it slowly released its energy by slip along a 1,200-km fault, generating a long rupture that contributed to the subsequent tsunami. Now that the entire rupture zone has slipped, the strain accumulated from the subduction of the Indian plate beneath the Burma microplate has been released, and there is no immediate danger of a similar tsunami being generated on this part of the plate boundary, although large earthquakes on segments to the south still present a threat.     

Three-dimensional crustal velocity structure of P-wave in East China from wide-angle reflection and refraction surveys

The 3-D crustal structure of P-wave velocity in East China is studied based on the data obtained by wide-angle seismic reflection and refraction surveys.The results suggest that a deep Moho disconti-nuity exists in the western zone of the study region,being 35―48 thick.High-velocity structure zones exist in the upper crust shallower than 20 km beneath the Sulu and Dabie regions.The cause of high-velocity zones is attributable to high-pressure metamorphic(HPM) and ultra-high-pressure metamorphic(UHPM) terran...     

川滇地区地壳结构的虚拟地表震源 反射测深法研究

基于中国地震局地质研究所在中国四川西部布设的流动地震观测台阵数据,用近年发展起来的虚拟地表震源反射测深方法研究川滇地区的地壳结构。结果表明,川滇地块、松潘-甘孜地块和杨子地块3个地块虚拟地表震源反射测深的莫霍面深度存在明显差异:1)四川盆地为40 km左右;2)川滇地块为45~50 km;3)松潘-甘孜地块为30~40 km。四川盆地虚拟地表震源反射测深的莫霍面深度与艾里重力均衡模型所预测的结果基本上一致,而川滇地块和松潘-甘孜地块虚拟地表震源反射测深的莫霍面深度明显小于前人得到的接收函数莫霍面深度和艾里重力均衡模型预测的结果。可能与四川盆地地壳结构简单,而川滇地块及松潘-甘孜地块地壳结构复杂有关。同时,结果显示,在鲜水河断裂和安宁河断裂处虚拟地表震源反射测深的莫霍面深度明显变浅,可能与这些深大断裂处地幔物质的上涌有关。研究结果可为认识青藏高原东南缘的构造变形模式提供新的约束。     

Water content in the early Cretaceous lithospheric mantle beneath the south-central Taihang Mountains: implications for the destruction of the North China Craton

Based on studies of the water content of the early Cretaceous Feixian high-magnesium basalts in the eastern part of the North China Craton （NCC）, it has been suggested that the early Cretaceous lithospheric mantle of the eastern NCC was highly hydrous （〉1,000 ppm, HeO wt.） and that this high water content had significantly reduced the vis- cosity of the lithospheric mantle and provided a prerequisite for the destruction of the NCC. The eastern part of the NCC had undergone multistage subduction of oceanic plates from the south, north, and east sides since the early Paleozoic, and these events may have caused the strong hydration of the NCC lithospheric mantle. To determine which subduction had contributed most to this hydration, we measured the water contents of the peridotite xenoliths hosted by the early Cretaceous high-magnesium diorites of Fushan in the south- central part of the Taihang Mountains. Our results demon- strate that the water content of the early Cretaceous litho- spheric mantle beneath the south part of the Taihang Mountains was ~ 40 ppm and significantly lower than that of the contemporary lithospheric mantle beneath the eastern part of the NCC. Thus, the hydration of the early Cretaceous lithospheric mantle of the eastern part of the NCC can be ascribed to the subduction of the Pacific plate from the west side. Thus, the main dynamic factor in the destruction of the NCC was likely the subduction of the Pacific plate.     

Structures, kinematics, thermochronology and tectonic evolution of the Ramba gneiss dome in the northern Himalaya

The Ramba gneiss dome, one of the north Himalayan gneiss domes, is composed of three tectono-lithologic units separated by an upper and a lower detachment fault. Low-grade metamorphic Tethyan Himalayan sedimentary sequence formed the upper unit above the brittle upper detachment fault. Mylonitic gneiss and a leucogranite pluton made up the lower unit beneath the ductile lower detachment fault. Mylonitic middle-grade garnet-, staurolite- and andalusite-schist constituted the middle unit between the two faults, which may be that the basal part of the upper unit experienced detachment shear. The Ramba dome underwent three episodes of deformation in its tectonic evolution. The first episode was a top-down-to-north-northwest sliding possibly related to the activity of the south Tibetan detachment system （STDS）. The second episode was the dominant deformation related to a east west extension, which resulted in a unique top-down-to-east kinematics and the major tectonic features of the dome. The third episode was a collapse sliding toward the outsides of the dome. The Ramba gneiss dome is possibly a result of the east-west extension and magmatic diapir. The lower detachment fault is probably the main detachment fault separating the sedimentary sequence from the crystalline basement during the eas-west extension in the dominant deformation episode. The diapir of the leucogranite pluton formed the doming shape of the Ramba gneiss dome. This pluton intruded in the core of the dome in a late stage of the dominant deformation, and its Ar-Ar cooling ages are about 6 Myr. This indicates that the dominant deformation of the dome happened at the same time of the east west extension represented by the nort-south trending rifts throughout the northern Himalaya and southern Tibet. Therefore, the formation of the Ramba gneiss dome should be related to this east west extension.     

山西断陷带的地震分布及地壳地震波速度结构

为了研究山西断陷带的地震活动性及其物理背景, 利用国家地震科学数据共享中心以及山西省地震局提供的地震震相数据, 通过 tomoDD方法对1990—2008年和2012—2016年期间的地震进行重定位, 并反演山西断陷带附近的地震波速度结构。地震集中于山西断陷带内, 基本上位于已知断层附近, 主要分布在太原盆地的东北?西南两侧。震源深度范围为0~30 km, 北部区域震源深度小, 震源深度超过20 km的地震主要分布在忻定盆地以南地区, 太原盆地两侧的地震集中区形成两个延伸深度最大的南北走向的垂直地震密集条带, 推测受太原盆地两侧两个近南北走向的活动的深大断裂控制。太原盆地两侧近南北走向的两个活动深大断裂如果贯通, 有可能发生7级以上强震。同时, 研究结果显示山西断陷带地壳的地震波速结构变化剧烈, 该断陷带下方的地壳普遍表现为低速, 但其中太原盆地下方地壳的波速略高, 其东北侧和西南侧断陷盆地下方的地壳则表现为更低的波速; 与此相反, 其西北侧和东南侧紧邻太原盆地的两个小区域下方的地壳则表现为明显的高速, 大同西部区域下方的地壳也表现为明显的高速。这些波速特征都与地表构造以及地表热流值有很好的对应关系, 太原盆地东北侧和西南侧都可能有热物质上涌, 并且可能侵入西部的鄂尔多斯地块内部; 相反地, 热物质可能没有侵入太原盆地西北侧、太原盆地以及太原盆地东南侧下方的地壳中, 说明太原盆地的拉张裂开可能并不是受热物质上涌控制, 而是受青藏高原的推挤力控制。     

Late Miocene–early Pleistocene paleoproductivity variations of the Lop Nor in the Tarim Basin and its implications on aridification in Asian Interior

Extensive lacustrine deposits in the eastern Tarim Basin provide records of climate change influenced by the westerly winds and the Asian monsoon. To char- acterize the evolution of climate change in this region, we analyze elemental concentrations of barium （Ba） from the Ls2 drill core of Lop Nor, a paleo-lakebed located in the eastern Tarim Basin. Biogenic Ba concentrations from this drill core display a large-amplitude oscillation that gener- ally follows a pattern similar to that of Artemisia content and ostracod assemblages, suggesting that is may serve as an index for climate change experienced in the basin. Our results indicate that biogenic Ba is especially sensitive to precipitation. All climatic proxies served in this study vary significantly over late Miocene to early Pleistocene time period. Strong aridification of eastern Tarim in the late Miocene to the early Pliocene may be attributed to a lati- tudinal shift in the westerly winds, which would have resulted in more moisture transported to southern and eastern Tibet. The growth of the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau may have acted as an orographic barrier that blocked moisture sourced in the south from the northern margins of the plateau. We link weaker aridification in the late Pliocene to an increased intensity of the Indian Monsoon.     

A discontinuity in mantle composition beneath the southwest Indian ridge

The composition of mid-ocean-ridge basalt is known to correlate with attributes such as ridge topography and seismic velocity in the underlying mantle, and these correlations have been interpreted to reflect variations in the average extent and mean pressures of melting during mantle upwelling. In this respect, the eastern extremity of the southwest Indian ridge is of special interest, as its mean depth of 4.7 km (ref. 4), high upper-mantle seismic wave velocities and thin oceanic crust of 4-5 km (ref. 6) suggest the presence of unusually cold mantle beneath the region. Here we show that basaltic glasses dredged in this zone, when compared to other sections of the global mid-ocean-ridge system, have higher Na(8.0), Sr and Al2O3 compositions, very low CaO/Al2O3 ratios relative to TiO2 and depleted heavy rare-earth element distributions. This signature cannot simply be ascribed to low-degree melting of a typical mid-ocean-ridge source mantle, as different geochemical indicators of the extent of melting are mutually inconsistent. Instead, we propose that the mantle beneath approximately 1,000 km of the southwest Indian ridge axis has a complex history involving extensive earlier melting events and interaction with partial melts of a more fertile source.     

A deep seismic sounding profile across the Tianshan Mountains

The deep seismic sounding profile across the Tianshan Mountains revealed a two-layer crustal structure in the Tianshregion, namely the lower and upper crusts. Lateral variations of layer velocity and thickness are evidently shown. Low-velocity layers spread discontinuously at the bottom of the upper crust. The Moho depth is 47 km in the Kuytun area and 50 km in the Xayar area. In the Tianshan Mountains, the Moho becomes deeper with the maximum depth of 62 km around the boundary between the southern and northern Tianshan Mountains. The average velocity ranges from 6.1 to 6.3 km/s in the crust and 8.15 km/s at the top of the upper mantle. Two groups of reliable reflective seismic phases of the Moho (Pm1 and Pm2) are recognized on the shot record section of the Kuytun area. A staked and offset region, 20-30 km long, is displayed within a shot-geophone distance of 190-210 km in Pm1 and Pm2. Calculation shows that the Moho is offset by 10 km in the northern Tianshan region, 62 km deep in the south while 52 km deep in the north, and plunges northwards. In comparison with typical collisional orogenic belts, the structure of the Moho beneath the Tianshan Mountains presents a similar pattern. This can be used to explain the subduction of the Tarim plate towards the Tianshan Mountains. This intracontinental subduction is considered the dynamic mechanism of the Cenozoic uplifting of the Tianshan Mountains. The discovery of seismic phases Pm1 and Pm2 serves as the seismological evidence for the northward subduction of the Tarim plate.     

Global anisotropy and the thickness of continents

For decades there has been a vigorous debate about the depth extent of continental roots. The analysis of heat-flow, mantle-xenolith and electrical-conductivity data all indicate that the coherent, conductive part of continental roots (the 'tectosphere') is at most 200-250 km thick. Some global seismic tomographic models agree with this estimate, but others suggest that a much thicker zone of high velocities lies beneath continental shields, reaching a depth of at least 400 km. Here we show that this disagreement can be reconciled by taking into account seismic anisotropy. We show that significant radial anisotropy, with horizontally polarized shear waves travelling faster than those that are vertically polarized, is present under most cratons in the depth range 250-400 km--similar to that found under ocean basins at shallower depths of 80-250 km. We propose that, in both cases, the anisotropy is related to shear in a low-viscosity asthenospheric channel, located at different depths under continents and oceans. The seismically defined 'tectosphere' is then at most 200-250 km thick under old continents. The 'Lehmann discontinuity', observed mostly under continents at about 200-250 km, and the 'Gutenberg discontinuity', observed under oceans at depths of about 60-80 km, may both be associated with the bottom of the lithosphere, marking a transition to flow-induced asthenospheric anisotropy.