The northeastern margin of the South China Sea (SCS), developed from continental rifting and breakup, is usually thought of as a non-volcanic margin. However, post-spreading volcanism is massive and lower crustal high...The northeastern margin of the South China Sea (SCS), developed from continental rifting and breakup, is usually thought of as a non-volcanic margin. However, post-spreading volcanism is massive and lower crustal high-velocity anomalies are widespread, which complicate the nature of the margin here. To better understand crustal seismic velocities, lithology, and geophysical properties, we present an S-wave velocity (VS) model and a VP/VS model for the northeastern margin by using an existing P-wave velocity (VP) model as the starting model for 2-D kinematic S-wave forward ray tracing. The Mesozoic sedimentary sequence has lower VP/VS ratios than the Cenozoic sequence;in between is a main interface of P-S conversion. Two isolated high-velocity zones (HVZ) are found in the lower crust of the continental slope, showing S-wave velocities of 4.0–4.2 km/s and VP/VS ratios of 1.73–1.78. These values indicate a mafic composition, most likely of amphibolite facies. Also, a VP/VS versus VP plot indicates a magnesium-rich gabbro facies from post-spreading mantle melting at temperatures higher than normal. A third high-velocity zone (VP : 7.0–7.8 km/s;VP/VS: 1.85–1.96), 70-km wide and 4-km thick in the continent-ocean transition zone, is most likely to be a consequence of serpentinization of upwelled upper mantle. Seismic velocity structures and also gravity anomalies indicate that mantle upwelling/ serpentinization could be the most severe in the northeasternmost continent-ocean boundary of the SCS. Empirical relationships between seismic velocity and degree of serpentinization suggest that serpentinite content decreases with depth, from 43% in the lower crust to 37% into the mantle.展开更多
Shanxi Graben is in the middle part of the North China Craton, from south to north. With the teleseismic data recorded by Regional Seismograph Networks and the temporary ZBnet-W Seismic Array around east part of Shanx...Shanxi Graben is in the middle part of the North China Craton, from south to north. With the teleseismic data recorded by Regional Seismograph Networks and the temporary ZBnet-W Seismic Array around east part of Shanxi Graben, we measured the crustal thickness and Vp/Vs ratio beneath each station using the H-K stack of receiver functions. The observed crustal thickness shows obvious lateral variation, increasing gradually from east to west in the Shanxi Graben. Beneath the Shanxi Graben the crust is relatively thicker than both sides of the south and the north. In addition, the Vp/Vs ratio in the north of study zone is higher than that in the south. The highest Vp/Vs ratio exists in the crust of the Xinding basin and the Datong basin. Our study also suggests that high velocity ratio might result from the strong activities of the magmation and volcanism.展开更多
Lithospheric structure beneath the northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau is of vital significance for studying the geodynamic processes of crustal thickening and expansion of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. We conducted a j...Lithospheric structure beneath the northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau is of vital significance for studying the geodynamic processes of crustal thickening and expansion of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. We conducted a joint inversion of receiver functions and surface wave dispersions with P-wave velocity constraints using data from the Chin Array Ⅱ temporary stations deployed across the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Prior to joint inversion, we applied the H-κ-c method(Li JT et al., 2019) to the receiver function data in order to correct for the back-azimuthal variations in the arrival times of Ps phases and crustal multiples caused by crustal anisotropy and dipping interfaces. High-resolution images of vS, crustal thickness, and vP/vSstructures in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau were simultaneously derived from the joint inversion. The seismic images reveal that crustal thickness decreases outward from the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. The stable interiors of the Ordos and Alxa blocks exhibited higher velocities and lower crustal vP/vSratios. While, lower velocities and higher vP/vSratios were observed beneath the Qilian Orogen and Songpan-Ganzi terrane(SPGZ), which are geologically active and mechanically weak, especially in the mid-lower crust.Delamination or thermal erosion of the lithosphere triggered by hot asthenospheric flow contributes to the observed uppermost mantle low-velocity zones(LVZs) in the SPGZ. The crustal thickness, vS, and vP/vSratios suggest that whole lithospheric shortening is a plausible mechanism for crustal thickening in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, supporting the idea of coupled lithospheric-scale deformation in this region.展开更多
A tomographic study of the Vp and Vp/Vs structures in the crust and upper mantle beneath the Taiwan region of China is conducted by simultaneous inversion of P and S arrival times. Compared with the previous tomograph...A tomographic study of the Vp and Vp/Vs structures in the crust and upper mantle beneath the Taiwan region of China is conducted by simultaneous inversion of P and S arrival times. Compared with the previous tomographic results, the spherical finite difference technique is suitable for the strong heterogeneous velocity structure, and may improve the accuracy in the travel time and three-dimensional ray tracing calculations. The Vp and Vp/Vs structures derived from joint inversion and the relocated earthquakes can provide better constraints for analyzing the lateral heterogeneity and deep tectonic characters in the crust and upper mantle. Our tomographic results reveal significant relations between the seismic wavespeed structure and the tectonic characters. In the shallow depth, sedimentary basins and orogen show distinct wavespeed anomalies, with low Vp, high Vp/Vs in basins and high Vp, low Vp/Vs in orogen. As the suture zone of Eurasian Plate and Philippine Sea Plate, Longitudinal Valley is characterized by a significant high Vp/Vs anomaly extending to the middle-lower crust and upper mantle, which reflects the impact of rock cracking, partial melting, and the presence of fluids. In the northeast Taiwan, the Vp, Vp/Vs anomalies and relocated earthquakes depict the subducting Philippine Sea Plate under the Eurasian Plate. The high Vp of oceanic plate and the low Vp, high Vp/Vs atop the subducted oceanic plate extend to 80 km depth. Along the east-west profiles, the thickness of crust reaches 60 km at the east of Central Range with eastward dipping trend, which reveals the eastward subduction of the thickened and deformed crust of the Eurasian continental plate.展开更多
Fluids in subduction zones can have major effects on subduction dynamics.However,geophysical constraints on the scale and impact of fluid flow during continental subduction are still limited.Here we analyze the VP/VS ...Fluids in subduction zones can have major effects on subduction dynamics.However,geophysical constraints on the scale and impact of fluid flow during continental subduction are still limited.Here we analyze the VP/VS ratios in the Western Alpine region,hosting one of the best-preserved fossil continental subduction zones worldwide,to investigate the impact of fluid flow during continental subduction.We found a belt of high VP/VS ratios>1.9 on the upper-plate side of the subduction zone,consistent with a partially serpentinized upper-plate mantle,and a belt of unusually low VP/VS ratios<1.7 on the lower-plate side,at depths shallower than 30 km.We propose that these low VP/VS ratios result from a widespread network of silica-rich veins,indicating past fluid flow along the continental subduction interface.Our results suggest that past fluid flow may have reduced the effective stress along the subduction interface thus favoring continental subduction.展开更多
In this study,high-resolution Moho depth and average crustal V_(p)/V_(s) ratio distributions in northeast China were obtained through joint inversion of receiver functions and gravity data.The new joint inversion meth...In this study,high-resolution Moho depth and average crustal V_(p)/V_(s) ratio distributions in northeast China were obtained through joint inversion of receiver functions and gravity data.The new joint inversion method comprehensively considers the complementary imaging strengths of the receiver functions in the vertical direction and the gravity data in the lateral direction.To a certain extent,it can reduce the adverse effects of the receiver function data caused by the sedimentary layers of the basin,the inclination of the Moho,and the structure heterogeneity below the station.In preprocessing the receiver function data,a regularized virtual station network was constructed using the teleseismic receiver function waveform reconstruction method to improve the overall spatial resolution.To filter the gravity data,the velocity structure-guided gravity filtering method and gravity upward continuation were used for the shallower region above the Moho and the deeper region below the lithosphere,respectively.The newly obtained model shows that the Moho depths of the Hailar Basin,Erlian Basin,Sanjiang Basin,and Bohai Bay Basin are slightly shallower than those of the surrounding areas,while the Moho depths of the Greater Xing’an Range,Lesser Xing’an Range,and Zhangguangcai Range are slightly deeper.Compared with previous results,the refined Moho depth distribution obtained in this study has a better correspondence with topographic relief and basin boundaries,and the contrast is more evident across the north-south gravity gradient lineament(NSGL).In the eastern part of the Songliao Basin,the Moho is relatively shallow,and there is a high V_(p)/V_(s) ratio,which may have been caused by the intrusion of hot mantle materials into the crust induced by lateral extension of the Songliao Basin.The high V_(p)/V_(s) ratio of the crust below the Changbaishan volcanic area implies the existence of partial melting in the crust caused by upwelling hot mantle materials.展开更多
The ratio of P- to S-wave velocities （Vp/Vs） is regarded as one of the most diagnostic properties of natural rocks. It has been used as a discriminant of composition for the continental crust and provides valuable c...The ratio of P- to S-wave velocities （Vp/Vs） is regarded as one of the most diagnostic properties of natural rocks. It has been used as a discriminant of composition for the continental crust and provides valuable constraints on its formation and evolution processes. Furthermore, the spatial and temporal changes in Vp/Vs before and after earthquakes are probably the most promising avenue to understanding the source mechanics and possibly predicting earthquakes. Here we calibrate the variations in Vp/Vs in dry, anisotropic crustal rocks and provide a set of basic information for the interpretation of future seismic data from the Wenchuan earthquake Fault zone Scientific Drilling （WFSD） project and other surveys. Vp/Vs is a constant （Ф0） for an isotropic rock. However, most of crustal rocks are anisotropic due to lattice-preferred orientations of anisotropic minerals （e.g., mica, amphibole, plagioclase and pyroxene） and cracks as well as thin compositional layering. The Vp/Vs ratio of an anisotropic rock measured along a selected pair of propagation-vibration directions is an apparent value （Фy） that is significantly different from the value for its isotropic counterpart （Ф0）. The usefulness of apparent Vp/Vs ratios as a diagnostic of crustal composition depends largely on rock seismic anisotropy. A 5% of P- and S-wave velocity anisotropy is sufficient to make it impossible to determine the crustal composition using the conventional criteria （Vp/Vs≤1.756 for felsic rocks, 1.756〈Vp/Vs≤1.809 for intermediate rocks, 1.809〈Vp/Vs≤1.944 for mafic rocks, and Vp/V2〉1.944 fluidfilled porous/fractured or partially molten rocks） if the information about the wave propagation-polarization directions with respect to the tectonic framework is unknown. However, the variations in Vp/Vs measured from borehole seismic experiments can be readily interpreted according to the orientations of the ray path and the polarization of the shear waves with respect to the present-day principal stress di展开更多
D crustal velocity structure and vP/vS are obtained by processing and interpretation of S-wave data from Maqen-Jingbian deep seismic sounding (DSS) profile. The result shows that there exist obvious differences in 2-D...D crustal velocity structure and vP/vS are obtained by processing and interpretation of S-wave data from Maqen-Jingbian deep seismic sounding (DSS) profile. The result shows that there exist obvious differences in 2-D S-wave velocity structure and vP/vS ratio structure along the profile. The S-wave velocities are low and vP/vS ratio is high for the western section of the profile and Haiyuan region, while they are normal for the middle and eastern sections. The changes in lithologic characters of two major anomalous zones are discussed according to lateral variation of S-wave velocity structure and vP/vS ratio structure. It is concluded that the development and occurrence of the Haiyuan strong earthquake is not only related to tectonic activities, but also to lithologic characters of the region.展开更多
基金South China Sea Institute of Oceanology (SCSIO) for providing R/V Shiyan-2 to carry out this experiment,sponsored by Oceanographic Research Vessel Sharing Plan (NORC2016-08) of National Natural Science Foundation of Chinafunded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41776057, 41761134051, 91858213, 41730532 and 91428039)
文摘The northeastern margin of the South China Sea (SCS), developed from continental rifting and breakup, is usually thought of as a non-volcanic margin. However, post-spreading volcanism is massive and lower crustal high-velocity anomalies are widespread, which complicate the nature of the margin here. To better understand crustal seismic velocities, lithology, and geophysical properties, we present an S-wave velocity (VS) model and a VP/VS model for the northeastern margin by using an existing P-wave velocity (VP) model as the starting model for 2-D kinematic S-wave forward ray tracing. The Mesozoic sedimentary sequence has lower VP/VS ratios than the Cenozoic sequence;in between is a main interface of P-S conversion. Two isolated high-velocity zones (HVZ) are found in the lower crust of the continental slope, showing S-wave velocities of 4.0–4.2 km/s and VP/VS ratios of 1.73–1.78. These values indicate a mafic composition, most likely of amphibolite facies. Also, a VP/VS versus VP plot indicates a magnesium-rich gabbro facies from post-spreading mantle melting at temperatures higher than normal. A third high-velocity zone (VP : 7.0–7.8 km/s;VP/VS: 1.85–1.96), 70-km wide and 4-km thick in the continent-ocean transition zone, is most likely to be a consequence of serpentinization of upwelled upper mantle. Seismic velocity structures and also gravity anomalies indicate that mantle upwelling/ serpentinization could be the most severe in the northeasternmost continent-ocean boundary of the SCS. Empirical relationships between seismic velocity and degree of serpentinization suggest that serpentinite content decreases with depth, from 43% in the lower crust to 37% into the mantle.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41230210)the Projects of International Cooperation and Exchanges from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(Grant No.2010DFB20190)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Institute of Earthquake Science,China Earthquake Administration
文摘Shanxi Graben is in the middle part of the North China Craton, from south to north. With the teleseismic data recorded by Regional Seismograph Networks and the temporary ZBnet-W Seismic Array around east part of Shanxi Graben, we measured the crustal thickness and Vp/Vs ratio beneath each station using the H-K stack of receiver functions. The observed crustal thickness shows obvious lateral variation, increasing gradually from east to west in the Shanxi Graben. Beneath the Shanxi Graben the crust is relatively thicker than both sides of the south and the north. In addition, the Vp/Vs ratio in the north of study zone is higher than that in the south. The highest Vp/Vs ratio exists in the crust of the Xinding basin and the Datong basin. Our study also suggests that high velocity ratio might result from the strong activities of the magmation and volcanism.
基金supported by the Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi(No.2023-JC-QN-0306)the Special Fund of the Institute of Geophysics,China Earthquake Administration(No.DQJB21B32)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.42174069).
文摘Lithospheric structure beneath the northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau is of vital significance for studying the geodynamic processes of crustal thickening and expansion of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. We conducted a joint inversion of receiver functions and surface wave dispersions with P-wave velocity constraints using data from the Chin Array Ⅱ temporary stations deployed across the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Prior to joint inversion, we applied the H-κ-c method(Li JT et al., 2019) to the receiver function data in order to correct for the back-azimuthal variations in the arrival times of Ps phases and crustal multiples caused by crustal anisotropy and dipping interfaces. High-resolution images of vS, crustal thickness, and vP/vSstructures in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau were simultaneously derived from the joint inversion. The seismic images reveal that crustal thickness decreases outward from the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. The stable interiors of the Ordos and Alxa blocks exhibited higher velocities and lower crustal vP/vSratios. While, lower velocities and higher vP/vSratios were observed beneath the Qilian Orogen and Songpan-Ganzi terrane(SPGZ), which are geologically active and mechanically weak, especially in the mid-lower crust.Delamination or thermal erosion of the lithosphere triggered by hot asthenospheric flow contributes to the observed uppermost mantle low-velocity zones(LVZs) in the SPGZ. The crustal thickness, vS, and vP/vSratios suggest that whole lithospheric shortening is a plausible mechanism for crustal thickening in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, supporting the idea of coupled lithospheric-scale deformation in this region.
基金Supported by Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX3-SW-234-2)National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2007CB411701)+1 种基金National High Technology Research and Development Pro-gram of China (Grant No. 2006AA09A101-0201) National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40804016, 40704013)
文摘A tomographic study of the Vp and Vp/Vs structures in the crust and upper mantle beneath the Taiwan region of China is conducted by simultaneous inversion of P and S arrival times. Compared with the previous tomographic results, the spherical finite difference technique is suitable for the strong heterogeneous velocity structure, and may improve the accuracy in the travel time and three-dimensional ray tracing calculations. The Vp and Vp/Vs structures derived from joint inversion and the relocated earthquakes can provide better constraints for analyzing the lateral heterogeneity and deep tectonic characters in the crust and upper mantle. Our tomographic results reveal significant relations between the seismic wavespeed structure and the tectonic characters. In the shallow depth, sedimentary basins and orogen show distinct wavespeed anomalies, with low Vp, high Vp/Vs in basins and high Vp, low Vp/Vs in orogen. As the suture zone of Eurasian Plate and Philippine Sea Plate, Longitudinal Valley is characterized by a significant high Vp/Vs anomaly extending to the middle-lower crust and upper mantle, which reflects the impact of rock cracking, partial melting, and the presence of fluids. In the northeast Taiwan, the Vp, Vp/Vs anomalies and relocated earthquakes depict the subducting Philippine Sea Plate under the Eurasian Plate. The high Vp of oceanic plate and the low Vp, high Vp/Vs atop the subducted oceanic plate extend to 80 km depth. Along the east-west profiles, the thickness of crust reaches 60 km at the east of Central Range with eastward dipping trend, which reveals the eastward subduction of the thickened and deformed crust of the Eurasian continental plate.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.42488201)。
文摘Fluids in subduction zones can have major effects on subduction dynamics.However,geophysical constraints on the scale and impact of fluid flow during continental subduction are still limited.Here we analyze the VP/VS ratios in the Western Alpine region,hosting one of the best-preserved fossil continental subduction zones worldwide,to investigate the impact of fluid flow during continental subduction.We found a belt of high VP/VS ratios>1.9 on the upper-plate side of the subduction zone,consistent with a partially serpentinized upper-plate mantle,and a belt of unusually low VP/VS ratios<1.7 on the lower-plate side,at depths shallower than 30 km.We propose that these low VP/VS ratios result from a widespread network of silica-rich veins,indicating past fluid flow along the continental subduction interface.Our results suggest that past fluid flow may have reduced the effective stress along the subduction interface thus favoring continental subduction.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(Grant No.2022YFF0800701)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.U1839205)。
文摘In this study,high-resolution Moho depth and average crustal V_(p)/V_(s) ratio distributions in northeast China were obtained through joint inversion of receiver functions and gravity data.The new joint inversion method comprehensively considers the complementary imaging strengths of the receiver functions in the vertical direction and the gravity data in the lateral direction.To a certain extent,it can reduce the adverse effects of the receiver function data caused by the sedimentary layers of the basin,the inclination of the Moho,and the structure heterogeneity below the station.In preprocessing the receiver function data,a regularized virtual station network was constructed using the teleseismic receiver function waveform reconstruction method to improve the overall spatial resolution.To filter the gravity data,the velocity structure-guided gravity filtering method and gravity upward continuation were used for the shallower region above the Moho and the deeper region below the lithosphere,respectively.The newly obtained model shows that the Moho depths of the Hailar Basin,Erlian Basin,Sanjiang Basin,and Bohai Bay Basin are slightly shallower than those of the surrounding areas,while the Moho depths of the Greater Xing’an Range,Lesser Xing’an Range,and Zhangguangcai Range are slightly deeper.Compared with previous results,the refined Moho depth distribution obtained in this study has a better correspondence with topographic relief and basin boundaries,and the contrast is more evident across the north-south gravity gradient lineament(NSGL).In the eastern part of the Songliao Basin,the Moho is relatively shallow,and there is a high V_(p)/V_(s) ratio,which may have been caused by the intrusion of hot mantle materials into the crust induced by lateral extension of the Songliao Basin.The high V_(p)/V_(s) ratio of the crust below the Changbaishan volcanic area implies the existence of partial melting in the crust caused by upwelling hot mantle materials.
基金funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada and the Geological Survey of China
文摘The ratio of P- to S-wave velocities （Vp/Vs） is regarded as one of the most diagnostic properties of natural rocks. It has been used as a discriminant of composition for the continental crust and provides valuable constraints on its formation and evolution processes. Furthermore, the spatial and temporal changes in Vp/Vs before and after earthquakes are probably the most promising avenue to understanding the source mechanics and possibly predicting earthquakes. Here we calibrate the variations in Vp/Vs in dry, anisotropic crustal rocks and provide a set of basic information for the interpretation of future seismic data from the Wenchuan earthquake Fault zone Scientific Drilling （WFSD） project and other surveys. Vp/Vs is a constant （Ф0） for an isotropic rock. However, most of crustal rocks are anisotropic due to lattice-preferred orientations of anisotropic minerals （e.g., mica, amphibole, plagioclase and pyroxene） and cracks as well as thin compositional layering. The Vp/Vs ratio of an anisotropic rock measured along a selected pair of propagation-vibration directions is an apparent value （Фy） that is significantly different from the value for its isotropic counterpart （Ф0）. The usefulness of apparent Vp/Vs ratios as a diagnostic of crustal composition depends largely on rock seismic anisotropy. A 5% of P- and S-wave velocity anisotropy is sufficient to make it impossible to determine the crustal composition using the conventional criteria （Vp/Vs≤1.756 for felsic rocks, 1.756〈Vp/Vs≤1.809 for intermediate rocks, 1.809〈Vp/Vs≤1.944 for mafic rocks, and Vp/V2〉1.944 fluidfilled porous/fractured or partially molten rocks） if the information about the wave propagation-polarization directions with respect to the tectonic framework is unknown. However, the variations in Vp/Vs measured from borehole seismic experiments can be readily interpreted according to the orientations of the ray path and the polarization of the shear waves with respect to the present-day principal stress di
基金State Key Basic Research Development and Programming Project (G1998040702).
文摘D crustal velocity structure and vP/vS are obtained by processing and interpretation of S-wave data from Maqen-Jingbian deep seismic sounding (DSS) profile. The result shows that there exist obvious differences in 2-D S-wave velocity structure and vP/vS ratio structure along the profile. The S-wave velocities are low and vP/vS ratio is high for the western section of the profile and Haiyuan region, while they are normal for the middle and eastern sections. The changes in lithologic characters of two major anomalous zones are discussed according to lateral variation of S-wave velocity structure and vP/vS ratio structure. It is concluded that the development and occurrence of the Haiyuan strong earthquake is not only related to tectonic activities, but also to lithologic characters of the region.
