ESTIMATING THE LOWER CRUSTAL VISCOSITY OF THE WESTERN QINLING-SONGPAN TECTONIC NODE AND ITS ADJACENT AREAS BY USING LANDFORM MORPHOLOGY |
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| Authors: | WEI Cong-min GE Wei-peng ZHANG Bo |
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| Institution: | 1. Lanzhou Institute of Seismology, China Earthquake Administration, Lanzhou 730000, China;
2. Lanzhou National Geophysical Observation and Research Station, Lanzhou 730000, China |
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| Abstract: | The western Qinling-Songpan tectonic node is located at the intersection of three major tectonic units of Tibetan plateau, the South China Block and the Ordos Block, and is at the forefront of the northeastern margin of Tibetan plateau. It has unique geological and dynamic characteristics from the surface to the deep underground. Based on the model for ductile flow in the lower crust, the geomorphological form is used to estimate the viscosity of the lower crust, and how the rheological process of the deep lithosphere acts on the upper crust deformation and structural geomorphology. And combined with GPS velocity field data, the current crustal deformation is analyzed to further study the regional dispersive deformation process. The results show that the viscosity of the north and northeast of the Zoige-Hongyuan Basin is smaller than that of the east and southeast. Therefore, the lower crust flow has a tendency of flowing to the northeastern low viscosity zone. We believe that when the lower crust flows from the central plain of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the rigid Sichuan Basin with a higher viscosity of the lower crust, it cannot flow into the basin, and part of the lower crust flow accumulate here, causing the upper crust to rise, and the uplifting led to the formation of the Longmen Mountains and a series of NNE-striking faults as well. When the lower crust flows to the northeast direction with a low viscosity, the brittle upper crust is driven together. Because of the remote effects from the Ordos Basin and the Longxi Basin, the mountains in this region are built slowly and the stepped arc-shaped topography of the current 3 000-meter contour line and the 2 000-meter contour line are developed. At the same time, a series of NWW-trending left-lateral strike-slip faults are developed. This explains the seismogenic tectonic model of the western Qinling-Songpan tectonic node as from NWW-trending left-lateral strike-slip faulting to the NNE-trending right-lateral strike-slip faulting and both having a thrust component. The current crustal movement direction revealed by the GPS velocity field is consistent with the direction of historical crust evolution of the lower crust revealed by the viscosity, implying that there is a good coupling relationship between the lower crust and upper crust. The results provide a basis for studying the development of fault systems with different strikes and properties, the formation of orogenic belts, the macroscopic geomorphological evolution characteristics, and the rheological and uplift dynamics of the lithosphere in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan plateau.
In addition, our research differs from the previous studies in the spatial and temporal scale. Previous studies included either the entire Qinghai-Tibet Plateau or only the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. However, our analysis on the contours and topographical differences in the topography of the western Qinling-Songpan tectonic knot reveals that the study area is controlled by the lower crust flow. Our results are confirmed by various observations such as seismology, magnetotellurics and geophysical exploration. Moreover, the previous studies did not point out enough that the elevation contours are elliptical, and the elliptical geomorphology further illustrates that the formation and evolution of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has rheological characteristics and also conforms to the continuous deformation mode. Meanwhile, in terms of time scale, the evolution time of the study area is divided into three types of simulation time according to geochronology. And the GPS velocity field is introduced to observe the present-day crustal deformation. |
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| Keywords: | western Qinling-Songpan tectonic node lower crustal viscosity GPS velocity field tectonogeomorphology |
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