LATE QUATERNARY ACTIVITY AND PALEOSEISMIC RUPTURE BEHAVIOR FOR THE SOUTHEAST SECTION OF THE GANZI-YUSHU FAULT |
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| Authors: | WANG Ming-ming HE Yu-lin LIU Shao WANG Shi-yuan MA Chao ZHANG Wei JIA Zhao-liang |
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| Institution: | 1.Sichuan Earthquake Administration, Chengdu 610041, China;2.Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China |
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| Abstract: | The Ganzi-Yushu Fault, the boundary of Bayan Har active tectonic block, Qiantang active tectonic block and Sichuan-Yunan active tectonic block, is a sinistral strike-slip fault zone with intensive Holocene activity. Thus, the study of activity characteristics and rupture behavior of paleoearthquakes in the late Quaternary on the Ganzi-Yushu Fault is of fundamental importance for understanding the future seismic risk of this fault. The southeast section of Ganzi-Yushu Fault is made up of three segments of Ganzi, Manigange and Dengke, where a MS7.3 earthquake in 1866, a MS7.7 earthquake in 1854 and a MS7.3 in 1896 occurred, respectively. There is still lack of in-depth study on the active features and the cascading rupture possibility of these segments, which hindered the evaluation of seismic risk for the southeast section of Ganzi-Yushu Fault. By the means of field geological survey and micro topography measurement, this paper studied the geological and geomorphological features of the southeast section of the Ganzi-Yushu Fault. The results show that the Ganzi and Dengke segments show obvious extension movement, in addition to the left-lateral movement. For Manigange segment, the characteristics of the movement are mainly left-lateral strike-slip and thrusting, and the maximum vertical displacement of the Holocene strata is greater than 2m. In part areas, the movement is normal faulting, which perhaps relates to the left stepping zone in the local stress environment. Therefore, combining the research results such as the fracture distribution in different motion characteristics, rupture behavior of paleoearthquakes, and the distribution of historical earthquake surface ruptures, we divide the southeast section of Ganzi Yushu Fault into Ganzi, Manigange and Dengke segment, and consider the Yakou and the Dengke Basin as the stepovers and the segments' boundaries. As the small scale of impermanent barriers including Dengke Basin and the ridge near Yakou, of which the width is about 1~2km, they may be broken through in great earthquake rupture in future. A trench was excavated in Zhuqing township to investigate the paleoearthquakes on the Manigange segment, radiocarbon dating was employed and 3 paleoseismic events were revealed in the Zhuqing trench, which are the seismic events occurring respectively at 3875~3455BC, after 775BC, and the latest one that ruptured the surface. Compared with the previous results of paleoseismology in the southeast section of Ganzi-Yushu Fault, it is found that the paleoseismic events in the Manigange segment are obviously different with that in Ganzi segment and Dengke segment. Due to the lack of sufficient data on the southeast section of the Ganzi-Yushu Fault, it still needs further discussion whether the cascade-rupturing between these segments exists. |
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| Keywords: | Ganzi-Yushu Fault characteristics of late Quaternary activity paleoseismology rupture behavior |
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