| Abstract: | This paper gives a preliminarily study of the regional tectonic deformation setting before the Ms8.1 earthquake that occurred in the west of the Kunlun Mountains Pass; in the study, the data of the velocity field of crustal horizontal movement during 1991-2000 observed by GPS in and around the Qinghai-Tibet block and those of gravity reiteration in 1998 and 2000 were used. Analysis shows that the preparation and occurrence of this large earthquake are related to the horizontal movement and deformation setting in a large region and might be attributed to the block activity on a relatively large scale. Within the Qinghai-Tibet block, the region of left-lateral shear deformation is of a very large extent. This large earthquake occurred right in such a place where the left-lateral shear strain along the fault strike had the highest rate and the planar dilatation strain was tensile, which was on the margin of negative value region of abnormal gravity variation. The regional tectonic deformation setting can help the huge left-lateral strike-slip rupture to develop. |
