The Guanxian-Anxian fault zone in the Longmen Shan,Sichuan,China,exhibits long-term creep-slip but ruptured during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake,challenging the view that creeping faults rarely generate strong earthqua...The Guanxian-Anxian fault zone in the Longmen Shan,Sichuan,China,exhibits long-term creep-slip but ruptured during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake,challenging the view that creeping faults rarely generate strong earthquakes.To investigate the transition from creep-slip to stick-slip,we analyzed fault rocks from the WFSD-3,using microstructural observations,XRD,μXRF,Raman spectroscopy,and quartz grain size statistics.Fault rocks show intense foliation,pressure-solution structures,and abundant clay minerals,reflecting long-term aseismic creep.At the interface between black and gray fault gouges at~1249.98 m,microstructures indicate stick-slip behavior,including truncated grains,angular fragments,and finer grain sizes.Here,clay content drops sharply while strong minerals(quartz,feldspar,calcite,dolomite)increase.Elemental mapping shows Al and K enriched in black gouge,whereas Ca and Si in gray gouge;Raman spectroscopy indicates possible graphitization;the finest quartz grains occur in black gouge.These features mark co-seismic principal slip zone of the Wenchuan earthquake.We propose that fluid-driven transformation of strong minerals into clays facilitates creep-slip,whereas localized precipitation of strong minerals strengthens the fault,causing stress accumulation and controlling the creep-slip to stick-slip transition.This mechanism has implications for reassessing seismic hazards of creeping faults.展开更多
The Kumkol Basin,situated in the northern margin of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau,provides a unique window into understanding the dynamic mechanisms driving the plateau’s northern expansion.However,its formation and tec...The Kumkol Basin,situated in the northern margin of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau,provides a unique window into understanding the dynamic mechanisms driving the plateau’s northern expansion.However,its formation and tectonic evolution remain poorly understood due to limited geophysical data in this region.In this study,we computed cross-correlations for the TT components of station-pairs with high signal-to-noise ratios to extract Love wave waveforms and further performed Lovewave ambient noise tomography to image the upper crustal shear-wave velocity structure of the Kumkol basin down to 10 km depth.Our seismic velocity model reveals that the Kumkol Basin has a sedimentary thickness exceeding 8 km,with its center located near the Arka Mountain on the southern side.This suggests that the basin was likely formed as a foreland basin in response to the uplift of the Qiman Tagh Mountain to the north.Additionally,integrated with seismic reflection data,our seismic velocity model images a detachment fault at the basin basement depth.We inferred that the Kumkol Anticlinorium at the basin’s center have been produced by multiple thrust faults converging into this detachment fault at 8–10 km depth following the Early to Middle Miocene uplift of the Qiman Tagh Mountain.This structural configuration indicates pulsed basinward deformation since the late Miocene,likely reflecting a tectonic regime shift from extrusion to distributed shortening in the northern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.Our findings provide a high-resolution velocity model of the Kumkol Basin,offering critical insights into its structural evolution and supporting future resource exploration in this underexplored region.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(42230312,42272270,42172262,42372266)the Deep Earth Probe and Mineral Resources Exploration-National Science and Technology Major Project(2024ZD1000500)the China Geological Survey Project(DD20240041).
文摘The Guanxian-Anxian fault zone in the Longmen Shan,Sichuan,China,exhibits long-term creep-slip but ruptured during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake,challenging the view that creeping faults rarely generate strong earthquakes.To investigate the transition from creep-slip to stick-slip,we analyzed fault rocks from the WFSD-3,using microstructural observations,XRD,μXRF,Raman spectroscopy,and quartz grain size statistics.Fault rocks show intense foliation,pressure-solution structures,and abundant clay minerals,reflecting long-term aseismic creep.At the interface between black and gray fault gouges at~1249.98 m,microstructures indicate stick-slip behavior,including truncated grains,angular fragments,and finer grain sizes.Here,clay content drops sharply while strong minerals(quartz,feldspar,calcite,dolomite)increase.Elemental mapping shows Al and K enriched in black gouge,whereas Ca and Si in gray gouge;Raman spectroscopy indicates possible graphitization;the finest quartz grains occur in black gouge.These features mark co-seismic principal slip zone of the Wenchuan earthquake.We propose that fluid-driven transformation of strong minerals into clays facilitates creep-slip,whereas localized precipitation of strong minerals strengthens the fault,causing stress accumulation and controlling the creep-slip to stick-slip transition.This mechanism has implications for reassessing seismic hazards of creeping faults.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.42274066),the Second Qinghai-Xizang Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program(STEP)(No.2019Q ZKK0701).
文摘The Kumkol Basin,situated in the northern margin of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau,provides a unique window into understanding the dynamic mechanisms driving the plateau’s northern expansion.However,its formation and tectonic evolution remain poorly understood due to limited geophysical data in this region.In this study,we computed cross-correlations for the TT components of station-pairs with high signal-to-noise ratios to extract Love wave waveforms and further performed Lovewave ambient noise tomography to image the upper crustal shear-wave velocity structure of the Kumkol basin down to 10 km depth.Our seismic velocity model reveals that the Kumkol Basin has a sedimentary thickness exceeding 8 km,with its center located near the Arka Mountain on the southern side.This suggests that the basin was likely formed as a foreland basin in response to the uplift of the Qiman Tagh Mountain to the north.Additionally,integrated with seismic reflection data,our seismic velocity model images a detachment fault at the basin basement depth.We inferred that the Kumkol Anticlinorium at the basin’s center have been produced by multiple thrust faults converging into this detachment fault at 8–10 km depth following the Early to Middle Miocene uplift of the Qiman Tagh Mountain.This structural configuration indicates pulsed basinward deformation since the late Miocene,likely reflecting a tectonic regime shift from extrusion to distributed shortening in the northern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.Our findings provide a high-resolution velocity model of the Kumkol Basin,offering critical insights into its structural evolution and supporting future resource exploration in this underexplored region.
