Depth variations of P-wave azimuthal anisotropy beneath Mainland China

A high-resolution model of P-wave anisotropic tomography beneath Mainland China and surrounding regions is determined using a large number of arrival-time data recorded by the China seismic network, the International Seismological Centre (ISC) and temporary seismic arrays deployed on the Tibetan Plateau. Our results provide important new insights into the subducted Indian plate and mantle dynamics in East Asia. Our tomographic images show that the northern limit of the subducting Indian plate has reached the Jinsha River suture in eastern Tibet. A striking variation of P-wave azimuthal anisotropy is revealed in the Indian lithosphere: the fast velocity direction (FVD) is NE-SW beneath the Indian continent, whereas the FVD is arc parallel beneath the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau, which may reflect re-orientation of minerals due to lithospheric extension, in response to the India-Eurasia collision. There are multiple anisotropic layers with variable FVDs in some parts of the Tibetan Plateau, which may be the cause of the dominant null splitting measurements in these regions. A circular pattern of FVDs is revealed around the Philippine Sea slab beneath SE China, which reflects asthenospheric strain caused by toroidal mantle flow around the edge of the subducting slab.

Ductile gap between the Wenchuan and Lushan earthquakes revealed from the two-dimensional Pg seismic tomography

A high-resolution two-dimensional Pg-wave velocity model is obtained for the upper crust around the epicenters of the April 20, 2013 Ms7.0 Lushan earthquake and the May 12, 2008 Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, China. The tomographic inversion uses 47235 Pg arrival times from 6812 aftershocks recorded by 61 stations around the Lushan and Wenchuan earthquakes. Across the front Longmenshan fault near the Lushan earthquake, there exists a strong velocity contrast with higher velocities to the west and lower velocities to the east. Along the Longmenshan fault system, there exist two high velocity patches showing an “X” shape with an obtuse angle along the near northwest-southeast (NW-SE) direction. They correspond to the Precambrian Pengguan and Baoxing complexes on the surface but with a ~20 km shift, respectively. The aftershock gap of the 2008 Wenchuan and the 2013 Lushan earthquakes is associated with lower velocities. Based on the theory of maximum effective moment criterion, this suggests that the aftershock gap is weak and the ductile deformation is more likely to occur in the upper crust within the gap under the near NW-SE compression. Therefore our results suggest that the large earthquake may be hard to happen within the gap.