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Eastward expansion of the Tibetan Plateau by crustal flow and strain partitioning across faults

Nature Geoscience volume 7, pages 361–365 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

The lateral expansion of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau causes devastating earthquakes, but is poorly understood. In particular, the links between regional variations in surface motion1,2,3 and the deeper structure of the plateau are unclear. The plateau may deform either by movement of rigid crustal blocks along large strike-slip faults4,5, by continuous deformation6,7, or by the eastward flow of a channel of viscous crustal rocks8,9. However, the importance of crustal channel flow was questioned in the wake of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake10,11,12. Controversies about the style of deformation have persisted, in part because geophysical probes have insufficient resolution to link structures in the deep crust to the observed surface deformation. Here we use seismic data recorded with an array of about 300 seismographs in western Sichuan, China, to image the structure of the eastern Tibetan Plateau with unprecedented clarity. We identify zones of weak rocks in the deep crust that thicken eastwards towards the Yangtze Craton, which we interpret as crustal flow channels. We also identify stark contrasts in the structure and rheology of the crust across large faults. Combined with geodetic data, the inferred crustal heterogeneity indicates that plateau expansion is accommodated by a combination of local crustal flow and strain partitioning across deep faults. We conclude that rigid block motion and crustal flow are therefore not irreconcilable modes of crustal deformation.

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Figure 1: Maps of western Sichuan.
Figure 2: Map views of wave speed variation in crust and mantle.
Figure 3: Vertical sections through the 3D wave speed model.
Figure 4: 3D perspectives of lithospheric shear-wave speed variations in relation to surface topography and major fault systems.

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Change history

  • 02 April 2014

    In the version of this Letter originally published online, the author Jiu Hui Chen was affiliated with the incorrect institution. The correct affiliation is the State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, CEA, Beijing 100029, China. This has been corrected in all versions of the Letter.

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Acknowledgements

The authors benefited from discussions with P. Z. Zhang, L. H. Royden, R. Kind, P. Tapponnier, M. Deves and Y. Z. Wang. This study was granted in part by National Key Basic Research Program (973), Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2004CB418402), State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics (LED2008B05), Basic Scientific Funding of Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration (IGCEA1009), and US-NSF grants EAR0910618 and EAR0003571.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, CEA, Beijing 100029, China

    Qi Yuan Liu, Yu Li, Jiu Hui Chen, Biao Guo, Shao Hua Qi, Jun Wang & Shun Cheng Li

  2. Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA

    Robert D. van der Hilst & Hui Huang

  3. Laboratory of Seismology and Physics of Earth’s Interior, School of Earth and Space Sciences, USTC, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China

    Hua Jian Yao

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Contributions

Q.Y.L and R.D.v.d.H. wrote the paper. All authors discussed the interpretations and commented on the manuscript. Y.L., H.J.Y. and H.H. conducted ambient noise data analyses. J.H.C., B.G., S.H.Q., J.W. and S.C.L. conducted field work and teleseismic data analyses.

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Correspondence to Qi Yuan Liu.

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Liu, Q., van der Hilst, R., Li, Y. et al. Eastward expansion of the Tibetan Plateau by crustal flow and strain partitioning across faults. Nature Geosci 7, 361–365 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2130

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