We compare the factors which affect the movement of Tibetan Plateau by building three types of finite element models: an elastic materials (M-EC), a continuous model composed by non-linear materials (M-PC), and an elastic model with discontinuous fault movements (M-ET). Both in M-ET and M-EC, the materials in Qiangtang and Lhasa block are elastic, and in M-ET, discontinuous movement of faults is considered for evaluating the effects of strike-slip faults. In model M-PC Druker-Prager plastic materials are used in Qiangtang and Lhasa block. Comparisons of the numerical simulation and the GPS observations show following characteristics: (1) Under present tectonic environment, short-term deformation of Tibetan Plateau can be simulated well by elastic models; (2) Discontinuous fault activities increase the lateral extrusion of the eastern part of Tibetan Plateau, reduce the stress field level in Qiangtang, Tarim and Qaidam blocks and strengthen the E-W extensional force in the east and the west parts of Qiangtang block; (3) Properties of plastic materials reduce the total stress field and the E-W extensional force, thus, the normal fault earthquakes in southern Tibet is mainly owed to the effect of active fault movement. Based on the numerical simulations we speculate that faults movement may play a more important role on the kinematic pattern of Tibetan Plateau than bulk properties.
Based on teleseismic data obtained from 225 stations from two networks in the central Tibetan plateau, we have generated detailed crustal structure images using P-wave receiver function techniques with more accurate piercing-depth-correction and time-depth-correction than what have previously been available. Our images indicate an undulatory Moho beneath the Tibetan plateau with a steep jump beneath the northern Himalaya, and obviously different structures in proximity to the Bangong-Nujiang suture. In several sections of the Tibetan plateau, the lower crust is characterized by pervasive high-velocity regions, which are consistent with the preservation of eclogite bodies beneath the plateau, whose presence affects the dynamics of the Tibetan plateau.
Can GeYoushun SunM Nafi TokszYingcai ZhengYong ZhengXiong XiongDiming Yu
Earthquake magnitude and rupture duration are among the most important parameters characterizing an earthquake for the purpose of early tsunami warning. While they can be routinely determined from broadband P waveforms with iterative inver- sion procedures, the inversion procedures may fail when the rupture either lasts longer than the interval between P and later arrivals or requires too much time or human intervention. Little contaminated by later arrivals, high frequency P waves are useful for modeling earthquake source processes, though the envelope waveform is affected by strong scattering in lithosphere. With high frequency envelopes from aftershocks as Empirical Green's Function (EGF), the coda effects can be removed and more accurate relative source time function (RSTF) of the main shock can be obtained. Assuming that RSTFs cannot be negative, we use the projected Landweber deconvolution method (PLD) to obtain high frequency RSTFs because PLD method has the advantage of non-negativity, causality, and compactness (finite duration). We are able to determine rupture durations of four large earthquakes: the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, the 2005 Nias event, the 2006 Java event, and the 2011 Tokuko earthquake. The rupture durations of the Sumatra-Andaman, Nias, and Tohuko events are found to be around 550, 110, and 120 s respectively, consistent with previous studies. The rupture duration of the Java event is about 130 s, supporting that the Java event is a tsunami earthquake. The magnitudes of these earthquakes are found to depend on both the amplitude and the duration of the deconvolved waveforms, and can be approximated by integrating these waveforms.
