TECTONIC INDICATIONS OF OCCURRENCE OF MODERATE-TO-STRONG EARTHQUAKES IN CHAOHU-TONGLING AREA,ANHUI PROVINCE

The Chaohu-Tongling area in Anhui Province is a typical moderate-to-strong earthquake active area in the mainland of China. Four earthquakes occurred in this area, displayed as a NNE-trending zonal distribution, including the 1585 M5(3/4) Chaoxian earthquake and the 1654 M5(1/4) Lujiang earthquake, which formed a striking moderate-to-strong seismic activity zone. Field survey, shallow geophysical prospecting, drilling data, collection and dating of chronology samples and comprehensive analysis of fault activity indicate that the Fanshan, Xiajialing and Langcun faults are not active since Quaternary. The NNE-trending Tongling Fault is a buried middle-Pleistocene fault, but it can produce moderate-to-strong earthquakes and control the evolution and development of three en echelon geologic structures. The intensity of the four earthquakes is characterized by southward progressive decrease, which is in accordance with the characteristics that the subsidence range of Wuwei Basin is obviously larger than that of Guichi Basin to its south since late Cenozoic. In terms of deep structure, the characteristics of spatial distribution of Tongling Fault indicate that it corresponds to a NNE-striking Bouguer gravity anomaly gradient belt. So there is a spatial correspondence between the middle-Pleistocene Tongling Fault, the en echelon structures, the differential movement of the neotectonics, the Bouguer gravity anomaly gradient belt and the moderate-to-strong seismic activity belt in the Chaohu-Tongling area, indicating that they should be the tectonic indications of occurrence for moderate-to-strong earthquakes.     

Faults in the Baikal region: morphostructural and structure-genetic features (case study of the Buguldeika fault junction)

Lineament analysis is applied to map the pattern of the Obruchev fault system in the Buguldeika Village area, where several fault zones (Olkhon, Primorsky, Prikhrebtovyi, Buguldeika, and Kurtun) make up a junction. As inferred from the predominant directions of genetically related lineaments, the Olkhon, Primorsky, and Prikhrebtovyi faults originated under NW-SE extension and compression. The extension and compression settings within these zones are reconstructed by analysis of lineaments that have prominent and poor geomorphic expression, respectively. However, the pattern of lineaments well expressed in the surface topography within a weakly deformed block corresponds to reverse slip, while that of poorly pronounced lineaments corresponds to left-lateral strike slip. The study confirms the idea that the latest extension (rifting) stage in the Baikal region reactivated fault zones but did not deform blocks. The blocks store record of residual deformation produced by previous settings of regional compression and shear. The obtained results agree with earlier tectonophysical analysis of faults and fractures in the area and prove the applicability of the suggested approach to map the fault patterns and reconstruct their respective stress settings in areas that underwent multiple deformation events of different ages.     

南海东北部新构造运动及其动力学机制

南海东北部地处欧亚板块与菲律宾海板块的交汇区,新构造运动活跃。根据地震活动性、震源机制解和GPS资料对该区的新构造活动特征进行分析,在此基础上讨论该区新构造运动的动力学机制。分析发现,菲律宾海板块NW向俯冲对该区的影响最为显著,导致了该区较强的地震活动性以及与俯冲方向一致的构造应力场。而印藏碰撞产生的侧向应力传递也影响到该区,控制华南地块向SE方向运动,并与菲律宾海板块的NW向俯冲共同作用,使华南地块在SE向运动的同时伴有逆时针旋转。印藏碰撞的SE向应力传递对俯冲产生的NW向水平挤压的抵消作用,使得地震活动性自东向西减弱以及构造应力场P轴方位角顺时针旋转。在这一背景下,区内滨海断裂带的活动控制了该区的地震、海岸带构造升降等新构造运动。     

SEA LEVEL RISE OF THE ZHUJIANG RIVER DELTA AND NEOTECTONICS

A linear regression analysis of 28 selected tide-gauge stations of the Zhujiang Estuary shows that there has been a tendency of local sea level rise at a rate of 2.028 mm per year. The origin of the variation is significantly attributed to the local tectonic movement of discrepant fault-block. Based on this, four types of relative local sea level changes are classified. According to calculation, half of the fertile land, or 800 km2 of the delta plain will have been submerged by sea water by about 2040. This will yield a significant influence on the economic construction and human activities.     

黄河源区新构造运动对生态环境恶化的影响

基于黄河源区1:25万生态环境地质调查新获得的大量实际资料,通过分析和研究发现,黄河源区早更新世-中更新世处于走滑伸展的大陆动力学背景,在整体隆升中,形成断块山与拉分盆地,湖泊广布;晚更新世,大陆动力学机制过渡为挤压收缩,在整体抬升中,断块山显著崛起,湖盆萎缩、变形;全新世,大陆动力学环境反转为走滑挤压,持续隆升,黄河扩展源头到达本区,扎陵湖、鄂陵湖外泄,闭流盆地水环境转向开放.近代,特别是20世纪70年代以来,新构造活化与寒冻风化岩屑坡扩大、沙质荒漠化蔓延、湖泊和沼泽湿地萎缩、区域地下水位下降、源区黄河频繁断流、生态环境日益恶化响应关系密切.因此,新构造运动在黄河源区生态环境恶化中起主导作用,而其他因素则起到促进与加速的作用.     

Neotectonic Control on the Geomorphic Evolution of the Gangotri Glacier Valley, Garhwal Himalaya

The paper records evidences of neotectonic activities in the Gangotri glacier valley that are found to be responsible for the present-day geomorphic set-up of the area since the last phase of major glaciation. Geomorphological features indicate the presence of a large glacier in the valley in the geological past. Prominent planar structures present in the rocks were later on modified into sets of normal faults in the present-day Himalayan tectonic set-up giving rise to graben structures. The block nearest the snout is traversed by the NW-SE trending Gaumukh fault. A number of terraces mark the entrenchment of Bhagirathi River in this part. The contrasting drainage morphometric parameters of two sides of the valley and asymmetric recessional patterns of the tributary glaciers further document movement along the fault. The distribution and orientation of debris fans also seem to be controlled by neotectonic activity. The neotectonic activity that followed the process of deglaciation has brought the glacially carved, wide U- shaped valley in contact with the present-day fluvially incised narrow and relatively deep valley. The wider segments have become sites of active deposition of glacially eroded debris. The low gradient and excessive filling has resulted in the river attaining a braided nature in these segments.     

Re-appraisal of seismicity and seismotectonics in the north-eastern Algeria Part II: 20th century seismicity and seismotectonics analysis

The main objective of the research work isthe homogenisation of the two recentAlgerian earthquake catalogues for thecommon covered period of time, from 1900 to1990, for the region under considerationlimited by [33^°N–38^°N,4^°E-9.5^°E] and the updatingof the catalogue for the twentieth century(1900–2000). To mitigate the deficiencyof the incompleteness of catalogue, aneffort was made to establish a correlationbetween surface-wave magnitude Ms andbody-wave magnitude m_b in the form ofMs = a + b (m_b). A complete, exact andhomogeneous earthquake catalogue as much aspossible, comprising 870 seismic events,has been compiled. Seismicity analysis ofthe region shows a strong concentration ofseismicity along a band of no more than400 km width oriented mainly in theeast-west direction parallel to the coast.Moreover, earthquakes in this zone arerather associated to strike-slip mechanism.The focal mechanism show a regional stressregime that corresponds to horizontalcompression in NW-SE to N-S direction. As aresult of the review of the seismicity ofnorth-eastern Algeria from the compilationof checked and corrected data and itscorrelation with other geologic andgeophysical investigations based ondocumentary sources, it was possible toconstruct a most complete seismotectonicmap. It leads also to delineate fourseismogenic zones in the Tellian Atlas, aless important zone in the Saharan Atlas, asixth zone at the boundary of both Atlasand finally, a seventh one along thecoastal zone. The seismicity-active faultscorrelation of some of these defined zonesis examined in details with a specialattention to the Saharan Atlas zone, theHodna and Biban zone as well as Soummam andBabor zone where further research workallowed to find some neotectonic featuresconsidered as a significant sign of recenttectonic activity.     

四川九寨沟地貌与第四纪地质

九寨沟地处青藏高原向四川盆地陡跌的两在地貌单元的过渡地带,经笔者等调查可划分出高山地地貌、高山坡地地貌和高山河谷地貌等三种地貌类型及十种成因类型的第四纪堆积物,并对其分布规律、特征者描述。首次划分了区内第四纪地层,探讨其演化过程。为研究九寨沟自然资源的演化发展以及合理利用和保护提供了基础资料。