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Paleo-Earthquakes along the Zheduotang Fault, Xianshuihe Fault System, Eastern Tibet: Implications for Seismic Hazard Evaluation

  • Geophysics and Engineering Geology
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An Erratum to this article was published on 14 December 2022

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Abstract

The Kangding City in eastern Tibet is at high risk due to frequent strong earthquakes along the Xianshuihe sinistral strike-slip fault bounding the Chuandian Block to the northeast. The knowledge of paleo-seismicity recurrence along this fault system is key to the evaluation of earthquake hazards in this region; thus, more accurate paleoseismic information are required. We examined the paleo-seismicity along the Zheduotang fault in the central segment of the Xianshuihe fault system by applying the field investigation, trenching, and Quaternary dating methods (e.g., OSL and 14C). Field observations found ∼8.5 m offset of stream by sinistral slip along the Zheduotang fault. We trenched the central fault zone of the Zheduotang fault and found that the colluvial wedges and five buried, discontinuous, A-soil horizons progressively have been offset in the shallow graben on the SW-side of the main fault indicative of the paleo-earthquakes. The dating results of OSL and 14C, in line with existing data, enable us to establish the paleo-seismic history of the Zheduotang fault. It shows at least eight surface ruptures in the last 7500 years identified from displaced buried soils, colluvial wedges and terraces. Our study reveals ∼100 years minimum paleo-earthquake recurrence, suggesting potential large earthquakes in the Kangding area in the future.

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Acknowledgments

First, we thank Professor Dewei Li for years of support in our research. His funded projects and knowledge of the geology were essential. We also thank Taylor F. Armstrong, who spent several field seasons with us, fully participating in excavation and mapping of our trenches. We thank Dr. An Yin for a critical review of an earlier draft of the manuscript and Dr. Zhongping Lai for guidance with OSL dating. Dr. Junfeng Zhang reviewed earlier versions of this manuscript. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-022-1687-0.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Guifan Chen, Demin Liu, Kai Cao & Dun Wang

  2. Three Gorges Geotechnical Consultants Co., Ltd., Wuhan, 430074, China

    Guifan Chen

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA

    Mervin Bartholomew

  4. Xi’an Center of Geological Survey, China Geological Survey, Xi’an, 710054, China

    Minxuan Feng

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  1. Guifan Chen
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Correspondence to Guifan Chen.

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Chen, G., Bartholomew, M., Liu, D. et al. Paleo-Earthquakes along the Zheduotang Fault, Xianshuihe Fault System, Eastern Tibet: Implications for Seismic Hazard Evaluation. J. Earth Sci. 33, 1233–1245 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-022-1687-0

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