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Three-dimensional S-wave velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle for the normal fault system beneath the Yinchuan Basin from joint inversion of receiver function and surface wave

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Abstract

A series of parallel normal faults are distributed in the Helan Mountain-Yinchuan Basin tectonic belt, where a historical M8.0 earthquake occurred. It is rare that such a great earthquake occurs in a normal fault system within the continent. To deeply understand the fine structure of the normal fault system, we deployed 104 broadband temporary stations near the system, collected data from permanent stations and other temporary stations nearby, and obtained the high-precision three-dimensional S-wave velocity structure beneath 206 stations via joint inversion of receiver function and surface wave. A typical graben-in-graben feature bounded by four major faults was identified in the Yinchuan Basin. We analyzed the seismicity in the normal fault system and found a seismic strip in the southern part of the basin, where there are significant changes in the sedimentary thickness, which is speculated to be the southern boundary of the normal fault system. There are significant differences in the crustal thickness and velocity structure in the crust on both sides of the boundary between the Helan Mountain and the Yinchuan Basin, and a low-velocity zone was identified in the upper mantle beneath this boundary, which could be related to the fact that the Helan Mountain-Yinchuan Basin tectonic belt is located between the Alxa Block and the Ordos Block. The M8.0 Yinchuan-Pingluo earthquake occurred at the junction of four major faults in the Yinchuan Basin, which was located in the high-velocity zone near the velocity transition zone at the basin-mountain boundary. The low-velocity zone in the upper mantle beneath this boundary may have promoted the nucleation of this earthquake. Based on evidence from geological drilling, microseismicity, the regional stress field, and the velocity models obtained in this study, it is inferred that the eastern piedmont fault zone of the Helan Mountain was the seismogenic fault of the 1739 M8.0 Yinchuan-Pingluo earthquake.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the two anonymous reviewers and the responsible editor for their valuable suggestions, which improved the original manuscript. The data from permanent stations and other temporary stations used in this study are from the Earthquake Science Data Center (http://www.esdc.ac.cn/). Thank Professor Xiwei XU from China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and the National Key R&D Program “Key technologies and application of 3D modeling of active faults for three different structural types” (Grant No. 2018YFC1504100) for providing the 3D fault data of the normal fault system in the Yinchuan Basin. The focal mechanisms are provided by the Earthquake Agency of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. This work was supported by the Special Fund of the Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration (Grant No. DQJB19A35), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41974058), and the National Key R&D Program (Grant No. 2018YFC1504103).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, 100081, China

    Weilai Wang, Guangyao Cai, Guijuan Lai, Jingjing Bao, Long Zhang & Mingfei Chen

  2. Earthquake Agency of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Yinchuan, 750001, China

    Xianwei Zeng

  3. Sichuan Earthquake Agency, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Jun Su

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  1. Weilai Wang
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Correspondence to Weilai Wang.

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Wang, W., Cai, G., Lai, G. et al. Three-dimensional S-wave velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle for the normal fault system beneath the Yinchuan Basin from joint inversion of receiver function and surface wave. Sci. China Earth Sci. 66, 997–1014 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-022-1059-y

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