Present‐Day Strike‐Slip Faulting and Intracontinental Deformation of North China: Constraints From Improved GPS Observations

Abstract

The North China Block mainly consisting of the Ordos and North China Plain sub-blocks, is one of the most intriguing regions jointly controlled by the India-Eurasia collision and the westward subduction of the Pacific-Philippine plate (e.g.,

Fault Geometry and Late Quaternary Kinematics Along the Tieluzi Fault: Implications for Tectonic Deformation and Eastward Expansion of the Tibetan Plateau, China

“…Zhang et al (1995) based on the inferred age of the fluvial terraces of the Bahe River and the offsets of its tributaries about 15-20 km upstream and slower than the rate of a few to more than 10 mm/yr proposed by Zhou et al (2001) using displaced rivers and thermoluminescence (TL) ages of fluvial terraces. It is worth noting that our preferred slip rate agrees with the decadal slip rate of 0.7-0.9 mm/yr determined by the most recent geodetic study of X. N. Li et al (2023) and those predicted by previous geodetic investigations (Middleton, 2016;. It suggests that the left-lateral slip rate may remain constant along the Tieluzi Fault at time scales from decades to hundred thousand years.…”

“…It demonstrates that the earthquake on the F4 strand and Lushi segment characterized by fresh fault scarp has not ruptured eastward onto the Jiaohe segment, suggesting that the Luonan Fault may play an important role in controlling the slip propagation and thus affecting the activity of the Jiaohe segment and that of the easternmost two segments. Moreover, the most recent geodetic studies of X. N. Li et al (2023) show that the left-lateral slip rate of 0.7-0.9 mm/yr on the western segments is faster than that of 0.1-0.4 mm/yr on the eastern segments, also supporting that the eastern segments are less active than the western ones.…”

“…Moreover, the most recent geodetic studies of X. N. Li et al. (2023) show that the left‐lateral slip rate of 0.7–0.9 mm/yr on the western segments is faster than that of 0.1–0.4 mm/yr on the eastern segments, also supporting that the eastern segments are less active than the western ones.…”

“…Interestingly, the manner in which the Tibetan Plateau expends outward exhibits similar characteristics in both regions. Specifically, active faults at the most frontiers of outward expansion of the Tibetan Plateau behave as strike‐slip as observed on the Tieluzi Fault, Yabrai Fault (Yu et al., 2016), and Shanguankou‐Niushoushan Fault (Lei et al., 2016), which is a result of relative motions between blocks pushed by the Tibetan Plateau (X. N. Li et al., 2021, 2023; Zheng et al., 2016).…”

“…Fourth, the left-lateral offset along the Tieluzi Fault may be partially partitioned by the ZXF branching off to the south of the Tieluzi Fault (Figure 18d). Though the four mechanisms may all have a certain impact on the spatial variations in tectonic activity along the Tieluzi Fault, the first and third mechanisms are preferred to play the most important role because: the strike change and intersection collaboratively consist of the segmentation boundaries between the western and eastern segments stopping deformation propagation; and the deficit of slip is possibly accommodated by the Lushi Basin developed at the intersection; furthermore, the difference in slip rate between the western and eastern segments predicted by the GPS block model of X. N. Li et al (2023) also verifies the significance of strike change, in which only the strike change was considered.…”