Rupture terminations and size of segment boundaries from historical earthquake ruptures in the Basin and Range Province

Zhang, Peizhen; Feng-ying, Mao; Slemmons, David B.

doi:10.1016/s0040-1951(99)00089-x

Cited by 58 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Wesnousky (2008) found that dip-slip events have ruptured through steps of 5-7 km, greater than for strike-slip earthquakes. The step in the Wenchuan earthquake is larger than all of these limits, however, implying that there may be important differences between the Wenchuan rupture and the more traditional strike-slip and dip-slip events used in the Zhang et al (1999), Wesnousky (2006), and Wesnousky (2008) analyses. This suggests that complex oblique-slip earthquakes, such as the Wenchuan event, may have higher limits to breaching segment boundaries than previously recognized.…”

Section: Character Of the Wenchuan Rupturementioning

confidence: 98%

“…Wesnousky (2006) observed that the maximum dimension of fault steps across which strike-slip earthquakes rupture is about 4 km; this limit was upheld by Elliott et al (2009). Zhang et al (1999) examined normal faulting earthquakes in the Basin and Range Province and observed no events rupturing across discontinuities greater than 5 km (1915 Pleasant Valley). Wesnousky (2008) found that dip-slip events have ruptured through steps of 5-7 km, greater than for strike-slip earthquakes.…”

Section: Character Of the Wenchuan Rupturementioning

confidence: 99%

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Structural Setting of the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan, China, Earthquake

Hubbard

Shaw

Klinger

2010

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America

168

174

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International audienceThe 2008 M w 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake ruptured an imbricate thrust system in the Longmen Shan range, which forms the eastern boundary of the Tibetan Plateau. We use seismic reflection data and surface geology to construct geologic cross sections and a three-dimensional (3D) fault model in the range front. The rupture was complex, with slip on both the steeply dipping Beichuan fault and the more shallowly dipping Pengguan fault, which appear to merge at depth. In contrast, only the Beichuan fault ruptured in the north, with the transition near a lateral fault offset. Thus, the earthquake involved multiple thrust splays and breached a significant segment boundary. To investigate the tectonic setting of the earthquake, we extend our previous measurements of crustal shortening (Hubbard and Shaw, 2009) into the interior of the range and show that shortening correlates with topography. This suggests that upper-crustal shortening can produce the high topography of the Longmen Shan without calling on other uplift mechanisms. Based on this understanding, we model the thrust belt as a critical taper wedge, to assess what rock and fault strengths are required to explain the topographic slopes within the range front and basin. The low taper within the basin is consistent with a weak detachment (δ f ≈ 0:1), while a slightly stronger (δ f ≈ 0:3–0:4) detachment is necessary to explain the higher taper of the range front. This difference may relate to the localization of the detachment within a Triassic evaporite sequence within the basin, while the faults beneath the range front are rooted in Precambrian metasedimentary or igneous rocks. Critical taper theory implies that shortening in the range front where the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake occurred is many times greater than in the basin, consistent with our shortening measurements. We examine the implications of these findings for seismic hazard assessment in the region and in other active mountain belts around the world

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Section: Character Of the Wenchuan Rupturementioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Character Of the Wenchuan Rupturementioning

confidence: 99%

Structural Setting of the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan, China, Earthquake

Hubbard

Shaw

Klinger

2010

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America

168

174

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“…The segmented structure of the surface rupture is noticeable from the surface offset distribution as well as the rupture trace geometry. Such segmented ruptures are typical for large (M w > 7.0) historical earthquakes of the Basin-and-Range Nevada;1954 Fairview Peak, Nevada;or 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana, earthquakes [Doser and Smith, 1989;dePolo et al, 1991;Zhang et al, 1999]. Similarly, the Santa Rita fault zone, located along the southeastern margin of the Tucson Basin in southeastern Arizona, is a late Pleistocene example of a segmented Basin-and-Range Province fault rupture with an estimated recurrence time of 100 ka and an estimated magnitude up to 7.3, which is based on the fault length of 58 km and scarp heights up to 7 m [Pearthree and Calvo, 1987].…”

Section: Coseismic Surface Offset Profile and Segmentation Of Entire mentioning

confidence: 99%

Rupture of the Pitáycachi Fault in the 1887M_w7.5 Sonora, Mexico earthquake (southern Basin‐and‐Range Province): Rupture kinematics and epicenter inferred from rupture branching patterns

Suter

2015

JGR Solid Earth

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During the 3 May 1887 M w 7.5 Sonora earthquake (surface rupture end-to-end length: 101.8 km), an array of three north-south striking Basin-and-Range Province faults (from north to south Pitáycachi, Teras, and Otates) slipped sequentially along the western margin of the Sierra Madre Occidental Plateau. This detailed field survey of the 1887 earthquake rupture zone along the Pitáycachi fault includes mapping the rupture scarp and measurements of surface deformation. The surface rupture has an endpoint-to-endpoint length of ≥41.0 km, dips~70°W, and is characterized by normal left-lateral extension. The maximum surface offset is 487 cm and the mean offset 260 cm. The rupture trace shows a complex pattern of second-order segmentation. However, this segmentation is not expressed in the 1887 along-rupture surface offset profile, which indicates that the secondary segments are linked at depth into a single coherent fault surface. The Pitáycachi surface rupture shows a well-developed bipolar branching pattern suggesting that the rupture originated in its central part, where the polarity of the rupture bifurcations changes. Most likely the rupture first propagated bilaterally along the Pitáycachi fault. The southern rupture front likely jumped across a step over to the Teras fault and from there across a major relay zone to the Otates fault. Branching probably resulted from the lateral propagation of the rupture after breaching the seismogenic part of the crust, given that the much shorter ruptures of the Otates and Teras segments did not develop branches.

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“…These pull-apart basins are usually less than 2 km wide (perpendicular to the fault segments) and are not large enough to (bottom) An interpretation of the stratigraphy in the cross section with the location of the sample shown: 1, grayish yellow to grayish black silt layers, with lots of roots of dry land plants; 2, yellowish white gravel layers, the pebbles are mostly about 0.2-0.5 cm in diameter; 3, grayish yellow sandy silt, containing a few scattered gravels; 4, grayish white gravel layers, the pebbles are mostly about 1 -3 cm in diameter; 5, grayish yellow sandy silt, silty clay; 6, light grayish green gravel layers, the pebbles are mostly about 1 cm in diameter; 7, massive homogeneous reworked loess; 8, light grayish green gravel layers, interbedded with thin sandy silt lenses. form a structural discontinuity that can significantly impede a propagating earthquake rupture [Zhang et al, 1991b[Zhang et al, , 1999. The Jingtai pull-apart basin is 5 km wide at the western end ( Figure 2).…”

Section: Tectonic Setting and Geometric Pattern Of The Haiyuan Faultmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Quaternary left‐lateral slip rate of the Haiyuan fault, northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

et al. 2009

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Slip rates of major active strike‐slip faults within and around the Tibetan Plateau provide constraints for understanding the dynamics of continental deformation in general because large slip rates can be taken to imply localized deformation between rigid blocks and low slip rates on faults are more consistent with distributed deformation. Several major strike‐slip faults have been studied during the last 3 decades. As one of important active strike‐slip faults in and around the Tibetan Plateau, the slip rate of the Haiyuan fault has been discrepantly estimated to be high by proponents of “escape tectonics” or low by others and GPS observations. To better constrain its slip rate and then to better understand the mechanics of intracontinental deformation, we try to more carefully consider offset geomorphic features and age constraints along the Haiyuan fault. In this paper, we select three sites where both upper and lower bounds of slip rate can be obtained. We find that slip rates are 4.2 ± 0.8 mm/yr at the Shaomayin, 4.5 ± 0.7 mm/yr at Gaowanzi, and 5.0 ± 2.5 mm/yr at Huangliangtan site. Combinations of these rates with those published previously yield an average slip rate of 4.5 ± 1.0 mm/yr on the Haiyuan fault. This rate agrees with the present‐day slip rate of 4.3 ± 1.5 mm/yr measured by GPS, 4.2–8 mm/yr by interferometric synthetic aperture radar, and ∼5 mm/yr through paleoseismological studies. The temporal consistency suggests a steady state process of strain accumulation and release along the Haiyuan fault. The low slip rate suggests that the Haiyuan fault, similar to the Altyn Tagh fault, does not transfer a significant portion of the convergence between India and Asia out of India's path into Eurasia but merely redistributes crustal thickening.

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Rupture terminations and size of segment boundaries from historical earthquake ruptures in the Basin and Range Province

Cited by 58 publications

References 19 publications

Structural Setting of the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan, China, Earthquake

Structural Setting of the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan, China, Earthquake

Rupture of the Pitáycachi Fault in the 1887M_w7.5 Sonora, Mexico earthquake (southern Basin‐and‐Range Province): Rupture kinematics and epicenter inferred from rupture branching patterns

Late Quaternary left‐lateral slip rate of the Haiyuan fault, northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

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Rupture terminations and size of segment boundaries from historical earthquake ruptures in the Basin and Range Province

Cited by 58 publications

References 19 publications

Structural Setting of the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan, China, Earthquake

Structural Setting of the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan, China, Earthquake

Rupture of the Pitáycachi Fault in the 1887Mw7.5 Sonora, Mexico earthquake (southern Basin‐and‐Range Province): Rupture kinematics and epicenter inferred from rupture branching patterns

Late Quaternary left‐lateral slip rate of the Haiyuan fault, northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

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Rupture of the Pitáycachi Fault in the 1887M_w7.5 Sonora, Mexico earthquake (southern Basin‐and‐Range Province): Rupture kinematics and epicenter inferred from rupture branching patterns