Fault Slip Rates and Seismic Moment Deficits on Major Active Faults in Middle and South Parts of the Eastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau

• Published in: Chinese journal of geophysics 2014-03, Vol.57 (2), p.177-194
• Main Authors: Yu-Hang, LI, Ming, HAO, Ling-Yun, JI, Shan-Lan, QIN
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blocking; Earthquakes; Fault lines; Fault slip rate; Faults; Geological faults; Geophysics; Global Positioning System; Global positioning systems; GPS; Historic; Mid and south part of the eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau; Seismic hazard; Seismic moment deficit; Slip; Spherical linear block theory
• ISSN: 0898-9591; 2326-0440
• DOI: 10.1002/cjg2.20095

As the pathway for southeastward extrusion of the Tibetan Plateau, the middle and south parts of the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau are characterized by widespread active faults, and intensive and frequent seismic activity. In this paper, we use the spherical linear block theory constrained by geodetic observations from Global Positioning System (GPS) stations to estimate fault slip rates of active faults in this area. A 3D geometric block model is established based on previous relevant studies of active blocks. Using these received slip rates and optimal locking depths of faults, the rates of moment accumulation on the major faults are estimated. And then we compare them with the seismic moment released on each fault using the historical earthquake catalog. The results show that there are six faults or fault segments with large moment deficits in the research area, which would be helpful for research of middle‐long term earthquake hazard.