关键词: 地质变形带, 走滑断层, 阿尔金断裂带, 东昆仑断裂带, 海原断裂带, 青藏高原

Abstract: The Altyn Tagh,Kunlun and Haiyuan Faults are three major left-lateral strike-slip faults with high geologic and GPS-derived horizontal slip rates as well as frequent surface-rupturing earthquakes in the northern Tibetan Plateau.There exist local structures,such as pull-apart basins in stepovers and sag ponds,where fine-grained and/or organic interfaulting sediments have been continuously filled and co-seismic faulting traces have been well preserved in those sediments.Trenching across the strike-slip faults and those local structures,stratum-logging of the trench walls and structural-stratigraphic examination can uncover basic features of the permanent and cumulative geologic deformation zone of a strike-slip fault that has experienced several surface-rupturing earthquake cycles.The geologic section of the Banguoba trench 9km east of Old A'kesai Town across the recent traces of the Altyn Tagh Fault records 7 paleoearthquake events with a co-seismic left-lateral slip of 7±1m for the latest event and its cumulative geologic deformation zone is only 8m in width.The geologic section of the western Old A'kesai trench across a pull-apart basin of the Altyn Tagh Fault records at least 4 paleoearthquake events and its permanent and cumulative geologic deformation zone is only 13m in width.The geologic section of the Xidatan trench across the Kunlun Fault reveals 5 paleoearthquake events and their cumulative geologic deformation zones are 12～13m in width.The Maqin trench across a pull-apart of the Kunlun Fault also reveals 5 paleo-earthquake events and most of the structural deformation,about 15m wide,is concentrated in the pull-apart,while the widest structural deformation,including the associated distortion nearby the boundary fault of the pull-apart,is less than 35m.Two trenches excavated across the southern and northern boundary faults of the Songshan pull-apart basin along the Maomaoshan-Laohuashan segment of the Haiyuan Fault show up 6 paleoevents and their permanent geologic deformation zones are less than 10m wide for single boundary fault.Of course,as a extensional jog,the pull-apart basin over a hundred meters wide will experience severe tensional and transtensional surface ruptures during an earthquake,and the pull-apart basin itself may be taken as one part of the permanent geologic deformation zone.Thus,the repeatedly faulting of the Altyn Tagh,Kunlun,and Haiyuan Faults during the past several surface-rupturing earthquake cycles is localized along their strike and the width of their permanent geologic deformation zone for a single strike-slip fault is over 10 meters,but less than 30 meters in general.

Key words: Geologic deformation zone, strike-slip fault, Altyn Tagh Fault, Kunlun Fault, Haiyuan Fault, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau