The research area involved in this paper is the middle-southern segment of Liaocheng-Lankao fault zone(Lanliao fault zone)and its adjacent area. In order to study the fine crustal structure image and the tectonic features of the faults in this tectonic zone, we conducted a 70km-long deep seismic reflection profile along EW direction in Puyang City, Henan Province and got clearer lithospheric structure image along the profile.

As regards data acquisition, we applied the geometry with 30m group interval, 1 160 recording channels and more than 90 folds. Seismic wave exploding applies the 30kg shots of dynamite source with the hole depth of 40~50m. In addition, in order to ensure the signal-to-noise ratio of the deep reflector, explosive quantity of dynamite source is increased to 96kg every 1 000m interval. In data processing, the most important thing is to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. Data processing methods mainly include one-dimensional time-varying filtering combined with two-dimensional filtering, tomographic static correction, residual static correction, deconvolution, normal moveout correction(NMO), dip moveout correction, common mid-point(CMP)stack and post-stack denoising, post-stack migration, etc.

The section with high signal-to-noise ratio has been obtained. There are obvious characteristics of reflection wave groups in the crust, which reflects abundant information about geological structure. On this section, according to this study, the characteristics of deep and shallow structure and crustal reflection structures on both sides of the Lanliao fault zone are obviously different. The crust in this area is composed of brittle upper crust and ductile lower crust. There are rich reflective layers and clear tectonic framework in the upper crust. In the western area of Lanliao fault zone, there is a set of dense reflectors with strong energy, which reflects the sedimentary interface of different times since Mesozoic in the basin. The basement slope with gentle dip to the east is the bottom boundary of the “dustpan-shaped” sedimentary depression. The reflected wave of the crystalline basement presents a group of strong reflection wave groups with good continuity in the eastern area of Lanliao fault zone, which are parallel unconformities on the Ordovician strata of Paleozoic or older strata. There are some secondary faults in the hanging wall of Lanliao Fault, which together with the Lanliao fault zone control the tectonic framework of “dustpan-shaped” sedimentary depression, the Dongpu sag. The reflection structure of the lower crust is relatively simple. On the whole, it is mainly arc reflection with strong energy and short duration.

The depth of Moho surface beneath the central-southern Lanliao fault zone in this area is 31.7~34.8km, where the fault is characterized by a strong reflection band with piecewise continuous distribution in horizontal direction and a duration of about 0.3~0.8s in vertical direction. And it is a transition zone with a certain thickness after geological deformation, rather than a sharp first-order discontinuity, which is consistent with the research results of Li Songlin et al.(2011). This profile reveals 2 deep faults(F_D1 and F_D2)that offset the Moho surface, extend down to the top of the upper mantle and create conditions for the upwelling of hot materials from asthenosphere and the energy exchange in this area. It may also be the cause of arc reflection in the lower crust.

The deep seismic reflection profile shows that faults in the upper crust are well developed. Lanliao Fault is the largest boundary fault in this area, which controls the formation and evolution of the “dustpan-shaped” sedimentary depression and plays an important role in the filling of Paleogene strata in the sag. Pucheng Fault F_P1 and Weixi Fault F_P3 are developed in the hanging wall of Lanliao Fault, which are basement normal faults in the same direction as Lanliao Fault and control the structural framework of the depression. Pucheng Fault, Weixi Fault and Lanliao Fault constitute a domino fault system, which makes the basement of the depression incline to the SEE direction. In addition, a reverse secondary normal fault(Changyuan Fault F_P2)is developed in the hanging wall of Lanliao Fault, which intersects with Weixi Fault F_P3 at TWT 3.0s. These faults and Lanliao faults jointly control the basic structural pattern of the sedimentary sag.

The deep and shallow tectonic framework in this area is controlled by the shallow faults in the upper crust and the deep faults in the lower crust. Deep faults(F_D1 and F_D2)create conditions for the upwelling of hot materials from asthenosphere, while shallow faults play an important role in the formation and evolution of basin structures.

To test the effect of three-dimensional seismic reflection methods used in active fault survey, we have done a three-dimensional shallow seismic reflection exploration experiment around the Luhuatai Fault in the west of Yinchuan Basin. The experiment uses swath geometry of 8 lines and 10 shots. Every two adjacent swaths overlap 3 survey lines, thus 5 swaths and 28 survey lines are laid in total. The ground sampling grid is 5m×20m and the CMP grid is 2.5m×5m. The data volume that reflects the three-dimensional spatial structure of the Luhuatai Fault is obtained.In data processing, we select the suitable three-dimensional seismic data process modules. The main processes are composed of raw data input, three-dimensional geometry defining and checking, anomalous trace edit and first arrival mute, spherical divergence compensation, surgical filtering to eliminate surface waves, surface-consistent amplitude compensation, surface-consistent deconvolution, velocity analysis and residual static correction(twice iteration), DMO and the third time velocity analysis, final stacking, three-dimensional post-stack de-noising and horizontally interpolating, one-pass 3-D migration.
3-D seismic data interpretation uses the way of human-computer interaction. Through a variety of methods such as multi-line profiles contrasting, time slicing, three-dimensional visualization, and 3-D coherence cube technology, the reflection horizons are discerned and tracked, and the three-dimensional data volume reflecting the spatial variation of strata and faults is obtained. The results after fine processing and synthetical interpretation show that the Luhuatai Fault consists of two normal faults that incline to each other. The major fault inclines to SE, and the minor fault inclines to NW. The distance between them gradually increases from north to south. In addition, the minor fault merges into the major fault at the depth of approximately 780~800m. The up-breakpoint of the major fault has a tendency of deepening from north to south. The up-breakpoint depth is about 25~30m in the northern part of experimental area, and about 35~40m in the southern part of experimental area.
The experimental results show that the three-dimensional seismic data has the advantages of large volume of data, information-rich, high accuracy of migration, and high precision of tomography. It can reflect the three-dimensional spatial distribution of strata and faults in different aspects, and it is beneficial for the imaging of complex structures and faults.