Slip rate is an important parameter for the quantitative study of active fault and can be used to reflect the mode and intensity of fault activity. However, the selection of geomorphic surface, the acquisition of displacements, and the limitation of chronologic methods result in challenges to constrain the slip rate. A series of boreholes and geochronology studies revealed a continuous sedimentary sequence of the Quaternary in the Yuncheng Basin in the southern Shanxi Graben System. Multiple late Quaternary river terraces have developed and been preserved in the northern piedmont of the Zhongtiao Shan. The activities of the north Zhongtiao Shan Fault resulted in the elevation difference between the strata in the Yuncheng Basin and the river terraces. In this study, we chose the geomorphic units of the Xiaolicun River and combined them with the results of boreholes in the Yuncheng Basin to constrain the slip rates of the north Zhongtiao Shan Fault since the Late Pleistocene. Based on field observation and remote sensing image interpretation, we established the distribution and sedimentary characteristics of four terraces and the latest alluvial fan of the Xiaolicun River. Two main faults(F₁ and F₂)and a series of fractures or branch faults have been identified in these sedimentary strata. The high-resolution DEM of the faulted landform of the Xiaolicun River was obtained using UAV photogrammetry technology. Combined with a stratigraphic outcrop survey, the landform and sedimentary section across the fault were constructed. The abandonment ages of the terraces T₄, T₃, T₂, and T₁ have been determined as(214.3±13.9)ka, (118.5±6.4)ka, (59.6±2.4)ka, and(10.9±0.5)ka by OSL dating, respectively. The chronological results of the AMS ¹⁴C dating show that the alluvial fan north of F₂ was deposited at 35~1ka. Based on these results, this study established the relationship between the geomorphic evolution of the Xiaolicun River and the activities of the north Zhongtiao Shan Fault. Since the late Middle Pleistocene, F₁ had been active, accompanied by the abandonment of the T₄. At~120ka, the terrace T₃ was formed, F₁ was no longer active, but F₂ began to be active and raise T₃ and T₄ in the footwall. Since then, the Xiaolicun River has undergone rapid incision and formed T₂ and T₁. The continuous activities of F₂ maintained T₄-T₁ in an uplifted state and formed a series of fractures in the alluvial fan. Based on this evolutionary relationship, T₄, T₃ and their corresponding strata in the boreholes of the Yuncheng Basin were used to constrain the slip rate of the north Zhongtiao Shan Fault in this study. After determining the depth in boreholes corresponding to the abandoned ages of T₄ and T₃, subtracting the influence of the surface slope and the activities of the southern Salty Lake Fault, and considering the depth error caused by climate change, the vertical displacements of the north Zhongtiao Shan Fault since the two periods were obtained with the vertical slip rate of(0.31±0.05)mm/a and(0.34±0.04)mm/a, respectively. Our results indicate that the slip rates of the north Zhongtiao Shan Fault since the late Middle Pleistocene are greater than those since the Late Pliocene and Quaternary.

Conjugate faults are a pair of faults developed under the identical regional tectonic stress fields with cross-cutting structures and opposite shear senses. They have been applied to restore the ancient regional tectonic stress fields, and the mechanics of local crust during its formation can be reflected by their dihedral angle. The ~60° intersecting conjugate fault occurs under brittle environment as proposed by the Anderson theory, while the 110° intersecting conjugate fault could be formed under the conditions of ductile environment as explained by maximum effective moment(MEM)criterion. In addition, there is another kind of conjugate faults with ~90° intersecting angle, which have been observed globally, but the mechanism of their formation still remains unsolved.
Conjugate faults have been intensively studied using traditional geological methods and laboratory rock experiments. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar(InSAR), as an important geodetic mapping tool with an unprecedented precision and spatial resolution, provides a potential for investigating conjugate faults by exploring three-dimensional geometric structures. In this study, we investigated the 2019 M_w≥6.4 Philippines earthquake sequence as an example to link the present deformation characteristics of the ruptured conjugate faults to the regional tectonic stress.
From October to December 2019, four M_W≥6.4 earthquakes occurred in Mindanao, Philippines. The epicenters were located in the Philippine Sea plate, at the junction of the Eurasian plate, the Pacific plate and the Indian Ocean plate. Affected by three-sided subduction, the plate boundaries are almost convergent boundaries with active tectonic movement and frequent seismic activities. The target earthquake sequence occurred in Mindanao where the Philippine Sea plate collided with the Sunda plate. According to the GCMT earthquake catalog, this earthquake sequence shows similar focal mechanisms to the eight M_W≥5.0 earthquakes in the study area before this earthquake sequence from 1992, which will have certain implications for the research on local mechanical background.
This study collected both C-band Sentinel-1 TOPS and L-band ALOS-2 SAR images in ascending and descending tracks to retrieve surface deformation of the earthquake sequence. Four Sentinel-1 interferograms and three ALOS-2 interferograms were obtained using an InSAR open source package: GMTSAR. Based on the latest global atmospheric model, ERA5, the atmospheric phase delay correction was conducted, and the standard deviations(SDs)of the used Sentinel-1 and ALOS-2 interferograms before and after correction were reduced from 1.94cm and 3.55cm to 1.93cm and 3.46cm, respectively. The improved InSAR deformation products were used for earthquake fault modelling with a geodetic inversion package PSOKINV, which is based on the elastic half-space dislocation model, also called “Okada Model”. The obtained faults were further divided into several sub-faults with small patch-sizes to determine the accumulated distributed slip. The predicted interferograms from the obtained slip models can fit the original interferograms well, and the SDs of the residuals of Sentinel-1 and ALOS-2 interferograms were 1.55cm and 3.36cm, respectively, which were lower than the noise levels of the original InSAR data.
The inversion results show that the four earthquakes mainly resulted from the ruptures of one dextral strike-slip fault(F₁)of strike 48.8°, dip 74.5° and slip angle -174.1°, and the other sinistral strike-slip fault(F₂)of strike 318.2°, dip 68.9° and slip angle 9.6°. The surface intersection of the two faults is nearly orthogonal, while the minimum spatial rotation angle between the two slip vectors is 29.28°. The latter indicates that two slip vectors are not completely conjugate in the seismological sense. The angle bisector of F₁ and F₂ is basically consistent with the azimuth of the regional principle compressive stress derived from seismic data, which also agrees with the horizontal components of the GPS velocities observed in the island. Given that the oblique direction of converging between the Philippine Sea and Sunda plates, a clear rotation of the regional stress conditions could have happened across the Philippine strike-slip fault.
Furthermore, 4790 aftershocks in the study area from October to December 2019 recorded by the local seismic network show that the aftershocks are evenly distributed above a depth of 31km, which is the depth of the Moho based on previous studies. Therefore, the seismogenic faults of the earthquake sequence could have extended to the Moho boundary, indicating that it is likely that they may have formed in the ductile mechanical environment originally. The Coulomb stress change(CSC)analysis indicates that the rupture of one branch of the conjugate faults can release stress on the both fault planes in the vicinity of their interaction, and pose positive CSC in the far fields simultaneously, in which CSC on itself is larger. Meanwhile, combined with 14 sets of conjugate faults collected globally in this study, L-shaped characteristics of the conjugate faults turn to be common. The phenomenon having different rupture lengths and slip magnitudes for each fault branch in a set of conjugate faults is likely related to the significant variations of the fault physical properties.

Longshou Shan, located at the southern edge of the Alxa block, is one of the outermost peripheral mountains and the northeasternmost area of the northeastern Tibetan plateau. In recent years, through geochronology, thermochronology, magnetic stratigraphy and other methods, a large number of studies have been carried out on the initiation time of major faults, the exhumation history of mountains and the formation and evolution of basins in the northeastern Tibet Plateau, the question of whether and when the northeastward expansion of the northeastern Tibet Plateau has affected the southern part of the Alxa block has been raised. Therefore, the exhumation history of Longshou Shan provides significant insight on the uplift and expansion of the Tibetan plateau and their dynamic mechanism. The Longshou Shan, trending NWW, is the largest mountain range in the Hexi Corridor Basin, and its highest peak is more than 3 600m(with average elevation of 2800m), where the average elevation of Hexi Corridor is 1 600m, the relative height difference between them is nearly 2200m. This mountain is bounded by two parallel thrust faults: The North Longshou Shan Fault(NLSF)and the South Longshou Shan Fault(SLSF), both of them trends NWW and has high angle of inclination(45°~70°)but dips opposite to each other. The South Longshou Shan Fault, located in the northern margin of the Hexi Corridor Basin, is the most active fault on the northeastern plateau, and controls the uplift of Longshou Shan.Due to its lower closure temperature, the lower-temperature thermochronology method can more accurately constrain the cooling process of a geological body in the upper crust. In recent years, the low-temperature thermochronology method has been used more and more in the study of the erosion of orogenic belts, the evolution of sedimentary basins and tectonic geomorphology. In this study, the apatite (U-Th)/He(AHe) method is used to analyze the erosion and uplift of rocks on the south and north sides of Longshou Shan. 11 AHe samples collected from the south slope exhibit variable AHe ages between~8Ma and~200Ma, the age-elevation plot shows that before 13~17Ma, the erosion rate of the Longshou Shan is very low, and then rapid erosion occurs in the mountain range, which indicates that the strong uplift of Longshou Shan occurred at 13~17Ma BP, resulting in rapid cooling of the southern rocks. In contrast, 3 AHe ages obtained from the north slope are older and more concentrated ranging from 220Ma BP to 240Ma BP, indicating that the north slope can be seen as a paleo-isothermal surface and the activity of the north side is weak. The results of thermal history inverse modeling show that the South Longshou Shan Fault was in a tectonic quiet period until the cooling rate suddenly increased to 3.33℃/Ma at 14Ma BP, indicating that Longshou Shan had not experienced large tectonic events before~14Ma BP.
    We believe that under the control of South Longshou Shan Fault, the mountain is characterized by a northward tilting uplift at Mid-Miocene. Our results on the initial deformation of the Longshou Shan, in combination with many published studies across the northeastern margin of the Tibetan plateau, suggest that the compression strain of the northeastern margin of the Tibetan plateau may expand from south to north, and the Tibetan plateau has expanded northeastward to the southern margin of the Alxa block as early as Mid-Miocene, making Longshou Shan the current structural and geomorphic boundary of the northeastern plateau.

This study is devoted to a systematic analysis of the stress state of the eastern boundary area of Sichuan-Yunnan block based on focal mechanisms of 319 earthquakes with magnitudes between M3.0 and M6.9, occurring from January 2009 to May 2018. We firstly determined the mechanism solutions of 234 earthquakes by the CAP method, using the broadband waveforms recorded by Chinese regional permanent networks, and collected 85 centroid moment tensor solutions from the GCMT. Then we investigated the regional stress regime through a damp linear inversion. Our results show that:1)the focal mechanisms of moderate earthquakes are regionally specific with three principal types of focal mechanisms:the strike-slip faulting type, the thrust faulting type and the normal faulting type. The strike-slip faulting type is significant in the eastern boundary area of Sichuan-Yunnan block along the Xianshuihe-Xiaojiang Fault, the Daliangshan Fault, and the Zhaotong-Lianfeng Fault. The thrust faulting type and the combined thrust/strike-slip faulting type are significant along the Mabian-Yanjin Fault, Ebian-Yanfeng Fault and the eastern section of Lianfeng Fault; 2)The most robust feature of the regional stress regime is that, the azimuth of principal compressive stress axis rotates clockwise from NWW to NW along the eastern boundary of Sichuan-Yunnan Block, and the clockwise rotation angle is about 50 degrees. Meanwhile, the angels between the principal compressive axis and the trend of eastern boundary of Sichuan-Yunnan Block remain unchanged, which implies a stable coefficient of fault friction in the eastern boundary fault zone of Sichuan-Yunnan Block. The movement of the upper crust in the southeastern Tibetan plateau is a relatively rigid clockwise rotation. On the whole, the Xianshuihe-Xiaojiang Fault is a small arc on the earth, and its Euler pole axis is at(21°N, 88°E). The Daliangshan Fault is surrounded by the Anninghe-Zemuhe Fault, which formed a closed diamond shape. When the Sichuan-Yunnan block rotates clockwise, the Daliangshan Fault locates in the outer of the arc, while the Anninghe-Zemuhe Fault is in the inward of the arc, and from the mechanical point of view, left-lateral sliding movement is more likely to occur on the Daliangshan Fault. Our results can be the evidence for the study on the "cut-off" function of the Daliangshan Fault based on the stress field background; 3)The regional stress regime of the eastern boundary faults zone of the Sichuan-Yunnan Block is the same as the south section of the Dalianshan Fault, and the focal mechanism results also reveal that the Dalianshan Fault is keeping left-lateral strike-slip. There may be the same tectonic stress field that controls the earthquake activities in the southern section of Daliangshan Fault and Zhaotong-Lianfeng Fault. The regional stress regime of Zhaodong-Lianfeng Fault is also the same with the Sichuan-Yunnan Block, which implies that the control effect of the SE movement of the Sichuan-Yunnan block may extend to Weining.

Slip rate is one of the most important parameters in quantitative research of active faults. It is an average rate of fault dislocation during a particular period, which can reflect the strain energy accumulation rate of a fault. Thus it is often directly used in the evaluation of seismic hazard. Tectonic activities significantly influence regional geomorphic characteristics. Therefore, river evolution characteristics can be used to study tectonic activities characteristics, which is a relatively reliable method to determine slip rate of fault. Based on the study of the river geomorphology evolution process model and considering the influence of topographic and geomorphic factors, this paper established the river terrace dislocation model and put forward that the accurate measurement of the displacement caused by the fault should focus on the erosion of the terrace caused by river migration under the influence of topography. Through the analysis of the different cases in detail, it was found that the evolution of rivers is often affected by the topography, and rivers tend to migrate to the lower side of the terrain and erode the terraces on this side. However, terraces on the higher side of the terrain can usually be preserved, and the displacement caused by faulting can be accumulated relatively completely. Though it is reliable to calculate the slip rate of faults through the terrace dislocation on this side, a detailed analysis should be carried out in the field in order to select the appropriate terraces to measure the displacement under the comprehensive effects of topography, landform and other factors, if the terraces on both sides of the river are preserved. In order to obtain the results more objectively, we used Monte Carlo method to estimate the fault displacement and displacement error range. We used the linear equation to fit the position of terrace scarps and faults, and then calculate the terrace displacement. After 100, 000 times of simulation, the fault displacement and its error range could be obtained with 95%confidence interval. We selected the Gaoyan River in the eastern Altyn Tagh Fault as the research object, and used the unmanned air vehicle aerial photography technology to obtain the high-resolution DEM of this area. Based on the terrace evolution model proposed in this paper, we analyzed the terrace evolution with the detailed interpretation of the topography and landform of the DEM, and inferred that the right bank of the river was higher than the left bank, which led to the continuous erosion of the river to the left bank, while the terraces on the right bank were preserved. In addition, four stages of fault displacements and their error ranges were obtained by Monte Carlo method. By integrating the dating results of previous researches in this area, we got the fault slip rate of(1.80±0.51)mm/a. After comparing this result with the slip rates of each section of Altyn Tagh Fault studied by predecessors, it was found that the slip rate obtained in this paper is in line with the variation trend of the slip rate summarized by predecessors, namely, the slip rate gradually decreases from west to east, from 10~12mm/a in the middle section to about 2mm/a at the end.

With the continuous collision of the India and Eurasia plate in Cenozoic, the Qilian Shan began to uplift strongly from 12Ma to 10Ma. Nowadays, Qilian Shan is still uplifting and expanding. In the northern part of Qilian Shan, tectonic activity extends to Hexi Corridor Basin, and has affected Alashan area. In the southern part of Qilian Shan, tectonic activity extends to Qaidam Basin, forming a series of thrust faults in the northern margin of Qaidam Basin and a series of fold deformations in the basin. The southern Zongwulong Shan Fault is located in the northeastern margin of Qaidam Basin, it is the boundary thrust fault between the southern margin of Qilian Shan and Qaidam Basin. GPS studies show that the total crustal shortening rate across the Qilian Shan is 5~8mm/a, which absorbs 20% of the convergence rate of the Indian-Eurasian plate. Concerning how the strain is distributed on individual fault in the Qilian Shan, previous studies mainly focused on the northern margin of the Qilian Shan and the Hexi Corridor Basin, while the study on the southern margin of the Qilian Shan was relatively weak. Therefore, the study of late Quaternary activity of southern Zongwulong Shan Fault in southern margin of Qilian Shan is of great significance to understand the strain distribution pattern in Qilian Shan and the propagation of the fault to the interior of Qaidam Basin. At the same time, because of the strong tectonic activity, the northern margin of Qaidam Basin is also a seismic-prone area. Determining the fault slip rate is also helpful to better understand the movement behaviors of faults and seismic risk assessment.Through remote sensing image interpretation and field geological survey, combined with GPS topographic profiling, cosmogenic nuclides and optically stimulated luminescence dating, we carried out a detailed study at Baijingtu site and Xujixiang site on the southern Zongwulong Shan Fault. The results show that the southern Zongwulong Shan Fault is a Holocene reverse fault, which faulted a series of piedmont alluvial fans and formed a series of fault scarps.The 43ka, 20ka and 11ka ages of the alluvial fan surfaces in this area can be well compared with the ages of terraces and alluvial fan surfaces in the northeastern margin of Tibetan Plateau, and its formation is mainly controlled by climatic factors. Based on the vertical dislocations of the alluvial fans in different periods in Baijingtu and Xujixiang areas, the average vertical slip rate of the southern Zongwulong Shan Fault since late Quaternary is(0.41±0.05)mm/a, and the average horizontal shortening rate is 0.47~0.80mm/a, accounting for about 10% of the crustal shortening in Qilian Shan. These results are helpful to further understand the strain distribution model in Qilian Shan and the tectonic deformation mechanism in the northern margin of Qaidam Basin. The deformation mechanism of the northern Qaidam Basin fault zone, which is composed of the southern Zongwulong Shan Fault, is rather complicated, and it is not a simple piggy-back thrusting style. These faults jointly control the tectonic activity characteristics of the northern Qaidam Basin.

The Langshan range-front fault (LRF)is a Holocene active normal fault that bounds the Langshan Mountain and Hetao Basin at the northwest corner of the Ordos Plateau. Paleoseismic trenching research at three sites, Dongshen Village trench (TC1), Qingshan trench (TC2)and Wulanhashao trench (TC3)from north to south was performed in this study to reveal the seismic hazard risk in Hetao Basin. The paleoevents ED1, ED2, ED3 from TC1 can be constrained to have occurred (6±1.3)ka, (9.6±2)ka and (19.7±4.2)ka respectively, while the paleoevent EQ1 from TC2 occurred about (6.7±0.1)ka and the paleoevents EW1, EW2, EW3 at TC3 took place about (2.3±0.4)ka, (6±1)ka and before 7ka respectively. In combination with paleoseismic results of previous researchers, the Holocene earthquake sequence of the LRF could be established as 2.3~2.43ka BP (E1), 4.41~3.06ka BP (E2), 6.71~6.8ka BP (E3), 7.6~9.81ka BP (E4), and (19.7±4.2)ka BP (E5). Although the possibility of missing events cannot totally be ruled out, based on the analysis on faulted geomorphology at Wulanhashao site, we argue the paleoearthquake history of the LRF during Holocene may be complete with an average recurrent interval about 2500 yrs. The apparent displacements associated with events E1, E3 and E4 are significantly larger than that of event, E2, that suggests that they might be great events with magnitudes 7.5 to even over 8 that ruptured the entire LRF, while the event E2 may be a smaller event that only ruptured a segment of the fault. The magnitude of event E2 might be about M7. This poses a significant seismic hazard to the area of the Linhe depression in the western Hetao graben region. With the further limitation of previous radiocarbon dating result near our trench site at Wulanhashao, the slip rate at Wulanhashao should be not smaller than, but close to 0.66mm/a since 15ka BP. And the slip rate at Qingshan site is supposed to be about 1.4~1.6mm/a since 6.8ka BP. Both our combined most recent paleoseismic cognition and current tectonic geomorphologic research results supports to reveal that the Langshan range-front fault now is an unsegmented fault, preferring to rupture the whole fault in a surface-rupture event. Considering the most recent event E1 and fault slip rate obtained above, the accumulated strain on the LRF could be estimated as about 1.52~3.94m. Given the ~2500a recurrent interval, we argue that the elapsed time since last major quake, E1, is approaching or even over the recurrence, and the seismic risk for another major quake is imminent, at least cannot be ignored.

The horizontal movement of the Helan Shan west-piedmont fault is important to determination of the present-day boundary between the Alashan and North China blocks as well as to the exploration of the extent of the northeastward expansion of the Tibetan plateau. Field geological surveys found that this fault cuts the west wing of the Neogene anticline, which right-laterally offset the geological boundary between Ganhegou and Qingshuiying Formations with displacement over 800m. The secondary tensional joints (fissures)intersected with the main faults developed on the Quaternary flood high platform near the fault, of which the acute angles indicate its dextral strike slip. The normal faults developed at the southern end of the Helan Shan west-piedmont fault show that the west wall of this fault moves northward, and the tensional adjustment zone formed at the end of the strike slip fault, which reflects that the horizontal movement of the main fault is dextral strike slip. The dextral dislocation occurred in the gully across the fault during different periods. Therefore, the Helan Shan west-piedmont fault is a dextral strike slip fault rather than a sinistral strike slip fault as previous work suggested. The relationship between the faulting and deformation of Cenozoic strata demonstrates that there were two stages of tectonic deformation near the Helan Shan west-piedmont fault since the late Cenozoic, namely early folding and late faulting. These two tectonic deformations are the result of the northeastward thrust on the Alashan block by the Tibet Plateau. The influence range of Tibetan plateau expansion has arrived in the Helan Shan west-piedmont area in the late Pliocene leading to the dextral strike slip of this fault as well as formation of the current boundary between the Alashan and North China blocks, which is also the youngest front of the Tibetan plateau.

Qilian Shan and Hexi Corridor, located in the north of Tibetan plateau, are the margin of Tibetan plateau's tectonic deformation and pushing. Its internal deformations and activities can greatly conserve the extension process and characteristics of the Plateau. The research of Qilian Shan and Hexi Corridor consequentially plays a significant role in understanding tectonic deformation mechanism of Tibetan plateau. The northern Yumushan Fault, located in the middle of the northern Qilian Shan thrust belt, is a significant component of Qilian Shan thrust belt which divides Yumushan and intramontane basins in Hexi Corridor. Carrying out the research of Yumushan Fault will help explain the kinematics characteristics of the northern Yumushan active fault and its response to the northeastward growth of the Tibetan plateau.Because of limited technology conditions of the time, different research emphases and some other reasons, previous research results differ dramatically. This paper summarizes the last 20 years researches from the perspectives of fault slip rates, paleao-earthquake characteristics and tectonic deformation. Using aerial-photo morphological analysis, field investigation, optical simulated luminescence(OSL)dating of alluvial surfaces and topographic profiles, we calculate the vertical slip rate and strike-slip rate at the typical site in the northern Yumushan Fault, which is(0.55±0.15)mm/a and(0.95±0.11), respectively. On the controversial problems, namely "the Luotuo(Camel)city scarp" and the 180 A.D. Biaoshi earthquake, we use aerial-photo analysis, particular field investigation and typical profile dating. We concluded that "Luotuo city scarp" is the ruin of ancient diversion works rather than the fault scarp of the 180 A.D. Biaoshi earthquake. Combining the topographic profiles of the mountain range with fault characteristics, we believe Yumu Shan is a part of Qilian Shan. The uplift of Yumu Shan is the result of Qilian Shan and Yumu Shan itself pushing northwards. Topographic profile along the crest of the Yumu Shan illustrates the decrease from its center to the tips, which is similar to the vertical slip rates and the height of fault scarp. These show that Yumu Shan is controlled by fault extension and grows laterally and vertically. At present, fault activities are still concentrated near the north foot of Yumu Shan, and the mountain ranges continue to rise since late Cenozoic.

Although the kinematics and mechanics of the Yilan-Yitong fault zone (YYFZ) since the Mesozoic-early Cenozoic were studied very well in the past decades,few results about the average recurrence interval of great earthquakes in late Quaternary,which is the most important parameter for us to understand the active tectonics and potential seismic hazard of this crucial structure,were obtained because of its unfavorable work environments.Based on interpretations of high-resolution satellite images and detailed geologic and geomorphic mapping,we discovered that there exist linear fault scarp landforms and troughs in the Shangzhi part of YYFZ with a length of more than 25km.Synthesized results of trenches excavation and differential GPS measurements of terrace surfaces indicate two paleo-events EⅠ and EⅡ occurring in Shangzhi part during the late Holocene,which resulted in ca.(3.2±0.1) m accumulated vertical coseismic displacement with strike-slip motion accompanied by thrusting and shortening deformation.¹⁴C samples dating suggests that event EⅠ might occur at (440±30) and (180±30) a BP and event EⅡ might happen between (4 090±30) and (3 880±30) a BP,and the average recurrence interval of major earthquakes on the YYFZ is around (3 675±235) a.Historical written records discovered from Korea show that the event EⅠ may correspond to the earthquake occurring in AD 1810(Qing Dynasty in Chinese history) in Ningguta area with magnitude 7.0.

The Xiangshan-Tianjingshan fault zone is an important part of the arc tectonic zone in northeastern Tibet, whose eastern segment is characterized by primarily left-lateral slip along with thrust component. In contrast, the fault movement property on the western segment of the Xiangshan-Tianjingshan fault zone is more complicated. According to the offset geomorphic features and cross sections revealed by the trenches and outcrops, the western segment is mainly a left-lateral strike-slip fault with normal component, and only accompanied with reverse component at specific positions. To determine the genetic mechanism of fault movement property on the western segment, we obtained three main factors based on the integrated analysis of fault geometry:(1)Step-overs:the left-stepping parallel faults in a sinistral shear zone create extensional step-overs and control the nearby and internal fault movement property; (2)terminal structures:they are conductive to stop rupture propagation and produce compressive deformation at the end of the fault trace; and(3)double bends:strike-slip faults have trace that bends such that slip between two adjacent blocks creates a compressive stress and thrust fault. Additionally, the Tianjingshan sub-block moves to SEE and creates an extensional stress at the end of the sub-block associated with normal faults. It shows that the Xiangshan-Tianjingshan fault zone has a complex evolution history, which is divided into two distinctive periods and characterized by laterally westward propagating.

The 2008 M_S8 Wenchuan earthquake occurs on a high angle listric thrust fault. It is the first time that the near and far field strong ground motion was observed for such special type thrust earthquake. This paper jointly interprets the distribution of peak acceleration of ground motion data with seismogenic structure and slip propagating process to investigate how high angle listric thrust fault controls the pattern of strong ground motion. We found that the distribution of peak acceleration of strong ground motion during the Wenchuan earthquake has four distinctive features: 1)The peak acceleration of ground motion inside the Longmenshan fault zone is large, that is, nearly twice as strong as that outside the fault zone; 2)This earthquake produces significant vertical ground motion, prevailing against horizontal components in the near field; 3)The far field records show that the peak acceleration is generally higher and attenuates slower versus station-fault distance in the hanging wall. It is doubtful that the attenuation of horizontal components also has the hanging wall effect since no evidence yet proving that the unexpected high value at long distance need be omitted; 4)As to the attenuation in directions parallel to the source fault(Yingxiu-Beichuan Fault), the far field records also exhibit azimuthal heterogeneity that the peak acceleration of horizontal components decreases slower in the north-northeastern direction in which the co-seismic slip propagates than that in the backward way. However, the attenuation of vertical component displays very weak heterogeneity of this kind. Synthetically considered with shallow dislocation, high dip angle, and prevailing vertical deformation during co-seismic process of the Wenchuan earthquake, our near and far field ground motion records reflect the truth that the magnitude of ground motion is principally determined by slip type of earthquake and actual distance between the slipping source patches and stations. As a further interpretation, the uniqueness of high angle listric thrust results in that the ground motion effects of the Wenchuan earthquake are similar to that due to a common thrust earthquake in some components while differ in the others.

Interactions of two global-scale geodynamic systems control Cenozoic tectonic evolution of continental eastern Asia: the collisional and convergent system between Indian and Eurasian plates, the subduction and back-arc extensional system along the western Pacific and Indonesian oceanic margins. The warm and broad Tethys Ocean separates the Indian plate in the south from the Eurasian plate in the north, while the former subducts beneath the latter. In the meanwhile, the Pacific plate continuously subducts westward beneath the Eurasian plate. As the rate of subduction decreases with the time, back-arc extensional basins began to form due to trench rollback along the subduction zone. Though it is still under debate on the timing of initiation of collision between India and Eurasia, the main stage or significant collision probably took place between 55 and 45Ma. The collision and subsequent penetration of India into Eurasia cause retreat of the Tethys Ocean, crustal thickening of the southern and central Tibet, uplifting of Proto-Tibetan plateau, and southeastward extrusion of crustal material of Tibetan plateau. The timing and direction of extrusion of Tibet's crustal material coincide with acceleration of trench rollback of back-arc extensional system along the western Pacific and Indonesian oceanic margins. The collision caused shortening and trench rollback induced extension appear to form a causal "source-sink relationship". In the period of 30 to 20Ma, the northeastward convergence of the Tibetan plateau increased as the southeastward extrusion slowed down that in turn caused northeastward and eastward growth of the plateau. The Main Boundary Thrust became southern collisional boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates. The northern deformational boundary migrated to the Kunlun Fault zone, forming compressional foreland basins such as the Qaidam, Hexi Corridor, and Longxi Basins. The rapid trench rollback has decreased along the subduction and back-arc extensional system along the western Pacific and Indonesian oceanic margins. As a result, the Japan Sea has ceased extension and the North China Plain Basin has changed from rifting to thermal subsidence. The east-west direction extension initiates in the interior of Tibetan plateau since approximate 10Ma ago, forming a series of north-trending grabens and half-grabens in the high altitudes above 5 000m. In the same time, the Tibetan plateau grows outward so that the Qilian Shan uplifted to form a major mountain range along the northern boundary and the Longmen Shan uplifted again to form an about 4000 relief with respect to Sichuan Basin. Along the eastern coast of Eastern Asia, subduction of Pacific plate beneath the Eurasian plate has accelerated to terminate back-arc extension.

As the outermost fault zone in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan plateau,the deep structures,distribution,movement feature and deformational mechanism of the Niushoushan-Luoshan Fault zone are crucial to understand the formation and evolution of the arcuate fault zones in the northeast corner of the Tibetan plateau. In this paper,we analyze four seismic reflection sections across the Niushoushan-Luoshan Fault zone and map in detail the area within the fault zone. These data indicate that the Niushoushan-Luoshan Fault zone is a discrete fault zone. The fault zone can be subdivided into three parts: the south part,i.e.the Luoshan Fault,is characterized by positive flower structure,shown as remarkable right lateral strike-slip; in the middle segment,that is,the Niushoushan Fault,no active fault exists on the east flank of the Niushoushan,and this region is dominated by intensive folding; the north part,the Sanguankou Fault,is a left-lateral strike-slip fault. The discontinuity and segmentation feature of the Niushoushan-Luoshan Fault zone suggest different deformational styles in different locations of the fault zone associated with the process of northeastward propagation of the Tibetan plateau.

A composite multiple seismogenic source model is presented to interpret the preparation and generation of the Wenchuan earthquake,based on the results of investigations on the coseismic surface rupture,aftershock distribution and crustal deformation of the Wenchuan earthquake and the studies on the tectonic deformation conducted before the earthquake. It is assumed that the differences in the structure and property of the lithosphere beneath the west Sichuan plateau,Longmen Shan and Sichuan Basin led to the differences in deformation behavior and stress accumulation between them,and their joint actions resulted in the high accumulation and abrupt release of stress in the Longmen Shan Fault zone,witch eventually generated the Wenchuan mega-earthquake. As a high-friction high-angle listric thrust,the Longmen Shan Fault zone is not liable to deformation(but high stress accumulation)to form "slip deficit zones" before earthquake,or to micro-rupturing to form "seismic gaps" before earthquake. When stress accumulated exceeded the strength of the Longmen Shan Fault zone,burst occurred,creating the huge earthquake. Coseismic deformation and energy release were concentrated mainly in the Longmen Shan Fault zone to offset the pre-earthquake "slip deficit" and "seismic gap".The high-angle listric thrust structure of the seismogenic fault of the Wenchuan earthquake played an important role in controlling the preparation and generation of the Wenchuan earthquake. The decrease of normal stress resulting from increased displacement rate on the fault plane was the major contributor to the rupture of the high-angle listric thrust fault.

According to the new investigation in the northern Hexi corridor,remains of two surface rupture zones are discovered on the southern margin fault of Helishan.One rupture has the length of about 7km and the other about 10km.The two surface rupture zones might be produced by the nearest earthquake event.On the surface rupture zones,there are continuous scarp and free face caused by rupture.The scarp is about 1～1.5m high and on some site is up to 2m nearly.According to the OSL result,the nearest T₁ terrace and higher flood plain forming 3000a BP are dislocated by the fault.All above reveal that the rupture age should be later than that of T₁ terrace.But in the historical data and earthquake catalogue,we didn't find related information about the fault and surface rupture in this area.The 180 AD M 8 Biaoshi earthquake and 756 AD M 7 Zhangye-Jiuquan earthquake are documented in historical data.It is inferred by textual research that the two earthquakes are related with the northern marginal fault of Yumushan in the south of basin.Due to lack of reliable evidence,there still exist many arguments on this inferred conclusion.So we hold that the two surface rupture zones were produced by one of the two large earthquakes or another unrecorded historical event.The research on the activity and surface rupture of this fault can offer valuable information for the tectonic study and strong earthquake risk estimate of this region in the future.

We present the results of selected balanced cross-sections across four active reverse fault-fold belts at the front margins of the Chinese Tianshan,an intracontinental mountain belt formed in response to the India-Eurasia continental collision. It consists of Paleozoic,Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata in active fold-and-thrust belts at two sides of Tianshan, and the stratum in active fold belt changes younger from west fold-and-thrust belt to east. The middle part's structure is complicated in Kalpin active fold-and-fault belt,the width gradually diminishes towards east. At the west of Akesu city,the Kalpin active fold-and-thrust belt vanishes, but at the east part of Akesu city,the Kuche active fold-and-thrust belt emerges on the Tarim desert. In the middle section of the Kuche active fold-and-thrust belt near Baicheng County,the structure is most complicated,and the width is also maximal. The width of Kuche fold-and-thrust belt gradually decreases towards east,and disappears near 85° longitude line. But at the northern piedmont of Tianshan,the Manas active fold-and-thrust belt presents itself approximately at the same longitude. The longitude of the west end of Turpan centre uplift active fold-and-thrust zone is approximately the longitude of the east end of the Manas active fold-and-thrust belt. The four active fold-and-thrust belts which we studied are located at the north and south sides of Tianshan Mountains. Two balanced cross-sections traverse the Kalpin active fold-and-fault belt and one crosses the Kuche fold-and-fault belt. Two balanced cross-sections cross the Manas active fold-and-thrust belt,and one balanced cross-section crosses the Turfan centre uplift zone. The crustal shortening of Kalpin fold-and-thrust belt is 40～45km,that of Kuche fold-and-thrust belt about 27～37km,and of Manas,Turpan centre uplift active fold-and-thrust belt are 8.5～10.5km and 6～7km,respectively. The four active fold-and-thrust belts at south and north Tianshan are not superposed in longitude. So their crustal shortenings approximately represent the minimal crustal shortening of Tianshan at different segments,and also reflect the reducing trend of crustal shortening from west to east. It is very difficult to calculate the crustal shortening across entire Tianshan,owing to deficiency of data about active reverse fault and strike-slip fault within Tianshan Mountains. If the time of initial deformation is the starting time of Xiyu conglomerate deposition(since 2.5Ma),and considering the shortening component on south-north direction of Bo-A NW strike-slip fault,the minimum crustal shortening rates at four segments of Tianshan would be 15.4～17.3mm/a,12.7～16.5mm/a,3.8～4.5mm/a and 2.3～2.7mm/a,respectively.

Slip rates along major active faults are important components of quantitative studies of active tectonics. Slip rates can be directly used to seismic potential evaluation of active faults and seismic safety assessments of major engineering. In principle,dividing total displacement by its initial time yields slip rate along the fault. But,accurate determination of slip rate along a particular fault is not a simple task in practices for which the rates may deviate as much as 3 times among different researches and different methods. We argue that offset terrace risers that are protected by topography upstream of them are more closely dated by the age of the upper terrace than by that of the lower terrace. In some cases,valleys upstream of the fault have been incised into bedrock,and few if any terrace risers can be seen within the valleys. Such streams debouch onto alluviated floodplains or fans that become incised,presumably during climate changes,to create terrace risers. The terrace risers are then displaced so that they lie downslope from bedrock ridges on the upstream side of the fault,and thus the risers become protected from further incision. In such cases,dates of upper terraces should more closely approximate the ages of the risers than those of lower terraces. As noted above,whether the age of the upper or of the lower terrace more closely approximates the age of the riser will depend upon how the stream flowing over the flood plain that becomes the lower terrace alters the riser,and therefore at least in part on whether the offset riser moves into the path of the active stream or becomes shielded from it. Of cause,the age of the riser should be neither greater than the age of the upper terrace nor smaller than the age of the lower terrace. In an ideal situation,the ages of both would be sufficiently similar that they would place nearly equal upper and lower bounds on the slip rate. In many regions,however,the ages of the two terraces are so different that the bounds that they place on the slip rate are too large to be useful. We propose three methods to determine slip rate based on offsets of terrace risers. The first is to use both upper and lower terraces to constrain the maximum and minimum age of the offset of the riser. The second is to use the abandonment age of upper terrace as the initial age of the offset on the side of stream moving away from the river course. The third is to use the inception of sedimentary deposition on the lower strath terrace as the initial age of terrace riser offset. We use these methods to study slip rates along the Haiyuan Fault and the Altun Fault. The results show consistency of slip rates among different time scales,and are also consistent with other independent studies.

Active tectonics studies focus on the active faults,active folds,active basins and the crustal and lithosphere blocks confined by the above-mentioned active structures.Tectonic deformation style,magnitude,and corresponding rate determined by active tectonic studies are fundamental for testing and constructing some kinematic and kinetic models.And these rates are necessary boundary conditions for testing and proposing the kinematic and kinetic models.Therefore,active tectonic rates must be quantified for better understanding and interpreting the above key models.Terrestrial in situ cosmogenic nuclides(TCNs)dating techniques have been discovered and developed for decades following the AMS emergence.And then they were widely utilized for geological issues,especially for the geomorphic processes and active tectonics.Production rates of cosmogenic nuclides can change spatially and temporally,therefore,they must be corrected before being applied and interpreted.During the field investigation,the influences such as sample depth,height,latitude and shielding features,intermittent covering and sample location shifting,should be carefully and impersonally considered because of their necessity for applying the results.Based on the samples and detailed field investigation,slip rates of the active faults,river incision rates within active domain,paleoearthquake events and active volcanic eruption events can be constrained by TCNs dating.Active fault slip rate is widely utilized for paleoearthquake research and earthquake prediction,and many classic models for plateau uplift and evolution were conceived based on distribution features and slip rates of active faults.While the river incision processes within active orogen are becoming key issues for studying tectonic and fluvial geomorphology.The incision process and its rate are one of the new insights for understanding the tectonic uplift and climatic change processes.Paleoearthquake and historical earthquake studies can provide the parameters for earthquake recurrence interval,and for consequent earthquake prediction and mitigating earthquake disasters.Besides the above active rates,the volcanic eruption events during the Quaternary can help us know the relative tectonic activities,crustal and mantle geochemistry process and landscape evolution history.After briefly introducing the basic theory of TCNs,the present paper will generalize recent results and data by TCNs dating in active tectonic studies,and then put its emphasis on the procedure and consequent interpretation for these active tectonic rates.

The western Qinling Fault zone is one of the main left-lateral strike-slip active faults in northeastern Tibet. At site of Huangxianggou, the behavior of the fault zone shows typical strike-slip movement. Detailed analysis on the amounts of the offset of the late Quaternary landforms and geologic bodies along the fault shows that at Huangxianggou the maximum horizontal displacement since the late of late-Pleistocene is about 40～60m, and the minimum is 6～8m which is possibly the amount of one principal slip associated with one large earthquake event. And it is also inferred that the amounts of the displacement along the fault can be grouped, and between the groups there is a stable increment of 6～8m. The grouping and the increment of amounts of the offsets suggest that this fault segment displays an activity associated with characteristic earthquakes, and the 7 groups of the displacement values represent 7 characteristic events on the fault. Analysis on the microgeomorphology related to the faulting, such as periodic sag-ponding and deformed pluvial fans, also suggests the corresponding events. Thus it can be inferred, the activity of the fault zone has been dominated by several strong movements since late Late-Pleistocene.

Growth strata (i.e. progressive unconformities) are linked to a particular structure at depth and a record for different tectonic and sedimentation processes. they locate in foreland basins on the fronts of fold and thrust belts and exhibit extremely varied attitudes. The inherent synchroneity of growth strata and coupled fold or fault activity make growth strata crucial to interpret fold-and-thrust geometry and kinematics. On the balanced cross-section the sequences of growth strata have characteristic wedge-shaped sedimentation. In coeval depositional systems, fault-bend folding, fault-propagation folding and detachment folding are interpreted as the dominant mechanisms. The other modes of folding are recognized later in the 1980s,for example, Trishear folding and Chester and Chester folding, and so on. Though several types of theoretical behavior are expected, all growth strata can be grouped into two fundamental mechanisms: hinge migration and Limb rotation. Growth strata result from a simultaneous interference of several processes such as tectonics, sedimentation and erosion. The interplay between tectonic and surface processes has been shown to constrain the evolution of orogens through a feedback mechanism, the competition between tectonic uplift and shortening, syntectonic sedimentation rate and syntectonic erosion rate controls the final shape and the occurrence and geometries of fault breakthrough in thrust-related anticlines. According to variety of limb and hinge, synsedimentary wedge, variety of strata occurrence and thickness and regional geological setting, growth strata can be identified. In the future, the study of thrust-related folding processes within folds and thrusts belts will be developed by multi-models and ways. Synchroneity and continuity of growth strata and coupled fold or fault activity can be depicted accurately. Based on the present work and good examples of growth strata, paleomagnetic stratigraphy can provide some important information about chronology and tectonic process. Through reviewing briefly the importance, geometry and kinematics of growth strata, we conclude that the Sikouzi section should be a molasses basin occurring in the front of thrust-fold mountain belt where there exist growth strata and progressive unconformities. However,detailed investigation should be done on this in the future.

There exist several groups of seismogenic active faults at the conjoined areas of the Chuandian,Bayankala and Huanan active blocks along the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Owing to existence of transverse secondary active faults,the Chuandian Block can be further divided into the Middle Yunnan and Northwestern Sichuan sub-blocks,and the Longmenshan sub-block at the easternmost end of the Bayankala Block. Joint exploration of the crustal structure shows that low-velocity layers exist in the crust of the Chuandian and Bayankala Blocks. These low velocity layers correspond also to high conducting layers and they are the cause of frequent earthquake occurrence in the upper crust. Geologic study and GPS surveying indicate that the tectonic motion of the blocks in this region is accounted to be a complex or superimposition of three basic types of motions: southeastward sliding,rotating on vertical axis,and uplifting,but there is difference in the geologic slip rate and GPS rate. Besides,this paper collects the database of the geologic slip rates and GPS slip rates for the active faults in the region and major scientific problems are also discussed at last.

As the most prominent example of large scale continental deformation,Tibetan Plateau offers an ideal natural laboratory for quantifying such deformation and understanding the relevant dynamic processes. Global Positioning System (GPS) provides a powerful means to directly measure the kinematics of present day deformation. Our synthesis of GPS velocities from 553 stations in Tibetan Plateau and its margins quantitatively show that most of the relative India/Eurasia motion has been accommodated primarily by crustal shortening along the margins,strike slip and normal faulting in the plateau interior,and clockwise rotation around the eastern end of Himalayas. Taken 36～40mm/yr as total relative motion between India and Eurasia,the eastern Tibetan Plateau and its margins accommodates 85%～94% of the total motion,whereas western Tibet absorbs 70%～91% of total convergence and the rests are taken up by shortening across the Tianshan in the north. The NNE SSW shortening of the plateau interior is accommodated by conjugate strike slip faulting and orthogonal normal faulting,which do not require crustal thickening or thrust faulting. The eastward extrusion of Tibetan Plateau out of India's northward pass is carried out by roughly eastward flow of crustal material rather than by rigid block rotation. The flow of Tibetan crustal material rotates around the eastern Himalayan syntaxis,causing southeastward to southward and even southwestward velocities observed in southern and western Yunnan Province of China. To the east,the eastward flow of crustal material causes shortening across the eastern margin of the plateau and clockwise rotations of the region where resistance to such flow is weak. To the west,the westward motion of the western margin of the plateau is observed with only 4mm/yr slip rate. Components of velocity of Tibetan Plateau in both parallel and perpendicular directions to the relative motion between India and Eurasia can not be attributed to slips along a few faults either strike slip or thrust because of their distributed nature. Thus,the present day tectonics in the Tibetan Plateau is best described as deformation of a continuous medium,at least when averaged over distances of ～100km.

The most remarkable feature of Cenozoic and present-day tectonic deformation of the continental lithosphere of China is that the crust has been cut by huge late Quaternary active faults, forming active crustal blocks of different orders. Various active crustal blocks exhibit different horizontal movement and different deformation styles. The inner part of the active crustal block is relatively stable. Deformation commonly takes places along their boundary structures, and most of the great earthquakes (M≥7) occur along these boundaries. In order to monitor crustal movement in China mainland, China Crustal Movement Observation Network has disposed 25 continuous GPS base stations in the main tectonic units all over the country. These stations had been run for 3 years from March 1999 to December 2001. On 14 Nov. 2001, an earthquake of M_S 8.1 occurred to the west of the Kunlun Mountain Pass. This event has produced a surface rupture zone of more than 350km in length with a general strike of 70°～90°. The rupture zone is dominated by left-lateral strike-slipping, and the largest horizontal displacement is about 6m. The observation data of continuous GPS measurement stations show that various GPS stations in different active blocks around this earthquake site had different responses to the earthquake. The GPS station within the active block where the earthquake occurred, such as the Delingha station, exhibited very obvious displacement. However, no obvious displacement was observed at the GPS stations located in the active blocks that are secluded by one active block from the earthquake site,such as the Lhasa GPS station. If the GPS stations are located on the boundary structures of the active blocks adjacent to the earthquake site, such as the Xiaguan GPS station, then they would record obvious displacements several days after the occurrence of the earthquake. If the stations are located within the active blocks, such as the Xining and Kunming GPS stations, no obvious displacement would be observed. However, no obvious displacements was observed at the Xiaguan GPS station after Burma earthquake (M=7.2) occurred in the north of Burma active block, although the epicentral distance of this earthquake (about 370km) is significantly less than that of the west of Kunlun Mountain Pass earthquake. This can be attributed to the relative small magnitude of the Burma earthquake, which did not cause the compression of the Sichuan-Yunnan active block. This fact may indicate that the deformation on the boundary zone of the active block is obviously stronger than that occurs within the block, and it is independent to the epicentral distance. The difference of the effects of great earthquakes on its adjacent active blocks depends mainly on the mode of action on the adjacent block by the movement of active block where the great earthquake occurs. If the movement of the block results in compression of the adjacent block, then the effect of the earthquake will be obvious, while the movement does not result in compression of the adjacent block, no obvious effect can be recorded by the GPS station in this block, because the effect may rapidly decrease when it passes through the boundary zone of the block. The observation data of the GPS stations in response to great earthquake-demonstrate that more effective monitoring of earthquake related crustal movement can be fulfilled, provided that the GPS stations are reasonably disposed within the active blocks and on their boundary zones.

On the basis of systematically checking up nearly ten years observation data of 11 water temperature observation wells in the Capital Circle, the behaviors of well water temperature are divided into several types, such as perennial tendency, annual, monthly and daily behaviors. The mechanisms and characteristics of these behaviors are then analyzed. The perennial tendency can be sub divided into smooth, ascending, descending, fluctuate and composite subtypes; the annual behaviors can be sub divided into smooth-stepwise, ascending, descending and fluctuate subtypes; the monthly behaviors can be sub divided into smooth, smooth-stepwise, smooth-fluctuate, descending-fluctuate, ascending fluctuate and composite subtypes; the daily behaviors are mostly fluctuate types, but 5 wells have tidal effects and most wells posses stepwise or pulsed changes. Up to now, the main factors that have been found to have influence on the behaviors of water temperature include the infiltration recharge of atmospheric water, lateral recharge of groundwater, groundwater exploration in adjacent area, and water turbulence in the observation wells, etc. In addition, the instability of observation instruments has great impact on water temperature behaviors. After the normal behaviors are recognized and all kinds of interference factors are eliminated, water temperatures are found to have good reflection on seismic event. Relatively distinct short imminent term anomalies have been found before some moderate-strong earthquakes, and remarkable co seismic anomalies can be recognized while distant strong earthquakes occur. Moreover, some pre seismic anomalies are also identified before the occurrence of a few distant strong earthquakes. Therefore, the further study on the behaviors of water temperature, and the elimination of all kinds of interference factors including stepwise or pulsed variation caused by the instability of observation instruments, will remarkably enhance the capacity and effectiveness of the reflection of water temperature behavior on seismic event. This will also help to improve the capability of short imminent term earthquake predication in our country.

The Reshui-Riyueshan active fault zone lies within the central part of the Qaidam-Qilianshan active block on the northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is a NNW-trending right-lateral strike-slip active fault zone with reverse components characterized by clear linear features and strong activities. It initiates to the north of Datong River, and extends southward through the Reshui coal mine, running along the eastern side of the NNW-oriented Datongshan and Riyueshan upheaval area, and obliquely connected with Lajishan active fault zone at the pass of Riyueshan Mountain. The fault zone is generally striking N35°W, having a total length of about 183km and a relatively simple geometrical structure. It consists of 4 discontinuous secondary en echelon faults, which are Datong River (F_1-1), Reshui (F_1-2), Haiyan (F_1-3) and Riyueshan (F_1-4) Faults, respectively. Extensional zones or pull-apart small basins, such as Ketu basin, were formed at the step-over of these secondary faults. The wide of the step-over is about 2～3km. The Reshui-Riyueshan active fault zone was a compressive reverse fault zone in the early period, and caused the strong compressive deformation of late Cenozoic strata on both side of the fault. Since late Quaternary, the fault zone has become a right lateral strike-slip reverse fault, which has given rise to the formation of micro-morphology represented by right-laterally offset ridges, valleys and terraces. The larger offset may reach up to hundreds meters or more, while the smaller offsets are just about several meters. The right-lateral offset of the first level terrace is about 8～11m, while that of the second level terrace is about 35m. At the same time, there are many fault cliffs and fault scarps developed along the fault zone. The height of the fault scarp at the first level terrace is about 0.5～1m, and the highest one is about 2.8m; at the second level terrace and pluvial mesa, the height of the scarp is about 2.5～3m,with the highest value of about 4～5m. According to the 14C age of the first level terrace of about 3 000a, the horizontal slip rate along the Reshui-Riyueshan Fault zone since late Holocene is estimated to be about 3.16 mm/a, and the vertical slip rate is about 0.83 mm/a. According to the TL age of the second level terrace of about 23.8±1.2ka, the horizontal slip rate along the fault zone since late Pleistocene is estimated to be about 1.47mm/a, and the vertical slip rate is about 0.10～0.21mm/a. Comparatively speaking, the higher the terrace, the stronger the erosion in later period, and hence the larger the uncertainty of the measured offsets. On the contrary, the lower the terrace, the smaller the erosion, and hence the smaller the uncertainty of the measured offset. It is believed, therefore, that the Holocene horizontal slip rate of about 3.16 mm/a, and vertical slip rate of about 0.83 mm/a for the fault zone calculated from the first level terrace are more reliable.

A trial geochemical prospecting for active faults in urban area through the survey of soil gases has been conducted in Fuzhou City, China. This paper demonstrates the principal methodology and results of the trial prospecting. As compared with field investigation of active fault, the detection of buried active faults in urban area is more complicated since there are additional unfavorable environment and conditions such as road, constructions, refilled soils, rubbish dumps and soil/water pollution etc. The trial is aimed at the assessment of the effectiveness of soil gases survey for buried fault prospecting in urban area, and the identification of the surface locations of two buried faults in Fuzhou City. The trial includes the following comparative surveys: 1)different types of sites(soils); 2)different radon detectors and 3)different detecting items(adsorbed mercury, free mercury and radon in soil). Totally, 18 traverses of free mercury gas surveying have been conducted, along with 8 traverses of free radon gas and 1 traverse of adsorbed mercury surveying. The anomalies of different items are basically accordant, but it seems that radon gas is more sensitive to the influence of environmental factors such as groundwater level. The locations of two buried faults determined by soil gases are in good accordance with those determined by seismo-geologic investigation. The results of soils gases survey have also been compared with those of shallow seismic exploration. The comparison shows that the anomalies detected by the two different prospecting techniques are fairly coincident(the "fitting ratio" is about 70%); the false soil gas anomalies seem to occur in such a site as bridge side, abandoned construction bases and rubbish dumps.

Recently, remarkable rare gas anomalies have been observed in the water of Baolong and Tai-ping-zhuang wells in Beijing area, and Xialiao No.1 well in Xiaxian County, Shanxi Province. All these three wells are located in North China. According to the characteristics of rare gas anomalies in the three wells and the relationship between the anomalies and groundwater levels, theoretical analysis and experimental study have been carried out to gain an insight into the genesis of the anomalies. The results of experiments show that the volume of gases in the pores and fractures varies significantly with the evolution of groundwater dynamic condition. We find that the gas volume will expanse about 0.009 0% when the water level drops for 100mm. This may indicate that the anomalies of rare gases in these three wells are resulted from the expansion of gas volume and escape of gases due to the drop of groundwater level and the decrease of pore fluid pressures. It is proposed, therefore, that the rare gas anomalies discussed in this paper should not be earthquake precursor, but are anomalies caused by interference factors.

The Western Jiuquan (Jiuxi) Basin is located in the westernmost part of the Hexi Corridor. The basin is bounded by the Qilian Mountain fault on the south, by Alytn Taugh fault on the north, and by Jiayuguan fault on the east, respectively. The Hexi Corridor is one of the seismically active regions in western China. According to historical records, a large number of strong earthquakes had occurred in this area. Recently, we have discovered three Holocene active faults through the interpretation of aerial photos and field investigation in the Jiuxi basin. These three faults are called Xinminpu, Yinwashan and Yumen faults, respectively. The Xinminpu fault is a Holocene thrust fault, which is 17km in length, striking 315°and dipping southwest, located in the northern part of the basin. A fault scarp of 14m height was developed on the hanging wall of the fault, and it is superposed by the newly formed fault scarp with free surface. The rate of vertical motion along the fault is determined to be 0.24mm/yr. The Yinwashan fault is a Holocene thrust fault located on the alluvial fan at the eastern piedmont of the Yinwashan Mountain, striking 315°with a length of 17km and dipping southwest. The rate of vertical motion along the fault is determined to be 0.18mm/yr. Two Holocene paleoearthquake events have been identified through trenching on the fault. The first event occurred 10.64±0.83ka B.P., while the second event occurred between 4.09±0.31ka B.P. and 8.22±0.63ka B.P. The Yumen fault is also a Holocene thrust fault, which is nearly EW-striking and south dipping, located on the alluvial fan at the northern piedmont of the Qilianshan Mountain. A fault scarp of less than 2m height was developed along the fault. The fault scarp was perhaps produced by a historical earthquake. The rate of vertical motion along the fault is determined to be 0.25mm/yr. Two Holocene paleoearthquakes were revealed by trenching on the fault. The first earthquake occurred at 3.05±0.24 ～3.20±0.25ka B.P. The second occurred after 3.05±0.24ka B.P. As mentioned above, all the three Holocene faults belong to thrust fault, and thus no obvious horizontal displacement can be observed along the fault. This may indicate that this area is dominated by compressional deformation. According to historical records, the Jiuquan earthquake of 756 A.D. is the latest historical earthquake occurred in this area. It is postulated that the Xinminpu fault or Yumen fault would be ruptured during this earthquake, but currently we are unable to determine which fault was ruptured by this earthquake on the basis of available dating data. The ages of paleoearthquakes and the characters of surface ruptures along the three faults suggested that the three faults were activated independently or sometimes in cluster.

The Zhongwei-Tongxin fault zone is one of the arcuate active fault zones in northeastern margin of Tibetan plateau. An earthquake of M =7 1/2 occurred on the middle segment of the fault zone in 1709 A.D. The structures of the fault zone are complicated and composed of a series of secondary faults. The fault zone can be divided into three segments according to the differences in the style of movement, strength and time of activity of the secondary faults. The study of the behavior of paleo-seismicity on the fault zone, therefore, is of great significance to better understanding of the segmented rupturing and the assessment of future seismic risk. The western segment of the fault zone is nearly E-W-trending with a total length of about 60km, most of which is covered by wind carried sand. The recent activity of the faults on this segment is displayed most distinctly at Xiaohongshan area. The middle segment trends NWW with a length of 55km. This segment is the most active one among the three segments of the fault zone. A series of streams, terraces, ridges and alluvial fans were sinistrally offset along the fault. The average left lateral-strike slip rate since Holocene is 3.58mm/a. The eastern segment changes from NW-trending to NNW-and S-N-trending, having a length of about 40km. This segment is located in the compressional area of Zhongwei-Tongxin left-lateral strike slip fault zone, where folding deformation is predominant and the fault is activated weakly. Seven trenches were excavated recently along the fault zone. Five of them are located on the middle segment and the rest on the western segment. Combining new data from the seven trenches and results obtained before, we discuss in this paper the recurrence behavior of paleoearthquakes on Zhongwei-Tongxin fault zone. The seven trenches have revealed six paleoearthquake events of the past 14 000 years along Zhongwei-Tongxin fault zone. One of them occurred in late Pleistocene and had ruptured the whole fault zone, while the others all occurred in Holocene and had ruptured only the middle or western segment. The 1709 Zhongwei earthquake of M =7 1/2 had ruptured only the middle segment of the fault zone. We postulate, therefore, that the magnitude of paleoearthquake that ruptured the middle or western segment of the fault zone should be about 7 1/2,while that of the event ruptured the whole fault zone should be about 8. In addition, we find that the temporal distribution of paleoearthquakes on the Zhongwei-Tongxin fault zone was neither uniform nor evidently clustered.