HR: 1340h
AN: S43C-1012    [Abstracts]
TI: Active Faults, Modern Seismicity And Block Structure Of Eurasia
AU: * Gatinsky, Y
EM: yug@sgm.ru
AF: FM04BW, AGU, Washington, 20009 United States
AU: Rundquist, D
EM: dvr@sgm.ru
AF: FM04BW, AGU, Washington, 20009 United States
AB: The analysis of on active faults and seismicity shows that the only a northern part of Eurasia should be regarded as an indivisible lithosphere unit. We defined it as the North Eurasian plate (Gatinsky, Rundquist, 2004) unlike the Eurasian plate s.l., which can be used only for paleotectonic reconstructions. The North Eurasian plate is bordered by zones of seismic activity traced along the Gakkel ridge, the Chersky and Stanovoi ranges, the Baikal rift, Altai--Sayany region, northern Tien Shan, Pamir, Hindu Kush and Kopet Dagh, Great Caucasus, northern Anatolia, Rhodopes, Carpathians, eastern and central Alps. Relationships between this plate and Europe west of the Rhine grabens remain ambiguous. The satellite measurements for them seem to be similar (Nocquet, Calais, 2003), but structural and seismic evidences allow suggesting their incipient division. Wide zones between this plate and neighboring ones can be distinguished outside north Eurasia. These zones consist of numerous blocks of various sizes. Block boundaries are mainly characterized by the high seismicity and development of active wrench faults, thrusts or modern rifts. Some of such zones were named earlier as "diffuse plate boundaries" (Stein et al., 2002; Bird et al, 2003). We suggest to name them as "transit zones" because they are situated between large lithosphere plates and as if transfer the stress field of one of them to other. Blocks within the transit zones reveal local divergences in GPS vectors of their displacements in the ITRF system and especially with respect to fixed Eurasia. At the same time data of satellite measurements emphasize the unity of the North Eurasian plate, which moves eastward in absolute coordinates with some clockwise rotation. The stress distribution in inner parts of the continent is being affected by the interaction with different plates and blocks. It can be more effectively illustrated by a ®triangle¯ of the maximal seismic activity of Eurasia in the central Asia transit zones being under influence Indostan-Eurasia collision. The earthquake distribution, active fault patterns, and satellite measurements clearly indicate the present-day geodynamic instability of Eurasia. Unfortunately, the problem of the depth at which various blocks are displaced so far remains a matter of debate and the relevant information is still controversial. Some blocks have roots in the lithosphere upper mantle (Qaidam, southeast China), but others such as Tarim, Tien Shan are not divided at the lithosphere level. Hot plumes under western and central Europe are ascending from the sublitosphere mantle at the depth of about 400 km (Grosvenor et al, 1995), and European blocks' displacement can be connected with these plumes. At the same time prevailing depths of earthquake hypocenters (20-40 km) and seismic tomography allow to suggest that most of the blocks are shallow-seated and bounded from below by detachment zones localized at the crust base or within the lithosphere. It is displayed by a marked reduction of S-wave velocities at various levels presumably corresponding to the development of anomalous heated mantle at the base of crustal or crustal-mantle blocks. The presented evidence confirms the idea of lithosphere lamination, which was proved in the latest time by investigations in the frame of the project INDEPTH (Zhao et al., 2001; Li et al., 2003 and others). The Program of the RF President supports this work (project NSH-99.2003.5).
ref='http://www.sgm.ru' >http://www.sgm.ru
DE: 7230 Seismicity and seismotectonics
DE: 7205 Continental crust (1242)
DE: 7207 Core and mantle
DE: 7218 Lithosphere and upper mantle
SC: Seismology [S]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting