Three Envisat images from ESA were used to derive the pre - and co-seismic deformation interfereograms caused by the Damxung Ms6. 6 earthquake of Oct. 6,2008 ,by using InSAR. The result shows no significant crustal motion more than 4 months before the earthquake, but a maximum co-seismic displacement of about 0.3 m in an epicentral area of 20 km × 20 km. The deformation field was symmetrically distributed about a NS axis, where the west side subsided and the east side uplifted. We used a linear elastic dislocation model in half space and a nonlinear constraint optimized algorithm to estimate the slip distribution along the fault. The results indicates that the epicenter is located at 90. 374°E ,29. 745°N with a moment magnitude of Mw6. 35. The earthquake is dominated by normal faulting with a maximum slip of 3 m on a 12 km × 11 km fault plane striking S189°W,dipping 60° to NW at a depth of 9.5 km,and is located at a sub-fault of the southeastern Piedmont of the Nyainqentanglha mountains. The relatively shallow depth of earthquake is related to relatively high heat flow in the area.
Xuejun Qiao Shanjun Ren Zhaosheng Nie Yu Zhou Qiang Shen Shaomin Yang
We simulate GPS horizontal velocity field in terms of rotations of crustal blocks to describe deformation behavior of the Chinese mainland and its neighboring areas. 31 crustal blocks are bounded primarily by -30 Quaternary faults with distinct geometries and variable long-term rates of 〈20 mm/a, and 1 683 GPS velocities were determined from decade-long observations mostly with an averaged uncertainty of 1-2 mm/a. We define GPS velocity at a site by the combination of motion of rigid block and elastic strain induced by the fault that is locking during a seismic cycle. Model velocities predicted from the preferable block model match well with the GPS velocities to an uncertainty of-l.7mm/a. The slip rates inferred from this model is in a range of 6-18 mm/a for the major faults in Tibet and its margins and 1-4 mm/a in eastern China, consistent with geological observations. Our numerical simulation suggests that the crustal blocks deform internally at a level of-10× 10^-9/a, quite small in comparison with significant deformation localized along fault zones of 50-100 km wide. We conclude that the pattern of continental deformation is not continuous-like but block-like, and the tenet of plate tectonics may be applicable to characterize the active deformation in Asia.
