The strong earthquakes and seismogenic structures in eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau and adjacent areas: A preface for the special topic

Abstract

The eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is composed of multiple secondary tectonic units which constitute typical “multi-level extrusion-rotation active tectonic system”. It is the tectonic transformation belt that regulates the eastward extrusion of plateau blocks, and contains high-density active faults. This area is characterized by frequent and high intensity strong earthquakes and complex geological and geomorphological features. Therefore, this region is one of the areas in China where the problem of earthquake disaster is particularly significant. In recent years, with the research deepening of the national earthquake disaster risk survey, active fault detection of urban，seismic experimental site construction, seismic safety evaluation of engineering sites, identification of active faults and evaluation of crustal stability in major projects sites and urban areas，and the wide application of high-precision remote sensing, tectonic geomorphology, paleoseismic and Quaternary chronology methods. The investigation of seismogenic structures around the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and its adjacent areas has been significantly improved. In order to timely exchange the latest study results in this field support regional earthquake prevention and disaster reduction and geological safety evaluation of important projects sites and infrastructure construction, the journal editorial department of Progress in Earthquake Science organized the special topic “The strong earthquakes and seismogenic structures in eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau and adjacent areas”. More than 20 representative academic papers such as active faults and earthquakes, Jishishan earthquake in Gansu Province，and research reviews in related fields have been collected. In this issue, 10 papers are selected in the special topic I “The strong earthquakes and seismogenic structures in eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau and adjacent areas”. It is hoped that these newly study results may improve the understanding of characteristics of strong earthquake activity and seismogenic structural mechanism in the region, and provide scientific basis for regional strong earthquake risk analysis and effective prevention of strong earthquake disaster risk.

Keywords

• eastern margin of tibetan plateau
• seismogenic structures
• jishishan m6.2 earthquake
• active fault
• hetao-yinchuan rift