Crustal structure in the junction of Qinling Orogen, Yangtze Craton and Tibetan Plateau: Implications for the formation of the Dabashan Orocline and the growth of Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

The crust at the junction of Qinling Orogen, Yangtze Craton and NE Tibetan Plateau bears imprints of the Triassic collision and later intracontinental orogeny between theQinlingOrogen and the Yangtze Craton, and the Cenozoic growth of Tibetan Plateau. Investigating detailed crustal structures in this region helps to better understand these tectonic processes. In this study, we construct a 3-D crustal Vs model using seismic ambient noise data recorded at 321 seismic stations. Ambient noise tomography is performed to generate Rayleigh wave phase velocity maps at 8-50 s periods, which are then inverted for a 3-D isotropic Vs model using a Bayesian Monte Carlo method. Our 3-D model reveals deep-rooted high velocities beneath the Hannan-Micang and Shennong-Huangling Domes, which are located on the west and east sides of the Dabashan Orocline. Similar high velocities are observed in the upper/mid crust of the western Qinling Orogen. We suggest the crustal-scale bodies with high velocity beneath the two domes and the western Qinling Orogen may represent mechanically strong rocks, which not only assisted the formation of the major Dabashan Orocline during late Mesozoic intracontinental orogeny, but also have impeded the northeastward expansion of the Tibetan Plateau during the Cenozoic era.