Crustal anisotropy beneath southeast Tibet revealed by Pms arrival times

Abstract

The mechanisms of uplift and deformation of the Tibetan Plateau are highly concerned. Understanding the crustal deformation mechanisms beneath southeast Tibet is important as it is located at the major path of Tibet's growth or expansion. Recent studies are controversial on whether large‐scale crustal flow is dominant or not in this area. We applied Pms arrival time technique based on receiver function to events from 10 years of observation and obtained the crustal anisotropy parameters. The results show that both the large‐scale faults and local crustal flow play major roles in crustal deformation in interested areas, while the large‐scale crustal flow is not very well preferred. Furthermore, the crustal anisotropy in southeast of the study area is characterized by complex anisotropies, which may be potentially related to the converging of two mantle flows from various origins.