The deep electrical structure characteristics and regional seismicity of the southeastern Jiali Fault Zone

Abstract

Located in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, the Jiali fault zone (JLF) is an important strike-slip fault system, which delineates the southern boundary of the south-eastward extrusion of the Tibetan Plateau. The JLF features long-recurrent seismicity and plays an important role in balancing the local stress field. However, previous geophysical studies have mostly focused on regional studies in the northwestern segment and the southeastern end of the JLF. Few geophysical studies have been conducted on the JLF segment in the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis region. To better understand the deep structures of the JLF and to provide geophysical constraints for the regional seismicity, we propose a crustal-scale resistivity model derived from magnetotelluric profile data across the three branches (Xixingla, Puqu, and Parlung faults) of the southeastern segment of JLF. The three-dimensional electrical structure shows that the JLF is generally characterized by a series of northeast dipping features. Unlike Parlung and Puqu branches, which are currently relatively inactive, the Xixingla fault is imaged to dip steeply in the shallow part of the crust and gradually turninto a gentle dip angle in the deeper section, before ultimately converging with a low-resistivity layer in the mid-to-lower crust. As the recent seismicity shows a combination of thrusting and strike-slip mechanisms, the primary strike-slip tectonic background for the regional seismicity may be modified by the northeastward compression from the subducting Indian Plate. Combined with other geological and geophysical evidence, we suggest that the reverse thrust and strike-slip displacement of faults may jointly contribute to the combined dynamic mechanism for seismicity in this area, due to the intrusion of the Namcha Barwa metamorphic complex beneath the Lhasa terrane.