Coseismic Faulting and Folding in an Active Thrust Sheet over Multiple Rupture Cycles Resolved by Integrating Surface and Subsurface Records of Earthquake Deformation

Abstract:

Many recent thrust fault earthquakes have involved coseismic surface faulting and folding, revealing the complex nature of surface deformation in active thrust sheets. In this study, we characterize deformation along the active Southern Junggar Thrust (SJT) in the Junggar basin, NW China – which sourced the 1906 M8 Manas earthquake – to gain insight into how fault slip at depth is partitioned between faulting and folding strains at Earth’s surface by integrating deformed terrace records, subsurface geophysical data, and luminescence geochronology. Using a 1-m digital elevation model and field surveys, we have mapped the precise geometries of fluvial terraces across the entire Tugulu anticline, which lies in the hanging wall of the SJT. These profiles reveal progressive uplift of several terraces along prominent fault scarps where the SJT is surface-emergent. Similarly aged terraces are folded in the backlimb of the Tugulu fold, providing a sequential record of surface folding. These folded terraces are progressively rotated such that the oldest terraces are dipping much steeper than younger terraces within the same fold limb. Using 2- and 3-D seismic reflection data, we integrate subsurface deformation constraints with records of surface strain. Structural interpretations of these seismic data define the geometry of the SJT and reveal that folding is localized across synclinal bends along the SJT. We evaluate a range of distinct fault-related fold models (e.g. fault-bend folding, shear fault-bend folding) to assess which structural style best describes the geometries of the subsurface and surface fold patterns. By doing so, we have the opportunity to directly relate surface fault slip measures from terrace folding and uplift to total fault slip at depth. This integration of surface and subsurface deformation - combined with constraints on terrace ages from post-IR IRSL geochronology - allows us to characterize how fault slip and seismic moment are partitioned between surface faulting and folding strains over multiple earthquake cycles.