Lithospheric Electrical Structure of Eastern Segment of Central Asian Orogenic Belt and Its Tectonic Implications

doi:10.19657/j.geoscience.1000-8527.2022.069

Abstract

Abstract:

The eastern segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) in central Inner Mongolia has always been a hot research field in the Earth’s internal dynamics and global change. Tectonic study in this region is of great significance given its important role in understanding the CAOB formation. A 364 km-long magnetotelluric sounding (MT) profile in the eastern CAOB is collected in this study. The profile starts from the northwest near the national border in Dongwuqi of Inner Mongolia, and extends to the southeast through the Northern Orogenic Belt (NOB), Solonker Suture Zone (SSZ) and Southern Orogenic Belt (SOB), and terminates about 30 km west of Wengniuteqi of Inner Mongolia. Based on the data analysis results, 2D inversions were conducted on the dataset. Resulting model shows that the electrical structure of the lithosphere along the profile is characterized by NS-trending transverse blocking. The NOB is generally characterized by low resistivity; The SSZ is the transition zone of the electrical characteristics of the whole section from low to high resistivity; The SOB is mainly characterized by high resistivity. The low resistivity characteristics of NOB indicate that the region is unstable, which may be caused by the residual oceanic crust or asthenospheric upwelling after the Paleo-Asian Ocean closure. The SSZ electrical structure indicates that a new tectonic event may have occurred after the suturing. The high resistivity characteristics of the SOB indicate that the basement is stable and “cold”, and the fluid content is very low, with the geometric characteristics of the electrical structure reflecting the thickened lithosphere. The regional electrical structure characteristics along the profile indicate that new tectonic events, such as asthenospheric fluid ascent and lithospheric thickening, may have occurred after the collision between the Siberian and North China Cratons. In addition, the regional electrical structure is consistent with the suture zone characteristics, which provides new deep geophysical evidence for the continuous accretion model of tectonic evolution in the eastern CAOB.

Key words: magnetotellurics, Central Asian Orogenic Belt, Solonker suture zone, tectonic evolution

CLC Number:

P631.3

LI Bo, JIN Sheng, YE Gaofeng, WEI Wenbo. Lithospheric Electrical Structure of Eastern Segment of Central Asian Orogenic Belt and Its Tectonic Implications[J]. Geoscience, 2023, 37(01): 15-30.

Figures/Tables 14

Fig.1 Tectonic subdivision of the study area (modified from refs.[13-14])

Fig.2 Geological map of the study area (modified from ref.[13]; data of Erlian Basin from ref.[16])

Fig.3 Examples of MT sounding curves

Fig.4 Schematic diagram of phase tensor ellipse

Fig.5 Phase tensor maps of MT profile

Fig.6 Rose diagrams of strike analysis results (0.1~1 s, 1~10 s, 10~100 s, 100~1000 s) for the NOB, SSZ and SOB

Fig.7 MT profile 2D inversion comparison diagrams, using different polarization mode combination data

Fig.8 L-curve of roughness and RMS values for the profile with different τ

Fig.9 Pseudosection of observed and modeled TM (a) and Hz (b) data

Fig.10 2D electrical structure model of MT profile

Fig.11 RMS distribution along the profile (a) for the original 2D inversion model (b) and several forward modeling models (c)

Fig.12 RMS distribution along the profile (a) for the original 2D inversion model (b) and several forward modeling models (c)

Fig.13 Tectonic interpretation of 2D MT inversion model

Fig.14 Continuous accretion model describing the tectonic evolution of the eastern CAOB (modified from refs.[14,63])

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