Elsevier

Journal of Asian Earth Sciences

Volume 132, 15 December 2016, Pages 1-8
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences

Full length Article
Identification of paleoearthquakes based on geomorphological evidence and their tectonic implications for the southern part of the active Anqiu–Juxian fault, eastern China

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2016.10.012Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Unmanned aerial vehicle was used to acquire orthoimages and DEMs for paleoearthquake study.

  • Knickpoints recognized from the DEMs revealed several paleoearthquakes along the Anqiu–Juxian active fault zone.

  • An average Holocene horizontal slip rate was estimated.

Abstract

This study utilized an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry system to acquire orthoimages and generate a digital elevation model (DEM) covering the southern part of the Anqiu–Juxian fault for geomorphological analysis and paleoearthquake identification. Six offset gullies were identified and analyzed on the orthoimages. Our results indicate that at least three large and several moderate earthquakes have occurred along the fault zone. Knickpoints recognized from the DEM reveal several paleoearthquakes. An average Holocene horizontal slip rate of 2.86 ± 0.35 mm yr−1 was estimated from the offset gullies, which is consistent with previous results from field surveys. The tectonic evolution of this fault zone is most likely related to subduction of the Pacific plate under the Eurasian plate, which gave rise to the right-lateral strike-slip and thrust movement of the Tan-Lu fault zone. This study provided valuable information regarding fault activity and paleoearthquake occurrence along the Anqiu–Juxian fault zone during the Holocene and demonstrated the potential of using UAVs for studies involving tectonic geomorphology.

Introduction

Tectonic geomorphology is valuable in the investigation of active faults for estimating slip rates and recurrence intervals of large earthquakes using detailed measurements of offset landforms and geochronological dating (Liu et al., 2013). Detailed geometrical features and displacement information of active faults are mostly extracted from high-precision topographic data. Digital elevation models (DEMs) of very high precision can be generated using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems, which are now widely used in studies of active faults (Liu et al., 2013, Wei et al., 2014, Zielke et al., 2012). Quantitative studies of active faults using high-precision data made many important breakthroughs (Arrowsmith and Zielke, 2009, Baruch and Filin, 2011, Fu et al., 2009, Fu and Awata, 2007, Kirby and Whipple, 2012, Xu et al., 2011). High-precision terrain data can be used for detailed identification of offsets of gullies and terrace risers caused by earthquake slips (Blisniuk et al., 2010). Reconstructing pre-earthquake morphology based on offset geomorphic markers is useful for the identification of paleoearthquakes (Klinger et al., 2011). LiDAR and UAVs are expected to partially replace traditional geological surveying methods.

UAVs have greater flexibility and convenience than satellite remote sensing or manned airborne photogrammetry and are much more economical. In addition, UAVs can supply orthoimages and DEMs with centimeter precision for the study of active faults. Consequently, an UAV was used to study the Anqiu–Juxian fault (AJF) in the Maling Mountains. Detailed topographic and geomorphologic data were analyzed to estimate deformation parameters related to paleoearthquake events.

Section snippets

Tectonic background

The AJF, which is designated as the F5 fault, is an important branch of the well-known Tan-Lu fault zone (TLFZ) in eastern China (Fig. 1a) (Song et al., 2005). The right-lateral strike-slip TLFZ formed during the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic due to collision of the North and South China plates (Xu et al., 1987, Yin and Nie, 1993, Zhang and Dong, 2008). During the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, the left-lateral strike-slip movement intensified (Zhu et al., 2004a). The fault zone shows

Data acquisition and processing

Photogrammetry acquired using UAVs equipped with cameras has become an important supplement to traditional manned aerial photogrammetry. The images can be used as pairs of stereo images to generate DEMs because of the large overlap. Both camera parameters and ground control points are used to generate mosaic images and to calculate the position of the ground points in a geodetic coordinate system. The main outputs are orthoimage maps and DEMs.

The UAV photogrammetry system used in this study was

Vertical dislocation

In fluvial geomorphology, the downcutting depths of gullies are mostly controlled by the erosional base level, which can also be influenced by fault movement. Lowering of the base level of erosion will lead to headward erosion and lateral erosion along gullies on the hanging wall of the fault. Gullies adopt the footwall of the fault as the regional erosive base level, and thus headward erosion becomes connected with the vertical movement of the fault (Sun et al., 2012). The place where a

Discussion

Knickpoints provide important evidence for fault vertical movement, and each knickpoint can represent a seismic event. However, some earthquakes may produce parallel fault scarps, which will form parallel retreating knickpoints. Therefore, we assume that knickpoints within a distance of 30 m are generated simultaneously by the same fault movement, such as knickpoints III and IV in gullies R2 and R3, and knickpoints II and III in gully R4. Assuming that the youngest knickpoints were formed by the

Conclusions

UAV photogrammetry systems can be used to make high-precision measurements and carry out large-scale mapping of active faults and landforms. The acquired orthoimages and DEM can be matched to allow the calculation of quantitative landform parameters and the analysis of paleoearthquake events.

This study used a UAV-based photogrammetric system to acquire orthoimages and construct a DEM covering the southern part of the AJF for geomorphological analysis and paleoearthquake identification. Six

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a research grant from the Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration [grant numbers ZDJ2016-13 and ZDJ2015-16].

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