Crustal Structure of the Yunnan, China Region Revealed by Adjoint
Inversion of Frequency-dependent Traveltimes
Abstract
We conduct a high-resolution seismic tomography for the crustal P and
S-wave velocities of Yunnan region in southwestern China. Waveforms
recorded at 128 broadband stations from 131 regional earthquakes of
moment magnitudes 3.9−5.5 occurring between 2009 and 2021 are used to
obtain traveltime residuals by the cross-correlation between records and
synthetics. Using the regional community velocity model SWChinaCVM‐1.0
as the initial model, we carry out a three-stage iterative adjoint
tomography, progressing from the longer period band of 50–20 s to
shorter-period bands of 30–10 s and 30–5 s. The final model shows
general consistency in the spatial patterns of P- and S-wave velocity
anomalies. Widespread low-velocity anomalies with high-Vp/Vs ratios in
the mid and lower crust in the region suggest a mix of weak materials of
the mid-lower crustal flow from under the Tibetan Plateau with hot
materials of the upwelling from the deep mantle plume that led to the
Emeishan Large Igneous Province. Localized velocity and Vp/Vs ratio
anomalies also reveal that the Lijiang-Xiaojinhe Fault Zone appears to
be confined in the upper crust, while the Anninghe-Zemuhe Fault Zone and
the Xiaojiang Fault Zone are both whole-crust structures reaching the
Moho interface. The Red River Fault Zone, a whole-crust fault, separates
the Yangtze Craton to the northeast from the Indo-China Block to the
southwest. The main fault zones, the decoupling between the crustal and
uppermost mantle parts, and the wide-spreading weak mid-lower crustal
materials mutually interact, all contributing to the tectonic evolution
of the entire region.