Structure and Significance of S-wave Velocity and Poisson’s Ratio in the Crust beneath the Eastern Side of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The receiver functions of body waves of distant earthquakes obtained for the regions beneath 41 digital stations (Lhasa and GANZ in Tibet, Mandalay and Rangoon in Myanmar, SHIO in India, CHTO in Thailand, and station network in Sichuan and Yunnan) were used to invert for S-wave structure in the crust and upper mantle in Sichuan, Yunnan, and their surrounding areas. Meanwhile the distribution characteristics of the Poisson’s ration and the crustal thickness in Sichuan and Yunnan areas were also obtained. Results indicate that the depth of Moho beneath the eastern side of Qinghai-Tibetan plateau varies strikingly. It is obvious that the greatest changes in crustal thickness occur in a north-south direction. The crustal thickness decreases from north to south, being as thick as 70 km in eastern Tibet, the northern portion of our area of interest, and less than 30 km in Chaing Mai and Rangoon, the southern portion of our area. There are, however, exceptions regarding the trend. The thickness exhibits an east-west variation trend in the area from Ma’erkong-Kongding in Sichuan to Lijiang in Yunnan. In general the Jinpingshan-Longmenshan fault and Anninghe fault can be taken as the boundaries of this exception area. The thickness in Kongding in the west is 68 km, while it is only 39 km in Yongchuan in the east. Moreover the Poisson’s ratio values in the blocks of central Sichuan and Sichuan-Yunnan Diamond are high, and a low velocity layer in the crust of this area can be obviously detected. The distribution characteristics of the high Poisson’s ratio and the low velocity of the crust in this block correspond to the tectonic structure, being in contrast with the surrounding areas. Combining with the distribution features of the modern tectonic stress field, it is deduced that the Sichuan-Yunnan area is probably the channel through which the materials of the lithosphere flow eastward.