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Lithospheric structure beneath Ordos Block and surrounding areas from joint inversion of receiver function and surface wave dispersion

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Abstract

Ordos Block has undergone rapid uplift, and a series of rift basins have been formed around the block since the Cenozoic, but the formation mechanisms remain controversial. High-resolution 3D velocity structure of crust and mantle is important for understanding lithospheric deformation and deep dynamic process Here we present a 3D S-wave velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle in the Ordos Block and surrounding regions by joint inversion of receiver functions and surface wave data from a dense broadband seismic deployment. The lithosphere of the Ordos Block exhibits an obvious high-velocity anomaly. In the east and north of the Ordos and the southwestern part of the Tibetan Plateau, obvious low-velocity anomalies are detected in the upper mantle and extend into the Ordos The lithosphere of the Ordos Block is thick in the center and thin in the edge, while the crust is relatively thin in the center and thick in the southwest and northeast. The crustal thickness of the tensional basin in the north is greater than that in the central Ordos. We suggest that the outward expansion of the mantle thermal materials in eastern Tibet and the upper mantle thermal upwelling in the eastern part of the North China Craton lead to the non-uniform lithospheric thinning, temperature rise and density reduction of the Ordos Block. The additional buoyancy and thermodynamic effects provided by them contributed to the continuous uplift of the Ordos Block since the Cenozoic. Influenced by the extrusion of Tibetan Plateau, the crustal thickening and rapid uplift occur in the southwestern and northern parts of the Ordos Block. The lithospheric structures of the Alxa and Ordos Blocks are different, and they may belong to different independent blocks before the Mesozoic.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Earthquake Science Data Center, Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration for providing seismic waveform data for this study. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41774102, 41804062 and 41804057) and the Special Funds for Basic Scientific Research Business Fees of Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration (Grant Nos. DQJB20K41, DQJB16A03).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration, Bei**g, 100081, China

    Jian** Wu, Yaning Liu, Weilai Wang, Yan Cai & **g Liu

  2. Bei**g Earthquake Agency, Bei**g, 100080, China

    Shijun Zhong & Wei Wang

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  1. Jian** Wu
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Correspondence to Jian** Wu.

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Wu, J., Liu, Y., Zhong, S. et al. Lithospheric structure beneath Ordos Block and surrounding areas from joint inversion of receiver function and surface wave dispersion. Sci. China Earth Sci. 65, 1399–1413 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-021-9895-0

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