NorthEast Tibetan plateau Seismic experiment (NETS)

The Tibet plateau has been the prime site to understand the processes of continental collision, mountain building, and the interaction between tectonics and climate change. Most of the studies of the Tibetan crust and mantle structure to date have focused in southern Tibet with the primary objectives of understanding the continental collision process, the intrusion of the Indian plate into the Eurasian plate. In addition to the Indian plate in the south, the Tibetan plateau is bounded by other continental blocks that undergo little present-day deformation. They include the Tarim block to the northwest, the Gobi Platform and Sino-Korean craton (Ordos) to the north and northeast, and the Yangtze craton (Sichuan Basin) to the east. These blocks border the plateau with major thrust or transform faults and play an important role in the evolution of the plateau and in shaping the plateau to its present morphology. To understand the rise and growth of the plateau, we must also understand the processes at other boundaries of the plateau that control the escape of the excess crust and mantle material from the plateau.

NETS is a seismic experiment in the northeast Tibetan plateau to study the growth and rise of the plateau and its interaction with the surrounding tectonic units. The project is sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation, China Academy of Geological Sciences, and China University of Geosciences (Beijing).

Participants

U.S. Institutions

Prof. Yang Shen (Project Coordinator, PI), Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island

Prof. Eric Sandvol (Co-PI), Department of Geological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia

Prof. Aibing Li (Co-PI), Department of Geosciences, University of Houston

Xiaofeng Liang (Visiting Ph.D student from Peking Univ.), Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island

Zhigang Zhang (Ph.D student), Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island

Chinese Institutions

Dr. Danian SHI , China Academy of Geological Sciences

Dr. Xinfu LI , China University of Geosciences (Beijing)

Dr. Hongyi LI, China University of Geosciences (Beijing)

Xiaoming XU (M.Sc student), China Academy of Geological Sciences

Hao DONG (M.Sc student), China University of Geosciences (Beijing)

Publications

See peer-reviewed journal publications at the Seismolab website.

Presentations at Conferences and Seminars

Shen, Y., and W. Zhang, Full-wave ambient noise tomography, the IRIS Workshop, abstract, 2012.

Li, H., Y. Yang, Z. Huang, M. Gong, X. Li, Y. Shen, D. Shi, E.A. Sandvol, and A. Li, No crustal material flow through the northeast corner of the Tibetan Plateau into the Ordos basin, AGU Fall Meeting, abstract S41A-2356, 2012.

Li, X., H. Li, Y. Shen, D. Shi, E.A. Sandvol, and A. Li, Crustal Velocity Structure in Northeastern Tibet and its Tectonic Implications, AGU Fall Meeting, abstract S41A-2368, 2012.

Li, L., A. Li, Y. Shen, E.A. Sandvol, D. Shi, H. Li, and X. Li, Rayleigh wave tomography in northeastern Tibet, 2011 AGU Fall Meeting, AGU, abstract T33B-2411, 2011.

Du, Y., E.A. Sandvol, Danian Shi, Hongyi Li, Xinfu Li, Aibing Li, Han Yue, and Yang Shen, S-wave Receiver Function study in Northeast Tibet and adjacent boundaries, abstract S31E-2282, presented at 2011 Fall Meeting, AGU, San Francisco, Calif., 2011.

Bao, X., E.A. Sandvol, J. Ni., T. Hearn, Y. Chen, and Y. Shen, High resolution crustal seismic wave attenuation tomography in eastern Tibetan plateau, Abstract T34A-03 presented at 2010 Fall Meeting, AGU, San Francisco, Calif., 13-17 Dec., 2010.

Chen, C., A. Li, D. Shi, X. Li, H. Li, E.A. Sandvol, and Y. Shen, Shear-wave splitting study in northeastern Tibet, Abstract T43B-2214 presented at 2010 Fall Meeting, AGU, San Francisco, Calif., 2010.

Zhang, Z., and Y. Shen, Seismological observation of a crustal response to river erosion?, Abstract T43B-2224 presented at 2010 Fall Meeting, AGU, San Francisco, Calif., 2010.

Li, H., X. Xu, M. Gong, X. Li, and Y. Shen, Crustal and uppermost mantle structure beneath eastern Tibet revealed by ambient seismic noise, West Pacific Geophysical Meeting (abstract), 2010.

Zhang, Z., Y. Shen, and W. Zhang, Full-wave finite-frequency tomography of the southeast Tibetan plateau, AGU Fall Meeting, abstract S31D-08, 2009.

Liu, Z., J. Huang, and Y. Shen, Temporal changes of seismic velocity around the Wenchuan earthquake fault zone from ambient noise correlation, AGU Fall Meeting, abstract S21A-1694, 2009.

Shen, Y., Structure and dynamics of the southeast Tibetan plateau revealed by full-wave tomography and moment tensor inversions based on three-dimensional reference models, The 5th International Symposium on Tibetan Plateau / 24th Himalaya – Karakoram - Tibet Workshop, Beijing, China, 2009.

Shen, Y., D. Shi, X. Li, E. Sandvol, A. Li, Z. Zhang, H. Li, X. Liang, X. Xu, and H. Dong, Initial report on the northeastern Tibetan plateau seismic experiment and study of the May 12, 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Eos Trans. AGU, 89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., abstract U23B-0066, 2008.

Ren, Y., W. Zhang, Y. Shen, Crustal and uppermost mantle structures beneath the southeastern Tibet from 3D full- wavefield finite-frequency tomography using ambient seismic noise, Eos Trans. AGU, 89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., abstract T13B-1954, 2008.

Liang, X., Y. Shen, Y.J. Chen, Y. Ren, Crustal and mantle velocity models of southern Tibet from finite frequency tomography, Eos Trans. AGU, 89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., abstract T13B-1955, 2008.

Shen, Y., Z. Zhang, W. Zhang, Imaging the crust and upper mantle in the southern and southeastern Tibetan plateau: A three-dimensional full-wavefield approach, Eos Trans. AGU, 89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., abstract T11E-06 Invited, 2008.