Tectonic geomorphology and prehistoric earthquakes of the West Helanshan fault, West Ordos, and its implications for regional tectonics and seismic hazard

The West Helanshan fault is situated at the junction of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, Alxa, and Ordos blocks, providing an opportunity to investigate the deformation in the transitional zone between the contractional northeastern Tibetan Plateau and extensional North China. Using field investigations and satellite imagery interpretations, we determined detailed geometry and kinematics of the West Helanshan fault. The West Helanshan fault is divided into three segments, including the northern, middle, and southern segments, based on varying fault strike, slip sense, and geomorphic expression. The northern and middle segments are dominated by rightlateral strike-slip motion as indicated by linear fault traces, horizontally offset streams and terrace risers, relatively insignificant vertical offset, and frequently changing facing direction of fault scarps. The late Quaternary right-slip rate is estimated to be 0.2-0.4 mm/yr, which is relatively low comparing with other strike-slip faults in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, based on Be-10-dated offset fluvial/alluvial surfaces. The southern segment shows conspicuous fault scarps with significant systematic vertical offset, which has a reverse component as revealed in the trench. The timing of the most recent earthquake revealed in the trench is constrained to be between 6.2 +/- 0.7 ka and 5.9 +/- 0.4 ka. Notably, the West Helanshan fault cuts through the city center of Azuoqi town, which is the capital of Azuoqi county and has about 100,000 residents, carrying high potential earthquake hazard in the future. Finally, combining the regional fault geometry and kinematics with GPS observations, we propose a limited north-northeastward extrusion model for the southern Alxa Block.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the geometry and kinematics of the West Helanshan fault, situated at the junction of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, Alxa, and Ordos blocks. The fault is divided into three segments, with the northern and middle segments showing right-lateral strike-slip motion and the southern segment exhibiting reverse motion. The fault poses a high earthquake hazard as it cuts through a county town with a population of about 100,000. Based on the findings, a limited north-northeastward extrusion model is proposed for the southern Alxa Block.