A three‐dimensional (3‐D) resistivity model around the 2014 Ms6.5 Ludian earthquake was obtained. The model shows that the aftershocks were mainly distributed in a shallow inverse L‐shaped conductive angular region surrounded by resistive structures. The presences of this shallow conductive zone may be the key factor leading to the severe damage and surface rupture of the Ludian earthquake. A northwest trending local resistive belt along the Baogunao‐Xiaohe fault interrupts the northeast trending conductive zone at the Zhaotong‐Lianfeng fault zone in the middle crust, which may be the seismogenic structure of the main shock. Based on the 3‐D electrical model, combining with GPS, thermal structure, and seismic survey results, a geodynamic model is proposed to interpret the seismotectonics, deep seismogenic background, and deformation characterized by a sinistral strike slip with a tensile component of the Ludian earthquake.

[1] The ENE-WSW-striking Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) and the WNW-ESE-trending western Qilian Mountains define the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. New magnetotelluric data were collected along three profiles crossing the eastern section of the ATF and the southern Qilian Mountains. The basic sounding bandwidth ranged from 0.003 to 7000 s. The transverse electric and transverse magnetic mode data sets were inverted into resistivity sections using a conventional two-dimensional (2D) inversion code, and data at periods of 0.3333-5464 s were inverted using a commonly employed three-dimensional (3D) code. The 3D results constrain the interpretation of the 2D models, and the final interpretative resistivity models show that lithospheric structures are spatially variable along the ATF and across southern Qilian. In profiles across the ATF, the main fault is imaged as a vertical resistivity boundary, and the high-resistivity body in the western profile extends about 15 km deeper than the corresponding body in the eastern profile. Positive flower structures are apparent in the western profile but are only weakly visible in the eastern profile. These observations suggest that the depth of the ATF is spatially variable. Mantle resistivity images indicate a relatively cold and rigid Tarim lithosphere, which is consistent with a geodynamic model of oblique subduction of the Tarim Basin below the ATF. A high-resistivity body in the crust of southernmost Qilian indicates a huge thick-skinned structure. Low-resistivity bodies at the crust-mantle boundary south of the main ATF are presumed to form a weak layer beneath northern Tibet.

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