Characterizing Crustal Deformation of the Weihe Fault, Weihe Basin (Central China), Using InSAR and GNSS Observations

Abstract

The Weihe Fault is an important basement fault that is buried deep and controls the formation, evolution, and seismicity of the Weihe Basin. It has been quiescent for more than 300 years with only a few moderate and small earthquakes distributed unevenly. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the current tectonic deformation pattern in order to assess regional seismic risk. In this context, the tectonic deformation velocities of the Weihe Fault were analyzed using an interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and leveling observations. The line of slight (LOS) deformation rates spanning from 2015 to 2019 were estimated from stacking-InSAR technology. Subsequently, the three-dimensional deformation rates in the north–south, east–west, and vertical directions were separated through the integration of GNSS-derived horizontal deformation and InSAR-derived LOS deformation. After that, the long-wavelength tectonic deformation was decomposed from the separated vertical deformation based on the spherical wavelet multiscale approach. Finally, the slip rate and locking depth were inverted for the assessment of the seismic hazard and tectonic activity of the Weihe Fault. The results show that the separated vertical deformation is consistent with the leveling observations, where the standard deviation between them is 1.69 mm/yr and the mean value is 0.6 mm/yr, demonstrating the reliability of the proposed method. The decomposed long-wavelength tectonic deformation exhibits uplift in the north and subsidence in the south, as well as the obvious vertical velocity gradient. The inversion result shows that the slip rate of the Weihe Fault gradually decreases from the west to the east, and the dip gradually increases from the west to the east, indicating a segmented activity and the geometric characteristics of the fault. The locking depth of the Weihe Fault gradually increases from the west (~5 km) to the east (~14 km), implying a higher stress accumulation and seismic risk on the eastern section of the fault. Taking into account the higher locking depth and frequent historical earthquakes on the eastern section of the Weihe Fault, further attention should be paid to the earthquake risk of the eastern section of the Weihe Fault.

Historical earthquake records in the Weihe Basin, central China and new insights for geothermal genesis

“…The plausible heat sources include frictional heat within fracture zones and heat from the mantle. Geodetic data, including GPS and satellite data, reveal that the blocks surrounding the Weihe Basin have a velocity of about 10 mm/yr, characterized by ongoing eastward horizontal motion (Hao et al, 2016;Wang and Shen, 2020;Tian et al, 2023). The vertical velocity field, derived from the remote sensing data, indicates the maximum subsidence and uplift both occurred over the Weihe Basin at rates of approximately −146 and 20 mm/yr, respectively (Qu et al, 2022).…”

Impact of precipitation on Beishan landslide deformation from 1986 to 2023

“…Deforming slopes with the west and east aspects are easier to detect by Sentinel-1A SAR images of ascending and descending orbits, respectively. The InSAR method is sensitive to the vertical deformation but not sensitive to the north-south deformation (Chen et al, 2023;Tian et al, 2023). In theory, InSAR cannot detect moving slopes with aspects to SAR tracks.…”