Reflection (computer programming)

Tectonics

Mantle (geology)

Lithosphere

Collision zone

Computer science

Craton

Seismology

Geology

Paleontology

Low-velocity zone

Mathematics

Block (permutation group theory)

Crust

Geometry

Programming language

Journal of Geodynamics

In this study, we analyse and interpret a new seismic reflection profile across the Xuefengshan Belt (XFSB), South China, to determine the deep structure of this belt and provide insights into collisional orogenic architecture. We identify a deep regional fault located beneath the XFSB, which cuts through the reflection Moho below the belt and is interpreted as representing the collisional boundary between the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks along the southeastern margin of the belt. We identify structural evidence for collision between the two blocks, including two groups of layered narrow slip belts (∼30 km) in the middle crust, one distributed in the Yangtze Block and the other in the Cathaysia Block. A narrow velocity-gradient belt in the upper mantle at a depth of ∼90 km is revealed by numerous strong seismic reflectors, some of which are layered. The study provides important new information on the lithospheric structure of the South China Block at the interface between the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks.

Lithospheric structure of the xuefengshan belt, South China: Evidence from a seismic reflection profile