Cover Story
Field photograph of fault scarps in the Qianning segment of the Xianshuihe fault zone. The “Ac-tive Tectonics and Faulting” research team has achieved important results pertaining to the de-formation mechanism of the Longmen Shan and Xianshuihe fault zones. For the first time, this research discovered that large earthquakes formed a pseudotachylyte vein at an extremely shallow depth, which was generated in an un-consolidated, fluid-rich fault gouge. The focal mechanism of a Late Triassic large-magnitude earthquake was determined. This research provides new evidence that there is no mechanism of lower crustal chan-nel-flow extrusion in the eastern Tibetan Plateau and reports a new mechanism for deep fluids to promote local strengthening of weak faults and thus induce earthquakes. The research achieve-ment, led by Professor LI Haibing of the Insti-tute of Geology, CAGS, ranks third among the “Top Ten Sci-tech Progresses of CAGS in 2023”. For details, see pp. 854-870 of this issue. (Photo by WU Qiong)
