Continental Dynamics of Asia

研究人员建议量化影响亚洲活动变形的大尺度驱动力。他们将使用第四纪断层滑动率观测、全球定位系统（GPS）速度、地形数据和大地水准面（重力）数据来量化受印度-欧亚大陆碰撞影响的所有地区的应变率和应力的大小和类型。这项工作的目的是在大尺度上整合建模和观测，在这种情况下，GPS站之间的距离是地壳或整个岩石圈厚度的数量级。大部分GPS数据将由中国的同事提供（以矢量形式）。尽管研究人员将使用现有的GPS速度矢量来帮助约束动态模型，但这项研究的一个目标是确定未来需要大地测量观测（或在现有地点进行精确测量）的区域，以便测试其他构造假设。研究人员将使用一种新的方法，分别量化与岩石圈（近场）和构造板块相互作用（远场）密度差异相关的应力场贡献。因此，这种方法将导致对碰撞诱发应力和地形应力的相对作用的新认识。应变积累和应力状态的量化将有助于地震危险性分析。此外，对亚洲大陆动力学的研究将有助于深入了解影响美国太平洋-北美板块边界带的动力学性质。

Holt 9909621 The investigators propose to quantify the large-scale driving forces influencing active deformation in Asia. They will use observations of Quaternary Fault slip rates, Global Positioning System (GPS) velocities, topography data, and geoid (gravity) data to quantify the magnitude and style of strain rates and stresses within all areas influenced by the India-Eurasia continental collision. This work is designed to integrate both modeling and observations on a large scale, in which case distances between GPS stations are of the order of the thickness of the crust or the entire lithosphere. Much of the GPS data will be supplied (in vector form) by colleagues in China. Although the investigators will use available GPS velocity vectors to help constrain dynamic models, one objective in this research is to identify regions where future geodetic observations (or refined measurements at existing sites) are needed in order to test alternative tectonic hypotheses. The investigators will use a new methodology in which the stress field contributions associated with density differences within the lithosphere (near-field) and tectonic plate interaction (far-field) are quantified separately. This method should thus lead to new understanding about the relative role of collision-induced stresses and stresses that result from topography. The quantification of strain accumulation and the state of stress will be useful in seismic hazard analysis. Furthermore, the investigation of continental dynamics within Asia will yield insight into the nature of the dynamics affecting the Pacific-North American plate boundary zone in the United States.