Abstract:

The Weinan Tableland Piedmont fault is an important near-EW-trending Holocene active fault in the southeastern margin of the Weihe Basin, which is closely related to the occurrence of the 1556 Huaxian M8 earthquake. The northern branch of the fault, the northern branch fault in front of the Weinan tableland, passes through the urban area of Weinan. Therefore, finding out the distribution, shallow structure, late Quaternary activity, and seismic capacities of the northern branch fault are of great significance for local earthquake prevention and reduction. The Weihua fault zone, which is composed of F₁ and F₂ faults, generally strikes near east-west and has a gentle wave shape on the plane. It is a group of active normal faults rising in the south and descending in the north belt one. The Wei-Hua fault zone can be divided into two segments, east and west, and according to its spatial location and geometric distribution, strike change and the difference in geology and landforms on both sides. The eastern section is distributed in front of Huashan Mountain and is called Huashan Piedmont Fault(F₂); the western section is distributed in Piedmont of Weinan tableland and is called Weinan Piedmont Fault(F₁). There is a large sub-parallel branch fault about 2km to the north of the Piedmont Weinan tableland fault(F₁)in the west section, which is called the branch fault on the north side of the Piedmont Weinan tableland. It is also the boundary fault between the Weinan tabland and the Gushi Sag. The Weinan tableland Piedmont Fault(F₁)starts from the Weinan Xihekou in the west and extends eastwards through the Fenghe River to Mayukou, Huaxian County, with a length of about 54km; it strikes NWW from the Mayukou to Chishui River, and nearly EW from the Chishui River to the Fenghe River, the west of the Minhe River is NE to NEE, and it is mostly distributed in the form of broken lines or oblique rows. The fault plane dips northward with a dip angle of 60°~70°. The latest activity of the fault is manifested in the latest terraces and alluvial-pluvial fans faulting the Holocene strata, river valleys, and gullies; along the main fault, and a series of stepped normal faults on the north and south sides, a Holocene steep ridge belt with a width of between tens of meters and hundreds of meters, the Holocene strata are vertically faulted by 6~7m, and the vertical slip rate since the Late Pleistocene is about 0.29mm/a. In this paper, the shallow location and structural characteristics of the branch fault on the north side of the front of the Weinan tableland are determined through the combined profile detection of shallow seismic exploration and drilling, and evidence of the new activity of the fault is provided. The shallow seismic exploration results of the four survey lines all reveal the existence of a branch fault on the northern side of the front of the Weinan tableland, as well as the distribution location and cross-sectional structural characteristics of the fault new understanding. The results show that the branch fault on the north side of the Weinan Tableland Piedmont fault is a parallel branch of the main fault in front of the Weinan tabland. The branch fault on the north side of the front of the Weinan tableland is located at the front edge of the second-level terrace of the Weihe River in front of the Weinan tableland. The south end of the road, the mouth of the river, Zhangbaozi, and the outside of the north gate, have a length of at least 22km. The main section of the fault is inclined to the north, with a dip angle of about 70°~80° and a break distance of 6~20m at the upper breaking point, so it is a normal fault. Mainly concealed active faults, which have at least faulted the strata from the Middle Pleistocene to the late Pleistocene in the upward direction. In the four seismic sections, it appears as a normal fault zone with a width of 200~1 800m, including the main and secondary normal faults. Stepped structures and small grabens; secondary faults also fault up at least the Late Pleistocene strata. The combined geological profile of the Chongye Road borehole revealed that the main fault on the north side of the Weinan tableland had been faulted with many landmark strata of the Late Quaternary, and the latest fault occurred after 19ka; the average vertical activity rate since the middle of the Late Pleistocene between 0.07~0.26mm/a. Combined with phenomena such as fault ridges developed along the surface of the fault, it is judged that the fault was active in the Holocene. The branch fault on the north side of the front of the Weinan tableland has had strong activity since the late Quaternary, which means that the fault, as one of the branches of the southeastern boundary zone of the Weihe fault basin-the Weihua fault zone-obviously bears part of the deformation of the belt At the same time, the fault is located in the historically strong earthquake-prone area of the southeastern boundary of the Weihe fault basin, and it cannot be ruled out that it once participated in the rupture of the 1556 Huaxian M8 earthquake. Considering that the branch fault on the north side of the Weinan tableland passes through the urban area of Weinan, its potential seismic hazard and hazard are urgent research topics.

Key words: Southeast margin of Weihe Basin, the north branch fault in front of Weinan Tableland, fault activity, shallow seismic surveying, the combined geological profile of the borehole

摘要：

渭南塬前断裂是渭河盆地东南缘一条重要的近EW向的全新世活动断裂, 与1556年华县8级特大地震的发生密切相关。该断裂的北分支--渭南塬前北侧分支断层通过渭南市区, 查明该北侧分支断层的展布、浅部结构、晚第四纪活动性以及发震能力, 对于当地的防震减灾工作具有重要意义。文中通过浅层地震和钻孔联合剖面探测, 结合地面地质调查, 对渭南塬前北侧分支断层的展布、结构特征以及晚第四纪活动性开展研究。4条测线的浅层地震勘探揭示渭南塬前北侧分支断层与渭南塬前断裂平行展布, 两者呈阶梯状正断层结构关系。渭南塬前北侧分支断层错断多套第四纪地层, 显示出生长型正断层特征; 可识别的上断点埋深为95m以浅, 晚更新统的垂直错距为16~20m; 在剖面上表现为宽200~1 800m的次级断陷带, 具有阶梯状正断层和小型地堑结构。钻孔联合地质剖面揭示渭南塬前北侧分支断层距今19ka以来仍有活动, 晚更新世中期以来的平均垂直运动速率为0.07~0.26mm/a。结合地表的断层陡坎和断错地貌现象判定, 渭南塬前北侧分支断层与渭南塬前主断层同样具有较强的晚更新世-全新世活动性, 不能排除渭南塬前北侧分支断层曾经参与1556年华县8级大地震破裂的可能性, 亟需针对其潜在地震危险性和危害性开展相关研究。

关键词: 渭河盆地东南缘, 渭南塬前北侧分支断层, 断层活动性, 浅层地震勘探, 钻孔联合剖面探测