Characterizing micro-displacements on active faults in the Gobi Desert with
time-series InSAR
time-series InSAR
File(s)applsci-12-04222.pdf (20.51 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
This research investigates small-scale tectonic activity in the Jiujing region in Beishan, northwest China through the application of persistent scatterer (PS) Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR). PS InSAR is an effective monitoring tool in this unpopulated, arid, and unvegetated rural area, whose surface geology is dominated by a single large granitic intrusion, and which represents a candidate site for a geological disposal facility (GDF) for high-level radioactive waste (HLW) in China. This research demonstrates that faults F16-2, F17, F18, and F20-2 are still active, producing dip-slip motions along the fault planes. The lithological variations in weathering and erosion can be discounted as the cause for these small-scale displacement variations. The work has also identified 11 previously unknown faults, characterising them from vertical (DU) and eastward horizontal (DE) displacements along and across the faults. These newly discovered structures demonstrate how PS InSAR can be used to monitor and measure micro-scale movements on regional-scale faults, which, in many cases, were previously considered to be inactive. Thus, this also improves our understanding of local stress regimes in this area. The Jiujing region is part of a convergent fault zone dominated by NE-SW compression, leading to NE-SW crustal shortening and NW-SE elongation. Through determination of the sense of ground movement measured at irregularly distributed PS points, some faults are reverse and trending NW-SE, while others are normal and trending NE-SW, highlighting how InSAR can be used to resolve fault type and relative movements to monitor tectonic fault blocks at a regional scale.
Date Issued
2022-05-01
Date Acceptance
2022-04-15
Citation
Applied Sciences-Basel, 2022, 12 (9), pp.1-24
ISSN
2076-3417
Publisher
MDPI AG
Start Page
1
End Page
24
Journal / Book Title
Applied Sciences-Basel
Volume
12
Issue
9
Copyright Statement
© 2022 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000796183200001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Technology
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Physics, Applied
Chemistry
Engineering
Materials Science
Physics
time-series InSAR
geological disposal facility (GDF)
persistent scatterer (PS)
convergent fault zone
Gobi Desert
Beishan
micro-displacements
granite
wrench fault
structural geology
MONITORING LAND SUBSIDENCE
APERTURE RADAR INTERFEROMETRY
PERMANENT SCATTERERS
COSMOGENIC NUCLIDES
EROSION RATES
BE-10
AL-26
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 4222
Date Publish Online
2022-04-22