The lithospheric thinning of the North China Craton inferred from Rayleigh waves inversion

Abstract

Joint inversion of interstation phase and group velocity dispersion data of Rayleigh waves provides the regional shear-wave velocity structure of the lithosphere across the central and eastern block of the North China Craton (NCC). Both the velocity dispersion curves and Vs structure show strong lateral variation across the NCC, which correlates well with the regional tectonic evolution. At the lower crustal level, the characteristics of Vs structure reveal differences in composition of the two blocks. In the upper mantle, the lithospheric removal in the eastern NCC is more severe than in the central NCC. The Vs differences between the central NCC and the eastern NCC imply that multistage reactivation of the NCC occurred in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic time.