Distinct lithospheric structure in the Xing'an-Mongolian orogenic belt

Abstract

Detailed knowledge of the lithospheric structure is essential for a better understanding of the tectonic evolution of the Xing'an-Mongolian Orogenic Belt (XMOB). We constrained the lithospheric structure across the XMOB by receiver function imaging and shear wave splitting analysis from a dense seismic array. The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is coherently imaged in different tectonic blocks. The mid-lithospheric discontinuity is also identified at ∼75–100 km depth over the deeper LAB (∼110–130 km) beneath the western side of the North-South Gravity Lineament (NSGL), roughly at the same depth as the LAB beneath the eastern side of the NSGL. The distinct variations in both the lithospheric structure and fast shear-wave polarization direction across the NSGL are likely caused by different tectonic processes in the two sides, indicating that the NSGL might represent the western boundary influenced by the subduction of the (Paleo-)Pacific Plate. Lithosphere thinning in the XMOB is evidenced to have been limited mainly to the east of the NSGL.