Rupture process of the 2021 M7.4 Maduo earthquake and implication for deformation mode of the Songpan-Ganzi terrane in Tibetan Plateau.

The deformation mode of the Tibetan Plateau is of crucial importance for understanding its construction and extrusion processes, as well as for the assessment of regional earthquake potential. Block motion and viscous flow models have been proposed to describe the deformation field but are not fully supported by modern geophysical observations. The 2021 Mw 7.

Transient deformation during the Milashan Tunnel construction in northern Sangri-Cuona Rift, southern Tibet, China observed by Sentinel-1 satellites.

Using 3-year Sentinel-1 C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, we observed prominent ground subsidence around the construction site of the Milashan Tunnel, which is on top of the northern Sangri-Cuona Rift (SCR) in southern Tibet. The most deformed area extends ∼7 km in the north-south direction and ∼6 km in the east-west direction, with a peak subsidence rate of over 10 mm/a in the line of sight direction of both the descending and ascending satellites. Aside from the long-term ground subsidence arising directly from underground water outflow and rock excavation, a regional aseismic fault slip episode is also evident.

GEOMORPHOLOGY. Response to Comment on "Tectonic control of Yarlung Tsangpo Gorge revealed by a buried canyon in Southern Tibet".

In their Comment, Zeitler et al. do not challenge our results or interpretation. Our study does not disprove coupling between tectonic uplift and erosion but suggests that this coupling cannot be the sole explanation of rapid uplift in the Himalayan syntaxes.

Tectonic control of Yarlung Tsangpo Gorge revealed by a buried canyon in Southern Tibet.

The Himalayan mountains are dissected by some of the deepest and most impressive gorges on Earth. Constraining the interplay between river incision and rock uplift is important for understanding tectonic deformation in this region. We report here the discovery of a deeply incised canyon of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, at the eastern end of the Himalaya, which is now buried under more than 500 meters of sediments.

Near-field deformation from the El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake revealed by differential LIDAR.

Large [moment magnitude (M(w)) ≥ 7] continental earthquakes often generate complex, multifault ruptures linked by enigmatic zones of distributed deformation. Here, we report the collection and results of a high-resolution (≥nine returns per square meter) airborne light detection and ranging (LIDAR) topographic survey of the 2010 M(w) 7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake that produced a 120-kilometer-long multifault rupture through northernmost Baja California, Mexico.