Lithospheric structure and geodynamics in China and its adjacent areas

Abstract：The continent of China and its adjacent land and sea areas were formed by convergence of a number of small plates and blocks since the Late Paleozoic. In the Mesozoic, in eastern Asia the lithosphere underwent extension, breakup and thinning and the asthenosphere upwelled, forming a giant rift system; whereas in western Asia India-Eurasia collision in the Paleocene resulted in crustal shortening and uplift, forming the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Himalaya orogenic belt. Data of seismic and explosion seismic surveys and other geoscience data obtained from continental China and its adjacent areas have been inverted by multidisciplinary means. The changes in characteristics and thickness of the lithosphere, crust and sediment layers have been studied and a series of maps compiled to discuss the characteristics and geodynamics of the lithosphere beneath continental China and its land and sea areas.