DEEP MANTLE FLOW, GLOBAL TECTONIC PATTERN AND THE BACKGROUND OF SEISMIC STRESS FIELD IN CHINA

In this paper we investigate the sources of two kinds of forces to form the stress field in the lithosphere. They are the drag force caused by mantle flow and the force system along plate boundaries. The results show that both forces control the basic stress pattern in China and the computed main compressive stresses can fit with the stress patterns constructed by focal mechanisms, in - situ stress measurements in boreholes and that deduced from other geophysical and geological observations.