Article Geology Quantitative study of tectonic geomorphology along Haiyuan fault based on airborne LiDAR Tao Chen • Pei Zhen Zhang • Jing Liu • Chuan You Li • Zhi Kun Ren • Kenneth W. Hudnut Received: 24 September 2013 / Accepted: 23 January 2014 / Published online: 22 February 2014 Ó Science China Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014 Abstract High-precision and high-resolution topography are the fundamental data for active fault research. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) presents a new approach to build detailed digital elevation models effectively. We take the Haiyuan fault in Gansu Province as an example of how LiDAR data may be used to improve the study of active faults and the risk assessment of related hazards. In the eastern segment of the Haiyuan fault, the Shaomayin site has been comprehensively investigated in previous research because of its exemplary tectonic topographic features. Based on unprecedented LiDAR data, the horizontal and vertical coseismic offsets at the Shaomayin site are described. The measured horizontal value is about 8.6 m, and the vertical value is about 0.8 m. Using prior dating ages sampled from the same location, we estimate the horizontal slip rate as 4.0 ± 1.0 mm/a with high confidence and define that the lower bound of the vertical slip rate is 0.4 ± 0.1 mm/a since the Holocene. LiDAR data can repeat the measurements of field work on quantifying offsets of tectonic landform fea- tures quite well. The offset landforms are visualized on an office computer workstation easily, and specialized software may be used to obtain displacement quantitatively. By combining precious chronological results, the fundamental link between fault activity and large earthquakes is better recognized, as well as the potential risk for future earthquake hazards. Keywords Airborne LiDAR Á Active fault Á Quantitative tectonic geomorphology Á Coseismic offset Á Cumulative offset Á Slip rate 1 Introduction Since the early twentieth century, seismogeology has expe- rienced macroscopic to microcosmic and developed from qualitative to quantitative. Today, the accurate quantization study of the active fault becomes much more important whether in basic research, such as fault activity research and tectonic deformation evolution, or in practical applications, such as the recurrence probability of strong shock and seis- mic safety evaluation. However, usually considerable uncertainty is associated with two critical quantitative parameters of the active fault: the measurement of dis- placement and the geologic age. This uncertainty has seri- ously limited the development of seismogeology basic research and engineering application. The geochronology technique has developed rapidly with the progress of geo- chemical analysis in past decades. For example, we are able to determine exposure or burial age from the concentration of cosmogenic nuclides in exposed rocks or burial materials near the surface [1–6]. In the meantime, space geodesy has also made significant achievements. As the most promising technique since Global Positioning System (GPS) was launched, airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM), also known as light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technique, provides high-resolution topographic data that can contrib- ute significantly to a better land surface representation and T. Chen Á P. Z. Zhang (&) Á J. Liu Á C. Y. Li Á Z. K. Ren State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100029, China e-mail: peizhen@ies.ac.cn T. Chen National Earthquake Infrastructure Service, Beijing 100036, China K. W. Hudnut United States Geological Survey, Pasadena, CA 91106, USA 123 Chin. Sci. Bull. (2014) 59(20):2396–2409 csb.scichina.com DOI 10.1007/s11434-014-0199-4 www.springer.com/scp