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Songyuan is the most earthquake prone area in northeast China. Since 2006, earthquakes have occurred in the area in the form of swarms, with a maximum magnitude of M L5.8. There is much controversy about the cause of the Songyuan earthquakes. We attempted to determine the cause using a three-dimensional electrical conductivity structure inverted from a regional network of magnetotelluric data in the Songyuan area. The L-BFGS inversion method was applied, with a full-impedance tensor data set used as the inversion input. Combined with an evaluation of the earthquake locations, the resistivity model revealed a northeast-oriented hidden fault running through the Songyuan earthquake area (SEA), which was speculated to be the preexisting Fuyu-Zhaodong Fault (FZF). Our resistivity model also found an apparent lithospheric low-resistivity anomaly beneath the earthquake area, which breached the high-resistivity lithospheric mantle and stalled at the base of the crust. A petrophysical analysis showed that this lower crustal low-resistivity anomaly was most likely attributed to hydrated partial melting, which could release water into the lower crust during later magma emplacements. While weakening the strength of the FZF, these ascending fluids also increased the pore pressure in the fault, further reducing the shear strength of the fault. Shear stress action (a fault strike component of the east-west regional compress), together with possible near-surface disturbances, may drive the fault to slip and trigger the earthquakes in Songyuan. It is possible that the continuous replenishment of fluids from the deeper mantle forces the Songyuan earthquakes into the form of swarms. We infer that the Songyuan earthquakes could be attributed to a combination of preexisting faults, regional stress, and deep fluids associated with plate subduction, and near surface disturbances might induce the earthquakes in advance. The Songyuan earthquakes are inherently induced earthquakes, fed by deep fluids.

The three-dimensional (3-D) electrical structure of the upper-mantle was used to examine the deep origins of and relationship among the Cenozoic volcanoes located in Northeast China (NEC). High-quality, long-period magnetotelluric (LMT) full-impedance tensor data were collected in NEC and subjected to 3-D Gauss-Newton inversion in order to construct a resistivity model. The resulting model reveals the presence of multiple localized low-resistivity anomalies (LRAs) within the high resistivity lithosphere beneath NEC. These LRAs partially coincide with Cenozoic volcanoes on the surface. Three LRAs that form a larger, annular LRA were observed in the deep upper mantle beneath the Songliao Basin, whereas vein-like LRAs were found in the asthenosphere that connect the lithosphere and deep upper mantle. Petrophysical analyses suggest that the LRAs may have been caused by fluid-induced melting. Based on our electrical model, we propose that, following dehydration of the subducted Western Pacific slab into the mantle transition zone (MTZ) beneath NEC, the released water migrated upward and caused partial melting at the top of the MTZ beneath the Songliao Basin. Under the effect of buoyancy, the melted mantle formed a thermal upwelling that caused melting of asthenosphere before diapiring at the base of the dry lithosphere. The magma then penetrated structural boundaries (such as thinner, weaker, or activated suture zones) and finally reached the Earth’s surface. This melting and upwelling of hot mantle materials may have resulted in large-scale volcanism in the region throughout the Cenozoic, including the eruption of Changbai Mountain and Halaha Volcanoes. Our results suggest that the Cenozoic NEC volcanoes may all share a similar mode of genesis, and probably originated from the annular LRA in the deep upper mantle.