Constrained gravity inversion unravels the Moho depth and tectonic patterns in China and its adjacent areas

The Mohorovicic discontinuity (Moho) boundary separating the Earth’s crust and mantle reflects the evolutionary trajectory of the Earth’s crust, yielding crucial insights into crustal formation, tectonic evolution, and profound dynamic processes. However, the prevailing Moho models for China and its adjacent areas suffer from limited accuracy, owing to the irregular and sparse distribution of seismic data collection. In this study, we employ gravimetric data to derive Moho depth, and employ Bott’s regularization method, integrating gravity and seismic data to reconstruct the Moho structure with high precision in a three-dimensional framework across China and its adjacent areas. By optimizing gravity potential field separation and interface inversion techniques, we present a detailed and accurate zoning scheme for classifying China and its adjacent areas into 35 gradient belts, 6 primary tectonic units, and 35 secondary tectonic units, based on the spatial distribution characteristics of the Moho discontinuity. Notably, our tectonic pattern division results surpass previous studies in terms of resolution, providing a wealth of tectonic information. Leveraging the Moho depth model of China and its adjacent areas, we discuss orogenic belts, sedimentary basins, fault systems, plate boundaries, and land−sea coupled tectonic patterns. We meticulously summarize the Moho depth distribution characteristics of each tectonic unit, while exploring the macrostructural framework and geological significance of the study area. Our findings highlight the close relationship between China and its adjacent areas Moho depth model and deep geodynamics, elucidating the tectonic evolution both between and within tectonic plates, as well as the tectonic effects induced by mantle dynamics. These insights have crucial implications for the study of deep geodynamics in China and its adjacent areas.