Application of apparent stress in earthquake prediction

On the basis of the assumption that ω2 model accords with source displacement spectra of moderate-small shocks, we calculate the apparent stress values of 1 020 moderate-small shocks recorded by the Digital Seismic Network of Yunnan Province by using the low-frequency flat level and corner frequencies. The results show that the apparent stress is of good significance in earthquake prediction. The moderate-small shock with apparent stress larger than 0.9 MPa can be used as a referential index to predict moderate-strong earthquakes in Yunnan area. And its relevant predictability evaluation (R value) has a high confidence level.     

On temporal and spatial distribution of seismic apparent stresses in Yunnan area

Introduction In recent years the study of the digital seismology has made great progress due to the wide use of the broadband digital records. And many fine results of the focal theory have obtained. The focal theory mainly studies the physical process of the seismic fracture and production of the seismic wave, as well as its traveling process. One of the great progresses is to simulate the fracture process in the active fault. Especially a new concept of the fracture mechanics has been intro…     

3-D finite element modeling for evolution of stress field and interaction among strong earthquakes in Sichuan-Yuannan region

Based on the latest achievement about activities of geological structure, a 3-D finite-element model containing four layers of upper crust, lower crust (two layers) and upper mantle is established in the paper. By repeated tests and revisions, the boundary conditions of the model are determined. And then the background stress field, the stress field caused by fault creep and the stress field triggered by strong earthquake in Sichuan-Yunnan region, as well as their dynamic variations are calculated. The results indicate that the latter earthquake often occurs in the area with positive Coulomb rupture stress change associated with the former one, the former earthquake has a triggering effect on the latter one to a certain extent, and strong earthquake often occur in groups under the background of high stress, which is of great significance for distinguishing seismic anomalies, as well as for improving the level of earthquake prediction. Foundation item: State Key Basic Research Project (G1998040702) and Key Project of State Science and Technology during the tenth Five-year Plan (2001BA601B02-01-03).     

On seismic strengthening area before strong and great shocks and its mechanism

IntroductionI.thasbeenpayingattentiontotheanomalousphenomenonbyseismologiststhattheearthquakeactivityoftenstrengthensinacertainspaceandduringacertaintimearoundthesourceareabeforeastrongearthquake.Mogi(1969)pointedoutthataringdistributiveareaofthestrengthenedearthquakeactivityoftenappearsaroundthesourcearea10to20yearsbeforegreatshock,whichcalledaringphenomenon(or"doughnut").Afterthat,otherscholarsreportedinsuccessionthatringdistributionofearthquakeactivityoccurredbeforeastrongertquakeorevenbefo…     

Comparison of the spatial distribution of ground motion between main shocks and strong aftershocks

Using the ground motion attenuation relation, we calculated and compared the effective peak acceleration (EPA) generated by main shocks and their strong aftershocks of 21 earthquake sequences with MS≥7 occurred in Chinese mainland and offing of China during 1966~2002. The result shows that EPA of strong aftershocks usually exceed that of main shock for 76.2% earthquake sequences and EPA of more than 50% strong aftershocks are greatly lar-ger than that of main shocks in large area, which suggests that it is necessary to take damage produced by strong aftershock into account in the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis and the seismic design.     

The December 26, 2004, off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, M W=9.0, earthquake and the critical-point-like model of earthquake preparation

Long-term seismic activity prior to the December 26, 2004, off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, M _W=9.0 earthquake was investigated using the Harvard CMT catalogue. It is observed that before this great earthquake, there exists an accelerating moment release (AMR) process with the temporal scale of a quarter century and the spatial scale of 1 500 km. Within this spatial range, the M _W=9.0 event falls into the piece-wise power-law-like frequency-magnitude distribution. Therefore, in the perspective of the critical-point-like model of earthquake preparation, the failure to forecast/predict the approaching and/or the size of this earthquake is not due to the physically intrinsic unpredictability of earthquakes. Foundation item: Ministry of Science and Technology Project (2004CB418406). Contribution No. 05FE3010, Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration.     

Seismic response analysis of arch dam-water-rock foundation systems

The effect of water compressibility on the seismic responses of arch dams is not well understood. In this paper, a numerical model is developed with rigorous representation of the dynamic interaction between arch dam-water-rock foundation. The model is applied to the seismic response a nalysis of an arch dam with a height of 292m designed to aseismic intensity of IX. It is shown that consideration of the water compressibility clearly decreases the stress responses at key positions of the dam, while the added mass model gives a conservative estimate.     

Relocation and seismogenic structure of the 1998 Zhangbei-Shangyi earthquake sequence

Introduction The January 10, 1998 Zhangbei-Shangyi, Hebei Province, earthquake has been the third large event of magnitude 6.0 and greater since the 1976 great Tangshan earthquake of magnitude 7.8 in the northern China (33皛42癗, 110皛124癊). Before this event, there were only two events of magnitude 6.0 and greater occurred in or around the Tangshan area since 1976: the M=6.9 Ninghe, Tianjin, earthquake of November 15, 1976 and the M=6.2 Hangu, Tianjin, earthquake of May 12, 1977. The …     

Study on the earthquake fault of the Lulong M L=6.2 earthquake by precise relocation of aftershock

We have selected 171 near-field records from 391 aftershock records of the Lulong, Hebei Province, earthquake in October 1982 and relocated the hypocenter of 45 aftershocks using the program Hypoinverse. The distribution of aftershocks reveals a set of earthquake faults: a WNW stretching fault truncates two NNE stretching faults. The two branches of faults show the conjugate structure which is often seen in brittle fracture. The NNE stretching faults are connected together. The Luanhe river valley near Lulong developed to a rudiment rift basin surrounded by a series of faults. The fault of Lulong earthquake is a strike-slip fault with tension component. This fault type matches with the activity of Zhangjiakou-Bohai seismic belt (Zhang-Bo belt) and also shows the action of Zhang-Bo belt as a boundary of two secondary active blocks that truncates the NNE fault. Foundation item: National Natural Science Foundation of China (40234038). Contribution No. 05FE3016, Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration.     

Characteristics of foreshock and its identi-fication

Introduction The characteristics of generalized foreshock and direct foreshock and their identification,as well as their application to medium and short-term prediction of strong earthquake is a major study objective in seismometry both in China and abroad.China has made many short-term and imminent earthquake predictions.Among the ones with clear hazard-mitigating effect and social manifestation,direct foreshock has made an obvious contribution,for example,the MS=7.2Menglian earthquake occu…     

A study on the focal parameters of Shidian M =5.9 earthquake sequences in 2001

On the basis of about 300 earthquake wave forms observed in the Shidian M _S=5.9 sequences on April 12, 2001 recorded in Kunming Digital Seismic Network, the spectra of shear wave have been used to estimate the focal parameters of these earthquake sequences. The results show that within the magnitude range of 1.5–5.3, the seismic moments are 10¹⁰–10¹⁶ N·m, the corner frequencies are 0.2–0.8 Hz, radii of the focal rupture are 200–2 500 m and the stress drops are 0.1×10⁵–20×10⁵Pa. Through the statistical analyses of variation of corner frequency f _c and stress drop Δσ with time, it is discovered that the average corner frequency of the foreshock sequences is obviously lower than that of the aftershock sequences. Contrarily, the average stress drops Δσ of the foreshock sequences are clearly higher than that of the aftershocks. It is considered that these variation characteristics of average corner frequency and stress drops before and after the main shock have index significance to the precursory information before a strong earthquake. The higher stress drops for the foreshock sequences show that the higher shear stresses have been stored in the area of main shock. After the main shock, most of the stresses have been released, so the aftershock sequences show a rupture process of lower stresses. Foundation item: Scientific and Technological Key Project of Yunnan Province (2001NG46)     

华北地区第三、 四活动期平静幕后期中强地震活动与未来强震

本文通过分析、 研究华北地区第三、 四活动期各平静幕后期的中强地震活动特征, 认为: ① 华北地区第三、 四活动期9个活跃幕中有7个在首发强震前3年内发生中强地震, 其中第四活动期1～4活跃幕首发强震前2年内都发生了中强地震, 未来第5活跃幕首发强震前, 以发生中强地震作为序幕的可能性较大; ② 华北地区平静幕后期的中强地震活动, 对其后活跃幕首发强震在时间和地点上有一定指示作用。 由于华北地区可能即将进入新的强震活跃幕, 该研究对判断华北地区未来强震趋势具有实用意义。     

A study on relation between acoustic emission and characteristic displacement field on the sample with multi en echelon structures — The theoretic and experimental explorations of strain gap

Based on the phenomena that the deformation gap was observed before the great Tangshang earthquake, this paper discusses the strain gap according to test and theory. The (strain) patterns were recorded photographically by realtime holographic interferometry and shadow optical method of caustics, as soon as the loading process started. In the meantime, the AE (acoustic emission) signals were recorded by a micro crack information storage-analysis system. According to damage theory and location of micro fracture, we have studied the stain gap and gained: a) It is necessary that strain gap appears under the condition of linear elasticity theory, and its situation is relatively stable, corresponding to stress concentration. b) Micro fractures, which appear initially at area of high stress, occur rarely at the strain gap, and their locations are finally in the zone between the stress concentration area and the strain gap, which indicate the clusters or groups. However, the major macro fracture (final rupture) started from the shadow areas, and then grew quickly towards the strain gaps, which resulted in failure of sample. Foundation item: The Dual Project of China Seismological Bureau (9691309020301), the Specialized Funds for National Key Basic Study (G1998040704), the project for the MOST under contract (2001BA601B02) and Youth Funds for applied basic study of the Science and Technology Bureau of Yunnan Province (98D019Q).     

Statistical property of candidate earthquake precursors and its apparent focal mechanism dependence

Statistical properties of reported earthquake precursors show apparent focal mechanism dependence. Intensity of anomaly is described by the ‘anomaly ratio’ as defined by the number of stations/items reporting anomalies before the target earthquake over the number of stations/items in operation around the target earthquake. Variation of the ‘anomaly ratio’ with the magnitude of the target earthquake was studied for dip-slip earthquakes all over China, strike-slip earthquakes in eastern China, and strike-slip earthquakes in western China, respectively. It is observed that for strike-slip earthquakes, the ‘anomaly ratio’ increases linearly with the magnitude of the target earthquake, while earthquakes in eastern China and western China have different slopes. For dip-slip earthquakes, however, the ‘anomaly ratio’ has no statistically significant change with the magnitude of the target earthquake. Limited data imply that the ‘anomaly ratio’ seems proportional to the apparent stress of the target earthquake. The result might be heuristic for the analysis of candidate earthquake precursors. Foundation item: National Natural Science Foundation of China (40274013) and MOST Project (2001BA601B02). Contribution No.04FE1020, Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration.     

新疆两次强震前后地震视应力变化

选取了喀什数字地震台记录的喀什及周边地区地震的宽频带波形资料,分析处理了2001～2005年Ms 3.5以上地震164次,通过数字地震波谱计算了标量地震矩和地震辐射能量,从而进行了视应力的计算.给出了巴楚-伽师Ms 6.8和乌什Ms 6.3强震前后视应力的时序变化情况,发现其视应力均表现出震前低应力阶段-主震前的逐渐上升-震后逐渐恢复的动态变化过程,即地震的孕震-发震-震后调整的阶段性变化特征.这一结果可为喀什及周边地区今后进行地震预测预报研究提供参考依据,对该区开展数字地震方面的研究也有所帮助.     

Study on a gravity precursor mode of the Ms=7.0 Lijiang earthquake

To study the seismogeny process or the precursory behavior of the 1976Ms=7.0 Lijiang earthquake,we analyze the repeat gravity data with high precision from the Westem Yunnan Earthquake Prediction Experiment Area(WYEPEA)and the relted results of geology and geophysics survey in this paper.Considering the gross errors caused by observation data and model difference,we have firstly inverted the slip distribution of the main active faults with time based on the robust Bayesian least squares estimation and multi-fault dislocation model.The re-sults show that the slip changes of the faults with time from 1990to 1997obviously reflect the preparation process of the Lijiang earthquake.The images of main precursor mode have the characteristic of main shock-after shock type,which is agreement to the model of coupling movement tetween crust density and crust deformation(DD mode of coupling movement).     

Seismic characteristics near the epicenter of the 1303 Hongtong M=8 earthquake, Shanxi Province and its implication

In this paper, we calculated the seismic pattern of instrumental recorded small and moderate earthquakes near the epicenter of the 1303 Hongtong M=8 earthquake, Shanxi Province. According to the spatial distribution of small and moderate earthquakes, 6 seismic dense zones are delineated. Temporal distribution of ML≥2 earthquakes since 1970 in each seismic dense zone has been analyzed. Based on temporal distribution characteristics and historical earthquake activity, three types of seismicities are proposed. The relationship between seismic types and crustal medium is analyzed. The mechanism of three types is discussed. Finity of strong earthquake recurrence is proposed. Seismic hazard in mid-long term and diversity of earthquake disaster in Shanxi seismic belt are discussed.     

Spatial distribution features of sequence types of moderate and strong earthquake in Chinese mainland

Introduction Through studying ″foreshock″ and sequence features of strong earthquakes with focal mechanism of strike-slip or thrust occurred in the shallow subduction zone or in the continental thrust belt respectively, Reasenberg (1999) suggested that precursory representation and the se- quence features are related tightly to the rupture mechanism of the mainshock. This implies that the rupture pattern of the mainshock is probably one of the important factors affecting the features of afte…     

Evolution of cumulative Coulomb failure stress in northeastern Qinghai-Xizang （Tibetan） Plateau and its effect on large earthquake occurrence

We simulate accumulative Coulomb failure stress change in a layered Maxwell viscoelastic media in the north-eastern Qinghai-Xizang(Tibetan)Plateau since 1920.Lithospheric stress/strain evolution is assumed to be drivenby dislocations of large earthquakes(M≥7.0)and secular tectonic loading.The earthquake rupture parameters suchas the fault rupture length,width,and slip are either adopted from field investigations or estimated from their sta-tistic relationships with the earthquake magnitudes and seismic moments.Our study shows that among 20 largeearthquakes(M≥7.0)investigated,17 occurred in areas where the Coulomb failure stress change is positive,with atriggering rate of 85%.This study provides essential data for the intermediate to long-term likelihood estimation oflarge earthquakes in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.     

Numerical simulation of dynamic Coulomb stress changes induced by M 6.5 earthquake in Wuding, Yunnan and its relationship with aftershocks

Based on the discrete wavenumber method, we calculate the fields of dynamic Coulomb rupture stress changes and static stress changes caused by M6.5 earthquake in Wuding, and study their relationship with the subsequent aftershocks. The results show that the spatial distribution patterns of the positive region of dynamic stress peak value and static stress peak value are similarly asymmetric, which are basically identical with distribution features of aftershock. The dynamic stress peak value and the static stress in the positive region are more than 0.1 MPa and 0.01 MPa of the triggering threshold, respectively, which indicates that the dynamic and static stresses are helpful for the occurrence of aftershock. This suggests that both influences of dynamic and static stresses should be considered other than only either of them when studying aftershock triggering in near field. Foundation item: National Natural Science Foundation of China (40364001) and Joint Seismological Science Foundation of China (605014).