Comparison between earthquake magni-tudes determined by China seismograph network and US seismograph network (II): Surface wave magnitude

Introduction Earthquake magnitude is the most common measure of an earthquake′s size,and is one of the basic parameters of an earthquake.There are three most familiar scales of earthquake magnitude:ML(local earthquake magnitude),MS(surface wave magnitude)and mB/mb(body wave magni-tude).Richter(1935)introduced ML when studying earthquakes in Southern California.In1945,Gutenberg(1945a)put forward surface wave magnitude scale to determine earthquake magnitude(MS)using surface waves(20s)of s…     

Comparison between different earthquake magnitudes determined by China Seismograph Network

By linear regression and orthogonal regression methods, comparisons are made between different magnitudes (lo-cal magnitude ML, surface wave magnitudes MS and MS7, long-period body wave magnitude mB and short-period body wave magnitude mb) determined by Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration, on the basis of observation data collected by China Seismograph Network between 1983 and 2004. Empirical relations between different magnitudes have been obtained. The result shows that: 1 As different magnitude scales reflect radiated energy by seismic waves within different periods, earthquake magnitudes can be described more objectively by using different scales for earthquakes of different magnitudes. When the epicentral distance is less than 1 000 km, local magnitude ML can be a preferable scale; In case M<4.5, there is little difference between the magnitude scales; In case 4.5MS, i.e., MS underestimates magnitudes of such events, therefore, mB can be a better choice; In case M>6.0, MS>mB>mb, both mB and mb underestimate the magnitudes, so MS is a preferable scale for deter-mining magnitudes of such events (6.08.5, a saturation phenomenon appears in MS, which cannot give an accurate reflection of the magnitudes of such large events; 2 In China, when the epicentral distance is less than 1 000 km, there is almost no difference between ML and MS, and thus there is no need to convert be-tween the two magnitudes in practice; 3 Although MS and MS7 are both surface wave magnitudes, MS is in general greater than MS7 by 0.2~0.3 magnitude, because different instruments and calculation formulae are used; 4 mB is almost equal to mb for earthquakes around mB4.0, but mB is larger than mb for those of mB≥4.5, because the periods of seismic waves used for measuring mB and mb are different though the calculation formulae are the same.     

Application of Fisher method to discriminating earthquakes and explosions using criterion m_b/M_S

Introduction Earthquake magnitude is a measurement of earthquake intensity, which is one of the basic seismic parameters. The body-wave magnitude mb and surface-wave magnitude MS are based re- spectively on different wave spectrum amplitudes, therefore, the magnitude used as a criterion has its sound physical basis, which is in fact to distinguish the frequency components of seismic waves excited by explosion and earthquake. The magnitude criterion has a very clear physical meaning. Proposed …     

Study on Source Spectrum for the Yajiang Earthquake Sequence Using S Wave

The source parameters of the Yajiang earthquake sequence are calculated based on spectral analysis of S wave data recorded by the Chengdu Digital Seismic Network. Analysis of the source parameters in different periods are made, The obtained results are : ( 1 ) the relationship between Ms (seismic moment), Mw ( moment magnitude) and ML (local magnitude), which fits the data of Yajiang earthquake sequence; (2) the decreasing corner frequency from 1.4 before the M5.0 earthquake to 1.3 afterwards, and then to 1.2 after the M6.O event; (3) the obvious difference in the source parameters between foreshocks and aftershocks, which may be indicators for earthquake prediction.     

Moment Magnitude and Its Calculation

In this paper, we give a brief introduction to the proposal and development history of the earthquake magnitude concept. Moment magnitude M_W is the best physical quantity for measuring earthquakes. Compared with other magnitude scales used traditionally, moment magnitude is not saturated for all earthquakes, regardless of big and small earthquakes, deep and shallow earthquakes, far field and near field seismic data, geodetic and geological data, moment magnitude can be measured, and can be connected with well-known magnitude scales such as surface wave magnitude M_S. Moment magnitude is a uniform magnitude scale, which is suitable for statistics with wide magnitude range. Moment magnitude is the preferred magnitude selected by the International Seismological community, and it is preferred by the departments responsible for publishing seismic information to the public.Moment magnitude is a uniform magnitude scale, which is suitable for statistics with wide magnitude range. Moment magnitude is a preferred magnitude for international seismology, it is preferred by the agency responsible for providing information about earthquakes to the public. We provide all formulas used in the calculation of moment magnitude, and the calculation steps in detail. We also analyzed some problems and rules to solve these problems by using different formulas and numerical value calculation steps.     

Research on the Probability of Earthquake Occurrence in the Daduhe Drainage Area

This paper applies the Seismic Hazard Analysis method for the cities of China to research on the probability of earthquake occurrence in the Daduhe drainage area, where the cascade dam system is located. This research is based on the potential seismic source scheme of the Seismic Ground Motion Parameter Zonation Map of China （2001）, and uses Poisson distribution as an earthquake occurrence model. Earthquake magnitude obeys truncated exponential distribution. The spatial distribution function of the potential seismic source zone is taken as the first-class spatial probability distribution, and the homogeneous probability distribution in the potential seismic source zone as the second-class spatial probability distribution. Considering the seismic intensity attenuation relationship of western China, we compute the occurrence probability of an earthquake around magnitude 6.0 （5.5 - 6.5）, 7.0 （6.5 - 7.5） and over 7.5 in the Daduhe drainage area, where 22 series cascade dams will be built. The results can be used for hydropower plant planning, hydropower dam site selection and seismic fortification.     

Evaluation of the seismic moment of the April 20, 2013 Lushan earthquake

The April 20, 2013 Lushan earthquake which occurred in Sichuan, China had only moderate thrust. However, the computed seismic moments （M0） for the Lushan earthquake calculated by several institutions differ significantly from 0.4 × 1019 to 1.69 ×019 Nm, up to four times difference. We evaluate ten computed Mos by using normal mode observations from superconducting gravimeters in Mainland China. We compute synthetic normal modes on the basis of moment tensor solutions and fit them to the observed normal modes. Comparison of our results indicates that Mo is the main cause for some large differences between observations and synthetics. We sug- gest that a moment magnitude of Mw6.6, corresponding to a Mo of 0.97-1.08 × 1019 Nm, characterizes the size and strength of the seismic source of the Lushan earthquake.     

Comparison between earthquake magnitudes determined by China seismograph network and US seismograph networks (I): Body wave magnitude

Introduction Gutenberg (1945a, b) introduced body wave magnitude based on P, PP and S waves (with a period of 0.5~12.0 s) of teleseismic events. Body wave magnitude includes mb determined with short-period seismograph and mB determined with middle- and long-period seismographs. Some-times it is written as m, which is referred to as unified earthquake magnitude. mb represents earth-quake magnitude measured with body wave amplitude around 1 s, while mB represents earthquake magnitude measured …     

2014年2月12日新疆于田MS7.3地震前地震活动特征分析

This paper introduces the geological structure background around the 2014 Yutian Ms7. 3 earthquake area, investigates and analyzes the regime of small earthquake activity and the characteristics of regional seismicity pattern in Xinjiang before the earthquake, and compares the characteristics of the regional seismic activity with the 2008 Yutian Ms7.3 earthquake. The results show： ① 2 ~ 3 years before the 2014 Yutian Ms7. 3 earthquake, Xinjiang was in a seismic active state with strong earthquake occurring successively, and before the 2008 Ms 7. 3 earthquake, Xinjiang was in the quiet state of moderate-small earthquakes with M3. 0 ~ 4. 0. ② Before this Yutian Ms7. 3 earthquake, the regional seismic activity showed a short-term anomaly feature, that is, seismicity of M ≥ 5. 0 earthquakes significantly increased on the Altun seismic zone and in the source area three years before the Ms7.3 earthquake, while a five year long quiescence of seismicity of M ≥4. 0 earthquakes appeared on the east of the source area in a range of about 440kin. Six months before this M7. 3 earthquake, there existed seismic gap of M3. 0 ~ 4. 0 earthquakes and near-conjugate seismic belt magnitude 3. 0 and 4. 0 in the source area. ③ The state of strong earthquake activity and the seismicity pattern of small earthquakes before this Yutian Ms7. 3 earthquake were significantly different to that before the 2008 Yutian Ms7. 3 earthquake, and this may be related to the different seismogenic environments of the two Ms7. 3 earthquakes.     

GNSS在断层形变研究中的应用

Great earthquakes often occur along or near active fault belts. Thus, monitoring and research on fault deformation are quite important. Methods such as short-leveling, short- baseline and integrated monitoring profile across fault belts have been used to monitor fault activities for many years. GNSS observations are mainly used to obtain the horizontal velocity field in large areas and to study the activities and deformation of major blocks. GNSS technology has been used to monitor and study the deformation of faults from a different aspects, In this paper, some applications and new explorations of GNSS are discussed. They are： （1） Research and monitoring of strike-slip activities of faults with GNSS. （2） Research and monitoring of vertical activities of faults with GNSS. （3） Investigating the laws of deformation of blocks on the sides of fault zone and setting up strain models to deduce the activities and deformation of faults with respective models and compare the deduced results with the actual measurements across fault. It is concluded that a larger discrepancy between the deduced and the observed deformation indicates a stronger interaction between the blocks, which can be important for predicting the location of a strong earthquake and assessing seismic hazard, as well as the seismicity trend.     

应对汶川特大地震波及乐山事件的做法及思考

2008年5月12日汶川8.0级地震是有史以来对乐山市波及范围最广、人员伤亡最多、经济损失最大、社会影响最强烈的地震。本文回顾了近几年乐山市在地震应急准备方面所做的工作和汶川特大地震波及乐山后的应急工作,认为坚持不懈地抓好地震应急准备是做好大地震之后应急工作的重要前提,及时有效地开展应急工作是防震减灾部门的重要职责,震后恢复重建中防震减灾部门可以发挥重要作用。     

汶川8.0级地震前龙门山断裂带孕震构造运动特征分析?

On the basis of elastic rebound theory, using the horizontal velocity field of the Chinese mainland calculated from GPS data during three observation periods from 1999 to 2007, the velocity components that are parallel and plumb to the fault zone are calculated respectively for different periods, and then relative ground movements of two sides of the fault zone are analyzed with power function fitting and graphics. The results show that the relative ground movement shows right-lateral shear deformation before the Wenchuan Ms8. 0 earthquake, and at the same time the movement was hindered by the Longmenshan fault zone. Thus, this result has positive significance for distinguishing the elastic strain energy accumulation and deformation anomaly in an earthquake preparation process, and for conducting further research on earthquake prediction.     

2013 年芦山MS7.0 地震前甘孜台地电阻率变化分析

A trend increase in apparent resistivity has been observed in the N30°E monitoring direction at Garze Seismic Station since July 2011. This increase trend in geo-electric resistivity has been observed in the N60°W direction since 2012. During the period of the increase, the national highway No.317 was expanded in the monitoring area, so the potential electrodes in the N30°E direction had to be moved 10m towards the current electrodes. We interpreted the electric sounding data of Garz6 Seismic Station with a horizontally layered model. Analysis based on this model showed that the shift of potential electrodes can cause a 4 l-l.m rise to the measurements in the N30°E direction. Therefore, apparent resistivity of the two directions increased in the same time in 2012 after offsetting the effects from electrodes shift. Sensitivity coefficients of the two observation directions were also obtained using the model. Sensitivity coefficients of both directions were negative for the shallow layers, which can well explain the unexpected annual variations of Garze Seismic Station. In order to quantitatively analyze the effects from the expansion of the national highway on the observation, we constructed a finite element model based on the electrical structure. Analysis results also suggested that the expansion of the national highway could only cause a 0. 15 Ω·m decrease in the N60°W monitoring direction and 0. 1 Ω· m increase in the N30°E direction. Additionally, the valley values of annual variation of 2013 were distinctively higher than that of other years since 2008, meaning that there was an abnormal rise in apparent resistivity in the two observation directions at Garz~ Seismic Station before the Lushan earthquake. However, the rise was contrary to the decline variation before the Wenchuan earthquake. Therefore, it is still unsure whether or not the rise variation is related to the Lushan earthquake.     

Study on Holocene Paleoearthquakes in Xizhang Trench on the Jiaocheng Fault Zone,Shanxi Province

Xizhang trench is located 10 km northwest of Taiyuan city, Shanxi Province, in front of a NNW-trending scarp of 4.6m height on the northern segment of the Jiaocheng fault zone. The dimensions of the trench are 108m in length, 8m in width, and 10m in depth. There are 18 horizons revealed in the trench. The upper strata are sandy loam; the upper strata of the downthrown block of the fault are gravels, the lower ones are an interbed of brown loam and sandy loam. The strata on the upthrown block of the fault are sandy loam containing gravel. The trench shows 3 fault planes, and the upper offset point on the fault plane is 1.5m below the ground surface, the newest dislocated stratum is （3.74±0.06） ka BP. The trench reveals a lot of deformation traces, such as fault planes, dislocated strata, colluvial wedges and formation tilting. The relationship between strata and faults in the trench shows that 3 paleoearthquake events have occurred at the Jiaocheng fault zone since the Early Holocene, they are about （3.74±0.06）- （3.06±0.26）ka BP, （8.35±0.09）ka- （3.74±0.06）ka BP, and（ 10.66±0.85） - （8.35±0.09）ka BP. The average interval among the events is 2.6 - 3.6ka. The minimum coseismic vertical displacements of the 3 events are 3.0m, 2.5m and 3.2m, respectively. The significance of Xizhang trench is that the Jiaocheng fault used to be active thousands of years ago, though there is no M ≥ 7.0 earthquake recorded in historical documents. Evidence of new Jiaocheng fault zone activity during the Holocene is important for the earthquake safety assessment of Taiynan city in the future.     

Research on the Application of Time Structure Variation Analysis to the Jiashi-Bachu Earthquake Swarm Sequence

In 1997 - 2003, 27 earthquakes with M≥ 5.0 occurred in the Jiashi-Bachu area of Xinjiang. It was a rare strong earthquake swarm activity. The earthquake swarm has three time segments of activity with different magnitudes in the years 1997, 1998 and 2003. In different time segments, the seismic activity showed strengthenin-qguiet changes in various degrees before earthquakes with M ≥ 5.0. In order to delimitate effectively the precursory meaning of the clustering （strengthening） quiet change in sequence and to seek the time criterion for impending prediction, the nonlinear characteristics of seismic activity have been used to analyze the time structure characteristics of the earthquake swarm sequence, and further to forecast the development tendency of earthquake sequences in the future. Using the sequence catalogue recorded by the Kashi Station, and taking the earthquakes with Ms≥ 5.0 in the sequence as the starting point and the next earthquake with Ms = 5.0 as the end, statistical analysis has been performed on the time structure relations of the earthquake sequence in different stages. The main results are as follows： （1） Before the major earthquakes with M ≥ 5.0 in the swarm sequence, the time variation coefficient （δ-value） has abnormal demonstrations to different degrees. （2） Within 10 days after δ= 1, occurrence of earthquakes with M ≥ 5.0 in the swarm is very possible. （3） The time variation coefficient has three types of change. （4） The change process before earthquakes with M5.0 is similar to that before earthquakes with M6.0, with little difference in the threshold value. In the earthquake swarm sequence, it is difficult to delimitate accurately the attribute of the current sequences （foreshock or aftershock sequence） and to judge the magnitude of the follow-up earthquake by δ-value. We can only make the judgment that earthquakes with M5.0 are likely to occur in the sequence. （5） The critical clustering characteristics of the sequence are hierarchical. Onl     

新疆喀什-乌恰交汇区地震活动潮汐触发的统计检验

A statistical analysis on earthquake activity in the Kashi-Wuqia intersection area triggered by earth tide is done by Schuster＇s test and the Permutation test on daily and monthly scales. The north-south, east-west component of the tidal force and tidal body stress are chosen as the tidal curve in the daily scale. The results show that most of the earthquakes occurred near the maximum 0° of the three kinds of tidal curves, the predominant tidal phases of the earthquake are - 5. 86°, 6. 60° and - 15. 52°, and the frequency of the earthquakes increases with the increase of the tide; with three kinds of tidal curves （the north-south, east-west component of the tidal force and tidal body stress ）, the Ps of Schuster＇s test for all the earthquakes is 10. 52 %, 2. 40 % and 2. 06 %, and the pp of the Permutation test is 10. 90%, 2. 40% and 2. 06%, and the results ofps andpp based on the east-west component of the tidal force and tidal body stress are below the threshold of 0. 05 that tidal triggering of earthquakes. In the monthly scale, both the Ps and pp are very low （ close to 0 ）, far below the threshold of 0. 05 of tidal triggering of earthquakes, and the predominant tidal phase for earthquake triggering is - 18. 95°, close to the maximum 0° （ new moon and full moon） of the earth tide in monthly scale. Regarding the statistical test result of tidal triggering of earthquakes, a preliminary explanation is given as to why the trigger effect in the east-west direction is greater than that in north-south direction.     

A rotary-shear low to high-velocity friction apparatus in Beijing to study rock friction at plate to seismic slip rates

This paper reviews 19 apparatuses having highvelocity capabilities,describes a rotary-shear low to highvelocity friction apparatus installed at Institute of Geology,China Earthquake Administration,and reports results from velocity-jump tests on Pingxi fault gouge to illustrate technical problems in conducting velocity-stepping tests at high velocities.The apparatus is capable of producing plate to seismic velocities（44 mm/a to 2.1 m/s for specimens of 40 mm in diameter）,using a 22 kW servomotor with a gear/belt system having three velocity ranges.A speed range can be changed by 103 or 106by using five electromagnetic clutches without stopping the motor.Two cam clutches allow fivefold velocity steps,and the motor speed can be increased from zero to 1,500 rpm in 0.1-0.2 s by changing the controlling voltage.A unique feature of the apparatus is a large specimen chamber where different specimen assemblies can be installed easily.In addition to a standard specimen assembly for friction experiments,two pressure vessels were made for pore pressures to 70 MPa;one at room temperature and the other at temperatures to 500 °C.Velocity step tests are needed to see if the framework of rate-and-state friction is applicable or not at high velocities.We report results from velocity jump tests from 1.4 mm/s to 1.4 m/s on yellowish gouge from a Pingxi fault zone,located at the northeastern part of the Longmenshan fault system that caused the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.An instantaneous increase in friction followed by dramatic slip weakening was observed for the yellowish gouge with smooth sliding surfaces of host rock,but no instantaneous response was recognized for the same gouge with roughened sliding surfaces.Instantaneous and transient frictional properties upon velocity steps cannot be separated easily at high velocities,and technical improvements for velocity step tests are suggested.     

Heating Stage Experimental Study of Melt Inclusions in Feldspars from Three Holocene Eruptions of Changbaishan Tianchi Volcano

There occurred several eruptions from Changbaishan Tianchi volcano in Holocene, and at least three of them were believed to be true according to the formal studies. The products of three eruptions were yellow comenditic pumice of - 5000a B.P. （Eruption Ⅰ ）, gray comenditic pumice and pyroclastic flow of - 1000a B.P. （ Eruption II, i.e. the millennium explosive eruption）, black trachy pumice and welded tuff of - 300a B.P. （ Eruption Ⅲ ） respectively. There were a large number of melt inclusions found in phenocrysts, which differ in size and color. The Leitz 1350 heating stage experiments for melt inclusions in host feldspars from three Holocene eruptions of Changbaishan Tianchi volcano imply that there were little differences between the homogenization temperatures of melt inclusions from Eruptions Ⅰ and Ⅲ, whereas it was rather complicated for Eruption H, i.e. there might be two kinds of melt with different homogenization temperature periods, which gave the evidence for the assumption that the explosive millennium eruption of Tianchi volcano was triggered by injection and mixing of two different magmas. The experimental results also indicate that （ 1 ） small melt inclusion is easy to be homogenized, while the large one, especially the one with lots of daughter crystals, is rather difficult to be homogenized; （2） homogenization temperature closely correlates with the size of melt inclusion within host crystal, with the temperature point switching from high heating rate to low heating rate, and correlates with whether it is the first time to obtain homogenization as well; and （3） a melt inclusion can get different homogenization temperatures when it is repeatedly heated. Even more, the next homogenization temperature is usually higher than the former one, which testifies the phenomenon that hydrogen migration occurs during repeated heating.     

2014年于田MS7.3地震产生的静态库仑应力变化及对周边断层的影响

This paper calculates the static Coulomb stress changes generated by four earthquakes in the Yutian area during 2008 ~ 2014 separately, then discusses the triggering influence, their accumulated Coulomb stress changes and their influence on nearby faults. The results indicate that the Ms5. 5 earthquake in 2011 and the Ms7. 3 earthquake in 2014 are both in the regions where the Coulomb stress change is positive, the stress changes are 0. 004MPa and 0. 021MPa, respectively, meaning they are triggered by prior earthquakes. The Ms6. 2 earthquake in 2012 occurred in the place where Coulomb stress change was negative, so it is postponed by the prior earthquakes. The image of Coulomb stress changes of the Ms 7. 3 earthquake in 2014 is in accord with aftershocks （ML ≥ 3. 0 ） distribution, but some regions on the fault where the Coulomb stress change is positive have few aftershocks, and strong aftershocks may occur at these districts in future. In addition, this paper calculates the Coulomb stress change on nearby faults, and finds that the Coulomb stress changes of different elements in the GGC fault are very different, and must receive strong triggered-influence, though the result may be influenced by the input finite fault model, so there is still a large earthquake-risk. The GGN, PLC, PLW and LBW faults were also triggered by the four earthquakes occurring between 2008 ~ 2014. Their maximum Coulomb stress changes all exceed 0. 002MPa, so they also have a strong earthquake hazard.