Temporal evolution of the focal mechanism consistency of the 2021 Yangbi MS 6.4 earthquake sequence in Yunnan

Using the Cut And Paste (CAP) method, we invert the focal mechanism of 38 moderate earthquakes (M_S ≥ 3.0) recorded by Yunnan seismic network and analyze the corresponding focal mechanism consistency based on the minimum spatial rotation angle. Our results indicate that the M_S 6.4 mainshock is induced by a lateral strike slip fault (with a rake angle of ～ ?165°) and a little normal-faulting component event along a nearly vertical plane (dipping angle～ 79° and strike ～138°). Combining our results with high resolution catalog, we argue that the seismogenic fault of this earthquake sequence is a secondary fault western to the major Weixi-Qiaohou-Weishan fault. The focal mechanism evolution can be divided into three periods. During the first period, the foreshock sequence, the focal mechanism consistency is the highest (KA<36°); during the second period which is shortly after the mainshock, the focal mechanism shows strong variation with KA ranging from 8° to 110°; during the third period, the seismicity becomes weak and the focal mechanism of the earthquakes becomes more consistent than the second period (18°<KA<73°). We suggest that the KA, to some extent, represents the coherence between local tectonic stress regime and the stress state of each individual earthquake. Furthermore, high focal mechanism consistency and high linearity of seismic distribution may serve as indicators for the identification of foreshock sequence.     

2019年12月26日湖北应城M4.9地震震源参数及余震活动性研究

2019年12月26日湖北应城发生M4.9有感地震,其震感波及武汉大部分地区。为了分析该地震的发震构造及余震活动性,本文利用波形拟合方法测定了不同速度模型下该地震的震源机制解和矩心深度,并用Bootstrapping抽样反演技术评价反演结果;此外,利用模板匹配技术匹配主震和目录余震波形,获取了更为完整的余震目录。结果显示,应城地震以走滑为主,矩心深度7.5km左右,矩震级M_W4.67;应城地震有1个前震和17个余震,余震序列缺少M2~4事件,表明应城地震为孤立型地震,M2以下地震的b值为0.8。     

Using the match-and-locate method to characterize foreshocks of the July 2019 MW6.4 Ridgecrest,California earthquake

The July 2019 M_W6.4 Ridgecrest, California earthquake and its distinct foreshocks were well recorded by local and regional stations, providing a great opportunity to characterize its foreshocks and investigate the nucleation mechanisms of the mainshock. In this study, we utilized the match-and-locate (M&L) method to build a high-precision foreshock catalog for this M_W6.4 earthquake. Compared with the sequential location methods (matched-filter + cross-correlation-based hypoDD), our new catalog contains more events with higher location accuracy. The M_W6.4 mainshock was preceded by 40 foreshocks within ～2 h (on July 4, 2019 from 15:35:29 to 17:32:52, UTC). Their spatiotemporal distribution revealed a complex seismogenic structure consisting of multiple fault strands, which were connected as a throughgoing fault by later foreshocks and eventually accommodated the 2019 M_W6.4 mainshock. To better understand the nucleation mechanism, we determined the rupture dimension of the largest M_L4.0 foreshock by calculating its initial rupture and centroid points using the M&L method. By estimating Coulomb stress change we suggested that the majority of foreshocks following the M_L4.0 event and M_W6.4 mainshock occurred within regions of increasing Coulomb stress, indicating that they were triggered by stress transfer. The nucleation process before the M_L4.0 event remains unclear due to the insufficient sampling rate of waveforms and small magnitude of events. Thus, our study demonstrates that the M&L method has superior detection and location ability, showing potential for studies that require high-precision location (e.g., earthquake nucleation).     

2017年九寨沟MS7.0地震序列活动特征分析

中强地震序列的主震发生后,短时间内受台站距震中较远、尾波干扰和波形重叠等因素的影响,往往会遗漏大量的地震,而地震目录的完整性会直接影响到震后趋势判定和余震序列特征分析的科学性和可靠性。本文利用基于GPU加速的模板匹配方法对2017年8月1～12日的连续波形进行扫描计算,检测九寨沟M_S7.0地震前后遗漏的地震事件,选取台网目录中信噪比较高的1033个地震事件作为模板,在主震前7天至震后5天期间识别出4854个检测地震事件,为台网可定位目录的3.3倍,除去对台网单台地震事件的修正外,还检测到1797个遗漏地震事件,将完备震级从1.6级降低到1.4级。基于补充了遗漏地震的完整地震目录,对2017年8月8日九寨沟M_S7.0地震序列活动特征进行分析。结果表明,前震序列在主震前短时间内出现了地震活动的密集增强,b值也显示为低值状态,可能是深部断层发生破裂之前的加速蠕动的结果。随着时间的推移,余震序列的完备震级逐渐下降并趋于稳定,b值存在缓慢升高的趋势,未来较长时期内余震序列仍将处于持续衰减的状态。     

Spatiotemporal evolution of the 2021 MS6.4 Yangbi earthquake sequence

Based on the seismic phase reports of the Yangbi area from January 1 to June 25, 2021, and the waveform data of M ≥ 4 earthquakes, we obtained the relocation results and focal mechanism solutions of the M_S6.4 Yangbi earthquake sequence using the HypoDD and CAP methods. Based on our results, our main conclusions are as follows: (1) the M_S6.4 Yangbi earthquake sequence is a typical foreshock-mainshock-aftershock sequence. The foreshocks of the first two stages have the obvious fronts of migration and their migration rate increased gradually. There was no apparent front of migration during the third stage, and the occurrence of the mainshock was related to stress triggering from a M5.3 foreshock. We tentatively speculate that the rupture pattern of the Yangbi earthquake sequence conforms to the cascading-rupture model; and (2) the main fault of the M_S6.4 Yangbi earthquake sequence is a NW-trending right-lateral strike-slip fault. As time progressed, a minor conjugate aftershock belt formed at the northwest end of this fault, and a dendritic branching structure emerged in the southern fault segment, showing a complex seismogenic fault structure. We suggested that the fault of the Yangbi earthquake sequence may be a young sub-fault of the Weixi-Weishan fault.     

A 15-year-Long catalog of seismicity in the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone (ETSZ) using matched filter detection

We present a detailed catalog of 13 671 earthquakes in the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone (ETSZ) that spans January 1, 2005 to July 31, 2020. We apply a matched filter detection technique on over 15 years of continuous data, resulting in arguably the most complete catalog of seismicity in the ETSZ yet. The magnitudes of newly detected events are determined by computing the amplitude ratio between the detections and templates using a principal component fit. We also compute the b-value for the new catalog and comparatively relocate a subset of newly detected events using XCORLOC and hypoDD, which shows a more defined structure at depth. We find the greatest concentration along and to the east of the New York-Alabama Lineament, as defined by the magnetic anomaly, supporting the argument that this feature likely is related to the generation of seismicity in the ETSZ. We examine seismicity in the vicinity of the Watts Bar Reservoir, which is located about 5 ?km from the epicenter of the M_W 4.4 December 12, 2018 Decatur, Tennessee earthquake, and find possible evidence for reservoir modulated seismicity in this region. We also examine seismicity in the entire ETSZ to search for a correlation between shallow earthquakes and seasonal hydrologic changes. Our results show limited evidence for hydrologically-driven shallow seismicity due to seasonal groundwater levels in the ETSZ, which contradicts previous studies hypothesizing that most intraplate earthquakes are associated with the dynamics of hydrologic cycles.     

A summary of seismic activities in and around China in 2021

In this article, we review the general characteristics of seismicity in and around China and the overall statistics of earthquake damage in 2021, focusing on several significant events and related scientific topics. Among them, the largest event is the M_S 7.4 Madoi earthquake in Qinghai Province, northwest China. The event marks another M_S ?≥ ?7 earthquake occurring near the boundary of the Bayan Har Block that has ended a remarkable quiescence of the M_S ?≥ ?7 earthquakes within the Chinese mainland. In addition, the M_S 6.4 Yangbi earthquake in Yunnan Province, southwest China draws the most attention because of its abundant foreshocks, which are well recorded by the densely distributed seismic stations in the surrounding regions. Regarding this event, we review several recent publications focusing on the Gutenberg-Richter b-value change and the physical mechanism of foreshocks associated with this sequence. The M_S 6.0 Luxian earthquake in Sichuan Province, southwest China has caused serious damage with a relatively low magnitude, partly because the focal depth of the mainshock is relatively shallow (3.5 ?km). It is another strong earthquake occurring within the southeast Sichuan basin with low historical seismicity yet has increased significantly since 2015, probably due to shale gas development and associated hydraulic fracturing.     

Machine learning-based automatic construction of earthquake catalog for reservoir areas in multiple river basins of Guizhou province,China

Large reservoirs have the risk of reservoir induced seismicity. Accurately detecting and locating microseismic events are crucial when studying reservoir earthquakes. Automatic earthquake monitoring in reservoir areas is one of the effective measures for earthquake disaster prevention and mitigation. In this study, we first applied the automatic location workflow (named LOC-FLOW) to process 14-day continuous waveform data from several reservoir areas in different river basins of Guizhou province. Compared with the manual seismic catalog, the recall rate of seismic event detection using the workflow was 83.9%. Of the detected earthquakes, 88.9% had an onset time difference below 1 s, 81.8% has a deviation in epicenter location within 5 km, and 77.8% had a focal depth difference of less than 5 km, indicating that the workflow has good generalization capacity in reservoir areas. We further applied the workflow to retrospectively process continuous waveform data recorded from 2020 to the first half of 2021 in reservoir areas in multiple river basins of western Guizhou province and identified five times the number of seismic events obtained through manual processing. Compared with manual processing of seismic catalog, the completeness magnitude had decreased from 1.3 to 0.8, and a b-value of 1.25 was calculated for seismicity in western Guizhou province, consistent with the b-values obtained for the reservoir area in previous studies. Our results show that seismicity levels were relatively low around large reservoirs that were impounded over 15 years ago, and there is no significant correlation between the seismicity in these areas and reservoir impoundment. Seismicity patterns were notably different around two large reservoirs that were only impounded about 12 years ago, which may be explained by differences in reservoir storage capacity, the geologic and tectonic settings, hydrogeological characteristics, and active fault the reservoir areas. Prominent seismicity persisted around two large reservoirs that have been impounded for less than 10 years. These events were clustered and had relatively shallow focal depths. The impoundment of the Jiayan Reservoir had not officially begun during this study period, but earthquake location results suggested a high seismicity level in this reservoir area. Therefore, any seismicity in this reservoir area after the official impoundment deserves special attention.     

On applicability of the RTL prognostic algorithms and energy estimation to Sakhalin seismicity

Premonitory phases (seismic quiescence and foreshock activity) have been retrospectively identified before the Neftegorsk and Uglegorsk earthquakes using the RTL technique. The probabilities that these phases were accidental are less than 1 and 2%, respectively. This allows an optimistic assessment of the possibility of applying this technique to seismicity at Sakhalin. The estimates of the time and energy class for the two earthquakes, using a model of self-organized seismic criticality, proved to be unconvincing because obvious acceleration of the seismic process prior to these seismic events did not occur. The applicability of this approach to the seismicity at Sakhalin should be tested for future large earthquakes. The regional Sakhalin catalog for 1980–2000, with a lowest completely reported energy class of K = 8 (lent by the Geophysical Service, Russian Academy of Sciences) was used as the database for this study.     

The reservoir-associated earthquakes of April 1983 in western Thailand: Source modeling and implications for induced seismicity

On 22 April 1983, a very large area of Thailand and part of Burma were strongly shaken by a rare earthquake (m _b=5.8,M _s=5.9). The epicenter was located at the Srinagarind reservoir about 190 km northwest of Bangkok, a relatively stable continental region that experienced little previous seismicity. The main shock was preceded by some foreshocks and followed by numerous aftershocks. The largest foreshock ofm _b=5.2 occurred 1 week before the main shock, and the largest aftershock ofm _b=5.3 took place about 3 hours after the main shock. Focal mechanisms of the three largest events in this earthquake sequence have been studied by other seismologists using firts-motion data. However, the solutions for the main shock and the largest aftershock showed significant inconsistency with known surface geology and regional tectonics. We reexamined the mechanisms of these three events by using teleseismicP-andS-waveforms and through careful readings ofP-wave first motions. The directions of theP axes in our study range from NNW-SSE to NNE-SSW, and nodal planes strike in the NW-SE to about E-W in agreement with regional tectonics and surface geology. The main shock mechanism strikes 255°, dips 48°, and slips 63.5°. The fault motions during the main shock and the foreshock are mainly thrust, while the largest aftershock has a large strike-slip component. The seismic moment and the stress drop of the mainshock are determined to be 3.86×10²⁴ dyne-cm and 180 bars, respectively. The occurrence of these thrust events appears to correlate with the unloading of the Srinagarind reservoir. The focal depths of the largest foreshock, the main shock, and the largest aftershock are determined to be 5.4 km, 8 km, and 22.7 km, respectively, from waveform modeling and relative location showing a downward migration of hypocenters of the three largest events during the earthquake sequence. Other characteristics of this reservoir-induced earthquake sequence are also discussed.     

Static stress changes as a triggering mechanism of a shallow earthquake: case study of the 1999 Chi-Chi (Taiwan) earthquake

The role of static stress changes in triggering an earthquake has long been debated in the fields of geophysics and fault mechanics. Valuable data sets for the study of static triggering were provided within the 1-year period following the devastating 1999 Chi-Chi (Taiwan) earthquake (M_W=7.6), during which more than 20,000 aftershocks occurred. In this study, stress waves generated by the Chi-Chi earthquake were calculated using a source rupture model in conjunction with a layered elastic model. Static (permanent) stress changes were extracted from the long-period offsets in the stressgrams. Correlations between the calculated stress changes and seismicity were analyzed at different depths and over varying time intervals to ascertain the impact effects of stress changes on triggering aftershocks. Correlations between prior seismicity rates and static stress changes imposed by the Chi-Chi event were low, while correlations between late seismicity rates and static stress changes were much higher. This indicates that static stress changes did affect the occurrence of the Chi-Chi aftershock sequence. The percentage of early aftershocks at shallow depths (0-10 km) in static stress-enhanced areas within 2 weeks of the main shock was high but decreased considerably at greater depths (>10 km) and over longer time periods. It is concluded that static stress changes at depths of 0-10 km played a major role in triggering crustal aftershocks, especially those that occurred within 2 weeks of the main shock. In the deeper crust, static stress changes may have been modified by viscous flow, and at later times, perturbed by earlier, larger aftershocks. Although the correlations between seismicity rate changes and static stress changes are imperfect, a region that was anti-triggered is detected when these two results are compared. Static stress changes are presumably not the only aftershock triggering mechanism, but they definitively play a major role in triggering shallow aftershocks.     

2003年北黄海5.1级地震的地震活动特征

对2003年北黄海5．1级地震的地震活动背景、地震序列、震中周围中小地震活动图像及地震学参数等进行了详细分析。认为该次地震为前-主-余型，经历了一个活跃-平静-发震的过程；地震前震中附近出现了孕震空区和一些地震活动性参数异常。     

Changes in source parameters of foreshocks and aftershocks of the 2001 Ms=6.0 Yajiang,Sichuan, earthquake

In this paper changes in focal mechanisms) parameters of wave spectra, and stress drops for the Ms=5.0 forcshock and Ms=6.0 mainshock in February 2001 in Yajiang County, Sichuan, and seismicity in cpiccntral region are studied. Comparison of focal mechanisms for the Yajiang earthquakes with distribution patterns of aftcrshocks, the nodal plane Ⅰ, striking in the direction of NEN, of the Yajiang M=5.0 event is chosen as the faulting plane, the nodal plane Ⅱ, striking in the direction of WNW, of the M=6.0 event as the faulting plane. The strikes of the two faulting planes are nearly perpendicular to each other. The level of stress drops in the cpicentral region before the occurrence of the M=6.0 earthquake increases, which is consistent with increase of seismicity in the epicentral region. The rate decay of the Yajiang earthquake sequence, changes in wave spectra for foreshocks and aftershocks,and focal mechanisms are complex.     

基于Dieterich地震发生率模型分析前震成因的力学机制

前震是地震前兆观测中的一个重要物理量,前震的研究对地震预测的发展尤为重要,前震序列的典型特征包括加速发生的小震与古登堡-里克特定律（Gutenberg-Richter Law）中的b值变小.本文在Dieterich提出的地震发生率模型的基础上,探讨前震发生的力学成因机制及前震-主震-余震时域演化特征.模型分析结果表明,前震震源区断层及其断层周边剪应力加载速率的变化可能是前震发生及地震发生率变化的一个关键原因.由于前震震源区次级断层之间剪应力加载速率受来自主震成核过程中断层自加速滑移的影响升高,从而可导致这些次级断裂的加速失稳,即加速前震的发生.当震源区内由前震所产生的静态应力扰动不可忽略时,应力扰动和主震成核的共同作用也可对后续前震发生率产生影响.当正向应力扰动出现时,后续的前震序列的地震发生率会出现陡增,随后其地震发生率逐渐下降.而当负向应力扰动出现时,地震发生率会出现陡降,然后再次逐渐上升.基于Kostrov模型,本文得到了剪应力加载速率与古登堡-里克特定律中b值的关系式,结果表明前震序列中b值的减小与前震区内的剪应力加载速率的上升有关.     

川东南长宁地区地震活动及b值演化特征

利用全国统一目录和流动台站目录,研究了四川盆地东南部长宁地区的地震活动特征和b值的空间分布特征。研究结果显示,长宁地区的地震活动在时间上呈现明显的分段特征,地震活动在2015年后明显增强;在空间上,长宁地区的地震活动主要集中在以28.3°N为界限的南、北2个地区,对于这2个区域的b值演化,计算结果显示出不同的分段特征。此外,研究了不同震中距下,长宁地区2018年兴文5.7级、2019年珙县5.3级和2019年长宁6.0级3次主要地震事件震前与震后的b值演化,结果表明统计范围会显著影响b值的变化特征,当计算范围为20km时,3次主震震前短期内均出现了低于背景b值90%的低b值异常,这表明在地震目录相对完备的情况下,利用低b值异常分析区域地震危险性,应采用较小范围的地震数据。     

A study in the velocity structure of December 5, 1997, M w = 7.8 Kronotskii rupture zone, Kamchatka

The object of the present study was to obtain and investigate the 3D velocity structure of the rupture zone of a large earthquake, to be specific, the great ( _Mw = 7.8) Kronotskii earthquake that occurred in Kamchatka on December 5, 1997. The event was preceded by a foreshock swarm (December 3–5, 1997) and followed by a long aftershock sequence. We investigated the V _P velocity distribution for different time periods: December 3–7, 1997 (when the chief events occurred, viz., the main shock and the larger aftershocks) and for subsequent periods of decaying aftershock activity until December 1998. The velocity distribution in the rupture zone proved to be inhomogeneous. Three regions have been identified: the northeastern (the main shock and foreshocks), the central, and the southwestern, which differ both in the character of seismicity and in velocity. The V _P distribution was found to be time-dependent. The velocity was below the standard values in the foreshock-aftershock area in December 1997, subsequently the velocity increased. These results may indicate the absence of a continuous rupture zone, with the main shock and the two largest aftershocks that occurred in the southwest probably being independent events rupturing a transverse fault during the stress rearrangement following the main shock.     

The Tolud Burst of Seismicity and the Earthquake of November 30, 2012 (<Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript>C</Subscript> = 5.4, <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript>W</Subscript> = 4.8) that Accompanied the Start of the 2012‒2013 Tolbachik Eruption

This paper reports a study of the Tolud earthquake sequence; the sequence was a burst of shallow seismicity between November 28 and December 7, 2012; it accompanied the initial phase in the Tolbachik Fissure Eruption of 2012?2013. The largest earthquake (the Tolud earthquake of November 30, 2012, to be referred to as the Tolud Earthquake in what follows, with K_S = 11.3, M_L = 4.9, M_C = 5.4, and M_W = 4.8) is one of the five larger seismic events that have been recorded at depths shallower than 10 km beneath the entire Klyuchevskoi Volcanic Cluster in 1961?2015. It was found that the Tolud earthquake sequence was the foreshock–aftershock process of the Tolud Earthquake. This is one of the larger seismicity episodes ever to have occurred in the volcanic areas of Kamchatka. Data of the Kamchatka seismic stations were used to compute some parameters for the Tolud Earthquake and its largest (M_L = 4.3) aftershock; the parameters include the source parameters and mechanisms, and the moment magnitudes, since no information on these is available at the world seismological data centers. The focal mechanisms for the Tolud Earthquake and for its aftershock are consistent with seismic ruptures at a tension fault in the rift zone. Instrumental data were used to estimate the intensity of shaking due to the Tolud Earthquake. We discuss the sequence of events that was a signature of the time-dependent seismic and volcanic activity that took place in the Tolbachik zone in late November 2012 and terminated in the Tolud burst of seismicity. Based on the current ideas of the tectonics and magma sources for the Tolbachik volcanic zone, we discuss possible causes of these earthquakes.     

2021年3月24日新疆拜城MS 5.4地震总结

系统梳理2021年3月24日新疆拜城M_S 5.4地震前地震活动异常特征、地球物理观测异常以及区域构造情况,结果如下：①地震活动：震前存在地震平静、高频、带状分布等异常;②地球物理观测：出现5项异常,其中形变3项,电磁2项,且形变异常对于该地震具有预测意义;③综合方法：地震发生前,震中附近存在多参数概率谱异常。拜城M_S 5.4地震发生在库车坳陷西南部,震源机制解显示为走滑型破裂。该序列类型为前震—主震—余震型,主震前存在前震活动,余震较少,序列活动呈持续衰减特征。综合分析认为,拜城M_S 5.4地震前异常较多,其中地震活动相关异常为后续中强地震的预测提供了有效依据。     

Earthquakes Along the Passive Margin of Greenland: Evidence for Postglacial Rebound Control

—?An intriguing observation in Greenland is a clear spatial correlation between seismicity and deglaciated areas along passive continental margins, a piece of evidence for earthquake triggering due to postglacial rebound. Another piece of evidence for induced seismicity due to deglaciation derives from earthquake source mechanisms. Sparse, low magnitude seismicity has made it difficult to determine focal mechanisms from Greenland earthquakes. On the basis of two normal faulting events along deglaciated margins and from the spatial distribution of epicenters, earlier investigators suggested that the earthquakes of Greenland are due to postglacial rebound. This interpretation is tested here by using more recent data. Broadband waveforms of teleseismic P waves from the August 10, 1993 (m _b = 5.4) and October 14, 1998 (m _b = 5.1) earthquakes have been inverted for moment tensors and source parameters. Both mechanisms indicate normal faulting with small strike-slip components: the 1993 event, strike = 348.9°, dip = 41.0°, rake =?56.3°, focal depth = 11?km, seismic moment = 1.03?×?10²⁴ dyne-cm, and M _w = 5.3; the 1998 event, strike = 61.6°, dip = 58.0°, rake =?95.5°, focal depth = 5?km, seismic moment = 5.72?×?10²³ dyne-cm, and M _w = 5.1. These and the two prior events support the theory that the shallow part of the lithosphere beneath the deglaciated margins is under horizontal extension. The observed stress field can be explained as flexural stresses due to removal of ice loads and surface loads by glacial erosion. These local extensional stresses are further enhanced by the spreading stress of continental crust and reactivate preexisting faults. Earthquake characteristics observed from Greenland suggest that the dominant seismogenic stresses are from postglacial rebound and spreading of the continental lithosphere.     

On the seismic regime of the Japan region before the Tohoku mega-earthquake (M w = 9)

The seismic regime taking place before the Tohoku mega-earthquake was studied using the catalog of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). We show that the Tohoku earthquake was preceded by a 6–7-year period of regional reduction in the b-value and in the rate of main shocks. The space-time regions that involved precursory activation were nearly identical with the predictive phenomena that were previously detected by A.A. Lyubushin from an analysis of seismic noise based on data from the Japanese F-net. We discovered a previously unknown effect of correlation between the number of main shocks and the b-value. Both the ordinary foreshock activation and the longer weaker tendency, which consist in a precursory increase in the seismicity rate, were identified in the vicinities of M ≈ 7 Japanese earthquakes (similarly to the seismicity in the Generalized Vicinities of large earthquakes based on worldwide data).