Mechanism of the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake (Mw 9.0) and tsunami: Insight from seismic tomography

To clarify the generating mechanism of the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake (Mw 9.0) and the induced tsunami, we determined high-resolution tomographic images of the Northeast Japan forearc. Significant lateral variations of seismic velocity are visible in the megathrust zone, and most large interplate thrust earthquakes are found to occur in high-velocity (high-V) areas. These high-V zones may represent high-strength asperities at the plate interface where the subducting Pacific plate and the overriding Okhotsk plate are coupled strongly. A shallow high-V zone with large coseismic slip near the Japan Trench may account for the mainshock asperity of the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake. Because it is an isolated asperity surrounded by low-velocity patches, most stress on it was released in a short time and the plate interface became decoupled after the Mw 9.0 earthquake. Thus the overriding Okhotsk plate there was shot out toward the Japan Trench and caused the huge tsunami.     

Transfer of stress from the 2004 Mw9.2 Sumatra subduction earthquake promoted widespread seismicity and large strike‐slip events in the Wharton Basin

The 2004 Mw9.2 Sumatra and 2012 Mw8.6 Wharton Basin (WB) earthquakes provide the unprecedented opportunity to investigate stress transfer from a megathrust earthquake to the subducting plate. Comprehensive analyses of this study revealed that the 2004 earthquake excited widespread seismicity in the WB, especially in regions of calculated stress increase greater than 0.3 bars. The 2004 earthquake stressed all three rupture planes of the 2012 Mw8.6 strike‐slip mainshock and the largest Mw8.2 aftershock with mean values of Coulomb stress between 0.3 and 2.1 bars. For the 77 Mw ≥ 4 regional events since 2012, at least one nodal plane for 95% of the events, and both nodal planes for 72% of the events experienced stress increase due to the 2004 earthquake. Results of the analyses also revealed that the regional stress directions in the WB may have controlled the sub‐fault orientations of the 2012 Mw8.6 strike‐slip earthquake.     

Genesis of a new slab tear fault in the Indo-Australian plate,offshore northern Sumatra,Indian ocean

Following the December 2004 and March 2005 major shallow foci inter-plate earthquakes in the north Sumatra region, a slab-tear fault located within the subducting Indian plate ruptured across the West Sunda Trench (WST) within the marginal intra-plate region. Trend, length and movement pattern of this New Tear Fault (NTF) segment is almost identical to another such slab-tear fault mapped previously by Hamilton (1979), located around 160 km south of NTF. Seismic activity along the NTF remained quasi-stable till the end of the year 2011, when an earthquake of magnitude 7.2 occurred on 10.01.2012 just at the tip of NTF, only around ～100 km within the intra-plate domain west of WST. The NTF rupture propagated further towards SSW with the generation of two more large earthquakes on 11.04.2012. The foreshock (10.01.12; M7.2) — mainshock (11.04.12; M 8.6) — aftershock (11.04.12; M 8.2) sequence along with numerous smaller magnitude aftershocks unmistakably define the extension of NTF, a slab-tear fault that results tectonic segmentation of the convergent plate margin. Within the intra-plate domain most earthquakes display consistent left-lateral strike slip mechanism along NNE trending fault plane.     

Recent plumbing system of the Krakatau volcano revealed by teleseismic earthquake distribution

Spatial and temporal analysis of global seismological data 1964–2005 reveals a distinct teleseismic earthquake activity producing a columnar-like formation in the continental wedge between the Krakatau volcano at the surface and the subducting slab of the Indo-Australian plate. These earthquakes occur continuously in time, are in the body-wave (m _b) magnitude range 4.5–5.3 and in the depth range 1–100 km. The Krakatau earthquake cluster is vertical and elongated in the azimuth N30°E, suggesting existence of a deep-rooted fault zone cutting the Sunda Strait in the SSW-NNE direction. Possible continuation of the fault zone in the SW direction was activated by an intensive 2002/2003 aftershock sequence, elongated in the azimuth of N55°E. Beneath the Krakatau earthquake cluster, an aseismic gap exists in the Wadati-Benioff zone of the subducting plate at the depths 100–120 km. We interpret this aseismic gap as a consequence of partial melting inhibiting stress concentration necessary to generate stronger earthquakes, whereas the numerous earthquakes observed in the overlying lithospheric wedge beneath the volcano probably reflect magma ascent in the recent plumbing system of the Krakatau volcano. Focal depth of the deepest events (~100 km) of the Krakatau cluster constrains the location of the primary magma generation to greater depths. The ascending magmatic fluids stress fault segments within the Sunda Strait fault zone and change their friction parameters inducing the observed tectonic earthquakes beneath Krakatau.     

Salinia revisited: a crystalline nappe sequence lying above the Nacimiento fault and dispersed along the San Andreas fault system,central California

Salinia, as originally defined, is a fault-bounded terrane in westcentral California. As defined, Salinia lies between the Nacimiento fault on the west, and the Northern San Andreas fault (NSAF) and the main trace of the dextral SAF system on the east. This allochthonous terrane was translated from the southern part of the Sierra Nevada batholith and adjacent western Mojave Desert region by Neogene-Quaternary displacement along the SAF system. The Salina crystalline basement formed a westward promontory in the SW Cordilleran Cretaceous batholithic belt, relative to the Sierra Nevada batholith to the north and the Peninsular Ranges batholith to the south, making Salinia batholithic rocks susceptible to capture by the Pacific plate when the San Andreas transform system developed. Proper restoration of offsets on all branches of the San Andreas system is a critical factor in understanding the Salinia problem. When cumulative dextral slip of 171 km (106 mi) along the Hosgri–San Simeon–San Gregorio–Pilarcitos fault zone (S–N), or dextral slip of 200 km (124 mi) along the Hosgri–San Simeon–San Gregorio–Pilarcitos–northern San Andreas fault system, is added to the cumulative dextral slip of 315–322 km (196–200 mi) along the main trace of the SAF north of the San Emigdio–Tehachapi mountains, central California, there is a minimum amount of cumulative dextral slip of 486 km (302 mi) or a maximum amount of cumulative dextral slip of 522 km (324 mi) along the entire SAF system north of the Tehachapi Mountains. When these sums are compared with the offset distance (610–675 km or 379–420 mi) between the batholithic rocks associated with the Navarro structural discontinuity (NSD) in northern California, and those in the ‘tail’ of the southern Sierra Nevada granitic rocks in the San Emigdio–Tehachapi mountains, central California, a minimum deficit of from ～100 km (～62 mi) to a maximum deficit of ～189 km (～118 mi) is needed to restore the crystalline rocks associated with the NSD with the crystalline terranes within the San Emigdio and Tehachapi mountains – the enigma of Salinia. Two principal geologic models compete to explain the enigma (i.e. the discrepancy between measured dextral slip along traces of the SAF system and the amount of separation between the Sierra Nevada batholithic rocks near Point Arena in northern California and the Mesozoic and older crystalline rocks in the San Emigdio and Tehachapi mountains in southern California). (i) One model proposes pre-Neogene (>23 Ma), Late Cretaceous or Maastrichtian (<ca. 71 Ma) to early Palaeocene or Danian (ca. 66 Ma) sinistral slip of 500–600 km (311–373 mi) along the Nacimiento fault and of the western flank of Salinia from the eastern flank of the Peninsular Ranges (sinistral slip but in the opposite sense to later Neogene (<23 Ma) dextral slip along and within the SAF system. (ii) A second model proposes that the crystalline rocks of Salinia comprise a series of 100 km- (60 mi-) scale allochthonous (extensional) nappes that rode southwestward above the Rand schist–Sierra de Salinas (SdS) shear zone subduction extrusion channels. The allochthonous nappes are from NW–SE: (i) Farallon Islands–Santa Cruz Mountains–Montara Mountain, and adjacent batholithic fragments that appear to have been derived from the top of the deep-level Sierra Nevada batholith of the western San Emigdio–Tehachapi mountains; (ii) the Logan Quarry–Loma Prieta Peak fragments that appear to have been derived from the top of a buried detachment fault that forms the basement surface beneath the Maricopa sub-basin of the southernmost Great Valley; (iii) The Pastoria plate–Gabilan Range massif that appears to have been derived from the top of the deep-level SE Sierra Nevada batholith; and (iv) the Santa Lucia–SdS massif, which appears to be lower batholithic crust and underlying extruded schist that were breached westwards from the central to western Mojave Desert region. In this model, lower crustal batholithic blocks underwent ductile stretching above the extrusion channel schists, while mid- to upper-crustal level rocks rode southwestwards and westwards along trenchward dipping detachment faults. Salinian basement rocks of the Santa Lucia Range and the Big Sur area record the most complete geologic history of the displaced terrane. The oldest rocks consist of screens of Palaeozoic marine metasedimentary rocks (the Sur Series), including biotite gneiss and schist, quartzite, granulite gneiss, granofels, and marble. The Sur Series was intruded during Cretaceous high-flux batholithic magmatism by granodiorite, diorite, quartz diorite, and at deepest levels, charnockitic tonalite. Local nonconformable remnants of Campanian–Maastrichtian marine strata lie on the deep-level Salinia basement, and record deposition in an extensional setting. These Cretaceous strata are correlated with the middle to upper Campanian Pigeon Point (PiP) Formation south of San Francisco. The Upper Cretaceous strata, belonging to the Great Valley Sequence, include clasts of the basement rocks and felsic volcanic clasts that in Late Cretaceous time were brought to a coastal region by streams and rivers from Mesozoic felsic volcanic rocks in the Mojave Desert. The Rand and SdS schists of southern California were underplated beneath the southern Sierra Nevada batholith and the adjacent Salinia-Mojave region along a shallow segment of the subducting Farallon plate during Late Cretaceous time. The subduction trajectory of these schists concluded with an abrupt extrusion phase. During extrusion, the schists were transported to the SW from deep- to shallow-crustal levels as the low-angle subduction megathrust surface was transformed into a mylonitic low-angle normal fault system (i.e. Rand fault and Salinas shear zone). The upper batholithic plate(s) was(ere) partially coupled to the extrusion flow pattern, which resulted in 100 km-scale westward displacements of the upper plate(s). Structural stacking, temporal and metamorphic facies relations suggest that the Nacimiento (subduction megathrust) fault formed beneath the Rand-SdS extrusion channel. Metamorphic and structural relations in lower plate Franciscan rocks beneath the Nacimiento fault suggest a terminal phase of extrusion as well, during which the overlying Salinia underwent extension and subsidence to marine conditions. Westward extrusion of the subduction-underplated rocks and their upper batholithic plates rendered these Salinia rocks susceptible to subsequent capture by the SAF system. Evidence supporting the conclusion that the Nacimiento fault is principally a megathrust includes: (i) shear planes of the Nacimiento fault zone in the westcentral Coast Ranges locally dip NE at low angles. (ii) Klippen and/or faulted klippen are locally present along the trace of the Nacimiento fault zone from the Big Creek–Vicente Creek region south of Point Sur near Monterey, to east of San Simeon near San Luis Obispo in central California. Allochthonous detachment sheets and windows into their underplated schists comprise a composite Salinia terrane. The nappe complex forming the allochthon of Salinia was translated westward and northwestward ～100 km (～62 mi) above the Nacimiento megathrust or Franciscan subduction megathrust from SE California between ca. 66 and ca. 61 Ma (i.e. latest Cretaceous–earliest Palaeocene time). Much, or all, of the westward breaching of the Salinia batholithic rocks likely occurred above the extrusion channels of the Rand-SdS schists; following this event, the Franciscan Sur-Obispo terrane was thrust beneath the schists, perhaps during the final stages of extrusion in the upper channel. Later, the Sur-Obispo terrane was partially extruded from beneath the Salinia nappe terrane, during which time the upper plate(s) underwent extension and subsidence to marine conditions. Attenuation of the Salinia nappe sequence during the extrusion of the Franciscan Complex thinned the upper crust, making the upper plates susceptible to erosion from the top of the Franciscan Complex near San Simeon, where it is now exposed. In the San Emigdio Mountains, the relatively thin structural thickness of the upper batholithic plates made them susceptible to late Cenozoic flexural folding and disruption by high-angle dip–slip faults. The ～100 km (～62 mi) of westward and northwestward breaching of the Salinia batholithic rocks above the Rand-SdS channels, and the underlying Nacimiento fault followed by ～510 km (～320 mi) of dextral slip from ～23 Ma to Holocene time along the SAF system, allow for the palinspastic restoration of Salinia with the crystalline rocks of the San Emigdio–Tehachapi mountains and the Mojave terrane, resolving the enigma of Salinia.     

Inhomogeneous distribution of deep slow earthquake activity along the strike of the subducting Philippine Sea Plate

The spatial distribution of deep slow earthquake activity along the strike of the subducting Philippine Sea Plate in southwest Japan is investigated. These events usually occur simultaneously between the megathrust seismogenic zone and the deeper free-slip zone on the plate interface at depths of about 30 km. Deep low-frequency tremors are weak prolonged vibrations with dominant frequencies of 1.5–5 Hz, whereas low-frequency earthquakes correspond to isolated pulses included within the tremors. Deep very-low-frequency earthquakes have long-period (20 s) seismic signals, and short-term slow-slip events are crustal deformations lasting for several days. Slow earthquake activity is not spatially homogeneous but is separated into segments some of which are bounded by gaps in activity. The spatial distribution of each phase of slow earthquake activity is usually coincident, although there are some inconsistencies. Very-low-frequency earthquakes occur mainly at edges of segments. Low-frequency earthquakes corresponding to tremors of relatively large amplitude are concentrated at spots where tremors are densely distributed within segments. The separation of segments by gaps suggests large differences in stick-slip and stable sliding caused by frictional properties of the plate interface. Within each segment, variations in the spatial distribution of slow earthquakes reflected inhomogeneities corresponding to the characteristic scales of events.     

Inhomogeneous distribution of deep slow earthquake activity along the strike of the subducting Philippine Sea Plate

The spatial distribution of deep slow earthquake activity along the strike of the subducting Philippine Sea Plate in southwest Japan is investigated. These events usually occur simultaneously between the megathrust seismogenic zone and the deeper free-slip zone on the plate interface at depths of about 30 km. Deep low-frequency tremors are weak prolonged vibrations with dominant frequencies of 1.5–5 Hz, whereas low-frequency earthquakes correspond to isolated pulses included within the tremors. Deep very-low-frequency earthquakes have long-period (20 s) seismic signals, and short-term slow-slip events are crustal deformations lasting for several days. Slow earthquake activity is not spatially homogeneous but is separated into segments some of which are bounded by gaps in activity. The spatial distribution of each phase of slow earthquake activity is usually coincident, although there are some inconsistencies. Very-low-frequency earthquakes occur mainly at edges of segments. Low-frequency earthquakes corresponding to tremors of relatively large amplitude are concentrated at spots where tremors are densely distributed within segments. The separation of segments by gaps suggests large differences in stick-slip and stable sliding caused by frictional properties of the plate interface. Within each segment, variations in the spatial distribution of slow earthquakes reflected inhomogeneities corresponding to the characteristic scales of events.     

2001年昆仑山口西8.1级地震地表破裂带

2001年11月14日昆仑山口西8.1级地震是近50年来在我国大陆发生的震级最大、地表破裂最长的地震事件.地震地表破裂带全长426km,宽数米至数百米,总体走向90°～110°,具有明显的破裂分段特征,自西向东由5条次级破裂段组成.各破裂段又由若干更次级左阶或右阶斜列的破裂组成,具有自相似的分形结构特征.地震破裂带以左旋走滑为主,倾滑量很小.宏观震中区位于库赛湖东北93.0°～93.5°E一带的昆仑山南麓断层谷地内.最大地表同震左旋水平位移6.4m,最大垂直位移为4m.地表水平位移沿地震破裂带走向出现6个峰值,各峰值之间存在相对独立的衰减序列,这表明此地震具有多点破裂特征.     

Double-sided subduction with contrasting polarities beneath the Pamir-Hindu Kush: Evidence from focal mechanism solutions and stress field inversion

The Pamir-Hindu Kush region at the western end of the Himalayan-Tibet orogen is one of the most active regions on the globe with strong seismicity and deformation and provides a window to evaluate continental collision linked to two intra-continental subduction zones with different polarities. The seismicity and seismic tomography data show a steep northward subducting slab beneath the Hindu Kush and southward subducting slab under the Pamir. Here, we collect seismic catalogue with 3988 earthquake events to compute seismicity images and waveform data from 926 earthquake events to invert focal mechanism solutions and stress field with a view to characterize the subducting slabs under the Pamir-Hindu Kush region. Our results define two distinct seismic zones: a steep one beneath the Hindu Kush and a broad one beneath the Pamir. Deep and intermediate-depth earthquakes are mainly distributed in the Hindu Kush region which is controlled by thrust faulting, whereas the Pamir is dominated by strike-slip stress regime with shallow and intermediate-depth earthquakes. The area where the maximum principal stress axis is vertical in the southern Pamir corresponds to the location of a high-conductivity low-velocity region that contributes to the seismogenic processes in this region. We interpret the two distinct seismic zones to represent a double-sided subduction system where the Hindu Kush zone represents the northward subduction of the Indian plate, and the Pamir zone shows southward subduction of the Eurasian plate. A transition fault is inferred in the region between the Hindu Kush and the Pamir which regulates the opposing directions of motion of the Indian and Eurasian plates.     

Complex geometry and segmentation of the surface rupture associated with the 14 November 2001 great Kunlun earthquake, northern Tibet, China

The 14 November 2001 Kunlun, China, earthquake with a moment magnitude (M_w) 7.8 occurred along the Kusai Lake–Kunlun Pass fault of the Kunlun fault system. We document the spatial distribution and geometry of surface rupture zone produced by this earthquake, based on high-resolution satellite (Landsat ETM, ASTER, SPOT and IKONOS) images combined with field measurements. Our results show that the surface rupture zone can be divided into five segments according to the geometry of surface rupture, including the Sun Lake, Buka Daban–Hongshui River, Kusai Lake, Hubei Peak and Kunlun Pass segments from west to east. These segments, each 55 to 130 km long, are separated by step-overs. The Sun Lake segment extends about 65 km with a strike of N45° 75°W (between 90°05′E 90°50′E) along the previously unrecognized West Sun Lake fault. A gap of about 30 km long exists between the Sun Lake and Buka Daban Peak where no obvious surface ruptures can be observed either from the satellite images or field observations. The Buka Daban–Hongshui River, Kusai Lake, Hubei Peak and Kunlun Pass segments run about 365 km striking N75° 85°W along the southern slope of the Kunlun Mountains (between 91°07′E 94°58′E). This segmentation of the surface rupture is well correlated with the pattern of slip distribution measured in the field. Detailed mapping suggest that these five first-order segments can be further separated into over 20 second-order segments with a length of 10–30 km, linked by smaller scale step-overs or bends.Our result also shows that the total coseismic surface rupture length produced by the 2001 Kunlun earthquake is about 430 km (excluding the 30-km-long gap), which is the longest coseismic surface rupture for an intracontinental earthquake ever recorded.Finally, we suggest a multiple bilateral rupture propagation model that shows the rupture process of the 2001 M_w 7.8 earthquake is complex. It consists of westward and eastward rupture propagations and interaction of these bilateral rupture processes.     

3D modeling of earthquake cycles of the Xianshuihe fault,southwestern China

We perform 3D modeling of earthquake generation of the Xianshuihe fault, southwestern China, which is a highly active strike-slip fault with a length of about 350 km, in order to understand earthquake cycles and segmentations for a long-term forecasting and earthquake nucleation process for a short-term forecasting. Historical earthquake data over the last 300 years indicates repeated periods of seismic activity, and migration of large earthquake along the fault during active seismic periods. To develop the 3D model of earthquake cycles along the Xianshuihe fault, we use a rate- and state-dependent friction law. After analyzing the result, we find that the earthquakes occur in the reoccurrence intervals of 400–500 years. Simulation result of slip velocity distribution along the fault at the depth of 10 km during 2694 years along the Xianshuihe fault indicates that since the third earthquake cycle, the fault has been divided into 3 parts. Some earthquake ruptures terminate at the bending part of the fault line, which may means the shape of the fault line controls how earthquake ruptures. The change of slip velocity and displacement at 10 km depth is more tremendous than the change of the shallow and deep part of the fault and the largest slip velocity occurs at the depth of 10 km which is the exact depth of the seismic zone where fast rupture occurs.     

Growth of the Andes by Rejuvenated Subduction

Subduction-zone magmatism became extensive along the west coast of South America during the Ordovician, soon after Gondwana was assembled. During the remainder of the Paleozoic and the early Mesozoic, eastward subduction of the Farallon plate led to emplacement of a succession of granitic and volcanic rocks. During the Cretaceous, when South America broke away from Africa and began moving independently toward the Pacific Basin, the resulting opposite motions of the South American and Farallon plates toward the subduction zone caused vigorous tectonic mountain building. But by the Oligocene, South America had advanced more than 2000 km beyond the position of the Cretaceous subduction zone's root in the lower mantle. The South American plate, moving westward over the subducting plate, pushed down and flattened the curved top of the subducting slab, as indicated by today's flattened earthquake zone under South America. I hypothesize that this flattening increased the subducting slab's resistance with the underlying lower mantle. Crustal deformation slowed, and the mountains built during the Cretaceous and later were eroded to a peneplane.

During the Oligocene, about 25 Ma, the Farallon plate broke into the Cocos and Nazca plates, and I suggest that along the west coast of South America a shear at a slope of about 30° cut through the subducting slab. The oceanic (Nazca) part of the slab then entered the lower mantle below the Andes with a steeper dip than before. As the newly sheared obtuse upper corner of the Nazca plate pushed eastward and downward, it buckled the rigid edge of the continent and began the folding and thrusting of the Andean (Quechua) orogeny. The orogeny continues, but earthquake foci indicate that as South America continues to move westward, the subduction zone once again is flattening; in the future we can expect the Nazca slab to shear once more and its new wedge-shaped end to enter the lower mantle again.     

Trenching exposures of the surface rupture of 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake,China: Implications for coseismic deformation and paleoseismology along the Central Longmen Shan thrust fault

The May 12, 2008, Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake was induced by failure of two of the major faults of the Longmen Shan thrust fault zone along the eastern margin of Tibet Plateau. Our study focused on trenches across the Yingxiu–Bichuan fault, the central fault in the Longmen Shan belt that has a coseismic surface break of more than 200 km long. Trenching excavation across the 2008 earthquake rupture on three representative sites reveals the styles and amounts of the deformation and paleoseismicity along the Longmen Shan fault. Styles of coseismic deformation along the 2008 earthquake rupture at these three sites represent three models of deformation along a thrust fault. Two of the three trench exposures reveal one pre-2008 earthquake event, which is coincident with the pre-existing scarps. Based on the observation of exposed stratigraphy and structures in the trenches and the geomorphic expressions on ground surface, we interpret the 2008 earthquake as a characteristic earthquake along this fault. The interval of reoccurrence of large earthquake events on the Central Longmen Shan fault (the Yingxiu–Beichuan fault) can be inferred to be about 11,000 years according to ¹⁴C and OSL dating. The amounts of the vertical displacement and shortening across the surface rupture during the 2008 earthquake are determined to be 1.0–2.8 m and 0.15–1.32 m, respectively. The shortening rate and uplift rate are then estimated to be 0.09–0.12 mm/yr and 0.18–0.2 mm/yr, respectively. It is indicated that the deformation is absorbed mainly not by shortening, but by uplift along the rupture during the 2008 earthquake.     

Characteristics of the 1912 co-seismic rupture along the North Anatolian Fault Zone (Turkey): implications for the expected Marmara earthquake

Evidence of right‐lateral offsets associated with the 1912 earthquake (M_w 7.4) along the North Anatolian Fault (Gaziköy–Saros segment) allow us to survey (using DGPS) the co‐seismic and cumulative slip distribution. The damage distribution and surface breaks related with the earthquake show an elongated zone of maximum intensity (X MSK) parallel to the fault rupture on land but this may extend offshore to the north‐east and south‐west. Detailed mapping of the fault using topographic maps and aerial photographs indicates the existence of pull‐apart basins and pressure ridges. At several localities, the average 1912 offset along strike is 3.5–4 m and cumulative slip is 2–6 times that of individual movement. The fault rupture geometry and slip distribution suggest the existence of three subsegments with a combined total length of 110–120 km, a fault length and maximum slip similar to those of the 1999 Izmit earthquake. The amount of slip at the north‐easternmost section and in the coastal region of the Sea of Marmara reaches an average 4 m, thereby implying the offshore extension of the 1912 rupture. The results suggest that the 1912 event generated up to 150 km of surface faulting, which would imply a M_w 7.2–7.4 earthquake and which, added with rupture lengths of the 1999 earthquakes, help to constrain the remaining seismic gap in the Sea of Marmara.     

2010年玉树地震(Ms7.1)地表破裂特征、破裂机制与破裂过程

2010年4月14日,青海省玉树地区发生Ms7.1级地震,造成大量人员伤亡和财产损失.地震发生后,我们对地震地表破裂带进行了详细的考察,并对同震位移量进行了精确的测量.根据野外考察和测量的结果,对玉树地震的地表破裂特征、同震位移量及其分布特征进行了分析,并对地震的破裂机制和破裂过程进行了探讨,取得如下认识:(1)玉树地震形成了沿鲜水河断裂带西北段(甘孜-玉树断裂)分布的东、西两条地表破裂带,西段破裂带分布在微观震中附近的隆宝湖拉分盆地中,长约19km;东段破裂带沿扎曲河南岸及巴塘河西岸山坡展布,长度约31km;上述两条破裂带之间存在约15km的地表破裂空区;(2)野外测量获得玉树地震的最大同震位移量为2.3m,位于东段地表破裂带中部郭央烟宋多附近;(3)地表破裂和野外构造地貌特征均反映了发震断层处于走滑伸展环境,断层左旋走滑过程中伴随正断作用;(4)地震波反演结果和地表破裂分布特征表明,玉树地震的破裂过程包括两次子事件,分别在地表形成了隆宝湖破裂带和扎曲河、巴塘河破裂带,隆宝湖及玉树县城西侧的山间谷地是在甘孜-玉树断裂长期活动的破裂带阶区转换拉张过程中形成的两个拉分盆地.     

Melt Evolution above a Spontaneously Retreating Subducting Slab in a Three-Dimensional Model

Dehydration of the subducting slab favors the melting of the surrounding mantle.Water content and melt evolution atop a spontaneously retreating subducting slab are reported in a three-dimensional(3-D) model.We find that fluids,including water and melts in the rocks,vary substantially along the trench,which cannot be found in two-dimensional(2-D) models.Their maxima along the subducting slab are mainly located at about 50 to 70 and 120 to 140 km.Volumetric melt production rate changes spatially and episodic...     

Rock Damage Structure of the South Longmen-Shan Fault in the 2008 M8 Wenchuan Earthquake Viewed with Fault-Zone Trapped Waves and Scientific Drilling

This article is to review results from scientific drilling and fault-zone trapped waves(FZTWs) at the south Longman-Shan fault(LSF) zone that ruptured in the 2008 May 12 M8 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, China. Immediately after the mainshock, two Wenchuan Fault Scientific Drilling(WFSD) boreholes were drilled at WFSD-1 and WFSD-2 sites approximately 400 m and 1 km west of the surface rupture along the Yinxiu-Beichuan fault(YBF), the middle fault strand of the south LSF zone. Two boreholes met the principal slip of Wenchuan earthquake along the YBF at depths of 589-m and 1230-m, respectively. The slip is accompanied with a 100-200-m-wide zone consisting of fault gouge, breccia, cataclasite and fractures. Close to WFSD-1 site, the nearly-vertical slip of ~4.3-m with a 190-m wide zone of highly fractured rocks restricted to the hanging wall of the YBF was found at the ground surface after the Wenchuan earthquake. A dense linear seismic array was deployed across the surface rupture at this venue to record FZTWs generated by aftershocks. Observations and 3-D finite-difference simulations of FZTWs recorded at this cross-fault array and network stations close to the YBF show a distinct low-velocity zone composed by severely damaged rocks along the south LSF at seismogenic depths. The zone is several hundred meters wide along the principal slip, within which seismic velocities are reduced by ~30–55% from wall-rock velocities and with the maximum velocity reduction in the ~200-m-wide rupture core zone at shallow depth. The FZTW-inferred geometry and physical properties of the south LSF rupture zone at shallow depth are in general consistent with the results from petrological and structural analyses of cores and well log at WFSD boreholes. We interpret this remarkable low-velocity zone as being a break-down zone during dynamic rupture in the 2008 M8 earthquake. We examined the FZTWS generated by similar earthquakes before and after the 2008 mainshock and observed that seismic velocities within fault core zone was reduced by ~10% due to severe damage of fault rocks during the M8 mainshock. Scientific drilling and locations of aftershocks generating prominent FZTWs also indicate rupture bifurcation along the YBF and the Anxian-Guangxian fault(AGF), two strands of the south LSF at shallow depth. A combination of seismic, petrologic and geologic study at the south LSF leads to further understand the relationship between the fault-zone structure and rupture dynamics, and the amplification of ground shaking strength along the low-velocity fault zone due to its waveguide effect.     

Tomographic imaging of hydrated crust and mantle in the subducting Pacific slab beneath Hokkaido, Japan: Evidence for dehydration embrittlement as a cause of intraslab earthquakes

We estimate detailed three-dimensional seismic velocity structures in the subducting Pacific slab beneath Hokkaido, Japan, using a large number of arrival-time data from 6902 local earthquakes. A remarkable low-velocity layer with a thickness of ~ 10 km is imaged at the uppermost part of the slab and is interpreted as hydrated oceanic crust. The layer gradually disappears at depths of 70–80 km, suggesting the breakdown of hydrous minerals there. We find prominent low-velocity anomalies along the lower plane of the double seismic zone and above the aftershock area of the 1993 Kushiro-oki earthquake (M7.8). Since seismic velocities of unmetamorphosed peridotite are much higher than the observations, hydrous minerals are expected to exist in the lower plane as well as the hypocentral area of the 1993 earthquake. On the other hand, regions between the upper and lower planes, where seismic activity is not so high compared to the both planes, show relatively high velocities comparable to those of unmetamorphosed peridotite. Our observations suggest that intermediate-depth earthquakes occur mainly in regions with hydrous minerals, which support dehydration embrittlement hypothesis as a cause of earthquake in the subducting slab.     

断层导波研究加利福尼亚兰德斯和海克特曼恩地震断层带的四维特征(英文)

美国加利福尼亚州兰德斯和海克特曼恩地区于1992年和1999年先后发生7.4级和7.1级地震,分别在地面产生80km和40km长的断裂带。震后在断裂带布置的密集地震站台记录到明显的断层导波(fault-zone guided waves)。这些导波由断层带内的余震和人工震源激发产生,走时在S波之后,但具有比体波更强的振幅和更长的波列,并具有频散特征。通过对2～7 Hz断层导波的定量分析和三维有限差分数字模拟,获得了震深区断裂带的高分辨内部构造图像以及岩石的物理特性。数字模拟结果表明这些断裂带上存在被严重破碎了的核心层,形成低速、低Q值地震波导。核心破碎带宽约100～200 m,其内地震波波速降为周围岩石的40％～50％,Q值约为10～50。根据岩石断裂力学观点,这一低速、低Q值带可被解释为地震过程中处于断层动态断裂前端的非弹性区(或称之为破碎区,相干过程区)。在兰德斯和海克特曼恩断裂带测得的破碎区宽度与断裂带长度之比约为0.005,基本上符合岩石断裂力学预期的结果。观察到的断层导波还显示兰德斯和海克特曼恩地震中多条断层发生滑移和破碎。兰德斯地震时多条阶梯形断层相继断裂;而在海克特曼恩地震中,断裂带南北两端均出现分枝断裂,深处的分枝断裂较地表出现的破裂状况更为复杂。由三维有限元模拟的动态断裂过程表明,?     

Tomographic imaging of hydrated crust and mantle in the subducting Pacific slab beneath Hokkaido,Japan: Evidence for dehydration embrittlement as a cause of intraslab earthquakes

We estimate detailed three-dimensional seismic velocity structures in the subducting Pacific slab beneath Hokkaido, Japan, using a large number of arrival-time data from 6902 local earthquakes. A remarkable low-velocity layer with a thickness of ~ 10 km is imaged at the uppermost part of the slab and is interpreted as hydrated oceanic crust. The layer gradually disappears at depths of 70–80 km, suggesting the breakdown of hydrous minerals there. We find prominent low-velocity anomalies along the lower plane of the double seismic zone and above the aftershock area of the 1993 Kushiro-oki earthquake (M7.8). Since seismic velocities of unmetamorphosed peridotite are much higher than the observations, hydrous minerals are expected to exist in the lower plane as well as the hypocentral area of the 1993 earthquake. On the other hand, regions between the upper and lower planes, where seismic activity is not so high compared to the both planes, show relatively high velocities comparable to those of unmetamorphosed peridotite. Our observations suggest that intermediate-depth earthquakes occur mainly in regions with hydrous minerals, which support dehydration embrittlement hypothesis as a cause of earthquake in the subducting slab.