Fault plane parameters of Tancheng M81/2 earthquake on the basis of present-day seismological data

The great Tancheng earthquake of M81/2 occurred in 1668 was the largest seismic event ever recorded in history in eastern China.This study determines the fault geometry of this earthquake by inverting seismological data of present-day moderate-small earthquakes in the focal area.We relocated those earthquakes with the double-difference method and found focal mechanism solutions using gird test method.The inversion results are as follows:the strike is 21.6°,the dip angle is 89.5°,the slip angle is 170°,the fault length is about 160 km,the lower-boundary depth is about 32 km and the buried depth of upper boundary is about 4 km.This shows that the seismic fault is a NNE-trending upright right-lateral strike-slip fault and has cut through the crust.Moreover,the surface seismic fault,intensity distribution of the earthquake,earthquake-depth distribution and seismic-wave velocity profile in the focal area all verified our study result.     

Preliminary analysis on the source properties and seismogenic structure of the 2017 M_s7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquake

At GMT time 13:19, August 8, 2017, an Ms7.0 earthquake struck the Jiuzhaigou region in Sichuan Province, China,causing severe damages and casualties. To investigate the source properties, seismogenic structures, and seismic hazards, we systematically analyzed the tectonic environment, crustal velocity structure in the source region, source parameters and rupture process, Coulomb failure stress changes, and 3-D features of the rupture plane of the Jiuzhaigou earthquake. Our results indicate the following:(1) The Jiuzhaigou earthquake occurred on an unmarked fault belonging to the transition zone of the east Kunlun fault system and is located northwest of the Huya fault.(2) Both the mainshock and aftershock rupture zones are located in a region where crustal seismic velocity changes dramatically. Southeast to the source region, shear wave velocity at the middle to lower crust is significantly low, but it rapidly increases northeastward and lies close to the background velocity across the rupture fault.(3) The aftershock zone is narrow and distributes along the northwest-southeast trend, and most aftershocks occur within a depth range of 5–20 km.(4) The focal mechanism of the Jiuzhaigou earthquake indicates a left-lateral strike-slip fault, with strike, dip, and rake angles of 152°, 74° and 8°, respectively. The hypocenter depth measures 20 km, whereas the centroid depth is about 6 km. The co-seismic rupture mainly concentrates at depths of 3–13 km, with a moment magnitude(M_w) of 6.5.(5) The co-seismic rupture also strengthens the Coulomb failure stress at the two ends of the rupture fault and the east segment of the Tazang fault. Aftershocks relocation results together with geological surveys indicate that the causative fault is a near vertical fault with notable spatial variations: dip angle varies within 66°–89° from northwest to southeast and the average dip angle measures ~84°. The results of this work are of fundamental importance for further studies on the source characteristics, tectonic environment, and seismic hazard evaluation of the Jiuzhaigou earthquake.     

Fault geometrical model of Dujiangyan section in Longmenshan fault zone

The focal mechanism solution on the seismic fault plane can reflect the geometric and kinematic characteristics of faults, and it is an important way to further study the fine structure of fault plane. From the focal mechanism solution of the earthquakes around the Dujiangyan fault in Longmenshan fault zone, we derived the average dip angle of Dujiangyan fault is 45.1° based on the seismic moment tensor theory. In order to refine the fault geometry structure, this paper decomposed it into multiple sub-fault planes along the length and width of the fault plane and forms a number of models A13, B13, A23 a, A23 b, A23 c, B23 a,B23 b and B23 c, then calculated the sub-fault's dip of each model. In order to clarify exactly which one of the fault models is closest to the real fault model, the fault slip was carried out for each model in turn, then compared the surface displacement of each model with GPS observations. The results show that B23 c model with high dip in shallow and small dip in deep is the best model, the lengths of each subfault of Dujiangyan fault from south to north are 33 km, 21 km and 46 km, respectively. When the depth of the fault bottom is about 11 km, the dip angles are 70.56°, 67.41° and 45.55°.When the depth of the fault bottom is about 30 km, The fault dip angles are 44.55°, 29.18° and 44.25°.     

Rupture process of the 2015 Pishan earthquake from joint inversion of InSAR,teleseismic data and GPS

An earthquake of Mw6.4 occurred in Pishan County in Xinjiang Province, northwestern Tibetan Plateau, on July 3,2015. The epicenter was located on an active blind thrust system located at the northern margin of the Western Kunlun Mountain Orogenic Belt southwest of the Tarim Basin. We constructed a shovel-shaped fault model based on the layered-crust model with reference to the seismic reflection profile, and obtained the rupture process of the earthquake from the joint inversion of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar(InSAR) measurements, far-field waveform data, and Global Positioning System(GPS) data. The results show that the seismic fault dips southward with a strike of 109°, and the rupture direction was essentially northward. The fault plane rupture distribution is concentrated, with a maximum recorded slip of 73 cm. The main features of the fault are as follows: low inclination angle(25°–10°), thrust slip at a depth of 9–13 km, rupture propagation time of about 12 s, no significant slip in soft or hard sedimentary layers at 0–4 km depth and propagation from the initial rupture point to the surrounding area with no obvious directionality. The InSAR time-series analysis method is used to determine the deformation rate in the source region within 2 years after the earthquake, and the maximum value is ~17 mm yr-1 in the radar line-of-sight direction. Obvious post-earthquake deformation is evident in the hanging wall, with a similar trend to the coseismic displacement field. These results suggest that the Pishan earthquake has not completely released the accumulated energy of the region, given that the multilayer fold structure above the blind fault is still in a process of slow uplift since the earthquake. Post-earthquake adjustment models and aftershock risk analysis require further study using more independent data.     

Rupture model of the 2013 M_W 6.6 Lushan (China) earthquake constrained by a new GPS data set and its effects on potential seismic hazard

Vertical records are critically important when determining the rupture model of an earthquake, especially a thrust earthquake. Due to the relatively low fitness level of near-field vertical displacements, the precision of previous rupture models is relatively low, and the seismic hazard evaluated thereafter should be further updated. In this study, we applied three-component displacement records from GPS stations in and around the source region of the 2013 MW6.6 Lushan earthquake to re-investigate the rupture model.To improve the resolution of the rupture model, records from both continuous and campaign GPS stations were gathered, and secular deformations of the GPS movements were removed from the records of the campaign stations to ensure their reliability. The rupture model was derived by the steepest descent method(SDM), which is based on a layered velocity structure. The peak slip value was about 0.75 m, with a seismic moment release of 9.89 × 10~(18) N·m, which was equivalent to an M_W6.6 event. The inferred fault geometry coincided well with the aftershock distribution of the Lushan earthquake. Unlike previous rupture models, a secondary slip asperity existed at a shallow depth and even touched the ground surface. Based on the distribution of the co-seismic ruptures of the Lushan and Wenchuan earthquakes, post-seismic relaxation of the Wenchuan earthquake, and tectonic loading process, we proposed that the seismic hazard is quite high and still needs special attention in the seismic gap between the two earthquakes.     

The Focal Mechanism Solutions of the M_S 8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake in Sichuan on May 12,2008 and Some of Its Aftershocks

The focal mechanism solutions of the Wenchuan earthquake(MS8.0) of May 12,2008 and some of its aftershocks occurring up to December 10,2008 are determined with lower semisphere of equal-projection and first motion sign data of P waves from regional and distant stations.The focal mechanism solutions of the MS8.0 Wenchuan earthquake are:Nodal planeⅠ:strike 5°,dip angle 48°,slip angle 39°; Nodal planeⅡ:strike 247°,dip angle 62°,slip angle 131°; P axis azimuth 309°,plunge 8°,T axis azimuth 208°,plunge 54°,B axis azimuth 44°,plunge 35°.Combining geological tectonics and spatial distribution of aftershocks,nodal plane II can be identified as a seismogenic fault.According to focal mechanism solutions,the fault activity that triggered the huge earthquake is reverse thrusting.The main rupture surface is S67° W,basically identical to the fault strike on which the earthquake occurred.The main compression stress P axis is N51°W,which is basically the same as the direction of the regional tectonic stress field.According to the results of focal mechanism solutions of aftershocks,the aftershocks occurring in the southern and northern sections of the Longmenshan fault zone have predominant orientations and are obviously different.For the main shock and the early aftershocks occurring on the southern section of the Longmenshan fault,the rupturing is mainly characterized by reverse-dip slip with some strike-slip,and over time,the aftershocks migrated towards the northern section.The rupturing in the source is mainly characterized by strike-slip with some reverse-dip slips.The stress field is controlled by the main shock stress field in the southern section of the Longmenshan tectonic zone,while it is controlled by the main shock stress field and regional stress field in the northern section of the Longmenshan tectonic zone.     

2007年宁洱6.4级地震序列精定位

Five mobile digital seismic stations were set up by the Earthquake Administration of Yunnan Province near the epicenter of the main shock after the Ning’er M6.4 earthquake on June 3, 2007. In this paper, the aftershock sequence of the Ning’er M6.4 earthquake is relocated by using the double difference earthquake location method. The data is from the 5 mobile digital seismic stations and the permanent Simao seismic station. The results show that the length of the aftershock sequence is 40km and the width is 30km, concentrated obviously at the lateral displacement area between the Pu’er fault and the NNE-trending faults, with the majority occurring on the Pu’er fault around the main shock. The depths of aftershocks are from 2km to 12km, and the predominant distribution is in the depth of 8～10km. The mean depth is 7.9km. The seismic fault dips to the northwest revealed from the profile parallel to this aftershock sequence, which is identical to the dip of the secondary fault of the NE-trending Menglian-Mojiang fault in the earthquake area. There are more earthquakes concentrated in the northwest segment than in the southeast segment, which is perhaps related to the underground medium and faults. The depth profile of the earthquake sequence shows that the relocated earthquakes are mainly located near the Pu’er fault and the seismic faults dip to the southwest, consistent with the dip of the west branch of the Pu’er fault. In all, the fault strike revealed by earthquake relocations matches well with the strike in the focal mechanism solutions. The main shock is in the top of the aftershock sequence and the aftershocks are symmetrically distributed, showing that faulting was complete in both the NE and SW directions.     

A Research on the 2014 Wenzhou M4.2 Earthquake in the Shanxi Reservoir

Complete records of more than 3,000 earthquake events in the Shanxi, Wenzhou reservoir earthquake sequence were recorded from August to November,2014 by the high-density,high-resolution monitoring stations of the Zhejiang Regional Digital Seismic Network and the reservoir earthquake monitoring network,with a maximum magnitude of M4. 2. Based on 3-D epicenter location, focal mechanism solutions, and in combination with the geological and tectonic characteristics of the reservoir area,the earthquake sequence is discussed in this paper. The linear fitting of the Hypo SAT location results show that the main shock occurred in the NW trending fault and the earthquake sequence is concentrated in bands along the active faults,with a strike of305 °,dipping SW with dip angle of 85 °. By using P-wave first motion symbols, we obtained the average focal mechanism of M ≥ 3. 5 earthquakes,with a strike 308 ° and dip 84 ° for nodal plane II. The field geological survey and research show that the strike,dip and rake of nodal plane II are roughly consistent with the occurrence of the Shuangxi-Jiaoxi fault. The comprehensive analysis reveals that the NW-trending Shuangxi-Jiaoxi fault is the seismogenic structure of the earthquakes.     

The 20 April 2013 Lushan,Sichuan, mainshock,and its aftershock sequence: tectonic implications

Using the double-difference relocation algorithm,we relocated the 20 April 2013 Lushan,Sichuan,earthquake(MS7.0),and its 4,567 aftershocks recorded during the period between 20 April and May 3,2013.Our results showed that most aftershocks are relocated between10 and 20 km depths,but some large aftershocks were relocated around 30 km depth and small events extended upward near the surface.Vertical cross sections illustrate a shovel-shaped fault plane with a variable dip angle from the southwest to northeast along the fault.Furthermore,the dip angle of the fault plane is smaller around the mainshock than that in the surrounding areas along the fault.These results suggest that it may be easy to generate the strong earthquake in the place having a small dip angle of the fault,which is somewhat similar to the genesis of the 2008Wenchuan earthquake.The Lushan mainshock is underlain by the seismically anomalous layers with low-VP,low-VS,and high-Poisson’s ratio anomalies,possibly suggesting that the fluid-filled fractured rock matrices might significantly reduce the effective normal stress on the fault plane to bring the brittle failure.The seismic gap between Lushan and Wenchuan aftershocks is suspected to be vulnerable to future seismic risks at greater depths,if any.     

Crustal Deformation Background Simulation of the Kekexili M_S8.1 Earthquake Happening in 2001

Using the GPS velocity data from 27 stations around the Eastern Kunlun fault as constraints,we first invert the slip velocities of the Eastern Kunlun fault,the north boundary fault of the Qaidam basin,the Mani-Yushu fault and the Margai Caka fault before the Kekexili MS8.1 earthquake with a 3-D elastic half-space dislocation model. The deformation field calculated from the slip movement of these faults can be considered the deformation background field of the earthquake. Based on the deformation background field with tectonic implications,we have obtained the strain field and earthquake moment accumulation field. The results show that there are two obvious high moment accumulation rate regions,one of which is the Dongdatan-Xidatan segment of the Eastern Kunlun fault where the M_S8.1 earthquake occurred in 2001.     

The accessible seismological dataset of a high-density 2D seismic array along Anninghe fault

The scientific goal of the Anninghe seismic array is to investigate the detailed geometry of the Anninghe fault and the velocity structure of the fault zone. This 2D seismic array is composed of 161 stations forming sub-rectangular geometry along the Anninghe fault, which covers 50 km and 150 km in the fault normal and strike directions, respectively, with ～ 5 km intervals.The data were collected between June 2020 and June 2021, with some level of temporal gaps. Two types of instruments, i.e. QS...     

Characteristics of InSAR Coseismic Deformation and Slip Distribution of the Akto MS6.7 Earthquake,Xinjiang

The Akto M_S6. 7 earthquake occurred near the western end of the Muji fault basin in the top of the Pamir syntaxis. The main shock of this earthquake is complicated and the focal mechanism solutions based on the seismic wave inversions are different. Based on the Sentinel-1 SAR data,the coseismal deformation field of the earthquake is obtained by In SAR technique. Based on the elastic half-space dislocation model,the geometrical parameters and the slip distribution model are determined by nonlinear and linear inversion algorithms. The results show that the distributed slip model can well explain the coseismic deformation field. The earthquake includes at least two rupture events,which are located at 7 km(74. 11°E,39. 25°N)and 33 km(74. 49°E,39. 16°N)east from the epicenter according to the CENC. The deformation field caused by the earthquake shows a symmetry distribution,with the maximum LOS deformation of 20 cm. The main seismic slip is concentrated in the 0-20 km depth,and the maximum slip is 0. 84 m. The seismic fault is the Muji fault,and this earthquake indicates that the northeastward push of the Indian plate is enhanced.     

Fluid-driven seismicity in relatively stable continental regions:Insights from the February 3~(rd), 2020 M_S5.1 Qingbaijiang isolated earthquake

On February 3~(rd), 2020, an isolated M_S5.1 earthquake occurred in the northern section of the Longquanshan fault zone. This study aims at defining the geometry of seismogenic structures of this earthquake. In detail, centroid moment tensor inversion results show that the earthquake is characterized by a focal depth of 3.8 km with no corresponding surface faults. The strike/dip/rake angles for the two nodal planes are 205°/54°/96° and 15°/36°/82°, respectively. With the analyses of coseismic deformation of the surface obtained from InSAR measurements, together with the information of relocated hypocenters for a small number of aftershocks, it is concluded that a northwest-dipping nodal plane corresponds well to the source fault. The fault is suggested to have a length of about 2.8 km and a depth range of 2–5 km, and the centroid of the earthquake is located at 104.48°E and 30.71°N. Furthermore, multiple pieces of evidence indicate that this earthquake is partly driven by the overpressure effect associated with the adjacent natural gas packets, which is similar to several other moderate natural earthquakes in Sichuan Basin.     

用CAP方法研究安庆4.8级地震震源机制

In this article, we have inverted local broadband waveform data to determine the focal mechanism of the 2011 MS4.8 Anqing earthquake. Our results show that the best double couple solution of the MS4.8 event is 16°, 74° and 120° for strike, dip and rake angles of one nodal plane respectively, and 131°, 33°, 30° for the other nodal plane. The estimated focal depth is about 3km. Both strikes of the two nodal planes differ significantly to the strike of Susong-Zongyang fault, along which seismic activity has been at a low level since the Late Quaternary. This implies that this earthquake may not have occurred on the Susong-Zongyang fault, and we infer that a buried fault with strike of NNE may be the seismogenic structure of this event.     

2012年6月30日新疆新源-和静MS6.6地震序列震源机制解?

In this article,we use the CAP method to invert the focal mechanism of Xinyuan-Hejing M S6. 6 earthquake on June 30,2012. Our result shows that the best double couple solution of the M S6. 6 event is 299°,68° and 164° for strike,dip and rake angles respectively. The other nodal plane is 35°,75° and 23°. The azimuth and dip angle of the P-axis are 166°and 5°,those of the T-axis are 258° and 26°. The moment magnitude is 6. 3. The estimated focal depth is about 21 km. The predominant rupture direction of this seismic sequence is NWW. The dip angles are between 60° and 90°. The rake angles are in the majority of ± 180°± 30°. The predominant strike of the azimuthal angle of the P-axis is near NS and T-axis is near EW. Preliminary analysis indicates that nodal plane I is the seismogenic fault,which is a NWW-trending,nearly upright left-lateral strike-slip fault.The displacement property,the principal compressive stress of this M S6. 6 earthquake and the P-axis preponderant orientation of this seismic sequence agree with the characteristics of the tectonic stress field of the focal area and its surroundings.     

Focal Mechanism Solution of the February 23,2014,M_L3.8 Rongchang Earthquake with the CAP (Cut and Paste) Method

A M_L3.8 earthquake occurred on February 23,2014 in Rongchang County,which is located at the southern edge of the Sichuan Basin in the border area between Sichuan and Chongqing. This paper presents results of focal mechanism solution of this earthquake using the CAP( cut and paste) method based on broadband seismograms recorded by regional seismic stations. Our results show that the moment magnitude is M_W3. 09 and focal depth is 3km. The hypocenter of this earthquake is located close to a buried fault in the Luoguangshan anticline. Oil prospecting and deep drilling data indicate that this buried fault is a thrust fault,striking SW230°,dipping NW45°,and 1. 7km deep. There are some injection wells within the anticline,and significant injection-induced earthquakes were observed during the periods of injection of waste water into the deep formations through those wells. The best double couple solution of the M_L3.8 earthquake is 247°,48°and 104° for strike,dip and rate,respectively,for one nodal plane( and 46°,44° and 74°for another nodal plane),which is in agreement with the geometry of the buried fault.Therefore,we conclude that the M_L3.8 Rongchang earthquake is possibly the result of faulting along the buried reverse fault induced by water injection under the compressive stress regime in the area.     

Fault slip and modern tectonic stress field in and around Kunming basin

Kunming basin is a Cenozoic faulted basin under the control of mainly SN-trending active faults. In and around the basin, there are a total of eight major active faults. Seismo-geological survey and fault slip observation show that the SN- and NE-trending active faults are mostly sinistral strike-slip faults, while the NW-trending faults are mostly dextral strike-slip faults. Using stress tensor inversion method with 706 active fault striation data at 22 measurement sites, we determined tectonic stress field of the study area. The result shows that modern tectonic stress field in and around Kunming basin is characterized by NNW-SSE compression, ENE-WSW extension, and strike-slip stress regimes. The maximum principal compressional stress (σ1) is oriented 335o~2o, with an average dip angle of 21°; the minimum (σ3) is oriented 44o~93o, with an average dip angle of 14°, and the intermediate (σ2) has a high, or nearly vertical, dip angle. The inversion result from fault slip data is consistent with the result from focal mechanism solutions.     

Source process of M_s6.4 earthquake in Ning’er, Yunnan in 2007

The moment tensor solution, source time function and spatial-temporal rupture process of the MS6.4 earthquake, which occurred in Ning’er, Yunnan Province, are obtained by inverting the broadband waveform data of 20 global stations. The inverted result shows that the scalar seismic moment is 5.51×1018 Nm, which corresponds to a moment magnitude of MW 6.4. The correspondent best double couple solution results in two nodal planes of strike 152°/dip 54°/rake 166°, and strike 250°/dip 79°/ rake 37°, respectively...     

Geometrical Study of Detachment Depth of Tilted Blocks

In an extensional basin,the process of hanging wall block rotation above a detachment fault zone is controlled by block geometry,the shape of the main normal faults,and the detachment depth.A formula for calculating the detachment depth of a tilted block is established in geometrical aspect from the tilting angle of the rotational block,dip angle of the main boundary fault,and the sedimentary thickness in the basin.The calculated result shows that the detachment depth of the tilted block,controlled by a rotational planar normal fault in the Linxian basin,on the eastern slope of Taihangshan Mountain,North China,is about 12.5 km,which is consistent with the analytic result of seismic data in the area.The value is similar to the estimated depth of the usual brittle ductile transition in a rift zone.The geometrical model presented in this paper,however,can provide a range of structural patterns of hanging wall and the detachment depth for reference in hydrocarbon exploration and earthquake processes.     

Focal Fault of the 1999 Datong Ms5.6 Earthquake in Shanxi Province

Several earthquakes with Ms≥5.0 occurred in the Datong seismic region in 1989,1991 and 1999,The precise focus location of the earthquake sequence was made by the records of the remote sensing seismic station network in Datong.Using that data together with macro-intensity distribution and focal mechanism solutions,we analyze the difference among three subsequences.The results show that the focal fault of the 1999 Ms 5.6 earthquake was a NWW-trending left-lateral strike-slip fault.It is 16km long and 12km wide.It developed at the depth of 5km and is nearly vertical in dip.The two previous earthquake subsequences,however,were generated by activity along NNE-trending right-lateral strike-slip fault.It can be found that the rupture directioin of the 1999 earthquake has changed.It is generally found that a rupture zone has more than two directions and has different strength along these two directions.The complicate degree of focal circumstance is related to the type of earthquake sequences.There is the NE-trending Dawangcun fault and the NW-trending Tuanbu fault in the seismic region,but no proof indicates a connection between focal faults and these two tectonic faults.The feature that focal faults of three subsequences are strike-slip is different from that of the two tectonic faults.It is suggested that the 1999 earthquake subsequence was possibly generated by a new rupture.