Learning and Progressing Through Scientific Practices—Commemorating the 90th Anniversary of the Haiyuan Earthquake and Working to Improve the Ability of Earthquake Prediction and Seismic Hazard Reduction

The great Haiyuan earthquake occurred at 20:06:09 on December 16,1920 in the south of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.The magnitude of this earthquake is 8.5,listed as one of the three greatest earthquakes to ever occur in Chinese continent.This devastating earthquake killed about 230,000 people according to previous reports.Recent studies show that total casualties may have reached 270,000.The study of this earthquake using modern scientific and technological methods is the first in the history of earthquake research in China.Significant breakthroughs took place in the middle of last century.The earthquake surface rupture,with 200km in length and prominent left-lateral strike-slip displacement,was discovered.The first monograph on the Haiyuan earthquake was published.In the 1980s,innovative large-scale geological mapping technology for active faults was developed during studies on the Haiyuan earthquake surface ruptures,with the publication of the first large-scale map of the Haiyuan active fault.Quantitative studies were carried out on the fine structure and geometry of the fault zone,Holocene slip rate,co-seismic displacement,paleoearthquake and recurrence intervals and future earthquake risk assessment.The innovative studies also included rupture propagation along the strike-slip fault,evolution of pull-apart basins,determination of total displacement of the strike-slip fault,transition equilibrium between strike-slip displacement along its major strand and crustal shortening at the end of the strike-slip fault,and the mechanism of deformation on Liupan Mountain.On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Haiyuan earthquake,careful retrospect of scientific progress achieved during the recent 20 years would be helpful in providing further direction in the study of active faults and earthquake hazard reduction.While taking this occasion to remember those lost by the Haiyuan earthquake,we aim to make greater contributions to earthquake prediction and seismic hazard reduction.     

A study on amplification response of soil ground motion in Shanghai using strong motion records

Introduction A good deal of attention was paid to the amplification response of soil layers under the earthquake waves, especially by the engineering seismologists. It can be seen from the Mexico MS=8.1 earthquake on September 19, 1985 and the Hanshin MS=7.4 earthquake on January 17, 1995 that the heavy casualties and property losses have a direct relation to the overburden soil layers. The earthquake ground motions will be significantly amplified when passing through the soil layers. Unde…     

Inversion of coseismic stress-triggered fault slips using borehole strainmeter observations

Coseismic stress-triggering is becoming a new hot spot of research. Coseismic strain steps recorded by borehole strainmeters are particularly valuable in studying coseismic stress-triggered fault slips. Based on the theory of dis location, one can invert the triggered fault slips with such data if he/she has a well understanding about the local faults. Genetic algorithm can be applied to significantly raise the efficiency of searching a best solution among all possibilities in this kind of inversion. A testifying check of the program and analyses of each parameter＇s influence may further enhance the reliability of inversion results. Taking complexity of geological structure into account, the inversion results should be regarded as the predominant property or a comprehensive effect of triggered local faults＇ activities. As an attempt, we inverted the assumingly active faults＇ slips triggered by the Ms=8.1 Kunlun Mountain earthquake over Beijing area.     

Earthquake triggering and delaying caused by fault interaction on Xianshuihe fault belt,southwestern China

The coseismic Coulomb stress change caused by fault interaction and its influences on the triggering and delaying of earthquake are briefly discussed.The Xianshuihe fault belt consists of Luhuo,Daofu,Kangding,Qianning and Ganzi fault.Luohuo(Ms=7.6,1973)-Kangding(Ms=6.2,1975)-Daofu(Ms=6.9,1981)-Ms=6.0,1982)earthquake is a seismic sequence continuous on the time axis with magnitude greater than6.0.They occurred on the Luhuo.Kangding,Daofu and Ganzi fault,respectively.The coseismic Coulomb stress changes caused by each earthquake on its surrounding major faults and microcracks are calculated,and their effects on the triggering and delaying of the next earthquake and aftershocks are analyzed.It is shown that each earthquake of the sequence occurred on the fault segment with coseismic Coulomb stress increases caused by its predecessors,and most after-shocks are distributed along the microcracks with relatively larger coseismic Coulomb stress increases resulted from the main shock.With the fault interaction considered,the seismic potential of each segment along Xianshuihe fault belt is reassessed,and contrasted with those predicted results ignoring coseismic Coulomb stress change,the significance of fault interaction and its effect on triggering and delaying of earthquake are emphasized.It is con-cluded that fault interaction plays a very important role on seismic potential of Xianshuihe fault belt,and the maximal change of future earthquake probability on fault segment is up to 30.5%.     

High-resolution velocity structure and seismogenic potential of strong earthquakes in the Bamei-Kangding segment of the Xianshuihe fault zone

On September 5, 2022, a strong MS6.8 earthquake struck the Luding area in the Kangding-Moxi segment of the Xianshuihe fault zone, which is the northern boundary of the Sichuan-Yunnan rhombic block, causing considerable casualties. The Bamei-Kangding segment of the Xianshuihe fault zone, which is located only tens of kilometers away from the Luding earthquake, has hosted frequent moderate to strong earthquakes in history and is a dangerous earthquake-prone zone. Therefore, it is critical to inves...     

Analysis of faulting destruction and water supply pipeline damage from the first mainshock of the February 6, 2023 Türkiye earthquake doublet

In 2023, two consecutive earthquakes exceeding a magnitude of 7 occurred in Türkiye, causing severe casualties and economic losses. The damage to critical urban infrastructure and building structures, including highways, railroads, and water supply pipelines, was particularly severe in areas where these structures intersected the seismogenic fault. Critical infrastructure projects that traverse active faults are susceptible to the influence of fault movement, pulse velocity, and ground motions. ...     

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.     

Slip rate of the seismogenic fault of the 2021 Maduo earthquake in western China inferred from GPS observations

Seismic and field observations indicate that the M_w7.4 Maduo earthquake ruptured the Jiangcuo fault,which is a secondary fault~85 km south of the northern boundary of the Bayan Hor block in western China.The kinematic characteristics of the Jiangcuo fault can shed lights on the seismogenic mechanism of this earthquake.Slip rate is one of the key parameters to describe the kinematic features of a fault,which can also provide quantitative evidences for regional seismic hazard assessments.However,due to lack of effective observations,the slip rate of the Jiangcuo fault has not been studied quantitatively.In this study,we consider the interaction between the Jiangcuo fault and the eastern Kunlun fault,and estimate the slip rates of the two faults using the interseismic GPS observations across the seismogenic region.The inferred results show that the slip rates of the Jiangcuo fault and the Tuosuo Lake segment of the Kunlun fault are 1.2±0.8 and 5.4±0.3 mm a~(–1),respectively.Combining the slip rate with the average slip inferred from the coseismic slip model,the earthquake recurrence interval of the Jiangcuo fault is estimated to be 1800_(700)~(+3700)years (1100–5500 years).Based on the results derived from previous studies,as well as calculations in this study,we infer that the slip rate of the Kunlun fault may decrease gradually from the Tuosuo Lake segment to the eastern tip.The Jiangcuo fault and its adjacent parallel secondary faults may have absorbed the relative motion of blocks together with the Kunlun fault.     

A recent paleoearthquake on Qingfengling seismic fault of Tanlu fault zone

Introduction The Tanlu fault zone lies in the eastern China, which is an important huge active fault with a long history. It has experienced a complex generation and evolution process and affects significantly the regional structure, paleogeography, magma activity, minerogenesis and earthquake activity in the area. With a length of 2 400 km, the fault zone consists of 2-4 or more parallel faults of 10-40 km in width, cutting through different geotectonic elements in the eastern China （FANG et al, 1986）. On July 25 in 1668, an extraordinarily large earthquake of M=8.5 occurred on the Changyi-Dadian fault （F1） that is an embranchment of Tanlu fault zone, resulting in a surface rupture with a total length of 130 km （LI et al, 1994; CHAO et al, 1995）. The paleoseismic study reveals that 3 events with a magnitude equal to 8 occurred on the Changyi-Dadian fault. The recent event occurred 3 500 a ago and the reoccurrence interval is about 3 500 a （LIN and GAO, 1987）. During the Tancheng earthquake （on July 25, 1668）, the Anqiu-Juxian fault was not ruptured, which was a Late Pleistocene active fault （ZHENG et al, 1988; GAO et al, 1988; CHAO et al, 1994） and was doubted as the seismogenic fault of the M=7.0 Anqiu earthquake occurred in 70 BC by certain geologists （CHAO et al, 1994）.     

Exploration and Study of Major Faults in Anshan City,Liaoning Province

In order to provide a basis for the earthquake resistance protection zoning of Anshan City, westudied the activity of faults. In the study, the synthetic geophysical prospecting techniqueswere used. These techniques include the shallow artificial earthquake method, electric method,geologic radar method, etc., with shallow artificial earthquake sounding as the main means.In the meantime, the data of geophysical prospecting and borehole record of this city werecollected and the methods of field investigation and sample age dating were also used incombination. The results show that there are 5 hidden or semi-hidden faults in Anshon City.Among these faults, Dashitou-Songsantai fault, Ningyuantun fault and Dayangqi fault trendNW, the middle Pleistotene Tanggangzi fault trends NE, while the early Pleistocene or Pre-Quaternary Ertaizi fault trend NW. According to the definition of active faults, none of thesefaults is active. This paper also discussed the cause for the formation of seriously damagedareas in Ans     

A Study on the Tectonic Characteristics of Shallow Faults in the East of Zhengzhou City

Study on fault activity is a fundamental part of earthquake prediction and earthquake relief in big cities.In the active fault exploration in Zhengzhou,the spatial distribution,geological features and activity of the Huayuankou fault,the Shangjie fault and the Xushui fault were determined using the seismic prospecting method.New understanding about the characteristics of the faults was gained.This provides reliable basic data for future earthquake forecast and earthquake relief work in Zhengzhou.In addition,we proposed some ways to identify fault activity through analyzing the characteristics of the activity of a fault and raised an effective method for exploring active faults in big cities and exploring concealed faults in regions covered with thick overburdens.     

Abnormal Variation of H2, Hg and Other Fault Soil Gases Before Earthquake

By observing the variation of fault soil gases,we can understand the activity of faults and information on earthquake precursors.Two fault soil gas observation spots were set up at the Xiadian fault east of Beijing and at the Houhaoyao geothermal area in Huailai(Hebei Province)during November-December 1989.Concentrations of fault soil gases H2,Ar,CO2,CH4,Hg,etc.were observed.Before several moderate-strong earthquakes in 1990,the concentrations of fault soil gases such as H2 and Hg all showed abnormal variations quite significantly.In this paper,we mainly discuss the relation of these fault soil gases to earthquake activity.     

Effect of Poisson’s ratio on stress state in the Wenchuan M_S8.0 earthquake fault

The Wenchuan MS8.0 earthquake occurred on the Longmenshan fault which inclines at a dip angle exceeding 60 degrees.Since most thrust earthquakes occur on faults with dip angles of about 30 degrees,it is enigmatic why the Wenchuan earthquake occurred on such a steep fault.In this study we use a simple finite element model to investigate how the stress state in the fault changes with the variation of Poisson’s ratio.The results show that,with the Poisson’s ratio in the fault increasing,the magnitudes of the p...     

Faulting on the Anninghe fault zone, Southwest China in Late Quaternary and its movement model

The Anninghe fault is one of the significant earthquake-generating fault zones in the Southwest China. Local his-torical record shows that a M≥7 strong earthquake occurred in the year of 1536. On the basis of the detailed air-photographic interpretation and field investigation, we have acquired the following knowledge: 1 The average sinistral strike-slip rate since the Late Pleistocene is about 3~7 mm/a; 2 There is important reverse faulting along the fault zone besides the main left-lateral strike-slip motion, and the shortening rate across the Anninghe fault zone due to the reverse faulting is about 1.7~4.0 mm/a. If the Xianshuihe fault zone is simply partitioned into the Anninghe and Daliangshan faults, we can also get a slip rate of 3~7 mm/a along the Daliangshan fault zone, which is the same as that on the Anninghe fault zone. Moreover, on the basis of our field investigation and the latest knowledge concerning the active tectonics of Tibetan crust, we create a dynamic model for the Anninghe fault zone.     

Analyzing the Relation Between Earthquakes and Active Faults Based on the Parameter Optimization Model

The gestation and occurrence of strong earthquakes are closely related to fault activity, which is not only revealed by abundant experimentation and seismism but also proved by modern seismology. On the Chinese mainland, the relation between earthquake activity and active faults is one of the bases for partitioning potential seismic sources, analyzing the seismotectonics and estimating location of strong earthquakes.Due to the nonuniformity of earth media, instability of observation systems and disturbance of the environment, etc, the variety of observational data is complicated, that is, there is no absolutely "normal" or "abnormal", and seismic anomalies can be divided into many mutually exclusive "abnormal states". In different conditions of combined time-space-strength, determining seismic anomalies by different monomial forecast methods and its efficiency could be different due to the uncertainty of a precursor itself or complexity of the relationship between a precursor and earthquake gestation. It is very difficult to discover and dispose of this difference in actual application in a "two-state" model. But in a "multi-state" model, the difference can be easily reflected and the optimal combination of forecasting parameters for a forecast method can also be determined easily.Based on the "multi-state" precursory model and the optimization method for parameters of earthquake forecast model under the condition of optimal forecast efficiency, the relationship of the spatial location of earthquake with M≥6.0 and active faults in three seismic belts are analyzed. The results demonstrate that in the Hetao Seismic Belt, seismicity is mostly concentrated in the range of 20 km along the fault, the optimization model can forecast the location of potential earthquakes of M≥6.0 near the faults with a relatively high accuracy and the reliability is 0.5; while in the Qilian Mt. Seismic Belt, the reliability only reaches 0.14 when we use the model to estimate earthquakes within 30 km range along the faults. The "multi-state" precursory model, the efficiency-evaluating model and the parameter selection of individual earthquake forecast model based on optimal efficiency are of certain revelatory and practicable meanings for developing knowledge about precursors, investigating the laws of earthquake preparation and searching for optimal forecasting methods.     

Sketch of Epicentral Distribution of Positive and Negative Earthquake and Its Application to the Response Ratio Theory

INTRODUCTION It is common knowledge that the development and occurrence of an earthquake is a very complicated geophysical process. An earthquake is caused by the local failure of the earth crust medium, and earthquakes are distributed inhomogeneously in space. Seismic activities, however, are a real reflection of the interaction of the faults, which provides us some information concerning the earth crust medium and may help us predict the earthquake. Therefore, the study of the seismicity pattern can become a means of earthquake prediction. In order to reflect directly the spacial distribution of seismic activities, the sketch of epicentral distribution has been widety used in the study     

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.     

Geometric structure and formation mechanism of Lintong-Chang’an fault zone

The results from investigation of large quantity of fault outcrops and artificial earthquakes suggest that the Lin-tong-Chang’an fault zone mainly consists of two faults. One is the Majie-Nianwan fault that separates a branch of Wangjiabian-Houjiawan fault on the right bank of the Bahe River; the other is the Hujiagou-Shoupazhang fault that separates a branch of Zhongdicun-Tangjiazhai fault in Tongrenyuan and Shaolingyuan. As tensional dip-slip normal faults, the faults distribute with approximately parallel equal intervals in local regions and the profiles drop in a step-like form to the northwest, presenting a Y-shape combination. The result from deep seismic reflection indicates that the fault is about 5~8 km in depth, which is not only a basement fault, but also a listric normal fault in the deep stratum. The Lintong-Chang’an fault is a typical outstretching rift system under the NS-trending ten-sion stress field. At the same time, affected by the sinistral strike slip of the Yuxia-Tieluzi fault, the fault extends like a broom from the northeast to the southwest.     

Geometric form of Haiyuan fault zone in the crustal interior and dynamics implications

Introduction The deep faults in the crust have direct relation to the occurrence of earthquakes and the dis-tribution of active seismic zones, so the researches on the geometric form and physical parametersof deep crustal faults are always an important problem in seismology. The researches are not onlysignificant to knowledge the deep tectonic background of strong earthquake and seismogenicmechanism, but also play a very important role in earthquake hazard estimation and earthquakeprevent…     

垂直和倾斜断层围陷波的谱元法数值模拟及其波场特征对比

Fault zone trapped waves( F ZTWs) m ainly travel along the fractured fault zone( F Z)which is of low velocity and high attenuation. FZTWs often carry significant information about a fault  s internal structure,so it is important to understand their wave field characteristics for FZ structure inversion. Most previous simulations are based on vertical faults,while in this paper we implement the FZTW simulations on vertical or inclined faults and compare their wave fields in both time and frequency domains. The results show that the existence of fault zone and inclined angle of fault can significantly influence the features of waves near faults. In amplitude,a fault zone can generate a larger amplitude of waves. The velocity contrast between two walls of fault may lead to amplification of amplitudes in the low velocity fault wall. In frequency,a fault zone tends to influence the waves in the low frequency range. In a pattern of particle polarization of FZTWs,it tends to be single direction for vertical faults but fork to multiple directions for inclined faults,which might provide a new way to study the fault zone with FZTWs. These conclusions may be valuable for FZ structure inversion,and will enhance the knowledge on near-fault strong ground motions.