Pressure overloads within a subducting plate and the density contrast between the plate and mantle: Some geophysical implications

Summary The density of a subducting plate is shown to become greater than the density of the adjacent mantle rock at a subduction depth on the order of 60 km. The density increase results from high pressures generated within the plate during its motion into mantle rock whose long-term strength is much less than the long-term strength of the plate. This positive density contrast between the plate and mantle is in addition to any positive density contrast that may result from the plate not being in thermal equilibrium with the adjacent mantle rock. The effect of this pressure induced density contrast on the overall down-dip stress distribution in the plate is shown to be insignificant on earthquake formation except, possibly, near the upper, near-surface portions of the plate. Implications of this result in terms of the inclusion collapse theory of deep earthquakes are discussed.     

山东地区地壳P波三维速度结构及其与地震活动的关系

利用山东及周边区域地震台网1975—2014年1月期间记录到的1369个地震的13781个P波到时数据对山东地区地壳结构进行了层析成像研究.结果表明,山东地区地壳速度结构存在明显的不均匀性.沂沭断裂带介质速度结构复杂,呈现明显的分段特征,两侧块体速度存在差异,具有块体边界的构造特征.鲁西断块20km以下深度处存在大规模的低速异常区,这与该地区始新世发生的大规模滑脱拆离构造有关,可能产生于太平洋板块的西向俯冲导致地幔热物质沿沂沭断裂带向上并向西涌动.历史大震及ML4.0以上中强震大部分为走滑型地震,主要发生于高低速异常过渡带且有深大断裂穿过的地区.震群主要发生于低速体上部或周边,且震源深度优势分布在中上地壳,这与地下介质富含流体并导致应力集中有关.     

Theory of earthquakes — IV. General implications for earthquake prediction

The scale invariant inclusion theory of failure is applied to the general problem of precursors that precede failure. A precursor is defined to be an effect produced within a physical system which indicates that the process leading to failure of the system has begun. Precursors are grouped into three classes.Class I precursors refer to long-term indicators of impending failure. These may includev _p/v_s, long-term tilt, and crustal uplift anomalies observed to precede some major shallow earthquakes by afew years. Class II precursors refer to short-term indicators of failure and include: S-bend tilt, electromagnetic radiation, radon emanations, and seismicity changes that have been reported to precede major earthquakes by afew hours. Class III precursors refer tovery short-termphenomena such as long-period (strain) waves,rapid changes in surface ground tilts, and seismicity increase in the hypocentral region that are predicted by the inclusion theory to precede major shallow earthquakes by afew seconds.The physical processes that occur within the inclusion zone of an impending failure that indirectly produce the class II precursors are used with the scale invariant properties of failure to show that their time duration is a direct measure of the average length of the cracks that comprise the inclusion zone. This result is used to derive the precursor time-fault length relationship that has been observed to hold for class I precursors of shallow earthquakes, mine failures, and laboratory size failures of rock. The physical model proposed for producing class I, class II, and indirectly, the class III precursors leads to six results when both the Utsu relationship between aftershock area and earthquake magnitude and the Gutenberg-Richter energy-magnitude relationship are satisfied. (1) The seismic efficiency factor for failures satisfying the constraints of the inclusion theory is approximately 0.40%. (2) The energy radiated by aftershocks will be at least 1.0% of the energy radiated bythe mainshock. (3) An upper limiting magnitude of any aftershock in the aftershock sequence isM–1.6, whereM is the mainshock magnitude. (4) The time durations of all three precursor classes are shown to be shortened (or lengthened) by a factor inversely proportional to the rate of increase (or decrease) of the far-field stresses during the time duration of the precursor. Changes in far-field stresses, such as might occur to tidal effects, are shown to be of particular importance in initiating class II precursors, and it is shown that tidal stresses provide a mechanism for triggering large earthquakes (M6.0) in regions that are at the point of incipient failure. Thus, class II precursors may give the appearance of being independent of magnitude for large earthquakes. (5) When fluids are present in the focal volume of the mainshock, the predicted magnitude, calculated by class I precursors, will always be larger than the observed magnitude. (6) Seismic events that produce the inclusion zone of the impending mainshock will not be followed by aftershocks. These events are predicted to be characterized by anomalously long rupture lengths.The inclusion theory is shown to provide a physical basis for criteria required to predict failure. The implications of the inclusion theory to the problem of earthquake prediction are discussed. The theory is applied to existing earthquake-prone regions.     

对日本俯冲带与IBM俯冲带俯冲特征的地球物理研究:来自重力与震源分布数据的启示

日本俯冲带与IBM俯冲带位于太平洋板块、菲律宾海板块和欧亚板块三者的交汇地带,是典型的"俯冲工厂"地区,具有重要的研究意义.本文利用震源分布资料与卫星重力数据对日本俯冲带与IBM俯冲带进行了研究.通过空间重力异常反映了俯冲带地区的区域构造形态,在此基础上基于艾利模式计算了均衡异常以反映地壳均衡特征.利用震源分布资料,分别从垂直俯冲带走向与沿俯冲带走向划定了横截剖面(cross-sections)进行了地震提取,讨论了俯冲带地区的Wadati-Benioff带形态特征,并借助于俯冲带地震等深线图直观描述了俯冲带的俯冲形态.在日本俯冲带与伊豆—小笠原俯冲带各选取了一条典型剖面进行了重力2.5D反演,研究了俯冲带地区的壳幔结构特征.研究结果表明,九州—帕劳海脊与IBM岛弧在均衡异常上存在差异,前者已逐渐趋向于地壳均衡.IBM的Wadati-Benioff带存在明显的南北差异,反映出伊豆—小笠原俯冲板片停留在了660km转换带中,而马里亚纳俯冲板片很可能垂直穿过了这一转换带,造成这种南北差异的原因与板块相对运动、岩石圈黏性和年龄差异以及俯冲板片的重力效应等因素有关.在IBM的中部和南部存在板片撕裂现象.日本俯冲带的俯冲洋壳密度随俯冲深度变化较小,洋幔存在一定程度的蛇纹岩化,地幔楔蛇纹岩化作用不典型,海沟处有一范围较小的含水畸变带;伊豆—小笠原俯冲带俯冲洋壳密度随深度增大而明显增大,洋幔蛇纹岩化程度较日本俯冲带低,地幔楔蛇纹岩化作用强烈,板块交汇处存在明显的蛇纹岩底辟.日本俯冲带与IBM俯冲带一线自北向南板片俯冲变陡,两侧板块耦合度降低,与俯冲带两侧的板块运动速率差异有关.     

Quantitative estimates of interplate coupling inferred from outer rise earthquakes

Interplate coupling plays an important role in the seismogenesis of great interplate earthquakes at subduction zones. The spatial and temporal variations of such coupling control the patterns of subduction zone seismicity. We calculate stresses in the outer rise based on a model of oceanic plate bending and coupling at the interplate contact, to quantitatively estimate the degree of interplate coupling for the Tonga, New Hebrides, Kurile, Kamchatka, and Marianas subduction zones. Depths and focal mechanisms of outer rise earthquakes are used to constrain the stress models. We perform waveform modeling of body waves from the GDSN network to obtain reliable focal depth estimates for 24 outer rise earthquakes. A propagator matrix technique is used to calculate outer rise stresses in a bending 2-D elastic plate floating on a weak mantle. The modeling of normal and tangential loads simulates the total vertical and shear forces acting on the subducting plate. We estimate the interplate coupling by searching for an optimal tangential load at the plate interface that causes the corresponding stress regime within the plate to best fit the earthquake mechanisms in depth and location.We find the estimated mean tangential load over 125–200 km width ranging between 166 and 671 bars for Tonga, the New Hebrides, the Kuriles, and Kamchatka. This magnitude of the coupling stress is generally compatible with the predicted shear stress at the plate contact from thermal-mechanical plate models byMolnar andEngland (1990), andVan den Buekel andWortel (1988). The estimated tectonic coupling,F _tc , is on the order of 10¹²–10¹³ N/m for all the subduction zones.F _tc for Tonga and New Hebrides is about twice as high as in the Kurile and Kamchatka arcs. The corresponding earthquake coupling forceF _ec appears to be 1–10% of the tectonic coupling from our estimates. There seems to be no definitive correlation of the degree of seismic coupling with the estimated tectonic coupling. We find that outer rise earthquakes in the Marianas can be modeled using zero tangential load.     

Anelasticity of the crust and upper mantle beneath north and central India from the inversion of observed Love and Rayleigh wave attenuation data

The fundamental mode Love and Rayleigh waves generated by earthquakes occurring in Kashmir, Nepal Himalaya, northeast India and Burma and recorded at Hyderabad, New Delhi and Kodaikanal seismic stations are analysed. Love and Rayleigh wave attenuation coefficients are obtained at time periods of 15–100 seconds, using the spectral amplitude of these waves for 23 different paths along northern (across Burma to New Delhi) and central (across Kashmir, Nepal Himalaya and northeast India to Hyderabad and Kodaikanal) India. Love wave attenuation coefficients are found to vary from 0.0003 to 0.0022 km^–1 for northern India and 0.00003 km^–1 to 0.00016 km^–1 for central India. Similarly, Rayleigh wave attenuation coefficients vary from 0.0002 km^–1 to 0.0016 km^–1 for northern India and 0.00001 km^–1 to 0.0009 km^–1 for central India. Backus and Gilbert inversion theory is applied to these surface wave attenuation data to obtainQ ^–1 models for the crust and uppermost mantle beneath northern and central India. Inversion of Love and Rayleigh wave attenuation data shows a highly attenuating zone centred at a depth of 20–80 km with lowQ for northern India. Similarly, inversion of Love and Rayleigh wave attenuation data shows a high attenuation zone below a depth of 100 km. The inferred lowQ value at mid-crustal depth (high attenuating zone) in the model for northern India can be by underthrusting of the Indian plate beneath the Eurasian plate which has caused a low velocity zone at this shallow depth. The gradual increase ofQ ^–1 from shallow to deeper depth shows that the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary is not sharply defined beneath central India, but rather it represents a gradual transformation, which starts beneath the uppermost mantle. The lithospheric thickness is 100 km beneath central India and below that the asthenosphere shows higher attenuation, a factor of about two greater than that in the lithosphere. The very lowQ can be explained by changes in the chemical constitution taking place in the uppermost mantle.     

青藏高原震源分布与板块运动

本文分析了青藏高原及其邻区大量近期地震的震源深度分布资料,发现中源地震不仅分布在众所周知的兴都库什和印缅山弧一带,而且在印度洋板块与欧亚板块汇聚带印度河-雅鲁藏布江以南,以及欧亚板块内部的帕米尔、西昆仑、柴达木和天山南缘一带也有中源地震分布,它们构成了这一地区三条向南倾斜的震源带。 这些中源地震震源带的存在表明,向北运动的印度次大陆与亚洲大陆碰撞以后,印度次大陆北缘本身并没有消减,而是迫使亚洲大陆通过三条向南倾斜的岩石层消减带产生了大规模的消减作用。 中源地震在平面上分布的不连续性,揭示了这一地区的许多条走滑断层的现代活动。这些走滑断层的巨大位移显示了青藏高原内部各块体之间的横向运动也是很可观的。 最后,提出了亚洲大陆多条南倾消减带的形成和发展模式。     

Anomalously deep earthquakes in northwestern Italy

It is usually assumed that earthquakes in intraplate regions occur in the upper crust, and northwestern Italy is generally assigned to this kind of normal seismicity. In this work, the depth distribution of the events localized in this area by the Istituto Geofisico Geodetico (IGG) seismic network in the period 1991–1997 is analyzed in detail. In particular, the location capability of the network is discussed, adopting as reference quarry blasts (for the epicentral position) and the locations obtained from a dense temporary network (for the depth estimate). Within the so-obtained error limits, the depth distribution of events show a characteristic pattern: while for most of the area covered by the network the well-located seismicity lies within the first 20 km of depth, in a band following the inner arc of the Western Alps, numerous events have anomalously large focal depths, reaching a maximum of 114 km. These depth determinations cannot be attributed to instabilities of the location procedure: different choices of the propagation models used for the hypocentral determination led to very similar depth values, always significantly larger than the standard values for the surrounding areas. A strong correlation has been found between the 3-dimensional distribution of these foci and the P-wave propagation anomalies obtained from tomographic studies, suggesting a direct link between elastic and rheological properties of lower crust and upper mantle in this area.     

Deep dynamical processes in the central-southern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau—Receiver functions and travel-time residuals analysis of north Hi-Climb

Teleseismic receiver functions and travel-time residuals along the north Hi-Climb broadband seismic array in the central-southern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau show that the lithosphere structures in the central and western Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are different. In the central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Indian Plate is northward subducted beneath the Qiangtang block and arrives at the greatest depth beneath the central-southern Qiangtang block. The delaminated Indian lithospheric slab remains beneath the central Lhasa block to a depth possibly greater than that of the upper interface of the mantle transform zone. In the western Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Indian lithospheric plate is gently northward subducted and may have arrived to the south of Tarim plate. Due to the resistance from the gently northward subduction of the Indian mantle lithosphere in the western Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the upwelling mantle material be-neath the Qiangtang block moves mostly toward the east to bring about the lateral eastward flow of the deep mantle hot material in the central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.     

Connection between earthquakes and deep fluids revealed by magnetotelluric imaging in Songyuan,China

Songyuan is the most earthquake prone area in northeast China.Since 2006,earthquakes have occurred in the area in the form of swarms,with a maximum magnitude of M_L5.8.There is much controversy about the cause of the Songyuan earthquakes.We attempted to determine the cause using a three-dimensional electrical conductivity structure inverted from a regional network of magnetotelluric data in the Songyuan area.The L-BFGS inversion method was applied,with a fullimpedance tensor data set used as the inversion input.Combined with an evaluation of the earthquake locations,the resistivity model revealed a northeast-oriented hidden fault running through the Songyuan earthquake area(SEA),which was speculated to be the preexisting Fuyu-Zhaodong Fault(FZF).Our resistivity model also found an apparent lithospheric low-resistivity anomaly beneath the earthquake area,which breached the high-resistivity lithospheric mantle and stalled at the base of the crust.A petrophysical analysis showed that this lower crustal low-resistivity anomaly was most likely attributed to hydrated partial melting,which could release water into the lower crust during later magma emplacements.While weakening the strength of the FZF,these ascending fluids also increased the pore pressure in the fault,further reducing the shear strength of the fault.Shear stress action(a fault strike component of the east-west regional compress),together with possible near-surface disturbances,may drive the fault to slip and trigger the earthquakes in Songyuan.It is possible that the continuous replenishment of fluids from the deeper mantle forces the Songyuan earthquakes into the form of swarms.We infer that the Songyuan earthquakes could be attributed to a combination of preexisting faults,regional stress,and deep fluids associated with plate subduction,and near surface disturbances might induce the earthquakes in advance.The Songyuan earthquakes are inherently induced earthquakes,fed by deep fluids.     

Regional focal mechanisms for earthquakes in the Aegean area

The distribution of the focal mechanisms of the shallow and intermediate depth (h>40 km) earthquakes of the Aegean and the surrounding area is discussed. The data consist of all events of the period 1963–1986 for the shallow, and 1961–1985 for the intermediate depth earthquakes, withM _s 5.5. For this purpose, all published fault plane solutions for each event have been collected, reproduced, carefully checked and if possible improved accordingly. The distribution of the focal mechanisms of the earthquakes in the Aegean declares the existence of thrust faulting following the coastline of southern Yugoslavia, Albania and western Greece extending up to the island of Cephalonia. This zone of compression is due to the collision between two continental lithospheres (Apulian-Eurasian). The subduction of the African lithosphere under the Aegean results in the occurrence of thrust faulting along the convex side of the Hellenic arc. These two zones of compression are connected via strike-slip faulting observed at the area of Cephalonia island. TheP axis along the convex side of the arc keeps approximately the same strike throughout the arc (210° NNE-SSW) and plunges with a mean angle of 24° to southwest. The broad mainland of Greece as well as western Turkey are dominated by normal faulting with theT axis striking almost NS (with a trend of 174° for Greece and 180° for western Turkey). The intermediate depth seismicity is distributed into two segments of the Benioff zone. In the shallower part of the Benioff zone, which is found directly beneath the inner slope of the sedimentary arc of the Hellenic arc, earthquakes with depths in the range 40–100 km are distributed. The dip angle of the Benioff zone in this area is found equal to 23°. This part of the Benioff zone is coupled with the seismic zone of shallow earthquakes along the arc and it is here that the greatest earthquakes have been observed (M _s 8.0). The deeper part (inner) of the Benioff zone, where the earthquakes with depths in the range 100–180 km are distributed, dips with a mean angle of 38° below the volcanic arc of southern Aegean.     

马尼拉俯冲带缺失中深源地震成因初探

马尼拉俯冲带是整个南海地震活动多发区,地震成因与南海的形成和构造演化关系密切.对马尼拉俯冲带地震数据和层析成像结果进行了深入分析.结果表明:马尼拉俯冲带的地震活动主要为密集的浅源地震,缺失中深源地震.进一步分析揭示:①脱水和榴辉岩的形成在南海洋壳到达软流圈前就基本停止.马尼拉俯冲带南部在较浅的深度就转变为塑性变形,并停...     

Rupture process of large earthquakes in the northern Mexico subduction zone

The Cocos plate subducts beneath North America at the Mexico trench. The northernmost segment of this trench, between the Orozco and Rivera fracture zones, has ruptured in a sequence of five large earthquakes from 1973 to 1985; the Jan. 30, 1973 Colima event (M _s 7.5) at the northern end of the segment near Rivera fracture zone; the Mar. 14, 1979 Petatlan event (M _s 7.6) at the southern end of the segment on the Orozco fracture zone; the Oct. 25, 1981 Playa Azul event (M _s 7.3) in the middle of the Michoacan gap; the Sept. 19, 1985 Michoacan mainshock (M _s 8.1); and the Sept. 21, 1985 Michoacan aftershock (M _s 7.6) that reruptured part of the Petatlan zone. Body wave inversion for the rupture process of these earthquakes finds the best: earthquake depth; focal mechanism; overall source time function; and seismic moment, for each earthquake. In addition, we have determined spatial concentrations of seismic moment release for the Colima earthquake, and the Michoacan mainshock and aftershock. These spatial concentrations of slip are interpreted as asperities; and the resultant asperity distribution for Mexico is compared to other subduction zones. The body wave inversion technique also determines theMoment Tensor Rate Functions; but there is no evidence for statistically significant changes in the moment tensor during rupture for any of the five earthquakes. An appendix describes theMoment Tensor Rate Functions methodology in detail.The systematic bias between global and regional determinations of epicentral locations in Mexico must be resolved to enable plotting of asperities with aftershocks and geographic features. We have spatially shifted all of our results to regional determinations of epicenters. The best point source depths for the five earthquakes are all above 30 km, consistent with the idea that the down-dip edge of the seismogenic plate interface in Mexico is shallow compared to other subduction zones. Consideration of uncertainties in the focal mechanisms allows us to state that all five earthquakes occurred on fault planes with the same strike (N65°W to N70°W) and dip (15±3°), except for the smaller Playa Azul event at the down-dip edge which has a steeper dip angle of 20 to 25°. However, the Petatlan earthquake does prefer a fault plane that is rotated to a more east-west orientation—one explanation may be that this earthquake is located near the crest of the subducting Orozco fracture zone. The slip vectors of all five earthquakes are similar and generally consistent with the NUVEL-predicted Cocos-North America convergence direction of N33°E for this segment. The most important deviation is the more northerly slip direction for the Petatlan earthquake. Also, the slip vectors from the Harvard CMT solutions for large and small events in this segment prefer an overall convergence direction of about N20°E to N25°E.All five earthquakes share a common feature in the rupture process: each earthquake has a small initial precursory arrival followed by a large pulse of moment release with a distinct onset. The delay time varies from 4 s for the Playa Azul event to 8 s for the Colima event. While there is some evidence of spatial concentration of moment release for each event, our overall asperity distribution for the northern Mexico segment consists of one clear asperity, in the epicentral region of the 1973 Colima earthquake, and then a scattering of diffuse and overlapping regions of high moment release for the remainder of the segment. This character is directly displayed in the overlapping of rupture zones between the 1979 Petatlan event and the 1985 Michoacan aftershock. This character of the asperity distribution is in contrast to the widely spaced distinct asperities in the northern Japan-Kuriles Islands subduction zone, but is somewhat similar to the asperity distributions found in the central Peru and Santa Cruz Islands subduction zones. Subduction of the Orozco fracture zone may strongly affect the seismogenic character as the overlapping rupture zones are located on the crest of the subducted fracture zone. There is also a distinct change in the physiography of the upper plate that coincides with the subducting fracture zone, and the Guerrero seismic gap to the south of the Petatlan earthquake is in the wake of the Orozco fracture zone. At the northern end, the Rivera fracture zone in the subducting plate and the Colima graben in the upper plate coincide with the northernmost extent of the Colima rupture zone.     

Source mechanism of earthquakes in Peru

The source mechanism of 19 earthquakes that occurred in Peru (1990–1996) is studied using broad band data. Focal mechanisms are obtained using polarities of P wave and body wave form inversion. Shallow earthquakes show complex source time functions, intermediate and deep depth shocks have simpler ones. Stress distributions have been obtained from focal mechanisms estimated in this study and previous studies. Shallow earthquakes show reverse faulting with an ENE-WSW to E-W oriented pressure axes. Intermediate depth shocks indicate horizontal extension on E-W direction, normal to the Peru-Chilean trench. Earthquakes with foci at very deep depth show horizontal extension in the E-W direction in Peru-Brazil and N-S in Peru-Bolivia borders. This difference in stress orientation may indicate a different origin for deep activity at each region.     

Experimental models of extension of continental lithosphere weakened by percolation of asthenospheric melts

Analogue models are used to investigate extension of a continental lithosphere weakened by asthenospheric melts percolating through the upper mantle, a process that has been hypothesised to control the opening of the Ligurian Tethys. Models were performed in a centrifuge apparatus and reproduced, by using materials such as sand and viscous mixtures, extension of 60-km thick, three-layer continental lithosphere floating above the asthenosphere. The percolated lithospheric mantle was assumed to be characterised by a rheological behaviour similar to that of the asthenosphere. Two sets of experiments investigated the influence on deformation of (1) the thickness of the percolated mantle and the associated strength contrast between the normal and weakened lithosphere, and (2) the lateral width of the weakened zone. Model results suggest that mantle percolation by asthenospheric melts is able to promote strong localised thinning of the continental lithosphere, provided that a significant thickness of the lithospheric mantle is weakened by migrating melts within a narrow region. Strain localisation is maximised for percolation of the whole lithospheric mantle and strong strength contrast between the normal and weakened lithosphere. Under these conditions, the thickness of the lithosphere may be reduced to less than 12 km in 3 Ma of extension. Conversely, localised thinning is strongly reduced if the thickness of the percolated zone is ≤1/3 of the thickness of the whole lithospheric mantle and/or the lithosphere is weakened over wide regions. Overall, model results support the working hypothesis that mantle percolation by asthenospheric melts is a controlling factor in the transition from distributed continental deformation to localised oceanic spreading.     

鄂尔多斯东缘地震重定位及拉张盆地过渡区的地震分布特征

利用双差地震定位方法对鄂尔多斯东缘地区（34°N-41°N,110°E-115°E）2008年1月-2012年12月的中小地震进行了重新定位.重定位后,定位精度得到改善,震中分布更加集中.鄂尔多斯东缘拉张盆地内部震源深度较浅,大多小于13 km,向盆地两端震源深度有加深的趋势,特别是太原盆地北端,临汾盆地北端,以及运城与临汾盆地之间的峨眉台地,震源深度可达20~25 km左右.我们认为盆地内部地壳减薄,上地幔上隆,热作用导致地壳内部脆性层减薄,致使最大震源深度变浅;盆地之间的横向隆起区受区域应力场挤压剪切作用以及盆地内部上地幔上拱产生的水平向挤压力作用等,在横向隆起区与盆地接触带易产生应力集中,导致地震的发生,由于受脆性层厚度变化等的影响,在盆地向横向隆起区过渡部位出现震源深度加深的现象.鄂尔多斯东北缘地区地震分布弥散、震源深度相对较浅,可能与源自地幔的大范围深部热作用以及地壳脆性层厚度减薄有关.根据地震的空间分布特征,对部分盆地内部的断层特征进行了讨论.     

Mechanisms of earthquakes and plate motions in the east Pacific

Mechanisms of earthquakes occurring on plate boundaries have been used to determine the relative motions of lithospheric plates in the east Pacific. By using both P-wave first motions and the radiation pattern of Rayleigh waves in the focal mechanisms determinations, the uncertainty in strike is held to about ± 10°. On the Chile fracture zone and the fracture zone at 4°S on the East Pacific Rise, the direction of motion is not parallel to the trend of epicenters. This supports the hypothesis that these fracture zones are composed of series of en-echelon transform faults.     

龙门山断裂带深部构造变形的黏弹性模拟及其与强震活动的关联性探讨

根据龙门山断裂带地区的主要构造特征,建立该地区的有限元模型,同时考虑地下深处的黏弹性蠕动和不同部位间的接触关系,模拟计算了研究区在强震轮回活动中的时间演化历程.模拟结果表明:龙门山断裂带深处的滑动速率比浅表的滑动速率大,龙门山断裂带周围是相对容易发生应变积累的地区,其5~19km深度也是高应力聚集成核区,随时间推移的应力集中程度加剧而引发强震.本模拟分析证实了重复地震观测所揭示的龙门山断裂带存在深浅活动速率差异的现象,这在一定程度上可以解释出乎预料的汶川MW7.9地震的孕育机理.综合分析研究提出:应充分利用重复地震这一天然的"地下蠕变计(subsurface creepmeter)"来探测深部构造变形的活动,为强震危险性分析提供必要的"原位(in situ)观测"约束信息.     

Relation of mantle conductivity to physical conditions in the asthenosphere

Magnetotelluric soundings show that the conductivity increases in the asthenosphere. The depth of this conductivity zone decreases with an increase of the surface heat flow, i.e. in such cases the lithospheric plate is thinner. The depth of the velocity decrease of seismic shear wave (S waves) shows the same connection with the surface heat flow. The solidus of a mixed-volatile medium intersects the temperature curves belonging to different surface heat flows at depths where the conductivity increase and the velocity decrease appear. These connections point to partial melting in the asthenosphere, which can decrease the viscosity too, and help the movement of the lithospheric plates according to the ideas of global tectonics.The melt fraction of peridotite and pyrolite determined by Shankland and Waff from the effective conductivity of the asthenosphere is about 3–4% at 30 kbar and ato ^*=0.1 S m^–1.In the upper mantle of old shields it is likely that there is no well-developed asthenosphere due to the low temperature. Over these so-called viscous anchors the lithospheric plates do not move. It is supposed that the conductivity increases observed below crystalline shields at a depth of about 300 km indicate the phase transition of rocks. Thus in these areas the surface of the phase transition can be at a higher position than in the younger tectonic units.     

On the spatial distribution of seismicity and the 3D tectonic stress field in western Greece

We analyzed a large number of focal mechanisms and relocated earthquake hypocenters to investigate the geodynamics of western Greece, the most seismically active part of the Aegean plate-boundary zone. This region was seismically activated multiple times during the last decade, providing a large amount of enhanced quality new information that was obtained by the Hellenic Unified Seismological Network (HUSN). Relocated seismicity using a double-difference method appears to be concentrated above ∼35 km depth, exhibiting spatial continuity along the convergence boundary and being clustered elsewhere. Earthquakes are confined within the accreted sediments escarpment of the down-going African plate against the un-deformed Eurasian hinterland. The data arrangement shows that Pindos constitutes a seismic boundary along which large stress heterogeneities occur. In Cephalonia no seismicity is found to be related with the offshore Cephalonia Transform Fault (CTF). Onshore, NS crustal extension dominates, while in central and south Peloponnesus the stress field appears rotated by 90°. Shearing-stress obliquity by 30° is indicated along the major strike-slip faults, consistent with clockwise crustal rotation. Within the lower crust, the stress field appears affected by plate kinematics and distributed deformation of the lower crust and upper mantle, which guide the regional geodynamics.