Focal Depths of Earthquakes in the Crimea–Black Sea Region

The problem of determining focal depths of earthquakes in the Crimea–Black Sea region is considered. Based on the results of interannual studies, it is found that the focal depths of Crimean earthquakes are mainly crustal, with maximum values of up to 60 km. Some recent publications, however, have described deep-focus earthquakes with depths of up to 300 km which were “revealed” in the Crimean region. In this respect, there arose the need to study such a large difference in estimated focal depths. Convincing examples show that the sensational “revelation” of deep earthquakes in Crimea was caused by incorrect processing of the experimental data, in particular, due to (1) a sharp distortion in the recorded arrival times of body waves, (2) exclusion of data from stations nearest to a source, (3) unreasonable arbitrary selection of data from seismic stations, and (4) dropping of data from the worldwide seismological network, including those on deep seismic phases. Thus, the conclusions about the presence of deep mantle earthquakes in Crimea are erroneous. We have redetermined the parameters of hypocenters and verified that the focal depths of earthquakes in the Crimea–Black Sea region are no more than 60 km. Based on these data, we analyze the features of the spatial distribution of focal depths to show that earthquake sources are grouped along conduits that dip southeastward, from the continental part of Crimea toward the Black Sea Basin, in the case of grouping of sources in the Alushta–Yalta and Sevastopol areas. The seismic focal layer of the Kerch–Anapa area dips northeastward, from the Black Sea beneath the North Caucasus.     

Deep structural characteristics and seismogenesis of the M≥8.0 earthquakes in North China

Introduction North China is a seismically active area in the eastern part of China, where four M8.0 earthquakes have been recorded in the historical documents and confirmed by the researchers. The first is the M=8.0 earthquake occurred in A.D. 1303 in Hongtong, Shanxi Province. It was the ear-liest M=8.0 earthquake recorded in the historical document in China. The second is the M=8.0 earthquake occurred in A.D. 1556 in Huaxian County, Shaanxi Province. The other two are the M=8.5 earth…     

Deep structural characteristics and seismogenesis of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis>≥8.0 earthquakes in North China

Based on the results from seismogeological study, aeromagnetic inversion and deep seismic sounding (DSS), it is found that the M≥8.0 earthquakes in North China have three common deep structural characteristics, i.e., they all took place above the ultra-crustal deep faults or on the edges of the tectonic blocks with higher intensity, and there are low-velocity, low-density and high-conductive layers deep in the epicentral regions. The origins of the earthquakes are also discussed and the two possibilities of seismogenesis are proposed, i.e., tectonic movement and intracrustal explosion.     

Characteristics of radiation and propagation of seismic waves in the Baikal Rift Zone estimated by simulations of acceleration time histories of the recorded earthquakes

The regularities in the radiation and propagation of seismic waves within the Baikal Rift Zone in Buryatia are studied to estimate the ground motion parameters from the probable future strong earthquakes. The regional parameters of seismic radiation and propagation are estimated by the stochastic simulation (which provides the closest agreement between the calculations and observations) of the acceleration time histories of the earthquakes recorded by the Ulan-Ude seismic station. The acceleration time histories of the strongest earthquakes (M _W ~ 3.4–4.8) that occurred in 2006–2011 at the epicentral distances of ~96–125 km and had source depths of ~8–12 km have been modeled. The calculations are conducted with estimates of the Q-factor which were previously obtained for the region. The frequency-dependent attenuation and geometrical spreading are estimated from the data on the deep structure of the crust and upper mantle (velocity sections) in the Ulan-Ude region, and the parameters determining the wave forms and duration of acceleration time histories are found by fitting. These parameters fairly well describe all the considered earthquakes. The Ulan-Ude station can be considered as the reference bedrock station with minimum local effects. The obtained estimates for the parameters of seismic radiation and propagation can be used for forecasting the ground motion from the future strong earthquakes and for constructing the seismic zoning maps for Buryatia.     

Deep structural characteristics and seismo—genesis of the M≥8.0 earthquakes in North China

Based on the results from seismogeological study,aeromagnetic inversion and deepseismic sounding(DSS),it is found that the M≥8.0 earthquakes in North China have three common deep structural characteristics,i.e,they all took place above the ultra-crustal deep faults or on the edges of the tectonic blocks with higher intensity,and there are low-velocity,low-density and high-conductive layers deep in the epicentral regions.The origins of the earth-quakes are also discussed and the two possibilities of seismogenesis are proposed,i.e,tectonic movement and intracrustal explosion.     

阿尔金山中段南侧大地震

本文根据现场考察资料论述了阿尔金山中段南侧地震形变带的基本特征,对地震断层剖面进行了分析,并在此基础上确定了阿尔金山中段南侧大地震的基本参数及其地震成因。     

Focal depths of earthquakes in the Baikal region: A review

Conditions and specific features in the determination of the focal depths of the earthquakes in the Baikal region are considered. Particular attention is given to the procedure of relocation of the hypocenters in accordance with the programs based on the method of minimization of rms residuals in the seismic wave traveltimes, which is widely used at present. The advantages and shortcomings of this approach are demonstrated. The available determinations of the source depths are reviewed, and examples for the interpretation of the results are presented. The averaged depth distribution of the hypocenters shows that the strongest seismic activity is observed in the depth range 10–20 km. The bottom of the seismically active layer corresponding to the level, above which 90% of sources are located, lies at a depth of 25 km. The trend of the deepening of seismic sources is observed at the northeast flank of the rift zone, where seismic activity involves the lower part of the crust.     

SP—2305气相色谱仪在地震预报中的应用

本文对监测地下深部气体组分含量变化,在地震预报中的作用作了论述,对开展天山地震带气体地震前兆研究的条件和SP—2305色谱仪观测条件的选择作了分析,最后,对气体测量在地震预报中的效应进行了探讨。     

Variation of seismic source parameters and stress drops within a descending slab and its implications in plate mechanics

A least-squares searching technique has been developed to estimate the source dimensions of intermediate and deep focus earthquakes using azimuthal variations of body wave pulse-widths. With this method and also amplitude data, modes of rupture propagation, seismic moments, and stress drops of 17 intermediate and deep focus earthquakes in the Tonga-Kermadec region have been determined in order to investigate variations in source properties and the state of stress within the descending slab there. Three different modes of rupture; unilateral, bilateral, and circular faults, are compared and tested against observations. Results indicate that the unilateral fault is the best model for most of the earthquakes studied. Stress drops of the 17 events vary within a very large range, from 20 bar to about 4.6 kbar, and change significantly with depth. The magnitude of stress drops for depths between 220 and 430 km is very much higher than at shallower depths. This change in stress drop magnitude at about 220 km-depth seems to reflect a change in material properties both in the mantle and within the slab. Two regions of high stress drop are observed at depths of about 360 and 640 km. A relative minimum of stress drop is found at about 450–560 km where the earthquake frequency is particularly high. Earthquakes at the northern end to the Tonga arc, where the Benioff zone is laterally bent, show systematically higher stress drops than other events at comparable depths, but away from the bend. Also, events in regions of low seismicity appear to have higher stress drops than those in regions of high seismicity. The upper bound of seismic efficiency is found to decrease with depth, implying an increase of frictional force with depth at the earthquake source.     

川滇地区7级大震前中强震震源机制变化

分析了 70年代以来 ,川滇地区发生的 8次 7级大震前 5年内 ,发生在大震孕震区和震源区内的中强震震源机制解时空分布。结果表明 ,最早中强震发生在大震震源区或其附近 ,其发震应力场与区域构造应力场一致 ,与大多数大震发震应力场一致或接近。大多数中强震震源破裂特征与大震明显不同。之后有多次中强震发生在距大震震源区较远的大震孕震区内其他地方 ,它们的发震应力场往往经历了与区域构造应力场和大震应力场一致与不一致的多次交替变化。大震前最后 1个中强震也发生在距大震震源区较近的地方 ,其发震应力场与大震发震应力场明显不一致 ,偏转了 30°～ 5 0° ,或更多 ,大多数也与区域构造应力场不一致 ,有的中强震发震断裂破裂特征与大震不一致。大震前中强震震源机制的变化 ,反映了大震孕育过程的不同阶段 ,区域构造应力场的时空调整变化和增强过程 ,以及由此引发的构造断裂异常活动 ,揭示出与大震发生有关的应力场和震源破裂特征信息     

唐山7.8级地震震后异常综合分析

本文对唐同山７．８级地震各前兆学科共１８９个测项的震后变化进行了归类统计与分析，讨论了震后变化的５种类型数量上的差异特征与后续地震的关系，分析了震后异常的分布特征与后续地震区及其地震活动异常的对应关系，认为利用前兆学科的震后变化的某些综合特征配合测震学进行了震后趋势判断有实用价值。     

Intermediate depth earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in Central America, 1961–1972

Eight Central American volcanoes had large eruptions during the period 1961 to 1972. The distribution of intermediate depth earthquakes which occurred during the same period is marked by eight concentrations. Seven of the eight very active volcanoes are spatially related to the concentrations of intermediate depth earthquakes. The centers of the concentrations are typically a few tens of kilometers seaward of the volcanoes. The earthquakes have focal depths of about 70 to 110 km. Directly below the active volcanoes there is little or no intermediate depth seismic activity. Partially melted areas along the deep seismic zone directly below the active volcanoes might explain this distribution. Spatial-temporal progressions relating specific intermediate depth earth-quakes to specific volcanic eruptions have not been recognized. The development of a concentration of intermediate depth earthquakes spatially related to a quiescent volcano may indicate that the volcano will soon enter a period of renewed activity.     

Variations in the parameters of thunderstorm electromagnetic signals on paths over earthquake regions

The specific features of a method for radiosounding the lower ionosphere over earthquake epicenters using LF electromagnetic signals of thunderstorm sources (atmospherics) have been considered. The effects of shallow-focus earthquakes with magnitudes larger than 4.0 and their precursors manifest themselves in amplitude characteristics of atmospherics. It has been assumed that variations in the signal characteristics are related to disturbances in the lower ionosphere. According to the results of azimuthal scanning, cross-sectional dimensions of disturbed regions, as a rule, correspond to the dimensions of the first two Fresnel zones for signals at a frequency of 10 kHz. Azimuthal scanning also indicated that the positions of disturbed regions during and before earthquakes could have a certain dynamics and differ from the projection onto the earthquake epicenter. The ratio of the amplitudes of electric and magnetic signal components, in the variations of which seismic effects before earthquakes can also be observed, has been considered. An analysis of the ratio makes it possible to increase the probability of predicting earthquakes when using the characteristics of the electromagnetic signals of lightning discharges as an additional method of complex monitoring of disturbances in the lower ionosphere caused by seismic processes.     

Regularities in the time variations of seismic parameters and their implications for prediction of strong earthquakes in Greece

Time variations in the parameters of seismic activity in two regions in Greece, which are known to have different geodynamical conditions, are analyzed using the FastBEE algorithm suggested in (Papadopoulos and Baskoutas, 2009). The study is based on the data on weak earthquakes that occurred in two local regions. One region pertains to the zone dominated by intensive compression stress field, while another is located in the region of a relatively lower intensity extension stress field. It is shown that in the zone of compression the seismic parameters exhibit anomalous temporal behavior before strong earthquakes with Ms ≥ 5.7, whereas in the zones of extension, similar anomalies precede earthquakes with lower magnitudes of up to Ms ≥ 4.9. The most informative parameters for the purposes of predicting strong seismic events are the released seismic energy in the form logE ^2/3 and the slope of the frequency-magnitude dependence, b-value. The seismic activity in the region, expressed in terms of the logarithmic number of earthquakes, per unit time in some cases does not exhibit any particular pattern of behavior before strong earthquakes. In the time series of the studied parameters, four stages in the seismic process are clearly distinguished before strong earthquakes. Typically, a strong earthquake has a low probability to occur within the first two stages. Instead, this probability arises at stage III and attains its maximum at the end of this stage coinciding with the occurrence of the strong earthquake. We suggest these features of the time series to be used for the assessment of seismic hazard and for the real-time prediction of strong earthquakes. The time variations in the b-value are found to be correlated with the time variations inlogE ^2/3. This correlation is closely approximated by the power-law function. The parameters of this function depend on the geodynamical features of the region and characterize the intensity and the type of the regional tectonic stresses. The results of our study show that the FastBEE algorithm can be successfully applied for monitoring seismic hazard and predicting strong earthquakes.     

Commentary on “Earthquake Depths in the Crimea–Black Sea Region” by V.E. Kulchitsky,B.G. Pustovitenko and V.A. Svidlova

It is well known that the results of determining earthquake parameters depend to a large extent on data processing algorithms and velocity models of the seismic wave propagation medium used in solving hypocenter problems. In 1992, V.Yu. Burmin developed a hypocentric algorithm that minimizes the functional of distances between the points corresponding to the theoretical and observed travel times of seismic waves from an earthquake source to recording stations. The determination of the coordinates of earthquake hypocenters in this case is much more stable than for the commonly used minimization of the functional of discrepancies in the seismic wave arrival times at a station. Using this algorithm and the refined velocity model of the medium, V.Yu. Burmin and L.A. Shumlyanskaya reinterpreted the earthquake parameters for the Crimea–Black Sea region. The most important result of this reinterpretation was the conclusion about the occurrence of deep earthquakes with a source depth of more than 60 km in the region. This result contradicts the conventional beliefs about the seismicity of the region and therefore aroused strong criticism from experts directly involved in compiling the existing catalogs of regional earthquakes. These comments and criticisms are presented by V.E. Kulchitsky with coauthors in a work published in this issue of the journal. In the present paper, we analyze the comments in detail and respond. In particular, we show that the previously used methods of seismic data processing made it highly unlikely by default that deep earthquakes would appear in the results. As an example, we refer to the use of travel-time curves for depths down to 35 km. It is clear that deep earthquakes could not have been found with this approach.     

SKKS震相记录特征及其对极远震深度的测定

就穿透地球内核的SKKS震相的传播路径、走时以及随深度变化的特性进行了分析讨论。对银川台记录SKKS震相的特征和震相识别做了研究总结，同时给出了SKKS震相求极远震深度列线图。经过震例检验，用SKKS震相测得的深度在单台定位中相对比较准确，为应用SKKS震相测准极远震深度，提高银川单台月报质量，提供了有利工具。     

2020年龙泉山断裂带MS5.1地震成因综合分析

2020年2月3日四川省成都市青白江区发生M_S5.1地震,震中烈度为Ⅵ度。该地震事件震中位于龙泉山断裂带上,距离成都市中心38 km,是龙泉山断裂带历史上非常罕见的5.0级以上地震事件。针对该事件成因进行了综合分析与研究,具体内容包括:(1)通过收集历史地震资料讨论龙泉山断裂带的地震活动性;(2)利用高质量的波形数据对主震位置进行重定位;(3)根据地震层析成像获得的三维vP、vS以及泊松比(σ)模型分析了孕震构造和流体影响,以及(4)利用固体潮理论模型分析了固体潮与地震触发的相关性。结果表明,本次M_S5.1地震发生在龙泉山断裂带北段,震中坐标为(30.732°N,104.529°E),震源深度为15.12 km;震源位于高-低泊松比过渡带附近,并伴随着大范围的低速异常,初步推断与深部流体有关;同时,固体潮在断层面上产生的剪切应力变化,也可能与本次地震的触发密切相关,暗示着在地震发生前龙泉山北段的地震危险性已经达到了较高水平。因此深部流体侵入作用、强震同震效应以及特定孕震构造环境的综合影响可能是导致本次地震触发的主要因素。     

Simulation of Ground Motion from Strong Earthquakes of Kamchatka Region (1992–1993) at Rock and Soil Sites

To estimate the parameters of ground motion in future strong earthquakes, characteristics of radiation and propagation of seismic waves in the Kamchatka region were studied. Regional parameters of radiation and propagation of seismic waves were estimated by comparing simulations of earthquake records with data recorded by stations of the Kamchatka Strong Motion Network. Acceleration time histories of strong earthquakes (M _w = 6.8–7.5, depths 45–55 km) that occurred near the eastern coast of Kamchatka in 1992–1993 were simulated at rock and soil stations located at epicentral distances of 67–195 km. In these calculations, the source spectra and the estimates of frequency-dependent attenuation and geometrical spreading obtained earlier for Kamchatka were used. The local seismic-wave amplification was estimated based on shallow geophysical site investigations and deep crustal seismic explorations, and parameters defining the shapes of the waveforms, the duration, etc. were selected, showing the best-fit to the observations. The estimated parameters of radiation and propagation of seismic waves describe all the studied earthquakes well. Based on the waveforms of the acceleration time histories, models of slip distribution over the fault planes were constructed for the studied earthquakes. Station PET can be considered as a reference rock station having the minimum site effects. The intensity of ground motion at the other studied stations was higher than at PET due to the soil response or other effects, primarily topographic ones. At soil stations INS, AER, and DCH the parameters of soil profiles (homogeneous pyroclastic deposits) were estimated, and nonlinear models of their behavior in the strong motion were constructed. The obtained parameters of radiation and propagation of seismic waves and models of soil behavior can be used for forecasting ground motion in future strong earthquakes in Kamchatka.     

湖南深部地球物理场特征与地震的关系

通过资料收集和整理,对湖南深部地球物理场布格重力异常、航磁异常、莫霍面、地热场和地壳结构反映出来的特征进行了总结和分析,同时对湖南历史地震（Ms≥434级）和近代地震（ML≥3.0级）与这些深部地球物理场特征的关系进行了讨论。结果表明：湖南地震活动的空间分布与深部地球物理场特征有一定的内在关联,有较好的对应关系。     

Features of the diurnal periodicity of earthquakes in Japan

The features of the diurnal periodicity of earthquakes with different energies in Japan are studied. The spatiotemporal parameters of different earthquake sets are investigated in detail using various techniques including analyses of amplitudes, dispersion, spectra and correlation. The phases of seismic flows are studied using the modified Rayleigh-Schuster method. Lomb-Scargle periodograms are used to study the frequency of variations in seismicity. The parameters of the sets of earthquakes having different energies obtained in this study indicate changes in phase of the diurnal periodicity of earthquakes to the opposite near the magnitude of completeness. The very clear midday effect is noted.