NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF DEFORMATION MOVEMENT AND STRESS ACCUMULATION IN LONGMENSHAN AND ITS ADJACENT FAULTS BEFORE WENCHUAN EARTHQUAKE

In order to reveal the deformation and cumulative stress state in Longmenshan and its adjacent faults before Wenchuan earthquake,a 3D viscoelastic finite element model,which includes Longmenshan,Longriba,Minjiang and Huya faults is built in this paper.Using the GPS measurement results of 1999-2004 as the boundary constraints,the deformation and movement of Longmenshan fault zone and its adjacent zones before Wenchuan earthquake are simulated.The conclusions are drawn in this paper as follows:First,velocity component parallel to Longmenshan Fault is mainly absorbed by Longriba Fault and velocity component perpendicular to the Longmenshan Fault is mainly absorbed by itself.Because of the barrier effect of Minjiang and Huya faults on the north section of Longmenshan Fault,the compression rate in the northern part of Longmenshan Fault is lower than that in the southern part.Second,extending from SW to NE direction along Longmenshan Fault,the angle between the main compressive stress and the direction of the fault changes gradually from the nearly vertical to 45 degrees. Compressive stress and shear stress accumulation rate is high in southwest segment of Longmenshan Fault and compressive stress is greater;the stress accumulation rate is low and the compressive stress is close to shear stress in the northeast segment of the fault.This is coincident with the fact that small and medium-sized earthquakes occurred frequently and seismic activity is strong in the southwest of the fault,and that there are only occasional small earthquakes and the seismic activity is weak in the northeast of the fault.It is also coincident with the rupture type of thrust and right-lateral strike-slip of the Wenchuan earthquake and thrust of the Lushan earthquake.Third,assuming that the same type and magnitude of earthquake requires the same amount of stress accumulation,the rupture of Minjiang Fault,the southern segment of Longmenshan Fault and the Huya Fault are mainly of thrust movement and the earthquake recurrence period of the three faults increases gradually.In the northern segment of Longriba Fault and Longmenshan Fault,earthquake rupture is of thrusting and right-lateral strike-slip. The earthquake recurrence period of former is shorter than the latter.In the southern segment of Longriba Fault,earthquake rupture is purely of right-lateral strike-slip,it is possible that the earthquake recurrence period on the fault is the shortest in the study region.     

DISCUSSING THE INFLUENCE OF MAJOR EARTHQUAKE SEQUENCE IN THE LONGMENSHAN AREA ON THE LUSHAN EARTHQUAKE FROM STRESS EVOLUTION

Calculating the coseismic static Coulomb stress change induced by an earthquake and interseismic stress change permits to explain the distribution of aftershocks, the earthquake sequence and other seismic observations. Four earthquakes greater than M7 have occurred in the Longmenshan area before the 2013 Lushan earthquake since 1900. This paper analyzes the influence of these four events on the Lushan earthquake, the stress evolution after the Lushan earthquake accompany with strong earthquake sequence on Longmenshan Fault, and the stress state of the gap between the Lushan and Wenchuan earthquakes. To address these issues would help future seismic risk assessment in the region. We construct a three dimensional finite element model based on the geological structure, the deep inversion results of density and velocity, and the GPS and the stress observation data. The simulation results show that the annual variation rate of Coulomb stress is higher on the Xianshuihe fault and southern segment of the Longmenshan fault, which is consistant with the regional seismicity. The coseismic Coulomb stresses induced by Kangding, Songpan, and Wenchuan earthquakes at the Lushan earthquake epicenter is greater than 0, implying that the three earthquakes may promote the occurrence of the Lushan earthquake, especially the Wenchuan earthquake. The viscous relaxation is remarkable which cannot be ignored in the analysis of stress evolution. From the stress evolution of this area, we can find that the gap between the Wenchuan and Lushan earthquakes is still at a relatively high stress level after the Lushan earthquake.     

世界上最快回应大地震的汶川地震断裂带科学钻探

2008年5月12日汶川大地震之后,在青藏高原东缘龙门山地区实施了汶川地震断裂带科学钻探,这是目前世界上最快回应大地震的科学钻探,为地学家探索地震成因机制提供了极好的机遇.汶川地震断裂带科学钻探工程（WFSD）沿产生同震地表破裂的两条断裂带——龙门山的映秀—北川断裂和灌县—安县断裂共实施了6口科学群钻.其目标在于对钻孔的岩心、岩屑和流体样品进行多学科观察、测试和研究,揭示汶川地震断裂带的深部物质组成、结构、产出以及构造属性;探索地震过程中的岩石物理和化学行为、能量状态与破裂演化过程;认识汶川地震发生的应力环境、巨大的地震破裂产生及传播原因、地下流体在地震的孕育、发生、停止过程中的作用,从而检验和深入理解地震断裂发震机理.目前,汶川科钻项目已取得的部分重要成果如下：（1）查明了汶川地震断裂带结构、组成;（2）揭示了汶川地震过程中"热增压"为重要断裂弱化机制,提出断裂带内石墨可作为判断大地震发生的标志;（3）发现目前世界上最低的断层摩擦系数,并首次记录到大震后断裂带快速愈合信息;（4）重建龙门山的构造格架,提出汶川大地震发生的新的成因模式;（5）通过对汶川地震余震的精确定位、钻孔附近的地震台阵观测,确定了地震活动与龙门山断裂带不同区段的空间关系;揭示断裂带深部流体特征与地震活动的关系,为确定大震孕育过程提供深部流体活动行为的科学依据.     

THREE-DIMENSIONAL DEFORMATION CHARACTERISTICS OF THE XIANSHUIHE FAULT ZONE

In order to analyze 3-dimensional movement and deformation characteristics and seismic risk of the Xianshuihe fault zone, we inverted for dynamic fault locking and slip deficit rate of the fault using the GPS horizontal velocity field of 1999-2007 and 2013-2017 in Sichuan-Yunnan region, and calculated annual vertical change rate to analyze the vertical deformation characteristics of the fault using the cross-fault leveling data during 1980-2017 locating on the Xianshuihe fault. The GPS inversion results indicate that in 1999-2007, the southeastern segment of the fault is tightly locked, the middle segment is less locked, and the northwestern segment is basically in creeping state. In 2013-2017, the southeastern segment of the fault is obviously weekly locked, in which only a patch between Daofu-Bamei is locked, and the northwestern segment is still mostly in creeping state, in which only a patch at southeastern Luhuo is slightly locked from surface to 10km depth. The cross-fault leveling data show that annual vertical change rate of the Zhuwo, Gelou, Xuxu and Goupu sites on the northwestern segment is larger, which means vertical movement is relatively active, and annual vertical change rate of the Longdengba, Laoqianning, and Zheduotang sites on the southeastern segment is small, which means the fault is locked, and the vertical movement changes little before and after the Wenchuan earthquake. Combining with the 3-dimensional movement and deformation, seismic activity and Coulomb stress on the Xianshuihe Fault, we consider the seismic risk of the southeastern segment is larger, and the Wenchuan earthquake reduced the far-field sinistral movement and the fault slip deficit rate, which may reduce the stress and strain accumulation rate and relieve the seismic risk of the southeastern segment.     

Stress changes on major faults caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript>w</Subscript>7.9 Wenchuan earthquake,May 12, 2008

On May 12, 2008, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake ruptured the Longmenshan fault system in Sichuan Province, China, collapsing buildings and killing tens of thousands people. As predicted, aftershocks may last for at least one year, and moreover, large aftershocks are likely to occur. Therefore, it is critical to outline the areas with potential aftershocks before reconstruction and re-settling people as to avoid future disasters. It is demonstrated that the redistribution of stress induced by an earthquake should trigger successive seismic activity. Based on static stress triggering theory, we calculated the coseismic stress changes on major faults induced by the Wenchuan earthquake, with elastic dislocation theory and the multilayered crustal model. We also discuss the stress distribution and its significance for future seismic activity under the impact of the Wenchuan earthquake. It is shown that coulomb failure stress (CFS) increases obviously on the Daofu-Kangding segment of the Xianshuihe Fault, the Maqu and Nanping segment of the Eastern Kunlun Fault, the Qingchuan Fault, southern segment of the Minjiang Fault, Pengxian-Guanxian Fault, Jiangyou-Guangyuan Fault, and Jiangyou-Guanxian Fault. The increased stress raises the probability of earthquake occurrence on these faults. Since these areas are highly populated, earthquake monitoring and early disaster alarm system are needed. CFS increases with a magnitude of 0.03–0.06 MPa on the Qingchuan Fault, which is close to the northern end of the rapture of Wenchuan earthquake. The occurrence of some strong aftershocks, including three events with magnitude higher than 5.0, indicates that the seismic activities have been triggered by the main shock. Aftershocks seem to migrate northwards. Since the CFS change on the Lueyang-Mianxian Fault located on the NEE of the Qingchuan Fault is rather small (±0.01 MPa), the migration of aftershocks might be terminated in the area near Hanzhong City. The CFS change on the western Qinling Fault is around 10 Pa, and the impact of static triggering can be neglected. The increment of CFS on the Pengxian-Guanxian Fault and Beichuan-Yingxiu Fault southwest to the main rupture is 0.005–0.015 MPa, which would facilitate earthquake triggering in these areas. Very few aftershocks in these areas indicate that the accumulated stress has not been released sufficiently. High seismic risk is predicated in these areas due to co-seismic CFS loading. The Wenchuan earthquake released the accumulated CFS on the Fubianhe Fault, the Huya Fault, the Ha’nan-Qingshanwan Fault, and the Diebu-Bailongjiang Fault. The decrement of CFS changes on the Longquanshan Fault east to Chengdu City is about 0.002 MPa. The seismic activity will be depressed by decrement of CFS on these faults. Supported by Knowledge Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX-SW-153), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40574011 and 40474028)     

铲形逆冲断层地震破裂动力学模型及其在汶川地震研究中的启示

2008年发生了汶川地震的龙门山断层带是典型的铲形逆冲断层带.利用二维线弹性有限元模型,得到关于铲形逆冲断层带一些具普适性的认识:(1)如果断层带强度不随深度变化,则地震从断层带转换层附近开始发动,破裂沿断层向上传播,当地震蓄积能量足够大时,破裂可以冲破到地表,如汶川地震.(2)一旦到达地表,其最大同震位错将位于断层带...     

SIMULATION OF SEISMIC RISK IN THE DALIANGSHAN SUB-BLOCK AND ADJACENT AREAS USING THE NONLINEAR FRICTION FEM METHOD

Most earthquakes result from fault activity under heterogeneous loading and complex physical properties, also affected by fault structure and interaction between faults. Such a complicated mechanism makes often failures of the "seismic gap" theory in the effort of medium-and long-term earthquake prediction. This study attempts to address this issue using the finite element method(FEM).The friction behavior of faults can be used to simulate the non-uniformity of rupture processes of the seismogenic structure. So we use the FEM containing non-linear friction to simulate fault ruptures in the Daliangshan sub-block and adjacent areas, and compare the results with time-space evolution of historical M_S ≥ 7 earthquakes since 1840 in this region. In the simulation, the sequence of large-batch fault contact nodes change from "stick state" to "slip state" in short time, which mimics the sudden fault slip and the occurrence of major earthquakes. The results show that the fault breaking lengths from simulation are largely consistent with the magnitudes of historical earthquakes in the study area, such as the 1850 Puge-Xichang M_S7.5, and 1887 Shiping M_S7.0 earthquakes. The simulation also shows the development of seismic gaps and "gap breaks" by major earthquakes on the Xianshuihe fault, such as 1955 Kangding M_S7.5 earthquake. Especially, the results illustrated the very long time of the seismogenic process of the 2008 Wenchuan M_S8.0 earthquake, and the corresponding sudden big rupture along the Longmenshan Fault, which is very similar to the observed surface rupture and very long incubation time and sudden co-seismic process. Then, this simulation is further applied to long-term earthquake prediction for the study area by calculation on a much longer time. The simulation results suggest that the Xiaojiang fault and the Zemuhe fault have relatively higher seismic risk, while moderate-sized earthquakes might occur on the Daliangshan fault and the Aninghe fault, and major earthquakes might rupture the northern segment of the Xianshuihe fault in a much longer time.     

THE DISCUSSION FOR THE NEW ACTIVITY OF THE TIANQUAN SEGMENT OF LONGMENSHAN FAULT ZONE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE 1327 TIANQUAN EARTHQUAKE,SICHUAN

The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake occurred along the Longmen Shan fault zone, only five years later, another M7 Lushan earthquake struck the southern segment where its seismic risk has been highly focused by multiple geoscientists since this event. Through geological investigations and paleoseismic trenching, we suggest that the segment along the Shuangshi-Dachuan Fault at south of the seismogenic structure of the Lushan earthquake is active during Holocene. Along the fault, some discontinuous fault trough valleys developed and the fault dislocated the late Quaternary strata as the trench exposed. Based on analysis of historical records of earthquakes, we suggest that the epicenter of the 1327 Tianquan earthquake should be located near Tianquan and associated with the Shuangshi-Dachuan Fault. Furthermore, we compared the ranges of felt earthquakes(the 2013 M7 Lushan earthquake and the 1970 M_S6.2 Dayi earthquake)and suggest that the magnitude of the 1327 Tianquan earthquake is more possible between 6½ and 7. The southern segment of the Longmen Shan fault zone behaves as a thrust fault system consisting of several sub-paralleled faults and its deep structure shows multiple layers of decollement, which might disperse strain accumulation effectively and make the thrust system propagate forward into the foreland basin, creating a new decollement on a gypsum-salt bed. The soft bed is thick and does not facilitate to constrain fault deformation and accumulate strain, which produces a weak surface tectonic expression and seismic activity along the southern segment, this is quite different from that of the middle and northern segments of the Longmen Shan fault zone.     

2008年汶川地震断层北川段的几何学与运动学特征及地震地质灾害效应

2008年5月12日M_S8.0 汶川大地震的主要发震断层是龙门山断裂带的映秀—北川断裂.本研究通过地震后的实地调查和地震前后高空间分辨率航空与卫星影像的解译,对映秀—北川断裂带北川段（擂鼓镇—曲山镇）同震地表破裂带的几何学与运动学特征及相关地震地质灾害进行了详细分析.研究结果表明5·12汶川大地震沿映秀—北川断裂带产生的地表破裂带正穿过北川县城—曲山镇中心,并在曲山镇周围诱发了一系列大型滑坡和岩崩等地质灾害,致使北川县城遭到毁灭性破坏.野外考察表明北川段最大逆冲量和右旋走滑量都达8~10 m,这也是映秀—北川地表地震破裂带中位移量最大的地段.同时,值得注意的是曲山镇一带正是地震断层几何学和运动学特征改变的转换地带：曲山镇及其南西部断层倾向北西,呈现以逆冲为主兼右旋走滑的特征;在曲山镇北东断层倾向南东,表现为右旋走滑分量与垂直分量相当,走滑活动特征更明显.研究结果还表明,逆冲-走滑型（或斜向逆冲型）同震地表破裂带的几何学和运动学特征直接影响地震地质灾害及其破坏程度,地震地质灾害的分布表现出明显的不对称性：断层NW盘（上盘）远远强于SE盘（下盘）.地震断层的几何学特征与断层运动的应力及坡向的自由面之间相互作用,加强了滑坡、岩崩等地质灾害的破坏力.因此,汶川大地震为我们研究逆冲-走滑型同震地表破裂的几何学、运动学特征及其地震地质灾害效应提供了契机.     

Direct estimation of rupture depths of earthquake faults from coseismic surface deformation

The rupture dimensions of earthquake faults are important parameters for characterizing earthquake ruptures and ground motions. Two key parameters to be determined are the rupture depth and dip angle of earthquake faults. Dislocation theory in an elastic half space indicates that if a seismic rupture directly runs up to the ground surface, there exist zero points of horizontal strain in the surface deformation, which correspond to the rupture depths, except for pure strike-slip faults. In this study, we use numerical simulations to investigate the possibility of inferring rupture depths from zero-strain points for cases of buried faults and heterogeneous media. The results show that the correspondence of zero-strain points to the rupture depths can be influenced by the heterogeneity of the underground media and the stress field. For buried faults, the correspondence relationship is approximately valid when the fault depth is <1 km. In addition, the range of earthquake fault dip angles can be estimated by horizontal displacements on the ground. We also study how to determine the rupture depths of faults from InSAR data after large earthquakes, and successfully apply the method to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The method proposed here, which determines the parameters of fault geometry according to surface deformation, is simple and easy to perform. With independent of aftershocks, it can provide valuable constraints to kinematic inversions.     

2001年8.1级昆仑山大震破裂过程及对2008年汶川8.0级大震孕育发生影响的研究

本文用三维流变非连续变形(块体边界)与有限元(块体内)相结合(DDA+FEM)的方法,在青藏高原及其东侧四川盆地,鄂尔多斯块体地区三维构造块体相互制约的大环境中,考虑了龙门山断裂带东西两侧地势、地壳厚度和分层的明显变化,及断裂带东侧四川盆地及鄂尔多斯块体坚硬地壳阻挡的影响,通过用GPS资料做位移速率边界约束和震源机制约...     

汶川8.0级地震发震断层的累积地震位错研究

2008年5月12日,四川省汶川县内发生MS8.0地震。此次地震沿龙门山中央断裂产生1条长达200km的同震地表破裂带。文中选择位于地震地表破裂带北段的南坝镇、凤凰村以及南段的映秀镇这3个地点,以被断层错断的河流阶地为研究对象,对多级阶地面上的地震地表破裂及断层陡坎地貌进行了野外实测工作。经过测量数据的计算和分析,得到了各级阶地上断层陡坎的高度,该值即为该阶地记录的地震断层的累积垂直位错量。若以本次地震的垂直位错量作为古地震位错量的均值,则可计算得到每级阶地累积的地震次数。研究结果表明,各点T1阶地形成以来仅经历过1次事件,即本次地震事件;T2阶地形成以来约经历了5次事件;T3阶地形成以来约经历了9～11次事件;T4阶地形成以来约经历了20次事件。在本文研究的基础上,结合前人的阶地测年数据,则可获得古地震复发间隔的可靠数据     

断层横向构造在逆冲型地震破裂中的作用——以汶川地震小鱼洞断层为例

大地震破裂大多由横向构造(如阶区、弯曲和分叉)所分割的多个段落组成.2008年5·12汶川地震破裂沿北东走向上穿过了多个横向构造部位,特别在震中北东45 km的位置,小鱼洞断层、北川断层和彭灌断层三者之间呈现复杂的断裂切割相交关系.复杂断层几何结构对破裂的扩展是有抑制还是促进的作用？在相交的断裂段之间是否存在最优的破裂顺序？本文以库仑应力分析为手段,探讨在汶川同震破裂初始30 s内,破裂在多分支断裂中选择扩展路径时的可能应力相互作用.库仑应力分析显示:如果北川断层先发生破裂,其滑动对小鱼洞断层和彭灌断层均产生强烈负应力的抑制作用,而彭灌断层的滑动却反而对小鱼洞断层和北川断层浅部有强烈正应力的促进作用.因此,从准静态应力分析角度,彭灌断层先于北川断层发生破裂的可能性较大,这一破裂顺序与小鱼洞断层参与同震破裂过程的事实相符.此外,小鱼洞断层在链接北川和彭灌断层的同震位移中可能起到桥梁作用,但非静态应力的影响.横向构造在逆冲型地震破裂扩展过程中起到的牵引作用使得逆冲型地震破裂能够比走滑型地震跨越更宽的阶区.横向构造是逆冲断裂带内广泛发育的构成单元,因此在地震危险性分析的最大潜在震级测算中应该考虑其作用.     

亚像素相位相关法在获取汶川地震近场形变中的应用

震后地表实际破裂带的分布及其近场的形变特征,是理解块体运动学特性、断层破裂特征、地震发生机制等科学问题的十分重要的约束条件。基于InSAR获取的汶川地震同震形变场,由于发震断层附近同震形变梯度巨大,沿断层带出现了非相干条带,以致于无法获得断层附近的形变量。而基于亚像素级的光学影像偏移量法为获取断层附近大形变分布提供了可能。文中以SPOT卫星影像为数据源,采用光学影像偏移量法获得了什邡及茂县地区的水平位移形变场。结果显示龙门山断裂带上至少2条断裂同时发生破裂,形成了主要地表破裂带(龙门山镇-高川破裂带)和次级地表破裂带(汉旺破裂带),沿龙门山镇-高川破裂带平均位移量为4～6m,在高川附近伴随的平均右旋水平位移为1～3m; 汉旺破裂带因逆冲导致水平缩短,平均位移量一般为1～2m。汶川-茂县断裂带没有明显的地表破裂带。研究表明,利用光学影像相位相关法能够获得近断层位错量,可以成为InSAR手段的重要补充。     

NEW EVIDENCES FOR LATE QUATERNARY ACTIVITY IN THE SOUTHERN SEGMENT OF THE YISHU-TANGTOU FAULT,THE TAN-LU FAULT ZONE,AND ITS TECTONIC IMPLICATION

The Tan-Lu Fault Zone(TLFZ), a well-known lithosphere fault zone in eastern China, is a boundary tectonic belt of the secondary block within the North China plate, and its seismic risk has always been a focus problem. Previous studies were primarily conducted on the eastern graben faults of the Yishu segment where there are historical earthquake records, but the faults in western graben have seldom been involved. So, there has been no agreement about the activity of the western graben fault from the previous studies. This paper focuses on the activity of the two buried faults in the western graben along the southern segment of Yishu through combination of shallow seismic reflection profile and composite drilling section exploration. Shallow seismic reflection profile reveals that the Tangwu-Gegou Fault(F₄)only affects the top surface of Suqian Formation, therefore, the fault may be an early Quaternary fault. The Yishui-Tangtou Fault(F₃)has displaced the upper Pleistocene series in the shallow seismic reflection profile, suggesting that the fault may be a late Pleistocene active fault. Drilling was implemented in Caiji Town and Lingcheng Town along the Yishui-Tangtou Fault(F₃)respectively, and the result shows that the latest activity time of Yishui-Tangtou Fault(F₃)is between(91.2±4.4)ka and(97.0±4.8)ka, therefore, the fault belongs to late Pleistocene active fault. Combined with the latest research on the activity of other faults along TLFZ, both faults in eastern and western graben were active during the late Pleistocene in the southern segment of the Yishu fault zone, however, only the fault in eastern graben was active in the Holocene. This phenomenon is the tectonic response to the subduction of the Pacific and Philippine Sea Plate and collision between India and Asian Plate. The two late Quaternary active faults in the Yishu segment of TLFZ are deep faults and present different forms on the surface and in near surface according to studies of deep seismic reflection profile, seismic wave function and seismic relocation. Considering the tectonic structure of the southern segment of Yishu fault zone, the relationship between deep and shallow structures, and the impact of 1668 Tancheng earthquake(M=8(1/2)), the seismogenic ability of moderate-strong earthquake along the Yishui-Tangtou Fault(F₃)can't be ignored.     

龙门山断裂带西南端地壳电性结构

在龙门山断裂带中段于2008年5月12日发生了汶川M_S 8.0地震,5a之后于2013年4月20日在其西南侧即龙门山断裂带SW段发生了芦山M_S 7.0地震。而在汶川地震前,沿龙门山断裂带主体部分存在7a间未发生4.0级以上地震的相对平静期。因此,汶川地震后人们研究了龙门山断裂带的地壳结构及其与汶川地震的成因关系,仅仅相隔5a时间,就在龙门山断裂带的SW段发生了芦山地震,其深部结构和孕震环境以及与汶川地震的关系又成为人们关注的热点科学问题。为了研究龙门山断裂带西南端附近的地壳结构,布置了一条穿越龙门山断裂带西南端附近的大地电磁探测剖面LS6,该剖面位于芦山地震破裂带的西南端。通过采用先进技术对大地电磁数据的分析和二维反演,发现LS6剖面与其东北侧的穿过芦山地震区汶川地震后完成的LMS4剖面的地壳电性结构既有相似性,但也存在明显的差别,其电性结构更复杂。研究表明,尽管2008年发生了汶川地震,但是龙门山断裂带受到的西北侧松潘-甘孜地块向SE的运动和对龙门山断裂带的推挤作用,以及东南侧四川盆地的阻挡作用仍然存在,同时龙门山断裂带西南端及其附近地区的地壳结构更复杂,而且还受到其西南侧川滇地块和鲜水河断裂等变形作用的影响,因此推测芦山地震与汶川地震既是相互独立的2次地震,但也有一定关联。     

STUDY ON RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ACTIVITY OF MIYALUO FAULT AND WENCHUAN EARTHQUAKE SEQUENCE

Under the background of thrusting stress regime, a large number of strike-slip earthquakes occurred on the Miyaluo Fault during the Wenchuan earthquake sequence process, which is in the southern part of the Longmenshan Fault. In order to find the cause of their occurrence, stress tensors in subregions near the Miyaluo Fault are estimated. The result shows that in both north and south side of the Miyaluo Fault, the direction of principal compressive stress is nearly perpendicular to the Longmenshan Fault, and its dip is nearly horizontal, and the direction of tensile stress is nearly vertical. While in the Miyaluo fault zone, the direction of principal compressive stress is SWW-NEE, and its dip is nearly horizontal, the direction of principal tensile stress is NNW-SSE, also its dip is nearly horizontal. It is consistent with sinistral shear stress state in the Miyaluo fault zone. It was referred that the behavior of Miyaluo Fault during the Wenchuan earthquake sequence process was caused by tearing effect generated from unbalanced forces of two sides of the fault. To understand the rupture mode of the aftershocks in subregions as described above, the total seismic moment tensors are estimated by adding the corresponding component separately of the seismic moment tensor of aftershocks in each region. The result shows the similar trend of total seismic moment tensor components in the north and south side of the Miyaluo Fault(indicating the consistency of rupture mode in the north and south side of the Miyaluo Fault), and most seismic moment tensor components in the south side is higher than that in the north side, especially the compression component perpendicular to Longmenshan Fault and expansion component in the vertical direction. It indicates that thrusting component in the southeast direction in the south side is greater than that in the north side, and the thrusting difference causes the sinistral tearing effect of the Miyaluo Fault. We also find that the sinistral tearing component of the Miyaluo Fault is the same order of magnitude with the thrusting difference of its two sides, which indicates that the tearing effect of Miyaluo Fault can be completely explained by thrusting difference of its two sides. According to the analysis, we put forward the dynamic model of the Miyaluo Fault, which can explain the above phenomenon.     

SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF SLIP RATE DEFICIT ACROSS HAIYUAN-LIUPAN SHAN FAULT ZONE CONSTRAINED BY GPS DATA

As the northeast boundary of the Tibetan plateau, the Haiyuan-Liupan Shan fault zone has separated the intensely tectonic deformed Tibetan plateau from the stable blocks of Ordos and Alxa since Cenozoic era. It is an active fault with high seismic risk in the west of mainland China. Using geology and geodetic techniques, previous studies have obtained the long-term slip rate across the Haiyuan-Liupan Shan fault zone. However, the detailed locking result and slip rate deficit across this fault zone are scarce. After the 2008 Wenchuan M_S8.0 earthquake, the tectonic stress field of Longmen Shan Fault and its vicinity was changed, which suggests that the crustal movement and potential seismic risk of Haiyuan-Liupan Shan fault zone should be investigated necessarily. Utilizing GPS horizontal velocities observed before and after Wenchuan earthquake(1999~2007 and 2009~2014), the spatial and temporal distributions of locking and slip rate deficit across the Haiyuan-Liupan Shan fault zone are inferred. In our model, we assume that the crustal deformation is caused by block rotation, horizontal strain rate within block and locking on block-bounding faults. The inversion results suggest that the Haiyuan fault zone has a left-lateral strike-slip rate deficit, the northern section of Liupan Shan has a thrust dip-slip rate deficit, while the southern section has a normal dip-slip rate deficit. The locking depths of Maomao Shan and west section of Laohu Shan are 25km during two periods, and the maximum left-lateral slip rate deficit is 6mm/a. The locking depths of east section of Laohu Shan and Haiyuan segment are shallow, and creep slip dominates them presently, which indicates that these sections are in the postseismic relaxation process of the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake. The Liupan Shan Fault has a locking depth of 35km with a maximum dip-slip rate deficit of 2mm/a. After the Wenchuan earthquake, the high slip rate deficit across Liupan Shan Fault migrated from its middle to northern section, and the range decreased, while its southern section had a normal-slip rate deficit. Our results show that the Maomao Shan Fault and west section of Laohu Shan Fault could accumulate strain rapidly and these sections are within the Tianzhu seismic gap. Although the Liupan Shan Fault accumulates strain slowly, a long time has been passed since last large earthquake, and it has accumulated high strain energy possibly. Therefore, the potential seismic risks of these segments are significantly high compared to other segments along the Haiyuan-Liupan Shan fault zone.     

RELOCATION OF MAIN SHOCK AND AFTERSHOCKS OF THE 2014 YINGJIANG MS5.6 AND MS6.1 EARTHQUAKES IN YUNNAN

Yingjiang area is located in the China-Burma border,the Sudian-Xima arc tectonic belt,which lies in the collision zone between the Indian and Eurasian plates.The Yingjiang earthquake occurring on May 30th,2014 is the only event above M_S6.0 in this region since seismicity can be recorded.In this study,we relocated the Yingjiang M_S5.6 and M_S6.1 earthquake sequences by using the double-difference method.The results show that two main shocks are located in the east of the Kachang-Dazhuzhai Fault,the northern segment of the Sudian-Xima Fault.Compared with the Yingjiang M_S5.6 earthquake,the Yingjiang M_S6.1 earthquake is nearer to the Kachang-Dazhuzhai Fault.The aftershocks of the two earthquakes are distributed along the strike direction of the Kachang-Dazhuzhai Fault (NNE).The rupture zone of the main shock of Yingjiang M_S6.1 earthquake extends northward approximately 5km.The aftershocks of two earthquakes are mainly located in the eastern side of the Kachang-Dazhuzhai Fault with a significant asymmetry along the fault,which differ from the characteristics of the aftershock distribution of the strike-slip earthquake.It may indicate that the Yingjiang earthquakes are conjugate rupture earthquakes.The non-double-couple components are relatively high in the moment tensor.We speculate that the Yingjiang earthquakes are related to the fractured zone caused by the long-term seismic activity and heat effect in the deep between Kachang-Dazhuzhai Fault and its neighboring secondary faults.Aftershock distribution of the Yingjiang M_S6.1 earthquake on the southern area crosses a secondary fault on the right of the Kachang-Dazhuzhai Fault,suggesting that the coseismic rupture of the secondary fault may be triggered by the dynamic stress of the main shock.     

STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF STRONG EARTHQUAKE ON THE RECURRENCE BEHAVIOR OF MAJOR EARTHQUAKE ON ACTIVE FAULT-TAKING THE MIDDLE-NORTH SECTION OF XIANSHUIHE FAULT AS AN EXAMPLE

It is of great significance to determine the factors and causes that affect the recurrence of major earthquakes. This paper introduces the influence of strong earthquake on the recurrence of major earthquakes according to elastic rebound theory, and then proposes to calculate the impact time Δt respectively from the effect of strong earthquakes on the same and surrounding faults on the major earthquake recurrence by using seismic moment release rate method and Coulomb stress change. In this paper, we studied the change amount of major earthquake recurrence by taking four earthquakes with magnitude greater than 6.5 occurring at different fracture sections of the Xianshuhe fault zone as an example, they occurred on Daofu, Changcu, Zhuwo Fault, respectively. We used seismic moment rate method to calculate the impact time Δt of strong earthquake on the recurrence of major earthquakes on the Daofu-Qianning Fault. We further discussed the effect of the Coulomb stress change due to the interaction between faults on the recurrence of subsequent major earthquakes. The co-seismic and post-seismic Coulomb stress changes caused by strong earthquake on the surrounding faults on the Ganzi-Luhuo Fault are calculated. With the fault interaction considered, the importance of the interaction between faults in the middle-north section of the Xianshuihe fault zone to change the recurrence of large earthquakes is retested and evaluated. The results indicate that the two strong earthquakes occurring along Xianshuihe Fault in 1904(M=7.0) and 1981(M=6.9) resulted in a delay of 80 years and 45 years of major earthquake recurrence on the Daofu-Qianning Fault respectively, and the M7.3 earthquake in 1923 and the M6.8 earthquake in 1967 resulted in an advance of 35 years of major earthquake recurrence on the Ganzi-Luhuo Fault.