Evaluation of the seismic moment of the April 20, 2013 Lushan earthquake

The April 20, 2013 Lushan earthquake which occurred in Sichuan, China had only moderate thrust. However, the computed seismic moments (M ₀) for the Lushan earthquake calculated by several institutions differ significantly from 0.4 × 10¹⁹ to 1.69 × 10¹⁹ Nm, up to four times difference. We evaluate ten computed M ₀s by using normal mode observations from superconducting gravimeters in Mainland China. We compute synthetic normal modes on the basis of moment tensor solutions and fit them to the observed normal modes. Comparison of our results indicates that M ₀ is the main cause for some large differences between observations and synthetics. We suggest that a moment magnitude of M _w6.6, corresponding to a M ₀ of 0.97–1.08 × 10¹⁹ Nm, characterizes the size and strength of the seismic source of the Lushan earthquake.     

Preliminary results of strong ground motion simulation for the Lushan earthquake of 20 April 2013, China

The earthquake occurred in Lushan County on 20 April, 2013 caused heavy casualty and economic loss. In order to understand how the seismic energy propagates during this earthquake and how it causes the seismic haz- ard, we simulated the strong ground motions from a rep- resentative kinematic source model by Zhang et al. （Chin J Geophys 56（4）：1408-1411, 2013） for this earthquake. To include the topographic effects, we used the curved grids finite difference method by Zhang and Chen （Geophys J Int 167（1）：337-353, 2006）, Zhang et al. （Geophys J Int 190（1）：358-378, 2012） to implement the simulations. Our results indicated that the majority of seismic energy con- centrated in the epicentral area and the vicinal Sichuan Basin, causing the XI and VII degree intensity. Due to the strong topographic effects of the mountain, the seismic intensity in the border area across the northeastern of Boxing County to the Lushan County also reached IX degree. Moreover, the strong influence of topography caused the amplifications of ground shaking at the moun- tain ridge, which is easy to cause landslides. These results are quite similar to those observed in the Wenchuan earthquake of 2008 occurred also in a strong topographic mountain area.     

2013年4月20日四川芦山7.0级地震震源破裂特征

2013年4月20日四川芦山发生7.0级地震.本文运用反投影远震P波的方法研究了中心频率为1 Hz的芦山地震震源破裂特征.研究结果显示2013年芦山7.0级地震破裂长度约为20 km,震源破裂时间约为26 s.本文认为在芦山地震的开始阶段(0~4 s)震源的破裂是向震中位置两侧进行的.而芦山地震破裂的第二阶段(5~26 s)是单侧破裂.芦山地震最大能量释放区域位于震中以北.本文对比了运用相同方法研究的发生在同一断裂带上的2008年汶川地震震源破裂特征.发现2013年芦山地震和2008年汶川地震有三点相似之处,即,破裂主要沿北东走向的龙门山断裂带发展;最大能量释放区域没有位于震中;能量都是通过多次子事件来释放的,且第二次能量释放是最大能量释放.对比两次地震破裂区域,可以看出芦山地震的破裂区域是在2008年汶川地震破裂区域的西南端发展的.两次地震的破裂区域占了整个龙门山断裂带的三分之二.     

Seismic moment tensor inversion using 3D velocity model and its application to the 2013 Lushan earthquake sequence

Source inversion of small-magnitude events such as aftershocks or mine collapses requires use of relatively high frequency seismic waveforms which are strongly affected by small-scale heterogeneities in the crust. In this study, we developed a new inversion method called gCAP3D for determining general moment tensor of a seismic source using Green's functions of 3D models. It inherits the advantageous features of the “Cut-and-Paste” (CAP) method to break a full seismogram into the Pnl and surface-wave segments and to allow time shift between observed and predicted waveforms. It uses grid search for 5 source parameters (relative strengths of the isotropic and compensated-linear-vector-dipole components and the strike, dip, and rake of the double-couple component) that minimize the waveform misfit. The scalar moment is estimated using the ratio of L₂ norms of the data and synthetics. Focal depth can also be determined by repeating the inversion at different depths. We applied gCAP3D to the 2013 M_s 7.0 Lushan earthquake and its aftershocks using a 3D crustal-upper mantle velocity model derived from ambient noise tomography in the region. We first relocated the events using the double-difference method. We then used the finite-differences method and reciprocity principle to calculate Green's functions of the 3D model for 20 permanent broadband seismic stations within 200 km from the source region. We obtained moment tensors of the mainshock and 74 aftershocks ranging from M_w 5.2 to 3.4. The results show that the Lushan earthquake is a reverse faulting at a depth of 13–15 km on a plane dipping 40–47° to N46° W. Most of the aftershocks occurred off the main rupture plane and have similar focal mechanisms to the mainshock's, except in the proximity of the mainshock where the aftershocks' focal mechanisms display some variations.     

2013年4月20日四川芦山M7.0级地震介绍

2013年4月20日四川芦山M7.0级地震发生在龙门山断裂带南段,震源机制解为逆冲型.震后3天震区已发生3000多次余震,其中M5级余震4次,最大余震是4月21日17时05分芦山、邛崃交界M5.4级地震,余震区长轴约45 km,短轴约20 km.芦山M7.0级地震与2008年5月12日汶川M8.0级地震均位于龙门山断裂带,但汶川地震发生在该断裂带中-北段,两个地震的余震区存在约45 km的间隔,芦山M7.0级地震不是汶川地震的余震,但两者密切相关.     

2013年芦山MS7.0地震的震前及临震应变异常

距离芦山地震震中70 km的姑咱地震台YRY四分量钻孔应变仪2013年4月16—19日记录到8次幅度达到十倍固体潮幅的张性应变阶跃, 这在该仪器6年多运行期间尚属首次. 这些应变异常与芦山地震在时间、 空间上相关; 应变异常的主压应力方向与震前宝兴水压致裂地应力测量主压应力方向相近, 并与震前5个月中长达3个月的应变异常主压应力方向一致; 应变阶跃起始与远震震波同时到达. 综上认为, 4月16—19日的应变异常有可能是芦山地震发震断裂在破裂错动前地层蠕滑的反映.      

浅谈芦山地震

地震序列是对地震现象的回顾性描述,只有在地震序列结束后它才有可能被确切无疑地判定.鉴于龙门山断裂带或地震带的整体性、统一性和系统性,不可否认在其西南段发生的芦山地震是与汶川地震一样的同属于龙门山断裂带的事件.鉴于芦山地震的震源位置、震源机制、震级大小和破裂区覆盖的范围,目前可认为它是汶川地震迄今最大的余震.鉴于地震序列的判定是对地震现象的唯象的描述,有相当的任意性,对芦山地震究竟是"新的主震"还是"汶川余震"的"讨论"实质上是在根据经验判定地震的类型,即使目前看"主震说"提出的4条"论据"明显缺乏说服力,"余震说"比较有说服力,但最后都需要等到地震序列结束之后才有可能"定论".作者认为,相对于需要等到地震序列结束之后才能"定论"、甚而在地震序列结束之后未必能"定论"的芦山地震究竟是"新的主震"还是"汶川余震"问题,应当更为关注芦山地震的发生引出的一些重要的亟待研究的科学问题与防震减灾问题.     

Earthquake magnitude or seismic moment in seismic hazard evaluation?

Seismic hazard analysis requires the estimation of the probabilities that earthquakes will take place within a region of interest, and the expected level of ground motion which will be received at a site during the nextt years. The earthquake magnitude has been used as a basic parameter, because it is available, under the assumption that the earthquake occurrence is a compound Poisson process with exponential or multinomial distribution of magnitude.For improving the hazard prediction, we used the seismic moment as a basic parameter to estimate the mean rate, , of occurrence of earthquakes in a function of seismic moment rate and slip rate released in a seismogenic region.As an illustration of the model, the seismic hazard analysis at different sites in and around the Gulf of Corinth, central Greece, is presented on the basis of the earthquake magnitude and the seismic moment. Comparison of the results shows that determination of the mean rate of earthquake occurrence, using the conventional Gutenberg-Richter recurrence model, underestimates the seismic hazard at a site.     

2013年四川芦山7.0级地震烈度遥感评估

2013年4月20日四川芦山MS7.0级地震发生后,在灾区应急获取了多种高分辨率航空和无人机遥感影像,并快速解译提取了灾区建筑物震害信息.采用地震烈度遥感定量评估方法,利用2008年汶川8.0级地震等震后震害遥感解译和现场调查研究确定的经验震害遥感定量评估模型,获得了芦山地震灾区126个主要居民点的地震烈度遥感评估结果,并据此圈画了地震烈度分布遥感评估图.结果显示,本次地震Ⅸ度区面积约150km2,Ⅷ度区面积约900km2.该结果在第一时间(4月21日晚)提供给了中国地震局地震现场应急指挥部.对比分析显示,地震烈度遥感快速评估结果与中国地震局4月25日公布的地震烈度图,以及与笔者在现场实地进行的建筑物震害详细调查结果基础上评定的地震烈度具有较高的一致性.表明强烈地震发生后,借助于快速获取的灾区高分辨率遥感影像,可以快速估计地震烈度分布,对地震灾区灾情估计和抗震救灾工作具有十分重要的参考意义.     

Field survey around strong motion stations and its implications on the seismic intensity in the Lushan earthquake on April 20, 2013

The M _s7.0 Lushan earthquake on April 20, 2013 is another destructive event in China since the M _s8.0 Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 and M _s7.1 Yushu earthquake in 2010. A large number of strong motion recordings were accumulated by the National Strong Motion Observation Network System of China. The maximum peak ground acceleration (PGA) at Station 51BXD in Baoxing Country is recorded as ?1,005.3 cm/s², which is even larger than the maximum one in the Wenchuan earthquake. A field survey around three typical strong motion stations confirms that the earthquake damage is consistent with the issued map of macroseismic intensity. For the oscillation period 0.3–1.0 s which is the common natural period range of the Chinese civil building, a comparison shows that the observed response spectrums are considerably smaller than the designed values in the Chinese code and this could be one of the reasons that the macroseismic intensity is lower than what we expected despite the high amplitude of PGAs. The Housner spectral intensities from 16 stations are also basically correlated with their macroseismic intensities, and the empirical distribution of spectral intensities from Lushan and Wenchuan Earthquakes under the Chinese scale is almost identical with those under the European scale.     

High-resolution seismic tomography of the upper crust in the source region of the April 20, 2013 Lushan earthquake and its seismotectonic implications

Both P- and S-wave arrivals were collected for imaging upper crustal structures in the source region of the April 20, 2013 Lushan earthquake. High-resolution, three-dimensional P and S velocity models were constructed by travel-time tomography. Moreover, more than 3700 aftershocks of the Lushan earthquake were relocated via a grid search method. The P- and S-wave velocity images of the upper crust show largely similar characters, with high and low velocity anomalies, which mark the presence of significant lateral and vertical heterogeneity at the source region of the Lushan earthquake. The characteristics of the velocity anomalies also reflect the associated surface geological tectonics in this region. The distributions of high velocity anomalies of both P- and S-waves to 18 km depth are consistent with the distributions of relocated aftershocks, suggesting that most of the ruptures were localized inside the high velocity region. In contrast, low P and S velocities were found in the surrounding regions without aftershocks, especially in the region to the northeast of the Lushan earthquake. For the relocated aftershocks of the Lushan earthquake from this study, we found that most aftershocks were concentrated in a zone of about 40 km long and 20 km wide, and were located in the hanging wall of Dayi–Mingshan fault. The focal depths of aftershocks increase from the southeast to the northwest region in the direction perpendicular to the fault strike, suggesting that the fault ruptured at an approximate dip angle of 45°. The main depths of the aftershocks in the northwest of the main shock are significantly shallower than expected, revealing the different seismogenic conditions in the source region.     

Field survey around strong motion stations and its implications on the seismic intensity in the Lushan earthquake on April 20, 2013

The Ms7.0 Lushan earthquake on April 20, 2013 is another destructive event in China since the Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 and Ms7.1 Yushu earth- quake in 2010. A large number of strong motion recordings were accumulated by the National Strong Motion Obser- vation Network System of China. The maximum peak ground acceleration （PGA） at Station 51BXD in Baoxing Country is recorded as -1,005.3 cm/s2, which is even larger than the maximum one in the Wenchuan earthquake. A field survey around three typical strong motion stations confirms that the earthquake damage is consistent with the issued map of macroseismic intensity. For the oscillation period 0.3-1.0 s which is the common natural period range of the Chinese civil building, a comparison shows that the observed response spectrums are considerably smaller than the designed values in the Chinese code and this could be one of the reasons that the macroseismic intensity is lower than what we expected despite the high amplitude of PGAs. The Housner spectral intensities from 16 stations are also basically correlated with their macroseismic intensities, and the empirical distribution of spectral intensities from Lushan and Wenchuan Earthquakes under the Chinese scale is almost identical with those under the European scale.     

High-resolution seismic tomography of the upper crust in the source region of the April 20, 2013 Lushan earthquake and its seismotectonic implications

Both P- and S-wave arrivals were collected for imaging upper crustal structures in the source region of the April 20, 2013 Lushan earthquake. High-resolution, three- dimensional P and S velocity models were constructed by travel-time tomography. Moreover, more than 3700 after- shocks of the Lushan earthquake were relocated via a grid search method. The P- and S-wave velocity images of the upper crust show largely similar characters, with high and low velocity anomalies, which mark the presence of sig- nificant lateral and vertical heterogeneity at the source region of the Lushan earthquake. The characteristics of the velocity anomalies also reflect the associated surface geo- logical tectonics in this region. The distributions of high velocity anomalies of both P- and S-waves to 18 km depth are consistent with the distributions of relocated after- shocks, suggesting that most of the ruptures were localized inside the high velocity region. In contrast, low P and S velocities were found in the surrounding regions without aftershocks, especially in the region to the northeast of the Lushan earthquake. For the relocated aftershocks of the Lushan earthquake from this study, we found that mostaftershocks were concentrated in a zone of about 40 km long and 20 km wide, and were located in the hanging wall of Dayi-Mingshan fault. The focal depths of aftershocks increase from the southeast to the northwest region in the direction perpendicular to the fault strike, suggesting that the fault ruptured at an approximate dip angle of 45°. The main depths of the aftershocks in the northwest of the main shock are significantly shallower than expected, revealing the different seismogenic conditions in the source region.     

fmax and fault zone property of Lushan earthquake of 20 April 2013, Sichuan,China

In this study, we determined fnax from near- field accelerograms of the Lushan earthquake of April 20, 2013 through spectra analysis. The result shows that the values of fmax derived from five different seismography stations are very close though these stations roughly span about 100 km along the strike. This implies that the cause offmax is mainly the seismic source process rather than the site effect. Moreover, according to the source-cause model of Papageorgiou and Aki （Bull Seism Soc Am 73：693-722, 1983）, we infer that the cohesive zone width of the rupture of the Lushan earthquake is about 204 with an uncertainty of 13 m. We also find that there is a significant bulge between 30 and 45 Hz in the amplitude spectra of accel- erograms of stations 51YAL and 51QLY, and we confirm that it is due to seismic waves＇ reverberation of the sedi- mentary soil layer beneath these stations.     

f max and fault zone property of Lushan earthquake of 20 April 2013, Sichuan,China

In this study, we determined f _max from near-field accelerograms of the Lushan earthquake of April 20, 2013 through spectra analysis. The result shows that the values of f _max derived from five different seismography stations are very close though these stations roughly span about 100 km along the strike. This implies that the cause of f _max is mainly the seismic source process rather than the site effect. Moreover, according to the source–cause model of Papageorgiou and Aki (Bull Seism Soc Am 73:693–722, 1983), we infer that the cohesive zone width of the rupture of the Lushan earthquake is about 204 with an uncertainty of 13 m. We also find that there is a significant bulge between 30 and 45 Hz in the amplitude spectra of accelerograms of stations 51YAL and 51QLY, and we confirm that it is due to seismic waves’ reverberation of the sedimentary soil layer beneath these stations.     

Preliminary results of strong ground motion simulation for the Lushan earthquake of 20 April 2013, China

The earthquake occurred in Lushan County on 20 April, 2013 caused heavy casualty and economic loss. In order to understand how the seismic energy propagates during this earthquake and how it causes the seismic hazard, we simulated the strong ground motions from a representative kinematic source model by Zhang et al. (Chin J Geophys 56(4):1408–1411, 2013) for this earthquake. To include the topographic effects, we used the curved grids finite difference method by Zhang and Chen (Geophys J Int 167(1):337–353, 2006), Zhang et al. (Geophys J Int 190(1):358–378, 2012) to implement the simulations. Our results indicated that the majority of seismic energy concentrated in the epicentral area and the vicinal Sichuan Basin, causing the XI and VII degree intensity. Due to the strong topographic effects of the mountain, the seismic intensity in the border area across the northeastern of Boxing County to the Lushan County also reached IX degree. Moreover, the strong influence of topography caused the amplifications of ground shaking at the mountain ridge, which is easy to cause landslides. These results are quite similar to those observed in the Wenchuan earthquake of 2008 occurred also in a strong topographic mountain area.     

内蒙古中西部地区中小地震矩震级研究

基于S震相"S窗"内的波形信号识别、品质因子Q(f)和22个台站场地响应,利用2009~2016年3月内蒙古中西部地区地震的波形资料,反演了182次中小地震的震源波谱参数,得到这些小震的零频幅值及其拐角频率,据此计算了这些地震的地震矩M_0、矩震级M_W和应力降Δσ。利用回归分析方法得到了近震震级与矩震级、矩震级与应力降的关系式。分析表明,近震震级与矩震级、矩震级与应力降呈线性关系。可见,将矩震级纳入地震的快报与正式目录中,可以丰富地震观测报告内容,更好地为地震应急和地震科研服务。     

The characteristics of shear wave splitting in the source region of the April 20, 2013 Lushan earthquake

Using seismic data of the aftershocks sequence of the April 20, 2013 Lushan earthquake recorded by seismic temporary and permanent stations in the source region, with the visual inspection of particle motion diagrams, this paper preliminarily contains the polarization directions of fast shear wave and the time-delays of split shear waves at every station, and analyzes the crustal anisotropic characteristics in the source region. In the study area, the polarization direc- tions at stations BAX, TQU, L 132, L 133, L 134, and L 135 are northeast, which is consistent with the strike of Dachuan- Shuangshi fault. There are two polarization directions at MDS and L131, which are northeast and southeast. The scatter of polarization directions suggests the complex stress field around these two stations where two faults intersect. For the normalized time-delays at every station, the range is 1.02-8.64 ms/km. The largest time-delay is from L134 which is closest to the mainshock, and the smallest one is from L133. The variations in time-delays show the decreasing at stations BAX, L134, and L135 because of the stress-relaxation after earthquake.     

The characteristics of shear wave splitting in the source region of the April 20, 2013 Lushan earthquake

Using seismic data of the aftershocks sequence of the April 20, 2013 Lushan earthquake recorded by seismic temporary and permanent stations in the source region, with the visual inspection of particle motion diagrams, this paper preliminarily contains the polarization directions of fast shear wave and the time-delays of split shear waves at every station, and analyzes the crustal anisotropic characteristics in the source region. In the study area, the polarization directions at stations BAX, TQU, L132, L133, L134, and L135 are northeast, which is consistent with the strike of Dachuan–Shuangshi fault. There are two polarization directions at MDS and L131, which are northeast and southeast. The scatter of polarization directions suggests the complex stress field around these two stations where two faults intersect. For the normalized time-delays at every station, the range is 1.02–8.64 ms/km. The largest time-delay is from L134 which is closest to the mainshock, and the smallest one is from L133. The variations in time-delays show the decreasing at stations BAX, L134, and L135 because of the stress–relaxation after earthquake.     

2009年4月6日意大利拉奎拉(L＇Aquila)地震快速矩张量解.

2009年4月6日1点32分42秒协调世界时（UTC）,在意大利中部地区发生了MW6.4地震．作者利用矩张量快速反演技术,通过反演全球台网的宽频带P波波形得到了这次地震的矩张量解,并判断走向132deg;、倾角53deg;、滑动角——103deg;的节面是地震发生的断层面．