On stress-forecasting strategy of earthquakes from stress buildup, stress shadow and stress transfer （SSS） based on numerical approach

Global Positioning System(GPS) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar(InSAR),used for monitoring crust deformation,are found to be very promising in earthquake prediction subject to stress-forecasting.However,it is recognized that unless we can give reasonable explanations of these curious precursory phenomena that continue to be seren-dipitously observed from time to time,such high technology of GPS or InSAR is difficult to be efficiently used.Therefore,a proper model revealing the relation between e...     

Probability of earthquake recurrence with nonuniform stress rates and time-dependent failure

Current methods for calculation of long-term probabilities for the recurrence of large earthquakes on specific fault segments are based upon models of the faulting process that implicitly assume constant stress rates during the interval separating earthquakes and instantaneous failure at a critical stress threshold. However, observations indicate that the process of stress recovery following an earthquake involves rate variations at all time scales in addition to stress steps caused by nearby earthquakes. Additionally, the existence of foreshocks, aftershocks and possible precursory processes suggest that there may be significant time dependence of the earthquake nucleation process. A method for determining the conditional probabilities for earthquake occurrence under conditions of irregular stressing is developed that could be useful at all time scales including those pertinent to short-and intermediate-term prediction. Used with models for earthquake occurrence at a stress threshold, the addition of variable stressing introduces a simple scaling of the conditional probabilities by stress level and stress rate. A model for the time-dependent nucleation of earthquake slip has been proposed recently that is based upon laboratory observations of fault strength. This failure criterion results in large but relatively short duration changes in the probability of earthquake recurrence particularly following stress steps. Applied to populations of earthquakes the models predicts a 1/t decay of seismicity following stress steps as observed for aftershocks and for frequency of foreshock-mainshock pairs. The model suggests that variations of seismicity rates of small earthquakes in the nucleation zone of the expected earthquake directly indicate variations in probability of recurrence of the large earthquake.     

2011年日本东北大地震（M_W=9.0）震间与震前变形场特征及其对强震预测的启示

强震震前(preseismic)动力学过程的研究对于地震预测具有十分重要的意义,但由于观测资料的限制,目前对强震前孕震区力学状态及其演化过程的认识还非常有限.2011年日本东北9.0特大地震(Tohoku-Oki)发生在GPS观测台站最为密集的地区,为研究特大地震震间(interseismic)与震前的变形状态提供了难得的机会.文中将利用日本东北大地震之前连续的GPS观测资料,分别计算震间与震前的速度场与变形场.通过对比分析发现,日本东北地区(Tohoku)震前的应变状态与震间的有很大的不同,震间的变形主要受到太平洋板块向日本海沟北西西向的俯冲挤压作用所控制,其主压应变以近东西向压缩为主,日本东北地区的运动方向与太平洋板块的运动方向大体一致.但是,临近地震前(震前)日本东北地区的运动方向发生了很大变化,震前30天的连续GPS观测结果显示,速度场的优势方向经常变换,间歇性地出现与太平洋板块运动方向相反的情况.这意味着震前孕震区的力学状态发生了很大的改变.这种变化可能与震前破裂成核或慢滑移及慢地震等过程有关,这些过程将加速或促进大地震的发生,从而为大地震的发生准备了力学条件.值得特别强调的是,这些现象都是可以通过直接观测能够发现的大地震之前的异常现象.由此可见,加密GPS站点进行连续观测,寻找震前变形异常区以及探索异常的物理机制对于地震预测预报有重要的科学意义.     

Improved stress release model: Application to the study of earthquake prediction in Taiwan area

Introduction Stress release model (SRM) was proposed by Vere-Jones (1978) for statistical study of seismicity. Physically it is a stochastic version of the elastic rebound theory of earthquake genesis. The classical elastic rebound model suggests that the stress has been slowly accumulating until the burst of an earthquake occurrence for stress release. This can be simulated by the jump Markov process in stochastic field, and SRM was developed on the basis of Knopoff (s Markov model (Knop…     

Global test of seismic static stress triggering model

Introduction Whether static stress change generated by earthquakes can trigger subsequent earthquakes heretofore is still in debate. Some researchers believe that seismic Coulomb failure stress change generated by earthquake can affect the seismicity nearby (King, et al, 1994; Toda, et al, 1998; Stein, 1999; Seeber, Armbruster, 2000). However, some researchers believe that this model is wrong. For example, Beroza and Zoback (1993) found that stress change generated by the 1989 Loma Prieta …     

Scaling of stress drop and high-frequency fall-off of source spectra

It has been observed for a long time that the high-frequency fall-off constant of source spectra is about 2 for "large" earthquakes and about 3 for "small" earthquakes. For earthquakes between "large" and "small", the highfrequency fall-off constant is not an integer and varies with the size of the earthquake. In this article such a variation is explained in the perspective of the scaling of stress drop, which proposes a new approach to the study of the scaling of stress drop using seismic data with lower quality of completeness and high-frequency characteristics. The study on the source spectra of the aftershocks of the 1988 Lancang-Gengma, Yunnan, China earthquake shows that the high-frequency fall-off of source spectra and its variation with the size of earthquake can be well explained by the model that for "large" earthquakes the stress drop is a constant while for "small" earthquakes the stress drop increases with the size of the earthquake.     

潮汐应力-应变对某些地震序列的调制触发

对1960年以来中国大陆浅源地震序列与潮汐应变的相关分析表明, 某些地区某些地震序列, 包括前震序列、 前震-主震序列、 前震-主震-余震序列和主震-余震序列明显受到潮汐应力-应变的调制触发。 如龙陵地震的前震-主震序列, 邢台地震的前震-主震-余震序列、 唐山地震的主震-余震序列等。 这些地震序列受到潮汐力调制触发的特征明显, 对地震预测有意义, 并作了具体的叙述。 同时对地震序列受调制触发的机理作了初步的探讨, 指出不同类型地震序列的调制触发特征与孕育系统地质构造, 地震震源岩石性质和区域构造应力场方向以及地震破裂机制有关, 对地震机理和预测的研究有一定意义。     

co-seismic coulomb stress changes and its influences on aftershock distribution and surrounding faults caused by 2014 ludian earthquake,yunnan

The studies of earthquake stress transfer and its influence on regional seismicity have found that earthquake occurrences are highly interactive and correlated rather than isolated and random in traditional point in recently years. A lot of phenomena in earthquake observations such as aftershock distribution, stress shadow, earthquake interaction and migration were well explained based on the theory of earthquake stress interaction. It is important that understanding the process of earthquake interaction could give an insight into the physical mechanism of earthquake cycle, and could help us assess the seismic hazard in future.It has long been recognized that regional stress accumulated by tectonic motion is released when earthquake occurs. When earthquakes occur, the accumulated stress does not vanish completely, but is redistributed through the process of stress transfer, and then the redistributed stress may trigger potential earthquakes. The increment of Coulomb failure stress loading in the certain regions may improve the seismic activities. By contrast, the decrement of Coulomb failure stress in the areas of stress shadow where the stress on faults may unload could lead to the decrement of seismic activities.On August 3, 2014, an M_S6.5 earthquake occurred in Zhaotong-Ludian region, Yunnan Province, China, killing and injuring hundreds of people. Therefore, it is critical to outline the areas with potential aftershocks before reconstruction and re-settlement so as to avoid future disasters. Based on the elastic dislocation theory and multi-layered lithospheric model, we calculate the co-stress changes caused by the Zhaotong-Ludian earthquakes to discuss its influences on aftershock distribution and surrounding faults. It is shown that the Coulomb stress changes based on the rupture in the NNW direction can explain better the aftershock distribution. It indicates that the NNW direction may represent the real rupture. The aftershocks mainly distribute in the regions with increased stress along main rupture and west to the rupture. In other regions with increased stress, the distributions of aftershock are rare which may indicate the low tectonic stress accumulation in these regions. The stress accumulation and corresponding seismic hazard on the southern part of Zhaotong Fault, Qiaojia segment of Zemuhe-Xiaojiang Fault and northeastern part of Lianfeng Fault are further increased by the Zhaotong-Ludian earthquake. We should pay special attention to the southern part of Zhaotong Fault where seismic activity is very high in recently years and the increment of Coulomb failure stress in this area is more than 0.1bar(0.1bar is the threshold of earthquake triggering). In order to make a more objective and comprehensive discussion, we calculate the sensitivity of the parameters such as effective coefficient of friction, the calculated depth and multilayered crustal model.     

应力扰动对地震周期和地震矩影响的数值模拟

利用二维有限元数值模型,结合断层滑移弱化摩擦准则对断层滑动规律以及应力扰动对其影响进行了研究．数值计算结果表明,在均匀应力分布情况下, 平面断层滑动显示出典型的特征地震规律,断层面上的应力扰动对断层滑动规律产生影响,压应力增加明显延迟地震的发生时间,并增加地震释放的能量．应力扰动发生在地震破裂临界区时的影响比在震前滑移区时的影响显著．当发生在地震滑移区时,若应力扰动足够大,则压应力增大会造成地震发生时部分动力断层被暂时锁住,使得地震释放的能量变小,但可增加后续地震的能量; 而压应力减小则可导致地震规律产生更加复杂的变化,会即时触发地震．如果应力扰动发生在一个地震周期的早期,则触发的地震较小,但可导致随后的地震提前发生; 如果应力扰动发生在一个地震周期的后期,则会触发大地震．当应力扰动位于震前滑移区或破裂临界区时,小的扰动也可能产生类似的效果．应力扰动产生越晚,这种影响也越明显．应力扰动发生在破裂临界区的影响最明显．应力扰动的影响一般主要集中在应力发生扰动后的1—2个地震周期内．后续地震基本恢复无应力扰动时的特征地震规律．      

汶川8.0级地震前区域应力场动态研究

利用成都、昆明遥测数字地震波形记录资料,研究大量小震震源机制解和视应力值,分析了区域应力场动态和视应力值的时-空分布.给出川青地块平均应力场方位的时间变化.川青地块平均主应力场的方位在汶川8.0级地震前出现明显扰动,同时,地块力轴张量的倾角变化也很明显.得出2006～2007年川青块体逆冲型地震比例偏高,汶川8.0级地震前区域中小地震震源错动类型发生变化的结果,与区域地形变的分析结果是一致的.根据地震波形全波段计算辐射能量,求得的视应力σapp值揭示区域视应力值的微动态起伏过程与区域主压应力场方位的转折类似,可用于地块蕴震物理过程的探索.从汶川8.0级地震前的中短期视应力σapp值的空间分布看,震中所在的龙门山断裂带是低应力分布区,而相对高视应力则分布在外围地区.这些图像可能揭示了汶川8.0级地震前中短期发震构造附近呈现的闭锁现象.     

川西及邻近地区地震活动性模拟和断层间相互作用研究

本研究采用基于库仑破裂准则的地震活动性准静态模型,模拟计算了川西地区长达10000年的理论地震目录,通过对理论地震目录的分析发现川西地区M_s≥7.0强震在时间上表现出很强的随机性,与平均地震发生率为1/22.0年^－1（≈0.0454年^－1）的Poisson过程很相近, Poisson模型可能是川西地区开展长期（数10年）地震危险性计算中较为合适的模型.而单一断层M_s≥7.0强震的时间间隔分布与Poisson过程存在很大的差异,用Poisson模型估计单一构造上长期地震危险性可能是不合适的.通过分析模拟产生的长时间理论地震目录,逐一给出了川西地区主要断层的M_s≥7.0强震的时间间隔分布与平均M_s≥7.0强震的复现时间,并讨论了主要断层间强震活动的相互关联,计算出了强震在各断层间的转移概率.定量计算了研究区一断层的破裂产生的库仑应力在研究区其他断层面上的投影.从而为研究断层间的相互作用,研究一断层发生强震对其他断层发生强震危险性的影响提供了依据.本文为开展区域地震危险性分析研究提出了新的思想和途径.     

龙门山地区历史强震数值模拟

考虑区域地质构造差异、主要活动断裂分布特征和地表附加重力影响,建立反映龙门山地区地表起伏和岩石圈分层的三维粘弹性有限元模型。以GPS为约束重建研究区现今构造应力场,依次模拟龙门山地区1900年以来发生的5次M_S 7.0以上地震,从库仑应力和等效应力角度,分析应力场演化对强震的影响以及强震间的相互作用关系。研究结果表明:从库仑应力角度,有3次地震对后续地震有促进作用,其中汶川地震对芦山地震有触发作用;从等效应力角度,有4次地震对后续地震的发生具有加速作用。     

Visco-elastic stress triggering model of Tangshan earthquake sequence

We calculated the Coulomb failure stress change generated by the 1976 Tangshan earthquake that is projected onto the fault planes and slip directions of large subsequent aftershocks.Results of previous studies on the seismic fail-ure distribution,crustal velocity and viscosity structures of the Tangshan earthquake are used as model constraints.Effects of the local pore fluid pressure and impact of soft medium near the fault are also considered.Our result shows that the subsequent Luanxian and Ninghe earthquakes occurred in the regions with a positive Coulomb fail-ure stress produced by the Tangshan earthquake.To study the triggering effect of the Tangshan,Luanxian,and Ninghe earthquakes on the follow-up small earthquakes,we first evaluate the possible focal mechanisms of small earthquakes according to the regional stress field and co-seismic slip distributions derived from previous studies,assuming the amplitude of regional tectonic stress as 10 MPa.By projecting the stress changes generated by the above three earthquakes onto the possible fault planes and slip directions of small earthquakes,we find that the "butterfly" distribution pattern of increased Coulomb failure stress is consistent with the spatial distribution of follow-up earthquakes,and 95% of the aftershocks occurred in regions where Coulomb failure stresses increase,indicating that the former large earthquakes modulated occurrences of follow-up earthquakes in the Tangshan earthquake sequence.This result has some significance in rapid assessment of aftershock hazard after a large earthquake.If detailed failure distribution,seismogenic fault in the focal area and their slip features can be rapidly determined after a large earthquake,our algorithm can be used to predict the locations of large aftershocks.     

云南地震的潮汐应力触发机制及相关天体位置图像

通过计算云南163个地震震源处沿地震主应力方向的潮汐应力分量,分析了地震的潮汐应力触发力学机制.结果表明,所研究的地震中有62%受到了潮汐应力的触发作用. 在此基础上,对受到潮汐应力触发的地震发震时的天体位置特征进行了研究,得到了具有潮汐应力触发物理基础的地震时的月日黄经差、月日赤纬和月日天顶距的分布图像.图像显示,云南地区的地震在新月期间和上下弦附近较易受到潮汐应力的触发;受到潮汐应力触发作用的地震发震时刻的月日赤纬有明显的密集分布条带特征,地震频次在月、日天顶距分别为30°～140°和20°～140°范围内为平均优势分布区间.     

Simulation of the Load-Unload Response Ratio and Critical Sensitivity in the Lattice Solid Model

— The Load-Unload Response Ratio (LURR) method is an intermediate-term earthquake prediction approach that has shown considerable promise. It involves calculating the ratio of a specified energy release measure during loading and unloading where loading and unloading periods are determined from the earth tide induced perturbations in the Coulomb Failure Stress on optimally oriented faults. In the lead-up to large earthquakes, high LURR values are frequently observed a few months or years prior to the event. These signals may have a similar origin to the observed accelerating seismic moment release (AMR) prior to many large earthquakes or may be due to critical sensitivity of the crust when a large earthquake is imminent. As a first step towards studying the underlying physical mechanism for the LURR observations, numerical studies are conducted using the particle based lattice solid model (LSM) to determine whether LURR observations can be reproduced. The model is initialized as a heterogeneous 2-D block made up of random-sized particles bonded by elastic-brittle links. The system is subjected to uniaxial compression from rigid driving plates on the upper and lower edges of the model. Experiments are conducted using both strain and stress control to load the plates. A sinusoidal stress perturbation is added to the gradual compressional loading to simulate loading and unloading cycles and LURR is calculated. The results reproduce signals similar to those observed in earthquake prediction practice with a high LURR value followed by a sudden drop prior to macroscopic failure of the sample. The results suggest that LURR provides a good predictor for catastrophic failure in elastic-brittle systems and motivate further research to study the underlying physical mechanisms and statistical properties of high LURR values. The results provide encouragement for earthquake prediction research and the use of advanced simulation models to probe the physics of earthquakes.     

2001年昆仑山口西MS8.1地震对周围断层的应力影响数值分析

大地震的发生往往会引起周围区域形变场和应力场变化,且对临近断层上的应力状态也有影响.2001年11月4日,昆仑山口西发生了半个世纪以来中国最大的M_S8.1级地震.本文基于已有的滑动模型,建立了三维含地形高程的横向不均匀性椭球型地球有限元模型,采用等效体力方法,分析了此次M_S8.1地震产生的全球同震位移和应力场变化.与解析方法相比,该模型考虑了地形、Moho面起伏和地球介质横向不均匀性;与一般的有限元数值模拟相比,该模型考虑了地球曲率和椭率,合理地规避了有限块体模型假定边界位移为零所引入的误差.计算得出同震位移与GPS观测数据可以很好地吻合.据库仑破裂应力准则和震源参数,计算得出昆仑山口西M_S8.1地震的发生造成了汶川、芦山、改则和当雄地震的发震断层上库仑应力增加,对这些地震的发生起促进作用;而造成玉树和德令哈地震发震断层上的库仑应力变化为负值,在一定程度上抑制了这些断层的地震活动性.此外,计算结果显示地球地形高程、介质非均匀性和椭率对昆仑山口西M_S8.1地震同震变化计算有一定的影响,其中地形和椭率造成的同震位移场相对误差约10%.     

The response of creeping parts of the San Andreas fault to earthquakes on nearby faults: Two examples

Rates of shallow slip on creeping sections of the San Andreas fault have been perturbed on a number of occasions by earthquakes occurring on nearby faults. One example of such perturbations occurred during the 26 January 1986 magnitude 5.3 Tres Pinos earthquake located about 10 km southeast of Hollister, California. Seven creepmeters on the San Andreas fault showed creep steps either during or soon after the shock. Both left-lateral (LL) and right-lateral (RL) steps were observed. A rectangular dislocation in an elastic half-space was used to model the coseismic fault offset at the hypocenter. For a model based on the preliminary focal mechanism, the predicted changes in static shear stress on the plane of the San Andreas fault agreed in sense (LL or RL) with the observed slip directions at all seven meters; for a model based on a refined focal mechanism, six of the seven meters showed the correct sense of motion. Two possible explanations for such coseismic and postseismic steps are (1) that slip was triggered by the earthquake shaking or (2) that slip occurred in response to the changes in static stress fields accompanying the earthquake. In the Tres Pinos example, the observed steps may have been of both the triggered and responsive kinds. A second example is provided by the 2 May 1983 magnitude 6.7 Coalinga earthquake, which profoundly altered slip rates at five creepmeters on the San Andreas fault for a period of months to years. The XMM1 meter 9 km northwest of Parkfield, California recorded LL creep for more than a year after the event. To simulate the temporal behavior of the XMM1 meter and to view the stress perturbation provided by the Coalinga earthquake in the context of steady-state deformation on the San Andreas fault, a simple time-evolving dislocation model was constructed. The model was driven by a single long vertical dislocation below 15 km in depth, that was forced to slip at 35 mm/yr in a RL sense. A dislocation element placed in the seismogenic layer under XMM1 was given a finite breaking strength of sufficient magnitude to produce a Parkfield-like earthquake every 22 years. When stress changes equivalent to a Coalinga earthquake were superposed on the model running in a steady state mode, the effect was to make a segment under XMM1, that could slip in a linear viscous fashion, creep LL and to delay the onset of the next Parkfield-like earthquake by a year or more. If static stress changes imposed by earthquakes off the San Andreas can indeed advance or delay earthquakes on the San Andreas by months or years, then such changes must be considered in intermediate-term prediction efforts.     

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.     

Numerical simulation of the segmentation of the stress state of the Anninghe-Zemuhe-Xiaojiang faults

We established a three-dimensional finite element model of the Anninghe-Zemuhe-Xiaojiang faults region using contact surfaces of different sizes to describe the spatial segmentation characteristics of the faults. Our model is based on constraints from GPS observations, models of the crust and upper mantle, precise earthquake locations, the tectonic stress field, the slip rate of the faults, and the rheology of the lithosphere in the Sichuan-Yunnan area. Considering the influence of strong earthquakes since A.D. 1327, we analyzed the main controlling factors of the characteristics of the strong earthquakes and also studied by numerical simulation the possible areas of future earthquake risk and their relationship with tectonic stress. The numerical results showed that the gravitational potential energy of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the interaction of adjacent blocks are the main kinetic factors affecting the characteristics of the tectonic stress distribution. There appears to be some correspondence between the distribution of tectonic stress and the b value; however, we also found that some low b value locations correspond to regions of lower stress. This contradiction may be the result of some comprehensive factors, such as the release of strain energy caused by strong earthquakes.     

Discrimination between nuclear explosions and earthquakes based on consideration of tectonic ambient shear stress values

IntroductionFor the need of a nuclear test ban treaty, international society must make great efforts to find effective methods for discrimination between earthquake and nuclear explosion. Thereupon, many methods of discrimination of nuclear explosion appeared. But, at present, there is some uncertainty to discriminate middle or small nuclear explosion (Peppin, McEvilly, 1974; Richards, Zarales, 1990). When we study tectonic ambient shear stress field of Southern California, we find that str…