In situ stress measurements in NIED boreholes in and around the fault zone near the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake, Japan

Abstract The 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake, M 7.2, occurred along the north-east–south-west trending Rokko–Awaji Fault system. Three boreholes of 1001 m, 1313 m and 1838 m deep were drilled in the vicinity of the epicenter of the earthquake. Each borehole is located at characteristic sites in relation to active faults and the aftershock distribution. In particular, the Nojima–Hirabayashi borehole [Hirabayashi National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED) drilling] in Awaji Island was drilled to a depth of 1838 m, approximately 320 m southeast from the surface rupture of the Nojima Fault, and it crosses fracture zones below a depth of 1140 m. In situ stress measurements by the hydraulic fracturing method were conducted in these boreholes within 1.5 years after the earthquake. Measurement results suggest the following: (i) Differential stress values are very small, approximately 10 MPa at a depth of 1000 m at each site; (ii) the orientation of maximum horizontal compression is almost the same in the boreholes, perpendicular to the surface trace of the faults, north-west–south-east; (iii) fault types estimated from the state of stress differ among these sites; and (iv) the differential stress value just beneath the fault fracture zone decreases abruptly to one-half of that above the fault zone in the Hirabayashi NIED drilling. These features support the idea that the shear stress along the Rokko–Awaji Fault system decreased to a low level just after the earthquake.     

Thermal anomaly around the Nojima Fault as detected by fission-track analysis of Ogura 500 m borehole samples

Abstract To better understand heat generation and transfer along earthquake faults, this paper presents preliminary zircon fission-track (FT) length data from the Nojima Fault, Awaji Island, Japan, which was activated during the 1995 Kobe earthquake (Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake). Samples were collected of Cretaceous granitic rocks from the Ogura 500 m borehole as well as at outcrops adjacent to the borehole site. The Nojima Fault plane was drilled at a depth of 389.4 m (borehole apparent depth). Fission-track lengths in zircons from localities > 60 m distance from the fault plane, as well as those from outcrops, are characterized by the mean values of ≈10–11 μm and unimodal distributions with positive skewness, which show no signs of an appreciable reduction in FT length. In contrast, those from nearby the fault at depths show significantly reduced mean track lengths of ≈6–8 μm and distributions having a peak around 6–7 μm with rather negative skewness. In conjunction with other geological constraints, these results are best interpreted by a recent thermal anomaly around the fault, which is attributable to heat transfer via focused fluids from the deep interior of the crust and/or heat dispersion via fluids associated with frictional heating by fault motion.     

Geology of the platanares geothermal area, Departamento de Copán, Honduras

The Platanares geothermal area, Departamento de Copán, Honduras, is located within a graben that is complexly faulted. The graben is bounded on the north by a highland composed of Paleozoic (?) metamorphic rocks in contact with Cretaceous - Tertiary redbeds of unknown thickness. These are unconformably overlain by Tertiary andesitic lavas, rhyolitic ignimbrites, and associated sedimentary rocks. The volcanic rocks are mostly older than 14 Ma, and thus are too old to represent the surface expression of an active crustal magma body. Thermal fluids that discharge in the area are heated during deep circulation of meteoric water along faults in a region of somewhat elevated heat flow. Geothermometry based upon the chemical composition of thermal fluids from hot springs and from geothermal gradient coreholes suggests that the reservoir equilibrated at temperatures as high as 225 to 240°C, within the Cretaceous redbed sequence. Three continuously cored geothermal gradient holes have been drilled; fluids of about 165°C have been produced from two drilled along a NW-trending fault zone, from depths of 250 to 680 m. A conductive thermal gradient of 139°C/km, at a depth of 400 m, was determined from the third well, drilled 0.6 km west of that fault zone. These data indicate that the Platanares geothermal area holds considerable promise for electrical generation by moderate- to hightemperature geothermal fluids.     

Integrated core-log interpretation of Wenchuan earthquake Fault Scientific Drilling project borehole 4 (WFSD-4)

Understanding slip behavior of active fault is a fundamental problem in earthquake investigations. Well logs and cores data provide direct information of physical properties of the fault zones at depth. The geological exploration of the Wenchuan earthquake Scientific Fault drilling project (WFSD) targeted the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault and the Guanxian Anxian fault, respectively. Five boreholes (WFSD-1, WFSD-2, WFSD-3P WFSD-3 and WFSD-4) were drilled and logged with geophysical tools developed for the use in petroleum industry. WFSD-1, WFSD-2 and WFSD-3 in situ logging data have been reported and investigated by geoscientists. Here we present for the first time, the integrated core-log studies in the Northern segment of Yingxiu-Beichuan fault (WFSD-4) thereby characterizing the physical properties of the lithologies(original rocks), fault rocks and the presumed slip zone associated with the Wenchuan earthquake. We also present results from the comparison of WFSD-4 to those obtained from WFSD-1, WFSD-3 and other drilling hole in active faults. This study show that integrated core-log study would help in understanding the slip behavior of active fault.     

Heat flow at standard depth

Secular and long-term periodic changes in surface temperature cause perturbations to the geothermal gradient which may be significant to depths of at least 1000 m, and major corrections are required to determine absolute values of heat flow from the Earth's interior. However, detailed climatic models remain contentious and estimates of error in geothermal gradients differ widely. Consequently, regions of anomalous heat flow which could contain geothermal resources may be more easily resolved by measuring relative values at a standard depth (e.g. 100 m) so that all data are subject to similar corrections.Regional heat flow data obtained in existing deep holes show reasonable correlation with values determined at shallow depth. Hence geothermal resources of low enthalpy can be characterised by extrapolating temperatures from relative heat flow data readily obtained from shallow boreholes. Regional control can be provided by casing deep boreholes drilled for other purposes.For routine geothermal exploration, borehole temperatures can be measured using gradient probes with fixed sensor separation (e.g. 5 m), allowing very accurate determinations of the geothermal gradient at a single depth. Values of relative heat flow can then be obtained after determining the thermal resistivity of the corresponding core interval. Sampling errors can be minimised by multiple determinations of thermal conductivity over the complete interval.     

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.     

Resistivity mapping using the VLF-MT method around surface fault ruptures of the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake, Japan

Abstract Distinctive fault ruptures, the Nojima Fault and Ogura Fault, appeared along the northwestern coast of Awaji Island at the time of the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake (Kobe earthquake). In order to delineate the shallow resistivity structures around the faults just after they formed, Very Low Frequency Magnetotelluric (VLF-MT) surveys were made at five sites along the Nojima Fault and at one site along the Ogura Fault. Fourteen transects were made at the one site on the Ogura Fault, and another transect covers the area between the two faults. Changes in apparent resistivity or phase, or both, commonly occur when crossing the surface location of one of the faults, except for the northern transects at OGR-0 on the Ogura Fault. Apparent resistivity values of less than 100 Ωm were observed for Tertiary and Quaternary sediments and values larger than 200 Ωm for granitic rocks. The resistivity structures are related to the morphological characteristics of the fault ruptures. Remarkably conductive zones (less than 10 Ωm in apparent resistivity and 30–40 m in width) were found where the surface displacement is distinct and prominent along a single fault plane. If remarkably conductive zones were formed at the time of the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake, the results provide a good constraint on the dimensions of a conductive zone near the surface that was made by one earthquake. Alternatively, if characteristic resistivity structures existed prior to the earthquake, the conductive zone was probably formed by some tens of earthquakes in relatively modern times. In this case, this phenomenon is inferred to be a concentration of fracturing in a narrow zone and is associated with the formation of clay minerals, which enhance rock conductivity.     

Potential of Electrical Resistivity Tomography to Detect Fault Zones in Limestone and Argillaceous Formations in the Experimental Platform of Tournemire, France

The Experimental platform of Tournemire (Aveyron, France) developed by IRSN (French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety) is located in a tunnel excavated in a clay–rock formation interbedded between two limestone formations. A well-identified regional fault crosscuts this subhorizontal sedimentary succession, and a subvertical secondary fault zone is intercepted in the clay–rock by drifts and boreholes in the tunnel at a depth of about 250 m. A 2D electrical resistivity survey was carried out along a 2.5 km baseline, and a takeout of 40 m was used to assess the potential of this method to detect faults from the ground surface. In the 300 m-thick zone investigated by the survey, electrical resistivity images reveal several subvertical low-resistivity discontinuities. One of these discontinuities corresponds to the position of the Cernon fault, a major regional fault. One of the subvertical conductive discontinuities crossing the upper limestone formation is consistent with the prolongation towards the ground surface of the secondary fault zone identified in the clay–rock formation from the tunnel. Moreover, this secondary fault zone corresponds to the upward prolongation of a subvertical fault identified in the lower limestone using a 3D high-resolution seismic reflection survey. This type of large-scale electrical resistivity survey is therefore a useful tool for identifying faults in superficial layers from the ground surface and is complementary to 3D seismic reflection surveys.     

Three-dimensional in situ stress determination by anelastic strain recovery and its application at the Wenchuan Earthquake Fault Scientific Drilling Hole-1 (WFSD-1)

In situ stress state becomes more and more significant with in-depth research on geodynamics and energy development.However,there has not been an economic and effective method developed to determine deep three-dimensional in situ stress.The Anelastic Strain Recovery(ASR)method is a newly developed technique that can determine three-dimensional in situ stresses.After the 12 May 2008 Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake,the ASR method was used for the first time in mainland China to measure the in situ stresses in the WFSD scientific boreholes in Sichuan Province,China.In this paper,the basic procedure of the ASR method is introduced in detail and the compliances of ASR for boring cores are investigated.The results show that the maximum principal stress direction was NW64°at a measured depth(MD)of 1173 m(vertical depth 1151 m)in WFSD-1.The ratio of shear mode to the volume mode compliance of ASR was 2.9.And the three principal stresses at 1173 m MD in WFSD-1are 43,28 and 25 MPa.Combined with stress measurement results determined using other in situ measurement methods along the Longmenshan fault zone,the directions of the maximum horizontal principal stress changes from E-W to NEE-SWW to NWW-SEE when moving from NE to SW along the Longmenshan fault zone.This change is in agreement with the stress regime of the Longmenshan fault zone of the Wenchuan Earthquake,which supports a stress regime consisting predominantly of thrusts in the southwest and strike-slip in the northeast.     

In‐situ stress at a site close proximity to the Gofukuji Fault,central Japan,measured using drilling cores

The stress state near the Gofukuji Fault, central Japan, was estimated by simultaneously applying deformation rate analysis (DRA), the acoustic emission (AE) method, and AE rate analysis (AERA) to drilling core samples recovered from depths of 327 and 333 m at a site close to the fault. The obtained stress state was for a strike‐slip fault. It is predicted from the estimated stresses that a tensile stress of 6.4 ± 1.1 MPa acted on the borehole wall at 333 m depth during drilling. This is comparable to the typical tensile strength of granodiorite. The tensile stress estimated at 327 m depth is less than the tensile strength. This is consistent with observations of drilling‐induced tensile fracture (DITF) at depths between 329 and 334 m. Ratios of the shear stress to normal stress (normalized shear stress) acting on the fault are calculated to be 0.4–1.0, which are comparable to friction coefficients of rocks measured in laboratories. The large normalized shear stress may represent strength recovery of the Gofukuji Fault. The impendency of earthquake occurrence on this fault is evaluated to be high from the recurrence interval of earthquakes on the fault.     

Quaternary vertical offset and average slip rate of the Nojima Fault on Awaji Island, Japan

Abstract Drilling was carried out to penetrate the Nojima Fault where the surface rupture occurred associated with the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake. Two 500 m boreholes were successfully drilled through the fault zone at a depth of 389.4 m. The drilling data show that the relative uplift of the south-east side of the Nojima Fault (south-west segment) was approximately 230 m. The Nojima branch fault, which branches from the Nojima Fault, is inferred to extend to the Asano Fault. From the structural contour map of basal unconformity of the Kobe Group, the vertical component of displacement of the Nojima branch–Asano Fault is estimated to be 260–310 m. Because the vertical component of displacement on the Nojima Fault of the north-east segment is a total of those of the Nojima Fault of the south-west segment and of the Nojima branch–Asano Fault, it is estimated to total to 490–540 m. From this, the average vertical component of the slip rate on the Nojima Fault is estimated to be 0.4–0.45 m/10³ years for the past 1.2 million years.     

ELECTRICAL STRUCTURE OF UPPER CRUST IN THE SOURCE REGION OF JINGGU YUNNAN MS6.6 EARTHQUAKE AND THE SEISMOGENIC ENVIRONMENT

The October 7, 2014 M_S6.6 earthquake in southwest of Jinggu in the southwestern Yunnan Province occurred as the result of shallow strike-slip faulting within the crust of the Eurasia plate in the broad plate boundary region between the India and Eurasia plates. The strike of fault plane is 140°, and the aftershock distribution shows that the rupture plane is also NNW-trending. Tectonics of the region are controlled by the convergence of the India plate with Eurasia, which has driven the uplift of the Himalayas to the west of this earthquake, and has caused the formation of numerous intraplate continental transform structures in the surrounding region. The pattern of elastic-wave radiation from the earthquake is consistent with the shock occurring either as the result of right-lateral faulting on a northwest-trending fault or as the result of left-lateral faulting on a northeast trending fault. Faults of both types have been mapped in southwestern Yunnan, and it is unclear at this time which type of fault hosted this event. Magnetotelluric survey line is across Jinggu earthquake zone. The advanced data processing and analysis technology of MT is employed and the quantitative data from field surveys are analyzed to acquire the reliable electrical model. The MT data are inverted using nonlinear conjugate gradient (NLCG) inversion algorithm. At last, the interpretation of the electrical model is performed considering the geology and the other geophysical data. Based on the final inversion model of the target profile, it is found that:(1) Electrical structure of the source region can be divided into four layers:The surface is relatively low resistivity layer(0~5km), consisting mainly of Mesozoic and Cenozoic Basin sedimentary rocks, the value of resistivity is 100Ω·m; The high resistivity layer(5~10km) in upper crust mainly consists of Proterozoic metamorphic rocks, with resistivity higher than 1 000Ω·m; there are the upper crust high-conductivity layer(15~25km) and crust-mantle transition zone(blow 25km); (2) The focal depth of the Jinggu earthquake is about 10km, which locates in the interface between high resistivity layer and high-conductivity layer; (3) Most of the focal depths of the aftershocks are in the range of 5km and 10km, and the two depths(5km & 10km) are corresponding to the resistivity gradient belt.     

Integrated interpretation of the magnetotelluric and magnetic data from Mahallat geothermal field,Iran

Magnetotelluric (MT) and ground magnetic surveys were conducted on the Mahallat geothermal field situated in Markazi province, central Iran, as a primary part of the explorations and developments of a geothermal energy investigation program in the region. Mahallat region has the greatest geothermal fields in Iran. MT survey was performed in November 2011 on an 8 km profile crossing the hot springs with a total of 17 stations. The 2D inversion of the determinant MT data was performed using a 2D inversion routine based on the Occam approach. The 2D resistivity model obtained from the determinant data shows a low resistivity zone at 800-2000 m depth and a higher resistivity zone above the low resistivity zone, interpreted as geothermal reservoir and cap rock, respectively. It also revealed two major concealed faults which are acting as preferential paths for the circulation of hydrothermal fluids. To obtain more geophysical evidence, a ground magnetic survey with 5000 stations was also performed over an area of 200 km² around the MT profile. Magnetic measurements show a main positive anomaly of about +1000 nT over the study area, which could be interpreted as an intrusive body with the high magnetic susceptibility (i.e. mafic and ultramafic rocks) into the sedimentary host rocks. We interpret the body as the heat source of the geothermal system. Structural index and depth estimation of the anomaly indicate that the intrusive body is similar to a cylinder extending from about one kilometer depth down to greater depths. The results of MT and magnetic investigations indicate a geothermal reservoir which proves the preliminary geological observations to a great extent.     

北京地区地应力测量与主要断裂稳定性分析

2008年汶川地震后,为查明北京地区现今地应力状态、评价断裂稳定性,相继在北京地区开展了5个深孔（600~1000 m）的水压致裂法地应力测量,并在适宜深度安装了地应力相对变化监测探头,建立了地应力变化监测台站.本文首先利用实测地应力数据分析了北京地区地壳浅表层应力状态,结果表明：（1）北京地区千米深度内,最大、最小水平主应力随深度增加梯度系数分别为0.0328和0.0221,侧压系数K_av和K_Hv值,最大、最小水平主应力之比K_Hh值与国内外已有认识基本一致,而水平向剪应力相对强度参数μ_m值较低;（2）北京地区最大水平主应力优势方向为近EW向,与华北地区构造应力场方向基本一致,同时受区内断裂活动等影响,存在与区域主应力方向偏差的局部应力场;（3）实测数据揭示的应力结构显示,北京地区地壳浅表层最大主应力（σ₁）总体为最大水平主应力（σ_H）,受区域构造演化以及测点附近断裂的影响,中间主应力（σ₂）与最小主应力（σ₃）所对应的实测地应力存在变化,但总体来讲,实测地应力数据揭示的应力结构与北京地区主要断裂性质基本相吻合.其次,基于实测应力数据,采用库仑摩擦滑动准则,结合拜尔定律,并取摩擦系数为0.2~1.0,初步评价了北京地区主要断裂稳定性,结果显示：（1）在摩擦系数取0.6~1.0条件下,北京地区现今应力状态尚未达到导致断裂失稳滑动水平,断裂不会出现失稳滑动现象;（2）摩擦系数弱化到0.4时,西峰寺钻孔应力状态满足断裂失稳滑动条件,揭示出八宝山断裂存在失稳滑动可能性,而夏垫-马坊断裂和黄庄-高丽营断裂附近测点应力状态将趋近满足断裂失稳滑动条件,表明这两条断裂有趋向失稳滑动可能性;（3）只有当摩擦系数弱化到0.2时,北京地区主要断裂才可能在现今应力状态出现断裂失稳滑动.本文的认识对北京地区乃至华北地区构造应力场、地震地质研究有重要参考意义.     

Long-term underground temperature measurements at Syowa Station, East Antarctica

Underground temperature measurements in two shallow boreholes have been carried out by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition at Syowa Station, East Antarctica from April, 1981 to January, 1985. Two quartz thermometers were installed in the first borehole at depths of 2 and 5 m and three were in the second one at depths of 1, 4 and 6.8 m. The mean underground temperatures in the first borehole were −8.181 and −8.843°C at depths of 2 and 5 m, and in the second one −8.242 and −8.220°C at depths of 4 and 6.8 m. As the mean air temperature at Syowa Station was −10.8°C, the underground temperature in the 2 −6.8 m depth range is about two degrees higher than the air temperature. The thermal diffusivities of the observation area are determined by the same principle of the Ångström method, using long-term underground temperature records. The thermal diffusivity around Syowa Station is established to be about two times larger than those of ordinary igneous and metamorphic rocks measured in the laboratory. The thermal conductivity of the drilled cores and surrounding outcropping rocks are also measured by the transient method with temperature conditions at +23°C and −20°C. The thermal conductivities measured in various samples at −20°C are about 7% larger than those at +23°C. Thes tendency is consistent with the results of holocrystalline rock experiments.     

Geological and geophysical studies of the Nojima Fault from drilling: An outline of the Nojima Fault Zone Probe

Abstract The Nojima Fault Zone Probe was designed to study the properties and recovery processes of the Nojima Fault, which moved during the Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake ( M _JMA7.2) of 1995. Three holes, 500 m, 800 m and 1800 m deep, were drilled into or near the fault zone by the Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University. The 500 m and 800 m holes were drilled in November 1995, and in December 1996 the last hole reached its final depth of 1760 m. The significant results are: (i) Geological and geophysical reconstruction of the structure and evolution of the Nojima Fault was obtained; (ii) the maximum compression axis was found to be perpendicular to the fault, approximately 45° to the regional compression stress axis; (iii) micro-earthquakes (m = –2 to +1) were induced by water injections 1–3 km from the injection points in the 1800 m hole; (iv) the fault zone was measured to be 30 m wide from microscopic studies of core samples. Instruments such as three-component seismometers, crustal deformation instruments, and thermometers were installed in the holes.     

Influence of Outcrop Scale Fractures on the Effective Stiffness of Fault Damage Zone Rocks

We combine detailed mapping and microstructural analyses of small fault zones in granodiorite with numerical mechanical models to estimate the effect of mesoscopic (outcrop-scale) damage zone fractures on the effective stiffness of the fault zone rocks. The Bear Creek fault zones were active at depths between 4 and 15 km and localize mesoscopic off-fault damage into tabular zones between two subparallel boundary faults, producing a fracture-induced material contrast across the boundary faults with softer rocks between the boundary faults and intact granodiorite outside the boundary faults. Using digitized fault zone fracture maps as the modeled fault geometries, we conduct nonlinear uniaxial compression tests using a novel finite-element method code as the experimental “laboratory” apparatus. Map measurements show that the fault zones have high nondimensional facture densities (>1), and damage zone fractures anastamose and intersect, making existing analytical effective medium models inadequate for estimation of the effective elastic properties. Numerical experiments show that the damage zone is strongly anisotropic and the bulk response of the fault zone is strain-weakening. Normal strains as small as 2% can induce a reduction of the overall stiffness of up to 75%. Fracture-induced effective stiffness changes are large enough to locally be greater than intact modulus changes across the fault due to juxtaposition of rocks of different lithologies; therefore mesoscopic fracturing is as important as rock type when considering material or bimaterial effects on earthquake mechanics. These results have important implications for earthquake rupture mechanics models, because mesoscopic damage zone fractures can cause a material contrast across the faults as large as any lithology-based material contrast at seismogenic depths, and the effective moduli can be highly variable during a single rupture event.     

Stresses at sites close to the Nojima Fault measured from core samples

Abstract The Nojima Fault in Awaji, Hyogo prefecture, Japan, was ruptured during the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake ( M _JMA = 7.2). Toshima is located close to the fault segment, in which a large dislocation has been observed on the Earth's surface. Ikuha is near the southern end of the buried fault that extends from the surface rupture. Stresses are measured on core samples taken at depths of 310 m, 312 m and 415 m at Toshima and a depth of 351 m at Ikuha. The measured stresses show that both sites are in the field of a strike–slip regime, but compression dominates at Toshima. Defining the relative shear stress as the maximum shear stress divided by the normal stress on the maximum shear plane, the relative shear stress ranges from 0.42 to 0.54 at Toshima and is approximately 0.32 at Ikuha. While the value at Ikuha is moderate, those at Toshima are comparably large to those in areas close to the inferred fault of the 1984 Nagano-ken Seibu earthquake. Value amounts greater than 0.4 suggest that there are areas of large relative shear stress along faults, thus having the potential to generate earthquakes. Provided that the cores are correctly oriented, the largest horizontal stresses at shallow depths are in the direction from N113°E to N139°E at Toshima and N74°E at Ikuha, indicating that the fault does not orient optimally for the stress field at both sites. The slip is known to be predominant in the right-lateral strike–slip component. Although this slip may appear contradictory to the stress field at Toshima, the slip direction is found to be parallel to the measured stresses resolved on the fault plane for the first approximation. The ratio of shear stress to normal stress on the fault plane is roughly estimated to be greater than zero and smaller than 0.3 near Toshima.     

Geoelectromagnetic measurements across the southern Senegal basin (West Africa)

Magnetotelluric and differential geomagnetic sounding surveys, consisting of nine soundings, were performed in 1984 along a 200-km profile across the southern Senegal basin. They were intended to obtain information concerning the resistivity structure of the crust and upper mantle and the distribution of the induced electric currents. Magnetotelluric data indicate that two-dimensional resistivity models are appropriate for the region. The zone above the basement is highly inhomogeneous in geoelectrical structure. Very conductive sediments (0.6-3 ohm m) appear in the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Senegal basin. These sediments lie at depths of up to 4500 m on the west end of the profile. Below this, a modest resistivity material (10–30 ohm m) extends to a maximum depth of about 3000 m. The material at depth on the cast part of the traverse line is thought to be Palaeozoic sediments of the Bove basin. The depth of the magnetotelluric basement lies between about 250 m (in the east) and 4800 m (in the west). The crust is characterised by a drop in electrical resistivity at a depth of 15 km below the east part of the profile. Considering the total section, we observe a general trend towards lower resistivities at depths in excess of 100 km, the transition from 2000 ohm m to about 2 ohm m occurs in the depth range 100 to 175 km. An analysis of the geomagnetic variation field has identified a concentration of telluric current flow beneath the deep basin. It appears that the additional currents flowing in the striking direction of the Senegal basin are largely controlled by sedimentary rocks of high conductivity lying at depths less than 5 km. Model studies show that the local conductivity distribution is able to explain the currents circulating in the thick well-conducting sediments.     

5.12汶川地震后龙门山断裂带东北段现今地应力测量结果分析

5.12汶川大地震发生后,在龙门山断裂带东北段,开展了6个钻孔的原地应力测量工作.测量钻孔分别位于龙门山中央断裂带上下两盘的平武、北川、江油和广元等地.钻孔孔深在200~500 m之间,共取得了72个测试段的地应力测量数据,以及其中33个测段的印模定向试验数据,由此获得了每个测点处地应力的赋存状态,包括地应力量值随孔深的变化以及地应力作用方向.根据库仑准则,结合Byerlee定律对各测点实测数据进行分析,可以看出,龙门山断裂带上盘现今地应力的作用强度高于下盘.其上、下两盘现今地应力赋存状态特征及其差异性显示出该区域处于不均衡的应力环境,容易导致断裂失稳而产生新的活动;印模定向试验数据表明,龙门山断裂带东北段的北川、江油、平武的最大水平主应力优势方向为NEE向;广元附近为NWW或近东西方向.结合已有的研究成果,初步得到龙门山断裂带现今地应力作用方向的分段性特征,即大致以北川为界,龙门山断裂带东北段应力方向显示了与西南段不同的特征.其西南段现今地应力的优势作用方向为北西方向,而龙门山断裂带东北段,自江油、北川、平武一带至广元、青川附近,其现今地应力的最大水平主压应力的优势作用方向呈现了NEE→NWW的赋存状态和变化趋势.本文获得的研究结果对于认识5.12汶川特大地震的动力学机制具有一定的借鉴和启示作用.