Horizontal motions and the generation of strong earthquakes in the North Sakhalin interiors

The recent geodynamics of Sakhalin Island is best described by the convergence of the Eurasian and North American (Sea of Okhotsk) lithospheric plates, which is manifested in the high seismic activity of the island. In North Sakhalin, the plate boundary is thought to correspond to a system of roughly N-S-trending faults, which belong to the North Sakhalin deep fault, and the Upper-Piltun fault; the latter was ruptured by the 1995 M 7.2 Neftegorsk earthquake. This study first confirmed that the stationary motion of the Sea of Okhotsk plate is retarded on this fault to form with time a series of drag folds and stress field anomalies. The latter are released during the subsequent (in a 400⦒o 1000-year period) strong earthquakes by seismic sliding on the flanks of the Upper Piltun fault. The 2003–2006 GPS observations revealed the free state of this fault zone with relative slip rates of 5–6 mm/yr.     

Fine structure of seismotectonics in western Shillong massif,north east India

The epicentral tract of the great Assam earthquake of 1897 of magnitude 8·7 was monitored for about 6 months using an array of portable seismographs. The observed seismicity pattern shows several diversely-oriented linear trends, some of which either encompass or parallel known geological faults. A vast majority of the recorded micro-earthquakes had estimated focal depths between 8–14 km. The maximum estimated depth was 45 km. On the basis of a seismic velocity model for the region reported recently and these depth estimates we suggest that the rupture zone of the great 1897 earthquake had a depth of 11–12 km under the western half of the Shillong massif. Four composite fault plane solutions define the nature of dislocation in three of the seismic zones. Three of them show oblique thrusting while one shows pure dip slip reverse faulting. The fault plane solutions fit into a regional pattern of a belt of earthquakes extending in NW-SE direction across the north eastern corner of the Bengal basin. The maximum principle stress axis is approximately NS for all the solutions in conformity with the inferred direction of the Indian-EuroAsian plate convergence in the eastern Himalaya.     

Combining satellite and seismic images to analyse the shallow structure of the Dead Sea Transform near the DESERT transect

The left-lateral Dead Sea Transform (DST) in the Middle East is one of the largest continental strike-slip faults of the world. The southern segment of the DST in the Arava/Araba Valley between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, called Arava/Araba Fault (AF), has been studied in detail in the multidisciplinary DESERT (DEad SEa Rift Transect) project. Based on these results, here, the interpretations of multi-spectral (ASTER) satellite images and seismic reflection studies have been combined to analyse geologic structures. Whereas satellite images reveal neotectonic activity in shallow young sediments, reflection seismic image deep faults that are possibly inactive at present. The combination of the two methods allows putting some age constraint on the activity of individual fault strands. Although the AF is clearly the main active fault segment of the southern DST, we propose that it has accommodated only a limited (up to 60 km) part of the overall 105 km of sinistral plate motion since Miocene times. There is evidence for sinistral displacement along other faults, based on geological studies, including satellite image interpretation. Furthermore, a subsurface fault is revealed ≈4 km west of the AF on two ≈E–W running seismic reflection profiles. Whereas these seismic data show a flower structure typical for strike-slip faults, on the satellite image this fault is not expressed in the post-Miocene sediments, implying that it has been inactive for the last few million years. About 1 km to the east of the AF another, now buried fault, was detected in seismic, magnetotelluric and gravity studies of DESERT. Taking together various evidences, we suggest that at the beginning of transform motion deformation occurred in a rather wide belt, possibly with the reactivation of older ≈N–S striking structures. Later, deformation became concentrated in the region of today’s Arava Valley. Till ≈5 Ma ago there might have been other, now inactive fault traces in the vicinity of the present day AF that took up lateral motion. Together with a rearrangement of plates ≈5 Ma ago, the main fault trace shifted then to the position of today’s AF.     

Field evidences of secondary surface ruptures occurred during the 20 February 1956 Eskişehir earthquake in the NW Anatolia

Surface rupture and source fault of the 20 February 1956 Eskişehir earthquake have been a matter of debate that potentially contributes towards the understanding of the active deformation and seismic risk in the highly populated NW Anatolia. Field observations on the two fault segments (namely Kavacık and Uludere faults) in the north of the Eskişehir graben revealed evidences of co-seismic surface rupture and mass movements during the Eskişehir earthquake. Surface rupture was observed as a 2.5m wide, a 100m long and ca. 20 cm deep asymmetric depression in the Gümüşlü valley, 2 km east of the Uludere village. A trench dug on this depression confirms a prominent high-angle south dipping fault (dominantly left lateral strike slip) and two faint north-dipping antithetics as clear noticeable shear zones in organic-rich thick soil. Mass failures are particularly observed in spring depressions filled with loose torrent and carbonaceous material in front of the fault scarp. Some rock slides of several tens of meters in size that obviously require significantly high ground shaking were also developed on steep fault scarps. The orientation of the principal stress tensor as deduced from the surface rupture of the Eskişehir earthquake displays clear inconsistency with the geometry of prominent faults in the area. We concluded that this disagreement may be explained by a curved surface rupture. The western and eastern tips of this rupture are EW trending and the probable NW-running part in the middle would correspond to the bounding zone between two right-stepping faults.     

Tectonic structures across the East African Rift based on the source parameters of the 20 May 1990 M7.2 Sudan earthquake

Earthquakes in Kenya are common along the Kenya Rift Valley because of the slow divergent movement of the rift and hydrothermal processes in the geothermal fields. This implies slow but continuous radiation of seismic energy, which relieves stress in the subsurface rocks. On the contrary, the NW-SE trending rift/fault zones such as the Aswa-Nyangia fault zone and the Muglad-Anza-Lamu rift zone are the likely sites of major earthquakes in Kenya and the East African region. These rift/fault zones have been the sites of a number of strong earthquakes in the past such as the M _w = 7.2 southern Sudan earthquake of 20 May 1990 and aftershocks of M _w = 6.5 and 7.1 on 24 May 1990, the 1937 M _s = 6.1 earthquake north of Lake Turkana close to the Kenya-Ethiopian border, and the 1913 M _s = 6.0 Turkana earthquake, among others. Source parameters of the 20 May 1990 southern Sudan earthquake show that this earthquake consists of only one event on a fault having strike, dip, and rake of 315°, 84°, and ?3°. The fault plane is characterized by a left-lateral strike slip fault mechanism. The focal depth for this earthquake is 12.1 km, seismic moment M _o = 7.65 × 10¹⁹ Nm, and moment magnitude, M _w = 7.19 (?7.2). The fault rupture started 15 s earlier and lasted for 17 s along a fault plane having dimensions of ?60 km × 40 km. The average fault dislocation is 1.1 m, and the stress drop, ?σ, is 1.63 MPa. The distribution of historical earthquakes (M _w ≥ 5) from southern Sudan through central Kenya generally shows a NW-SE alignment of epicenters. On a local scale in Kenya, the NW–SE alignment of epicenters is characterized by earthquakes of local magnitude M _l ≤ 4.0, except the 1928 Subukia earthquake (M _s = 6.9) in central Kenya. This NW–SE alignment of epicenters is consistent with the trend of the Aswa-Nyangia Fault Zone, from southern Sudan through central Kenya and further southwards into the Indian Ocean. We therefore conclude that the NW–SE trending rift/fault zones are sites of strong earthquakes likely to pose the greatest earthquake hazard in Kenya and the East African region in general.     

Seismic slip rates,potential subsurface rupture areas and seismic potential of the Vienna Basin Transfer Fault

The Vienna Basin Transfer Fault (VBTF) is a slow active fault with moderate seismicity (I _max~8–9, M _max~5.7) passing through the most vulnerable regions of Austria and Slovakia. We use different data to constrain the seismic potential of the VBTF including slip values computed from the seismic energy release during the 20th century, geological data on fault segmentation and a depth-extrapolated 3-D model of a generalized fault surface, which is used to define potential rupture zones. The seismic slip of the VBTF as a whole is in the range of 0.22–0.31 mm/year for a seismogenic fault thickness of 8 km. Seismic slip rates for individual segments vary from 0.00 to 0.77 mm/year. Comparing these data to geologically and GPS-derived slip velocities (>1 mm/year) proofs that the fault yields a significant seismic slip deficit. Segments of the fault with high seismic slip contrast from segments with no slip representing locked segments. Fault surfaces of segments within the seismogenic zone (4–14 km depth) vary from 55 to 400 km². Empirical scaling relations show that these segments are sufficiently large to explain both, earthquakes observed in the last centuries, and the 4th century Carnuntum earthquake, for which archeo-seismological data suggest a magnitude of M ≥ 6. Based on the combination of all data (incomplete earthquake catalog, seismic slip deficits, locked segments, potential rupture areas, indications of strong pre-catalog earthquakes) we argue, that the maximum credible earthquake for the VBTF is in the range M _max = 6.0–6.8, significantly larger than the magnitude of the strongest recorded events (M = 5.7).     

红河断裂活动对琼东南盆地环崖南凹陷构造-沉积-成藏的影响

琼东南盆地西部环崖南凹陷的油气勘探亟需寻找接替领域.针对勘探研究中存在的3个地质问题,利用丰富的钻井和地震资料对红河断裂活动特征及其对环崖南凹陷构造-沉积-成藏的影响开展深入分析.认为红河断裂的走滑活动通过F1断层向琼东南盆地西部传递剪切应力,其演化与环崖南凹陷的构造-沉积作用具有良好的时空耦合关系,并控制了环崖南凹陷...     

Deep roots of seismotectonics of the Far East: The Amur River and Primorye zones

The role of the lateral structure of the lithospheric mantle in the seismotectonics and seismicity of the southern part of the Russian Far East has been investigated. The positions of the epicenters of all the major earthquakes in Sakhalin (M ≥ 6.0), as well as in the Amur region and the Primorye zones (M ≥ 5.0), are defined by the boundaries of the Anyui block of highly ferruginous mantle, which lies at the base of the Sikhote-Alin area. Three cycles of large earthquakes are recognized in the region: the end of the 19th-beginning of the 20th century, the mid-20th century, and end of the 20th-beginning of the 21st century. In the seismic zone of the Amur region (hereafter, the Amur seismic zone), the epicenters of the large earthquakes in each cycle migrate from the SW to NE along the Tan-Lu fault megasystem at a rate of 30–60 km/yr. The specific features of the seismicity of the region are explained by the repeated arrival of strain waves from the west. The waves propagate in the upper part of the mantle and provoke the activation of the deep structure of the region. The detailed analysis of the earthquakes in the Sikhote-Alin area (M ≥ 4.0) in 1973–2009 confirmed the clockwise tectonic rotation of the mantle block. The characteristics of the Primorye zone of deep-focus seismicity at the Russia-China boundary are stated. Since 1973, 13 earthquakes with M ≥ 6.0 have been recorded in the zone at a depth of 300–500 km. This number of earthquakes is at least twice as many as the number of large deep-focus earthquakes elsewhere in the Sea of Japan-Sea of Okhotsk transition zone. The unique genesis of the Primorye seismic zone is related to the additional compression in the seismofocal area due to the creeping of the Anyui mantle block onto the subduction zone during its rotation. The geodynamic implications of the seismotectonic analysis are examined, and the necessity of division of the Amur plate into three geodynamically independent lithospheric blocks is substantiated.     

Active faulting and natural hazards in Armenia, eastern Turkey and northwestern Iran

Active fault zones of Armenia, SE Turkey and NW Iran present a diverse set of interrelated natural hazards. Three regional case studies in this cross-border zone are examined to show how earthquakes interact with other hazards to increase the risk of natural disaster. In northern Armenia, a combination of several natural and man-made phenomena (earthquakes, landslides and unstable dams with toxic wastes) along the Pambak-Sevan-Sunik fault (PSSF) zone lowers from 0.4 to 0.2–0.3g the maximum permissible level (MPL) of seismic hazard that may induce disastrous destruction and loss of life in the adjacent Vanadzor depression.

In the Ararat depression, a large active fault-bounded pull-apart basin at the junction of borders of Armenia, Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan, an earthquake in 1840 was accompanied by an eruption of Ararat Volcano, lahars, landslides, floods, soil subsidence and liquefaction. The case study demonstrates that natural hazards that are secondary with respect to earthquakes may considerably increase the damage and the casualties and increase the risk associated with the seismic impact.

The North Tabriz–Gailatu fault system poses a high seismic hazard to the border areas of NW Iran, eastern Turkey, Nakhichevan (Azerbaijan) and southern Armenia. Right-lateral strike–slip motions along the North Tabriz fault have given rise to strong earthquakes, which threaten the city of Tabriz with its population of 1.2 million.

The examples illustrate how the concentration of natural hazards in active fault zones increases the risk associated with strong earthquakes in Armenia, eastern Turkey and NW Iran. This generally occurs across the junctions of international borders. Hence, the transboundary character of active faults requires transboundary cooperation in the study and mitigation of the natural risk.     

Fractal dimension and <Emphasis Type="Italic">b</Emphasis>-value mapping in the Andaman-Sumatra subduction zone

The Andaman-Sumatra subduction zone is seismically one of the most active and complex subduction zones that produced the 26 December 2004 mega thrust earthquake (Mw 9.3) and large number of aftershocks. About 8,000 earthquakes, including more than 3,000 aftershocks (M ≥ 4.5) of the 2004 earthquake, recorded during the period 1964–2007, are relocated by the EHB method. We have analysed this large data set to map fractal correlation dimension (Dc) and frequency-magnitude relation (b-value) characteristics of the seismogenic structures of this ~3,000-km-long mega thrust subduction zone in south-east Asia. The maps revealed the seismic characteristics of the Andaman-Sumatra-Java trenches, West Andaman fault (WAF), Andaman Sea Ridge (ASR), Sumatra and Java fault systems. Prominent N–S to NW–SE to E–W trending fractal dimension contours all along the subduction zone with Dc between 0.6 and 1.4 indicate that the epicentres mostly follow linear features of the major seismogenic structures. Within these major contours, several pockets of close contours with Dc ~ 0.2 to 0.6 are identified as zones of epicentre clusters and are inferred to the fault intersections as well as asperity zones along the fault systems in the fore arc. A spatial variation in the b-value (1.2–1.5) is also observed along the subduction zone with several pockets of lower b-values (1.2–1.3). The smaller b-value zones are corroborated with lower Dc (0.5–0.9), implying a positive correlation. These zones are identified to be the zones of more stress or asperity where rupture nucleation of intermediate to strong magnitude earthquakes occurred.     

云南川西地区地震地质基本特征的探讨

云南川西地区是多震的地方(图1),从公元前116年到1974年6月,据记载共发生M≥4.75级的地震481次,其中6≤M<7的99次,7≤M<8的14次,M≥8的3次。震源深度一般小于30公里,均为浅源地震。本区强震多发生在深大断裂带上,而且都有一定的地质标志可循,与近代地壳运动、板块构造在成因上有着密切关系。     

A tectonic model for the Tertiary evolution of strike–slip faults and rift basins in SE Asia

Models for the Tertiary evolution of SE Asia fall into two main types: a pure escape tectonics model with no proto-South China Sea, and subduction of proto-South China Sea oceanic crust beneath Borneo. A related problem is which, if any, of the main strike–slip faults (Mae Ping, Three Pagodas and Aliao Shan–Red River (ASRR)) cross Sundaland to the NW Borneo margin to facilitate continental extrusion? Recent results investigating strike–slip faults, rift basins, and metamorphic core complexes are reviewed and a revised tectonic model for SE Asia proposed. Key points of the new model include: (1) The ASRR shear zone was mainly active in the Eocene–Oligocene in order to link with extension in the South China Sea. The ASRR was less active during the Miocene (tens of kilometres of sinistral displacement), with minor amounts of South China Sea spreading centre extension transferred to the ASRR shear zone. (2) At least three important regions of metamorphic core complex development affected Indochina from the Oligocene–Miocene (Mogok gneiss belt; Doi Inthanon and Doi Suthep; around the ASRR shear zone). Hence, Paleogene crustal thickening, buoyancy-driven crustal collapse, and lower crustal flow are important elements of the Tertiary evolution of Indochina. (3) Subduction of a proto-South China Sea oceanic crust during the Eocene–Early Miocene is necessary to explain the geological evolution of NW Borneo and must be built into any model for the region. (4) The Eocene–Oligocene collision of NE India with Burma activated extrusion tectonics along the Three Pagodas, Mae Ping, Ranong and Klong Marui faults and right lateral motion along the Sumatran subduction zone. (5) The only strike–slip fault link to the NW Borneo margin occurred along the trend of the ASRR fault system, which passes along strike into a right lateral transform system including the Baram line.     

Shallow seismic reflection profiles and geological structure in the Benton Hills, southeast Missouri

During late May and early June of 1993, we conducted two shallow, high-resolution seismic reflection surveys (Mini-Sosie method) across the southern escarpment of the Benton Hills segment of Crowleys Ridge. The reflection profiles imaged numerous post-late Cretaceous faults and folds. We believe these faults may represent a significant earthquake source zone.

The stratigraphy of the Benton Hills consists of a thin, less than about 130 m, sequence of mostly unconsolidated Cretaceous, Tertiary and Quaternary sediments which uncomfortably overlie a much thicker section of Paleozoic carbonate rocks. The survey did not resolve reflectors within the upper 75–100 ms of two-way travel time (about 60–100 m), which would include all of the Tertiary and Quaternary and most of the Cretaceous. However, the Paleozoic-Cretaceous unconformity (Pz) produced an excellent reflection, and locally a shallower reflector within the Cretaceous (K) was resolved. No coherent reflections below about 200 ms of two-way travel time were identified.

Numerous faults and folds, which clearly offset the Paleozoic-Cretaceous unconformity reflector, were imaged on both seismic reflection profiles. Many structures imaged by the reflection data are coincident with the surface mapped locations of faults within the Cretaceous and Tertiary succession. Two locations show important structures that are clearly complex fault zones. The English Hill fault zone, striking N30°–35°E, is present along Line 1 and is important because earlier workers indicated it has Pleistocene Loess faulted against Eocene sands. The Commerce fault zone striking N50°E, overlies a major regional basement geophysical lineament, and is present on both seismic lines at the southern margin of the escarpment.

The fault zones imaged by these surveys are 30 km from the area of intense microseismicity in the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ). If these are northeast and north-northeast oriented fault zones like those at Thebes Gap they are favorably oriented in the modern stress field to be reactivated as right-lateral strike slip faults. Currently, earthquake hazards assessments are most dependent upon historical seismicity, and there are little geological data available to evaluate the earthquake potential of fault zones outside of the NMSZ. We anticipate that future studies will provide evidence that seismicity has migrated between fault zones well beyond the middle Mississippi Valley. The potential earthquake hazards represented by faults outside the NMSZ may be significant.     

江西九江及邻区主要断裂活动性遥感综合分析

利用Landsat 8、Google Earth等中高分辨率遥感影像以及ASTER GDEM资料并结合前人研究成果,在分析总结江西九江及邻区主要活动断裂带遥感影像解译标志的基础上,获取该区主要活动断裂空间展布情况,结合地震地质资料进一步探讨该区主要活动断裂的性质及其第四纪活动性。研究发现,该地区断裂构造空间展布复杂,以北东与北西走向为主,其中的主要活动断裂带可归并为4大断裂系统,分别为庐江-广济断裂系、黄冈-鄱阳断裂系、九江断裂系和东至-鄱阳断裂系。根据主要断裂带的地貌错位、三维地貌与地形信息及历史地震数据等对断裂活动性进行分析和分级,将该区主要断裂的现今活动性划分为显著、较显著和一般3个级别,并进一步讨论了区域断裂活动与地震的关系。      

Source zones of the catastrophic Simushir earthquakes on November 15, 2006 (M w = 8.3) and January 13, 2007 (M w = 8.1) and the deep crust structure beneath the Middle Kuril segment

The data on catastrophic earthquakes with magnitudes of 8.3 and 8.1 that occurred in the Simushir Island area on November 15, 2006, and January 13, 2007, respectively, were compared with the results of land-sea deep seismic studies by different methods (deep seismic sounding, the correlation method of refracted waves, the earthquake converted-wave method, the common mid-point) in the Central Kuril segment. The structure of the Earth’s crust and the hypocentral zones of these earthquakes were analyzed. It was established that the hypocenter of the main shock of the first earthquake was located at the bend of the seismofocal zone under the island slope of the trench on the outer side of the subsiding lithospheric plate in the rapidly rising granulite-basite (ìbasalticî) crustal layer, which, at depths of 7–15 km, replaced the granulite-gneiss layer. This was accompanied by an increase of the seismic wave velocity from 6.4 to 7.1 km/s. The focus of the second earthquake was located beneath the axis of the deep-sea trench. The aftershocks were concentrated in two bands 60–120 km wide that extend along the trench, as well as in the third zone orthogonal to the island arc. It was shown that the epicenters of the earthquakes are linked with regional faults. The main shock of the first earthquake (November 15, 2006) was interpreted as a thrust fault and the second one (January 13, 2007) was attributed to a normal fault.     

Distribution of the energy release, b-values and seismic hazard in Egypt

A review of the seismicity and seismic history of Egypt indicates areas of high activity concentrated along Oligocene-Miocene faults. This supports the idea of recent activation of the Oligocene-Miocene stress cycle. There are similarities in the spatial distribution of recent and historical epicenters. Destructive earthquakes in Egypt are mostly concentrated in the highly populated areas of the Nile Valley and Nile Delta. Some big earthquakes located near the plate boundary as far away as Turkey and Crete were strongly felt in Egypt. The distribution of the energy release shows a possible tectonic connection between active zones in Egypt and the complicated tectonic zones in Turkey and Crete through geologically verified fault systems. The distribution of intensity shows a strong directivity along the Nile Valley. This is due to the presence of a thick layer of loose sediments on top of the hard rock in the Nile Valley graben. The distribution of b-values indicates two different zones, comparable with stable and unstable shelf areas. Stress loads in the northern Red Sea and northern Egypt are similar. Geologically, northern Egypt is a part of the Unstable Shelf area. The probability to have an earthquake with intensity V or larger within 94 years is more than 80% in the Nile Valley and Nile Delta areas, Egypt-Mediterranean coastal area, Aswan High Dam area, Gulf of Aqaba-Levant Fault zone and in the oil fields of the Gulf of Suez. The maximum expected intensity in these areas and within the same period is V–VI for a 80% probability and VII–VIII+ for a 10% probability. Intensity VIII–IX has been reported for several earthquakes in both historical and recent time.     

Systematization of active faults for the assessment of the seismic hazard

A systematization of active faults has been developed based on the progress of scientists from the leading countries in the world in the study of seismotectonics and seismic hazard problems. It is underlain by the concept of the fault-block structure of the geological-geophysical environment governed by the interaction of differently oriented active faults, which are divided into two groups—seismogenic and nonseismogenic faults. In seismogenic fault zones, the tectonic stress accumulated is relieved by means of strong earthquakes. Nonseismogenic fault zones are characterized by creep displacement or short-term, oscillatory, and reciprocal movements, which are referred to local superintense deformations of the Earth’s crust (according to the terminology used by Yu.O. Kuz’min). For a situation when a strong earthquake happens, a subgroup of seismodistributing faults has been identified that surround the seismic source and affect the distribution of the seismic waves and, as a consequence, the pattern of the propagation of the coseismic deformations in the fault-block environment. Seismodistributing faults are divided into transit and sealing faults. Along transit faults, secondary coseismic effects (landfalls, landslides, ground fractures, liquefaction, etc) are intensified during earthquakes. In the case of sealing faults, enhancement of the coseismic effects can be observed on the disjunctive limb nearest to the epicenter, whereas, on the opposite limb, the intensity of such effects appreciably decreases. Seismogenic faults or their systems are associated with zones of earthquake source origination (ESO), which include concentrated seismicity regions. In such zones, each earthquake source is related to the evolution of a fault system. ESO zones also contain individual seismogenic sources being focuses of strong earthquakes with M of ≥5.5 in the form of ruptures, which can be graphically represented in 2D or 3D as a surface projection of the source. Depending on the type of data based on which they are identified, individual seismogenic sources are divided into geological-geophysical and macroseismic sources. The systematization presented is the theoretical basis for and the concept of the relational database that is being developed by the authors as an information system for the generation of seismotectonic GIS projects required for the subsequent analysis of the seismic hazard and the assessment of the probability of the origination of macroseismic earthquake effects in a predetermined location.     

南黄海盆地中部隆起构造特征及其成因机制

通过选取南黄海盆地中部隆起内部地震反射清晰、构造特征明显的典型地震剖面,开展精细的构造解释,系统梳理了南黄海盆地中部隆起的构造样式特征,识别出挤压（滑脱、高角度逆冲、对冲/背冲）、走滑（正花状、y字型）、伸展（铲式正断层）等多种构造组合样式.首次提出在中部隆起内部发育2条NW-SE向走滑断层.在此基础上,结合区域应力场特征和深部地球动力学背景,明确了中部隆起构造样式的发育期次、成因机制和构造演化历程.研究结果表明:（1）滑脱构造主要位于中部隆起北部,滑脱面位于志留系底部的泥页岩.滑脱构造应力机制来源于三叠纪末印支运动时期华北板块与下扬子板块之间的碰撞造山作用;（2）高角度逆冲主要位于中部隆起南部,其应力机制来源于早侏罗世燕山运动早期,古太平洋板块初始高速、低角度NW向俯冲;（3）走滑断层主要表现为具有压扭特征的正花状构造,位于中部隆起东南部、中西部,对应于早白垩世时期,古太平洋板块低角度俯冲由NW向转变为NNW向引起的左旋剪切作用,中国东部郯庐断裂在该时期亦表现为左旋剪切特征;（4）伸展正断表现为铲式正断层特征,发育在中部隆起南北边界,即在中部隆起与南黄海盆地南部坳陷、北部坳陷的接触部位,对应于晚白垩世燕山运动晚期,古太平洋板块由低角度俯冲转为高角度俯冲,此时中国东部构造应力体制经历着由挤压向拉张的转换.      

鲜水河断裂带炉霍段地震滑坡空间分布规律分析

鲜水河断裂带炉霍段具有极强的活动性,一旦发生地震,极有可能引发大量的滑坡等地质灾害。研究区发育1973年地震滑坡179个（通过现场调查识别出43个）,1973年以前地震滑坡62个。本文研究数据基于1973年179个及1973年以前62个地震滑坡,共计241个地震滑坡。利用统计分析方法研究了1973年179个地震滑坡分布与烈度及震中距的关系,分析了241个地震滑坡发育的滑动方向、地层岩性、地形坡度、相对高程及在断裂不同位置的分布特征。结果显示:（1）炉霍断裂地震滑坡规模以小型为主;（2）集中于Ⅸ～Ⅹ度烈度区内;（3）距震中0～5km及10～15km范围内密度最大;（4）滑动方向多与断裂斜交,交角介于35～75;（5）断裂南东段滑坡数量多于北西段,北东盘多于南西盘,北西段的北东盘滑坡个体面积较大;（6）滑坡多发育于T2-3r地层中;（7）主要分布于斜坡的中下部,相对高程主要介于30～60m;（8）发育坡度多介于30～45,具有规模越大,坡度越小的特点。     

What triggers Koyna region earthquakes? Preliminary results from seismic tomography digital array

The cause for prolific seismicity in the Koyna region is a geological enigma. Attempts have been made to link occurrence of these earthquakes with tectonic strain as well as the nearby reservoirs. With a view to providing reliable seismological database for studying the earth structure and the earthquake process in the Koyna region, a state of the art digital seismic network was deployed for twenty months during 1996–97. We present preliminary results from this experiment covering an area of 60 × 80 km² with twenty seismic stations. Hypocentral locations of more than 400 earthquakes confined to 11×25 km² reveal fragmentation in the seismicity pattern — a NE — SW segment has a dip towards NW at approximately 45°, whilst the other two segments show a near vertical trend. These seismic segments have a close linkage with the Western Ghat escarpment and the Warna fault. Ninety per cent of the seismicity is confined within the depth range of 3–10 km. The depth distribution of earthquakes delimits the seismogenic zone with its base at 10 km indicating a transition from an unstable to stable frictional sliding regime. The lack of shallow seismicity between 0 and 3 km indicates a mature fault system with well-developed gouge zones, which inhibit shallow earthquake nucleation. Local earthquake travel time inversion for P- and S-waves show ≈ 2% higher velocity in the seismogenic crust (0–10 km) beneath the epicentral tract relative to a lower velocity (2–3%) in the adjoining region. The high P- and S-wave velocity in the seismogenic crust argues against the presence of high pressure fluid zones and suggests its possible linkage with denser lithology. The zone of high velocity has been traced to deeper depths (≈ 70 km) through teleseismic tomography. The results reveal segmented and matured seismogenic fault systems in the Koyna region where seismicity is possibly controlled by strain build up due to competent lithology in the seismic zone with a deep crustal root.