Study on the relationship between geothermal exploitation and seismic activity in Xi’an region

Based on the analysis of the induced earthquakes in China and abroad, we get some ideas about earthquakes induced by pumping water out of a well or injecting water into a well. The induced earthquakes usually occur near the well, and they are generally small earthquakes. The earthquake sources are shallow, and they belong to the main shock-after shock type of earthquake or the swarm-type of earthquake. The magnitude and the quantity of the induced earthquakes obviously depend on the pressure and the quantity of water pumped or injected. These earthquakes happen as soon as pumping or injecting occurrence, or after ten or twenty days, they may occur at the time of injecting mud or injecting high pressure water when a well is being drilled, or at the time when the ground water is being normally exploited. A large quantity of hot water has been exploited since 1990 in Xi’an, and the quantity of water exploited has been increasing year by year, as a result the groundwater level has been dropping with the water pumped out and the water level is high in summer and low in winter. The earthquakes in Xi’an region belong to the solitary-type and they spread outside Xi’an city where the wells are concentrated but no earthquake happens. The seismic frequency and the energy released have no relation with the quantity of water exploitation or the water level in the well. It is considered that geothermal exploitation does not induce earthquakes in and around Xi’an because of its specially geological condition. Foundation item: Project sponsored by the Landslide Office of Shaanxi Province and Society of Disaster Reduction of Shaanxi Province.     

The earthquake sequence of May 1951 at Jucuapa, El Salvador

Three earthquakes that happened over two days in May 1951 caused extensive damage to villages in a small area of eastern El Salvador (Central America). Contemporary hypocentral solutions indicated focal depths, confirmed by re-calculations using available seismic data, of the order of 90 km, suggesting events associated with the subducted Cocos plate. Macroseismic observations strongly indicate that the earthquakes were of very shallow focus and this is supported by wave-form modeling and the appearance of seismograms recorded in Guatemala. A re-evaluation of the location and source characteristics for these events is presented, together with a fault plane solution and additional macroseismic evidence. The implications for seismic hazard and risk assessment in Central America, where shallow earthquakes of moderate magnitude, frequently occurring in clusters, pose the greatest threat to settlements which, like the area affected by these events, are concentrated along the axis of Quaternary volcanoes.     

Group Strong Earthquakes and Triggering by Tidal Stress

The results obtained using the group model of earthquakes generated in tectonic blocks are fur ther used in this paper to analyze the relationship between the Ms ≥ 7.0 events in Chinese ma inland and the modulation and triggering from the earth tides. The research shows that the Ms 7.0 events in Chinese mainland have been significantly triggered by the tidal stress, especially within the active period with group strong earthquakes. In the quiescence period of strong earthquakes, no Ms7.0 events were triggered, while within the active period, over 82.4% of strong earthquakes took place within a special moon phase, which is 36.4 % higher than the average. Therefore, the modulation and triggering of tidal stress can be used to distinguish the active periods and to forecast the time of the strong earthquakes within the active period. The relationship between the tidal triggering and the tectonic dynamic condition is investigated and the mechanism of the modulation is simulated with the group model of earthquakes generated in tectonic blocks.     

Inelastic buildings with tuned mass dampers under moderate ground motions from distant earthquakes

The effectiveness of tuned mass dampers (TMD) in vibration control of buildings was investigated under moderate ground shaking caused by long‐distance earthquakes with frequency contents resembling the 1985 Mexico City (SCT) or the 1995 Bangkok ground motion. The elastic–perfectly plastic material behaviour was assumed for the main structure, with linear TMDs employed by virtue of their simplicity and robustness. The accumulated hysteretic energy dissipation affected by TMD was examined, and the ratio of the hysteretic energy absorption in the structure with TMD to that without it is proposed to be used, in conjunction with the peak displacement ratio, as a supplementary TMD performance index since it gives an indication of the accumulated damage induced in the inelastic structures. For the ground motions considered, TMD would be effective in reducing the hysteretic energy absorption demand in the critical storeys for buildings in the 1.8–2.8 s range. The consequence is reduction in damage of the buildings which would otherwise suffer heavy damage in the absence of TMD, resulting in economical restorability in the damage control limit state. This is of practical significance in view of the current trend toward performance‐based design. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pounding of structures modelled as non‐linear impacts of two oscillators

A new formulation is proposed to model pounding between two adjacent structures, with natural periods T₁ and T₂ and damping ratios ζ₁ and ζ₂ under harmonic earthquake excitation, as non‐linear Hertzian impact between two single‐degree‐of‐freedom oscillators. For the case of rigid impacts, a special case of our analytical solution has been given by Davis (‘Pounding of buildings modelled by an impact oscillator’ Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, 1992; 21 :253–274) for an oscillator pounding on a stationary barrier. Our analytical predictions for rigid impacts agree qualitatively with our numerical simulations for non‐rigid impacts. When the difference in natural periods between the two oscillators increases, the impact velocity also increases drastically. The impact velocity spectrum is, however, relatively insensitive to the standoff distance. The maximum relative impact velocity of the coupled system can occur at an excitation period T_n^* which is either between those of the two oscillators or less than both of them, depending on the ratios T₁/T₂ and ζ₁/ζ₂. Although the pounding force between two oscillators has been primarily modelled by the Hertz contact law, parametric studies show that the maximum relative impact velocity is not very sensitive to changes in the contact parameters. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Reliability Based Expert System for Assessment and Mitigation of Landslides Hazard Under Seismic Loading

Different models were developed for evaluating the probabilistic three-dimensional (3-D) stability analysis of earth slopes and embankments under earthquake loading using both the safety factor and the displacement criteria of slope failure.The probabilistic models evaluate the probability of failure under seismic loading considering the different sources of uncertainties involved in the problem. The models also take into consideration the spatial variabilities and correlations of soil properties. The developed models are incorporated in a computer program PTDDSSA.These analysis/design procedures are incorporated within a code named SARETL developed in this study for stability analysis and remediation of earthquake triggered landslides. In addition to the dynamic inertia forces, the system takes into consideration local site effects.The code is capable of assessing the landslide hazard affecting major transportation routes in the event of earthquakes and preparing earthquake induced landslide hazard maps (i.e., maps showing expected displacements and probability of slope/embankments failure) for different earthquake magnitudes and environmental conditions. It can also beused for proposing a mitigation strategy against landslides.     

VRANCEA99—the crustal structure beneath the southeastern Carpathians and the Moesian Platform from a seismic refraction profile in Romania

The VRANCEA99 seismic refraction experiment is part of an international and multidisciplinary project to study the intermediate depth earthquakes of the Eastern Carpathians in Romania. As part of the seismic experiment, a 300-km-long refraction profile was recorded between the cities of Bacau and Bucharest, traversing the Vrancea epicentral region in NNE–SSW direction.

The results deduced using forward and inverse ray trace modelling indicate a multi-layered crust. The sedimentary succession comprises two to four seismic layers of variable thickness and with velocities ranging from 2.0 to 5.8 km/s. The seismic basement coincides with a velocity step up to 5.9 km/s. Velocities in the upper crystalline crust are 5.9–6.2 km/s. An intra-crustal discontinuity at 18–31 km divides the crust into an upper and a lower layer. Velocities within the lower crust are 6.7–7.0 km/s. Strong wide-angle PmP reflections indicate the existence of a first-order Moho at a depth of 30 km near the southern end of the line and 41 km near the centre. Constraints on upper mantle seismic velocities (7.9 km/s) are provided by Pn arrival times from two shot points only. Within the upper mantle a low velocity zone is interpreted. Travel times of a PLP reflection define the bottom of this low velocity layer at a depth of 55 km. The velocity beneath this interface must be at least 8.5 km/s.

Geologic interpretation of the seismic data suggests that the Neogene tectonic convergence of the Eastern Carpathians resulted in thin-skinned shortening of the sedimentary cover and in thick-skinned shortening in the crystalline crust. On the autochthonous cover of the Moesian platform several blocks can be recognised which are characterised by different lithological compositions. This could indicate a pre-structuring of the platform at Mesozoic and/or Palaeozoic times with a probable active involvement of the Intramoesian and the Capidava–Ovidiu faults. Especially the Intramoesian fault is clearly recognisable on the refraction line. No clear indications of the important Trotus fault in the north of the profile could be found. In the central part of the seismic line a thinned lower crust and the low velocity zone in the uppermost mantle point to the possibility of crustal delamination and partial melting in the upper mantle.     

澜沧-耿马等强震迁移活动与地电前兆场时空关系

研究1988年11月至1990年10月近2a时间内,在22°～36°N,98°～104°E地区连发性的5次6级以上迁移地震与地电前兆的时空关系。结果表明,这组连发性迁移强震发生之前,地电前兆在南北两地区观测到两个应力相对集中区。随着南部系统内应力不断向北调整,发生了多次强震。这组连发性的强震孕育,包括它们各自前兆场分布和发育,彼此并不是孤立的,而是彼此呼应的。     

中国大陆强地震时间间隔的概率

以东经１０８°线为界，把中国大陆分为东、西两部，东部取震级Ｍ≥６的地震、西部取Ｍ≥７的地震为强地震．利用有史以来全部地震资料，针对不同情况和不同时期，系统地研究了相继两次强地震之间的时间间隔，目的在于讨论一次强地震发生之后，下一次强地震何时发生．在所有情况下地震间隔数目都随时间间隔值的增大呈明显的趋势性减小．给出了８种情况下的间隔数目统计和相应的模拟函数，以及间隔值的经验概率和相应的函数模拟概率．由此可估计时间间隔为某个值的概率，也可估计时间间隔处于某个区间的概率．反之，对于给定的概率，可估计时间间隔的值或它所处的区间．     

A determination of source properties of large intraplate earthquakes in Alaska

Historically, large and potentially hazardous earthquakes have occurred within the interior of Alaska. However, most have not been adequately studied using modern methods of waveform modeling. The 22 July 1937, 16 October 1947, and 7 April 1958 earthquakes are three of the largest events known to have occurred within central Alaska (M _s =7.3,M _s =7.2 andM _s =7.3, respectively). We analyzed teleseismic body waves to gain information about the focal parameters of these events. In order to deconvolve the source time functions from teleseismic records, we first attempted to improve upon the published focal mechanisms for each event. Synthetic seismograms were computed for different source parameters, using the reflectivity method. A search was completed which compared the hand-digitized data with a suite of synthetic traces covering the complete parameter space of strike, dip, and slip direction. In this way, the focal mechanism showing the maximum correlation between the observed and calculated traces was found. Source time functions, i.e., the moment release as a function of time, were then deconvolved from teleseismic records for the three historical earthquakes, using the focal mechanisms which best fit the data. From these deconvolutions, we also recovered the depth of the events and their seismic moments. The earthquakes were all found to have a shallow foci, with depths of less than 10 km.The 1937 earthquake occurred within a northeast-southwest band of seismicity termed the Salcha seismic zone (SSZ). We confirm the previously published focal mechanism, indicating strike-slip faulting, with one focal plane parallel to the SSZ which was interpreted as the fault plane. Assuming a unilateral fault model and a reasonable rupture velocity of between 2 and 3 km/s, the 21 second rupture duration for this event indicates that all of the 65 km long SSZ may have ruptured during this event. The 1947 event, located to the south of the northwest-southeast trending Fairbanks seismic zone, was found to have a duration of about 11 seconds, thus indicating a rupture length of up to 30 km. The rupture duration of the 1958 earthquake, which occurred near the town of Huslia, approximately 400 km ENE of Fairbanks, was found to be about 9 seconds. This gives a rupture length consistent with the observed damage, an area of 16 km by 64 km.