Study on displacement field generated by aftershocks in Landers earthquake fault zone and its adjacent areas

Introduction The displacement field produced by earthquake can be measured on the Earth surface. The displacement field variation with time can be used to study lots of geodynamics parameters such as the Earth′s viscosity structure (Nur and Mavko, 1974; Sun et al, 1994; Deng et al, 1998), after-slip distribution (Shen et al, 1994; Reilinger et al, 2000), etc. Furthermore, earthquake also pro-duces lots of aftershocks, which have nearly the same focal mechanism as the main shock (e.g. Hard…     

The December 26, 2004, off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, M_W=9.0, earthquake and the critical-point-like model of earthquake preparation

Introduction The unexpected December 26, 2004, off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, MW=9.0 earthquake, which caused devastating tsunami around the Indian Ocean, reminds seis-mologists of the difficulty of earthquake forecast and/or prediction. For seismologists this earth-quake is almost completely unexpected, because there was neither forecasting (which means the estimation of the future earthquake rate as a function of location, time, and magnitude) nor predic-tion (forecasti…     

Response spectral attenuation relationships for Sumatran-subduction earthquakes and the seismic hazard implications to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur

Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, may well represent the classic examples of area with low seismic hazard but with high consequence. Both cities are located in a low-seismicity region of Southeast Asia, where active seismic sources are located more than 300 km away. Seismic designs have not been implemented in this seemingly low-hazard region though distant earthquakes in Sumatra had frequently shaken high-rise structures in the two cities. Several studies have been conducted to systematically assess the seismic hazards of Singapore and the Malay Peninsula. The present research particularly addresses issues in deriving a new set of attenuation relationships of peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV) and response spectral acceleration (RSA) for the Sumatran-subduction earthquakes. To be relevant for the seismic hazard assessment of the remote metropolises, the derived attenuation relationships cover a long distance range from 150 to 1500 km. The attenuation relationships are derived using synthetic seismograms that account for source and path effects. The uncertainties in rupture parameters, such as stress drop, strike, dip and rake angles, have been defined according to the regional geological and tectonic settings as well as the ruptures of previous earthquakes. The seismic potential of the Sumatran subduction zone are high in the region from 2°N to 5°S as there has been no recurrence of great thrust events since 1861. A large event with M_w greater than 7.8 in this particular subduction zone may be capable of generating destructive ground motions in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, even at a distance of 700 km.     

A Public Health Issue Related To Collateral Seismic Hazards: The Valley Fever Outbreak Triggered By The 1994 Northridge, California Earthquake

Following the 17 January 1994 Northridge, California earthquake (M = 6.7), Ventura County, California, experienced a major outbreak ofcoccidioidomycosis (CM), commonly known as valley fever, a respiratory disease contracted byinhaling airborne fungal spores. In the 8 weeks following the earthquake (24 Januarythrough 15 March), 203 outbreak-associated cases were reported, which is about an order of magnitude more than the expected number of cases, and three of these cases were fatal.Simi Valley, in easternmost Ventura County, had the highest attack rate in the county,and the attack rate decreased westward across the county. The temporal and spatial distribution of CM cases indicates that the outbreak resulted from inhalation of spore-contaminated dust generated by earthquake-triggered landslides. Canyons North East of Simi Valleyproduced many highly disrupted, dust-generating landslides during the earthquake andits aftershocks. Winds after the earthquake were from the North East, which transporteddust into Simi Valley and beyond to communities to the West. The three fatalities from the CM epidemic accounted for 4 percent of the total earthquake-related fatalities.     

Engineering assessment of seismic hazard and long period ground motions at the Bolu Viaduct Site following the November 1999 earthquake

The M_w 7.1 earthquake of November 12, 1999 severely damageda 2.5 km long viaduct on a stretch under construction of theIstanbul-Ankara motorway, 18 km W of Bolu. The fault rupture crossedthe viaduct with an observed offset close to 1.5 m; the viaduct decksuffered large permanent displacements but did not collapse.Seismic hazard at the site appears to be governed by characteristicearthquakes occurring every few hundred years both on the Düzce faultand on the main stretch of North Anatolian fault (NAF). Smaller activefaults near the site also contribute to the hazard.We investigate how a reliable design response spectrum of displacement canbe constructed for the viaduct site using both probabilistic and deterministictools. After checking the applicability of known attenuation relations againstrecorded data, we illustrate a hazard analysis that incorporates acharacteristic earthquake model for the relevant faults, and accounts forstatistical directivity effects on the Düzce fault. Constant-risk responsespectra up to 3 s are thus obtained for different return periods. Syntheticmotions at the site are generated next, using a known source model, inorder to explore the features of the displacement response spectrum atvibration periods in the range between 1s and 6 s, in which the dominantresponse of the viaduct deck, uncoupled from the piers, occurs. Adiscussion of results follows.     

Large earthquakes initiate by the acceleration of slips on the downward extensions of seismogenic faults

In order to examine the relationship between anomalous crustal deformations and subsequent large earthquakes, we compiled and examined data on preseismic anomalous crustal deformations for two earthquakes that occurred in and around the Japanese Islands in recent years. We found that the slip on a downward extension of a seismogenic fault accelerates before the main shock and that the average slip velocity is inversely proportional to the time remaining until the main shock occurs.