The earthquake foci and deep structure of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle along the southern Sakhalin-Sea of Okhotsk-Kamchatka profile

The Kuril-Kamchatka seismofocal zone was thought to be a single plate approximately 90 km wide and dipping to a depth of 700 km at an angle of 40°–45°. This concept reflects primarily the physical differences (elastic wave velocities, density, temperature, etc.) between the seismofocal zone and the mantle hosting it. Detailed investigations show that the seismofocal zone proper is also heterogeneous with earthquake hypocenters variably concentrated and clustered within this zone, where both seismogenic and aseismic strata, as well as subvertical zones, can be identified. The latter are reflected in the structure and faults of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle.     

Seismic horizontal pullout capacity of shallow vertical anchors in sand

The concept of the equivalent free surface has been extended to determine the seismic horizontal pullout capacity of shallow vertical strip plate anchors buried in sand. The analysis has been done rigorously by using the method of stress characteristics. The results have been expressed in the form of non-dimensional charts. The pullout resistance has been found to reduce quite extensively with increase in the magnitude of horizontal earthquake acceleration. The results were compared with the previously published data, and it was seen that the computed pullout resistance with the proposed method was found to be lowest. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

海南琼海加积井水位对远大震的同震响应特征研究

In this study,we analyze the co-seismic response of water levels in the Jiaji well to strong earthquakes(MS≥7.8) from 2001 to 2010 at an epicentral distance less than 8000km.We investigated the co-seismic variation form of water levels,and analyzed the relationship between the amplitude of water level variation and the magnitude and the epicentral distance.We then checked the seismic wave phases when the changes of water level occurred.It was shown that:(1) the water level’s co-seismic response is mainly characterized by escalation with no oscillation;(2) the amplitude of water level change has a certain connection with epicentral distance and magnitude;(3) co-seismic response of water levels in the Jiaji well shows a certain directivity;(4) most of the co-seismic responses were caused by surface waves,and some by long-period S waves.     

Influence of earthquake ground‐motion duration on damage estimation: application to steel moment resisting frames

This paper presents an analytical study evaluating the influence of ground motion duration on structural damage of 3‐story, 9‐story, and 20‐story SAC steel moment resisting frame buildings designed for downtown Seattle, WA, USA, using pre‐Northridge codes. Two‐dimensional nonlinear finite element models of the buildings are used to estimate the damage induced by the ground motions. A set of 44 ground motions is used to study the combined effect of spectral acceleration and ground motion significant duration on drift and damage measures. In addition, 10 spectrally equivalent short‐duration shallow crustal ground motions and long‐duration subduction zone records are selected to isolate duration effect and assess its effect on the response. For each ground motion pair, incremental dynamic analyses are performed at at least 20 intensity levels and response measures such as peak interstory drift ratio and energy dissipated are tracked. These response measures are combined into two damage metrics that account for the ductility and energy dissipation. Results indicate that the duration of the ground motion influences, above all, the combined damage measures, although some effect on drift‐based response measures is also observed for larger levels of drift. These results indicate that because the current assessment methodologies do not capture the effects of ground motion duration, both performance‐based and code‐based assessment methodologies should be revised to consider damage measures that are sensitive to duration. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd     

Evidence for a seismic activity mainly constituted of hybrid events at Cayambe volcano,Ecuador. Interpretation in a iced-domes volcano context

The high activity level of Hybrid Events (HE) detected beneath the Cayambe volcano since 1989 has been more thoroughly investigated with data from a temporary array. The unusual HE spectral content allows separating a high-frequency signal riding on a low-frequency one, with a probable single source. HEs are interpreted as high frequency VT events, produced by the interaction between magmatic heat and an underground water system fed by thaw water from the summital glacier, which trigger simultaneous low-frequency fluid resonance in the highly fractured adjacent medium. Pure VTs are interpreted as ‘aborted’ HEs occurring probably in the oldest and coldest part of the volcano complex. To cite this article: B. Guillier, J.-L. Chatelain, C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Tsunami hazard in the Eastern Mediterranean: strong earthquakes and tsunamis in Cyprus and the Levantine Sea

A modern tsunami catalogue has been compiled for the region of Cyprus-Levantine Sea in which 24 certain or possible local tsunamis are listed from antiquity up to the present time, while six regional tsunamis, generated in the Hellenic arc, are documented which affected the region. Another set of 13 doubtful events not included in the catalogue are discussed. Tsunami intensities k and K were re-evaluated using the classic 6-grade and the new 12-grade intensity scales, respectively. The strongest tsunamis reported in the region of interest are those of 551 AD, 749, 1068, 1201, 1222, 1546 and 1759, all occurring along the Levantine coast from Gaza northward, with the exception of the 1222 wave which occurred in the Cyprean arc. The causative earthquakes, however, occur on land and are associated with the left-lateral strike-slip Levantine rift and, as such, remain unexplained. In this paper we speculate on the mechanism of these events. A second tsunami zone follows the Cyprean arc, where the situation of subaqueous seismogenic sources favours the generation of tsunamis by co-seismic fault displacements. Submarine or coastal earth slumping, however, may be an additional tsunamigenic component. Based on historical data, the average tsunami recurrence in the Cyprus-Levantine Sea region is roughly estimated to be around 30 years, 120 years and 375 years for moderate (k/K ≥ 2/3), strong (k/K ≥ 3/5) and very strong (k/K ≥ 5/8) events, respectively. The rate of tsunami occurrence equals 0.033, 8.3 × 10⁻³ and 2.7 × 10⁻³ events/year for intensity k/K ≥ 2/3, 3/5 and 5/8, respectively. For a Poissonian (random) process the probabilities of observing at least one moderate, strong or very strong tsunami are 0.28, 0.01 and 3 × 10⁻³ within 1 year, 0.81, 0.34 and 0.13 within 50 years and 0.96, 0.56 and 0.24 within 100 years, respectively. The tsunami potential in the Cyprus-Levantine Sea area is low relative to other Mediterranean tsunamigenic regions. However, the destructiveness of some historical events indicates the need to evaluate tsunami hazard by all available means. In addition, remote tsunamigenic sources, such as those of 1303 and 1481 in the eastern Hellenic arc, are able to threaten the coasts of the Cyprus-Levantine region and, therefore, such regional tsunamis should be taken into account in the evaluation of the tsunami risk of the region.     

Strong historical earthquakes in the northwestern Issyk Kul’ basin (northern Tien Shan)

The northern Tien Shan is the northern front of the Himalayan mountain belt, which resulted from the collision between the Indian and Eurasian Plates. This region encompasses the most active seismic zones of the orogen, which generated the strongest (M > 8) earthquakes. Since there are scarcely any written accounts, the only way to trace back strong earthquakes is the paleoseismologic method. Since 1984 we have been studying the northwestern Issyk Kul’ basin, where there are differently directed anticlines, which constitute the Kungei meganticline. Here, several active tectonic structures (faults, folds) are located, whose development was accompanied by strong earthquakes. Our field studies of 2008 in the Iiri-Taldybulak Valley, along the adyrs (foothills) of the Kungei-Ala-Too Range, revealed two unknown historical earthquakes. The first one, which occurred along the southern rupture in the late 7th century A.D., gave rise to a seismic scarp; the latter broke through the river floodplain and a tash-koro (ancient settlement). The second one, which occurred along the northern rupture in the late 9th century A.D., increased the height of the seismic scarp, existing on the Early Holocene and older terraces. Note that this region already records a strong seismic event around 500 A.D. Archeologic data have revealed one more strong earthquake, which took place in the 14th century A.D. Note that the above-mentioned strong seismic events are coeval with the decline of the nomadic cultures (Wusun, Turkic, Mogul) in the northern Tien Shan and Zhetysu (Semirech’e).     

Repeating aftershocks of the great 2004 Sumatra and 2005 Nias earthquakes

We investigate repeating aftershocks associated with the great 2004 Sumatra–Andaman (Mw 9.2) and 2005 Nias–Simeulue (Mw 8.6) earthquakes by cross-correlating waveforms recorded by the regional seismographic station PSI and teleseismic stations. We identify 10 and 18 correlated aftershock sequences associated with the great 2004 Sumatra and 2005 Nias earthquakes, respectively. The majority of the correlated aftershock sequences are located near the down-dip end of a large afterslip patch. We determine the precise relative locations of event pairs among these sequences and estimate the source rupture areas. The correlated event pairs identified are appropriately referred to as repeating aftershocks, in that the source rupture areas are comparable and significantly overlap within a sequence. We use the repeating aftershocks to estimate afterslip based on the slip-seismic moment scaling relationship and to infer the temporal decay rate of the recurrence interval. The estimated afterslip resembles that measured from the near-field geodetic data to the first order. The decay rate of repeating aftershocks as a function of lapse time t follows a power-law decay 1/t^p with the exponent p in the range 0.8–1.1. Both types of observations indicate that repeating aftershocks are governed by post-seismic afterslip.     

Surface effects of triggered fault slip on Reykjanes Peninsula, SW Iceland

Three large earthquakes (M_w>4.5) were triggered within 5 min, 85 km west of a M_w 6.5 earthquake in the South Iceland Seismic Zone (SISZ). We report on surface effects of these triggered earthquakes, which include fresh rupture, widespread rockfall, disrupted rockslides and block slides. Field data confirm that the earthquakes occurred along N-striking right-lateral strike-slip faults. Field data also support the conclusion from modeling of InSAR data that deformation from the second triggered event was more significant than for the other two. A major hydrological effect was the draining of water through an open fissure on a lake bed, lowering the lake level by greater than 4 m. Field relationships suggest that a component of aseismic slip could have been facilitated by water draining into the fault zone.     

辽宁兴城地区地球物理探测效果评价

以辽宁兴城实验区为重点,详细分析了重力、磁力、大地电磁测深和地震勘探等不同的物探方法对研究区内地质目标的识别作用。根据重力剖面测量、磁力剖面测量、大地电磁测深以及地震勘探等方法对实验区进行野外勘探工作和详细的数据分析。结果表明,重力异常对于构造单元划分、断裂识别、基底起伏的识别等均能发挥重要的作用;磁异常对于断裂识别、不同磁性岩石单元的识别、岩浆活动的分析等方面均能发挥重要的作用;大地电磁测深,在划分构造单元、确定断裂分布、垂向地层分层方面均能提供重要信息;地震勘探横向上可划分出盆地等构造界限,纵向上可分层。