Rupture segmentation and assessment of probabilities of seismic potential on the Xiaojiang fault zone

Spatial distribution of sources of strong and large earthquakes on the Xiaojiang fault zone in eastern Yunnan is studied according to historical earthquake data. 7 segments of relatively independent sources or basic units of rupture along the fault zone have been identified preliminarily. On every segment, time intervals between main historical earthquakes are generally characterized by “time-predictable” recurrence behavior with indetermination. A statistic model for the time intervals between earthquakes of the fault zone has been preliminarily established. And a mathematical method has been introduced into this paper to reckon average recurrence interval between earthquakes under the condition of having known the size of the last event at a specific segment. Based on these, ranges of the average recurrence intervals given confidence have been estimated for events of various sizes on the fault zone. Further, the author puts forward a real-time probabilistic model that is suitable to analyze seismic potential for individual segments along a fault zone on which earthquake recurrence intervals have been characterized by quasi-time-predictable behavior, and applies this model to calculate conditional probabilities and probability gains of earthquake recurring on the individual segments of the Xiaojiang fault zone during the period from 1991 to 2005. As a consequence, it has shown that two parts of this fault zone, from south of Dongchuan to Songming and from Chengjiang to Huaning, have relatively high likelihoods for strong or large earthquake recurring in the future. The Chinese version of this paper appeared in the Chinese edition ofActa Seismologica Sinica,15, 322–330, 1993.     

Tempo-spatial rupture process of the 1997 Mani, Xizang (Tibet), China earthquake of MS=7.9

IntroductionAnearthquakeofMs=7.9occurredinMaul,Xizang(Tibet),Chinaat10:02f55.4(UTC),No')ember8.1997.TheepicenterdeterminedbyChinaNationalSeismographNetwork(CNSN)is87.33"E.3>.26'N,thefocaldepthis40km,andthemagnitudeisMs=7.4.Accordingtothedeterllllnati...     

Numerical simulation of dynamic process of the Tangshan earthquake

In this paper, the new LDDA (Lagrangian Discontinuous Deformation Analysis) method is used in modeling the dynamic process of the MS=7.8 Tangshan earthquake on July 28, 1976 and obtain directly the dynamic and quasi-static dislocations, shear stress drops, fracture velocities of the Tangshan earthquake fault. The simulation shows that the slip history at each point of the fault is different. The displacement vectors at the concave side of the fault is greater than that of the convex side of the fault. The "over shoot" of the fault slip is greatest at the middle part of the fault and attenuates to its ends. The rupture velocities of the fault from the epicenter towards south-west and towards north-east are 3.08 m/s and 1.18 m/s, respectively, the average one is 2.13 m/s. The maximum dynamic and quasi-static dislocations are 7.1 m and 6.2 m respectively, the average quasi-static one on the fault is 4.5 m. The maximum dynamic and quasi-static shear stress drops are 8.1 MPa and 5.4 MPa, respectively, the average quasi-static shear stress drop is 3.9 MPa.We found that the rupture velocities and shear stress are related to the initial stress states of the fault.     

新疆伽师强震群强震主破裂面走向初探

1997年1月21日-1998年8月27日新疆伽师发生了包含9次6级地震的强震群,震源机制解表明有NE向和NW向两个节面．有观点认为主破裂面为NNW向．本通过数字地震台阵的余震序列精确定位、震源破裂过程及滑动方向、震群空间分布图像、地震烈度等震线长轴走向和微、宏观震中动态变化方向等多种方法分析后,综合判定9次6级地震的主破裂面走向极可能为北东方向．     

Inversion of near-field waveform data for earthquake source rupture process (Ⅱ): Inversion of Chi Chi earthquake source, 20 September, 1999, Taiwan

The Chi Chi earthquake (Mw7.6) occurred at 17:47 UTC on Sept. 20,1999 (01:47 September 21, 1999, local time) in central Taiwan. CWB located the epi- center at (120.82°E; 23.85°N) and the focal depth 8 km. Chi Chi earthquake is the best documented earth- quake ever recorded. The abundance and quality of its near-source observations present an unparalleled op- portunity for studying the rupture history from a close distance. More than 400 free field digital accelerome- ters with 3-compon…     

Seismic Displacement of Gravity Walls by a Two-body Model

Gravity walls retaining dry soil are modeled as a system of two bodies: (a) the gravity wall that slides along the wall-foundation soil boundary and (b) the critical soil wedge in the soil behind the wall. The strength of the system is defined by both the frictional and the cohesional components of resistance. The angle of the prism of the critical soil wedge behind the wall is obtained using the limit equilibrium method. The model accounts for changes in the geometry of the backfill soil behind the wall by considering the displacements at the end of each time step under limit equilibrium. The model shows that the standard (single) block model is over-conservative for the extreme case of critical-to-applied-seismic acceleration ratios less than about 0.30, but works well for cases where this ratio ranges between 0.5 and 0.8. The model is applied to predict the seismic displacement of gravity walls (a) tested in the shaking-table and (b) studied numerically by elaborate elasto–plastic analyses.     

Fracture in Westerly Granite under AE Feedback and Constant Strain Rate Loading: Nucleation, Quasi-static Propagation, and the Transition to Unstable Fracture Propagation

New observations of fracture nucleation are presented from three triaxial compression experiments on intact samples of Westerly granite, using Acoustic Emission (AE) monitoring. By conducting the tests under different loading conditions, the fracture process is demonstrated for quasi-static fracture (under AE Feedback load), a slowly developing unstable fracture (loaded at a `slow' constant strain rate of 2.5 × 10<sup>−6</sup> /s) and an unstable fracture that develops near instantaneously (loaded at a `fast' constant strain rate of 5 × 10⁻⁵ /s). By recording a continuous ultrasonic waveform during the critical period of fracture, the entire AE catalogue can be captured and the exact time of fracture defined. Under constant strain loading, three stages are observed: (1) An initial nucleation or stable growth phase at a rate of ~ 1.3 mm/s, (2) a sudden increase to a constant or slowly accelerating propagation speed of ~ 18 mm/s, and (3) unstable, accelerating propagation. In the ~ 100 ms before rupture, the high level of AE activity (as seen on the continuous record) prevented the location of discrete AE events. A lower bound estimate of the average propagation velocity (using the time-to-rupture and the existing fracture length) suggests values of a few m/s. However from a low gain acoustic record, we infer that in the final few ms, the fracture propagation speed increased to 175 m/s. These results demonstrate similarities between fracture nucleation in intact rock and the nucleation of dynamic instabilities in stick slip experiments. It is suggested that the ability to constrain the size of an evolving fracture provides a crucial tool in further understanding the controls on fracture nucleation.     

长岭山北麓断裂上新发现的地震地表破裂带

通过野外地震地质调查,在甘肃省古浪县、景泰县交界处的长岭山地区新发现了丰富的线状分布的地震地表破裂现象,表现为基岩崩塌、黄土滑坡、地震裂缝、地震土林、地震沟槽、陷落坑以及断层陡坎等,局部可见残留的破裂滑动自由面。其分布严格受长岭山北麓活动断裂控制。通过地震地表破裂带本身的特征分析、年代学分析、地表破裂带长度与震级的拟合关系以及结合区域活动断裂资料研究,认为该地震地表破裂带可能为1927年古浪8.0级地震的产物。