Imaging the ramp–décollement geometry of the Chelungpu fault using coseismic GPS displacements from the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake

We use coseismic GPS data from the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake to estimate the subsurface shape of the Chelungpu fault that ruptured during the earthquake. Studies prior to the earthquake suggest a ramp–décollement geometry for the Chelungpu fault, yet many finite source inversions using GPS and seismic data assume slip occurred on the down-dip extension of the Chelungpu ramp, rather than on a sub-horizontal décollement. We test whether slip occurred on the décollement or the down-dip extension of the ramp using well-established methods of inverting GPS data for geometry and slip on faults represented as elastic dislocations. We find that a significant portion of the coseismic slip did indeed occur on a sub-horizontal décollement located at 8 km depth. The slip on the décollement contributes 21% of the total modeled moment release. We estimate the fault geometry assuming several different models for the distribution of elastic properties in the earth: homogeneous, layered, and layered with lateral material contrast across the fault. It is shown, however, that heterogeneity has little influence on our estimated fault geometry. We also investigate several competing interpretations of deformation within the E/W trending rupture zone at the northern end of the 1999 ground ruptures. We demonstrate that the GPS data require a 22- to 35-km-long lateral ramp at the northern end, contradicting other investigations that propose deformation is concentrated within 10 km of the Chelungpu fault. Lastly, we propose a simple tectonic model for the development of the lateral ramp.     

Transient deformation following the 30 January 1997 dike intrusion at Kīlauea volcano,Hawai’i

On 30 January 1997 an intrusion on Kīlauea volcano opened a new fissure within the East Rift Zone (ERZ) at Nāpau Crater, 3 km uprift from the ongoing eruptions at Pu’u ’Ō’ō. The fissure eruption lasted 22 h and opened a 5.1 km long, nearly vertical dike 1.9 m, extending from the surface to a depth of 2.4 km (Owen et al. 2000b). During the eruption, the lava pond at Pu’u ’Ō’ō drained, and eruptions ceased there. Pu’u ’Ō’ō eventually refilled in late February and eruptions resumed there on 28 March 1997. Continuous GPS data show a large transient following the 30 January 1997 dike intrusion. After lengthening 40 cm during the initial eruption, the baseline between two stations spanning the ERZ lengthened an additional 10 cm over the following 6 months. A coastal station KAEP also exhibited transient deformation, as it continued to move southward (5 cm) over the same 6-month period. The baseline between two stations spanning Kīlauea’s summit caldera contracted sharply during the eruption, but gradually recovered to slightly longer than its previous length 2 months after the intrusion. We use the extended network inversion filter (McGuire and Segall 2003) to invert continuous GPS data for volume change of a spherical pressure source under Kīlauea’s summit, opening distribution on a nearly vertical dike in the ERZ and potential slip on a decollement 9 km beneath the south flank. Following the 30 January intrusion, rift extension continued below the initial dike intrusion for the duration of the transient. Decollement slip, regardless of its assumed depth, is not required to fit the data. The modeled transient summit reinflation and rift opening patterns under Nāpau crater coincide with changes in observed behavior of Pu’u ’Ō’ō’s lava pond. Rift opening accelerated while Pu’u ’Ō’ō eruptions paused and began to decelerate after the lava pond reappeared nearly a month after the Nāpau eruption. The transient deformation is interpreted as resulting from shallow accommodation of the new dike volume.     

震后地形变与孔隙压力瞬态变化的相互关系

大震改变地壳的应力,从而触发地震及其余震。一系列随时间变化的过程,包括余滑、孔隙流体的流动、下地壳和上地幔粘性的张驰、断层附近应力和孔隙压力调整以及地震的触发进程。然而,尽管进行过多次尝试,但通过直接场地的观测,很难将这些过程区分开来。这里我们采用一种星载雷达干涉图和冰岛南部地震带两个6.5级地震地热井水位变化过程结合的测量法。干涉图记录到的形变既不能用余滑也不能用粘-弹性张驰来解释,但它与地震发生后最初两个月孔隙弹性物质的回跳一致,这可以用地震引起水位变化的快速恢复(1—2个月)来证实,相反余震序列的持续时间达到3.5年,这表明余震的持续时间并不是由孔隙流体的流动控制的,但是,因为表面应变是由地壳浅部孔隙压力的变化控制的,因此,我们不能排除在余震发生深度存在较长时间的孔隙压力瞬态变化。余震的持续时间与随速度和状态变化的摩擦定律控制的地震活动变化速率模型是一致的。     

Temporal and spatial variations of post-seismic deformation following the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake

We use GPS displacements collected in the 15 months after the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake  ( M _w 7.6)  to evaluate whether post-seismic deformation is better explained by afterslip or viscoelastic relaxation of the lower crust and upper mantle. We find that all viscoelastic models tested fail to fit the general features in the post-seismic GPS displacements, in contrast to the satisfactory fit obtained with afterslip models. We conclude that afterslip is the dominant mechanism in the 15-month period, and invert for the space–time distribution of afterslip, using the Extended Network Inversion Filter. Our results show high slip rates surrounding the region of greatest coseismic slip. The slip-rate distribution remains roughly stationary over the 15-month period. In contrast to the limited coseismic slip on the décollement, afterslip is prominent there. Maximum afterslip of 0.57 m occurs downdip and to the east of the hypocentral region. Afterslip at hypocentral depths is limited to the southern part of the main shock rupture, with little or no slip on the northern section where coseismic slip was greatest. Whether this results from along strike variations in frictional properties or dynamic conditions that locally favour stable sliding is not clear. In general, afterslip surrounds the area of greatest coseismic slip, consistent with post-seismic slip driven by the main shock stress change. The total accumulated geodetic afterslip moment is  3.8 × 10¹⁹ N m  , significantly more than the seismic moment released by aftershocks,  6.6 × 10¹⁸ N m  . Afterslip and aftershocks appear to have different temporal evolutions and some spatial correlations, suggesting that aftershock rates may not be completely controlled by the rate of afterslip.     

Induced stresses due to fluid extraction from axisymmetric reservoirs

Earthquakes can be induced by fluid extraction, as well as by fluid injection.Segall (1989) proposed that poroelastic stresses are responsible for inducing earthquakes associated with fluid extraction. Here, I present methods for computing poroelastic stress changes due to fluid extraction for general axisymmetric reservoir geometries. The results ofGeertsma (1973) for a thin disk reservoir with uniform pressure drop are recovered as a special case. Predicted surface subsidence agrees very well with measured leveling changes over the deep Lacq gas field in southwestern France. The induced stresses are finite if the reservoir pressure changes are continuous. Computed stress changes are on the order of several bars, suggesting that the preexisting stress states in regions of extraction induced seismicity are very close to frictional instability prior to production.     

The Interpretation of Gravity Changes and Crustal Deformation in Active Volcanic Areas

Simple models, like the well-known point source of dilation (Mogis source) in an elastic, homogeneous and isotropic half-space, are widely used to interpret geodetic and gravity data in active volcanic areas. This approach appears at odds with the real geology of volcanic regions, since the crust is not a homogeneous medium and magma chambers are not spheres. In this paper, we evaluate several more realistic source models that take into account the influence of self-gravitation effects, vertical discontinuities in the Earths density and elastic parameters, and non-spherical source geometries. Our results indicate that self-gravitation effects are second order over the distance and time scales normally associated with volcano monitoring. For an elastic model appropriate to Long Valley caldera, we find only minor differences between modeling the 1982–1999 caldera unrest using a point source in elastic, homogeneous half-spaces, or in elasto-gravitational, layered half-spaces. A simple experiment of matching deformation and gravity data from an ellipsoidal source using a spherical source shows that the standard approach of fitting a center of dilation to gravity and uplift data only, excluding the horizontal displacements, may yield estimates of the source parameters that are not reliable. The spherical source successfully fits the uplift and gravity changes, overestimating the depth and density of the intrusion, but is not able to fit the radial displacements.