Inversion of long-period body-wave data for the source process of the Gonghe, Qinghai, China earthquake

Long period body waves data recorded by the China Digital Seismograph Network (CDSN) are inverted for the seismic moment tensors of the April 26, 1990, Gonghe, QinghaiM _S=6.9 earthquake and itsM _S=5.0 after-shock occurred on May 7, 1990. In the inversion, the generalized reflection-transmission coefficient matrix method is used to generate Green’s function. From the inversion it is obtained that the rupture process of theM _S=5.0 aftershock is relatively simple, and that of the main shock is rather complex. There are at least two events during main shock rupture process with an interval about 35 seconds. The focal mechanisms of two events are roughly the same as that of the aftershock, all of them were mainly reverse dip-slipping faulting with minor left-lateral strike-slip motion. These results indicate that the Gonghe earthquake was the result of the farther extension of one NWW-SEE striking buried fault on the southern margin of Gonghe basin from shallower depth to deeper depth and from NW to SE under the action of a nearly horizontal NE direction compressive stress. Contribution No. 95A0111, Institute of Geophysics, SSB, China.