Research of the Activity of Earthquakes Induced by Water Injection of Salt Mining in Changning County,Sichuan Province

According to information from on-the-spot investigations, the tectonics of salt mining areas and digital seismic records, we studied the activity of earthquakes induced by water pumping in and out of the salt mines in Shuanghe town, Changning county, Sichuan Province. The study found that the rates of water injection and extraction in the Shuanghe salt mining region were evenly matched before April 2006 and earthquake activity was stable. On the other hand, shallow small and moderate earthquake numbers increased sharply after the water injection rate became much larger than the water extraction rate. Large injection over a long time may causes the permeation of water through pre-existing small fractures and micro-cracks in the Changning anticlinal and accelerate the rupture of micro tectonic formations in nearby regions, inducing small earthquake swarm activity. The Q value calculated by using digital earthquake records indicates a relatively inhomogeneous medium in this area. The results of the accurate location of small earthquakes show that sources are relatively shallow and are concentrated at a depth of 2km to 3km. Focal mechanism solutions reveal a normal dip-slip character of shallow earthquakes. All of these show certain characteristics of earthquake activity induced by water injection.