The urban active fault survey is of great significance to improve the development and utilization of urban underground space, the urban resilience, the regional seismic reference modeling, and the natural hazard prevention. The Beijing-Tianjin metropolitan region with the densest population is one of the most developed and most important urban groups, located at the northeastern North China plain. There are several fault systems crossing and converging in this region, and most of the faults are buried. The tectonic setting of the faults is complex from shallow to deep. There are frequent historical earthquakes in this area, which results in higher earthquake risk and geological hazards. There are two seismicity active belts in this area. One is the NE directed earthquake belt located at the east part of the profile in northern Ninghai near the Tangshan earthquake region. The other is located in the Beijing plain in the northwest of the profile and near the southern end of Yanshan fold belt, where the 1679 M8.0 Sanhe-Pinggu earthquake occurred, the largest historical earthquake of this area. Besides, there are some small earthquake activities related to the Xiadian Fault and the Cangdong Fault at the central part of the profile.
    The seismic refraction experiment is an efficient approach for urban active fault survey, especially in large- and medium-size cities. This method was widely applied to the urban hazard assessment of Los Angeles. We applied a regularized tomography method to modeling the upper crustal velocity structure from the high-resolution seismic refraction profile data which is across the Beijing-Tianjin metropolitan region. This seismic refraction profile, with 185km in length, 18 chemical explosive shots and 500m observation space, is the profile with densest seismic acquisition in the Beijing-Tianjin metropolitan region up to now. We used the trial-error method to optimize the starting velocity model for the first-arrival traveltime inversion. The multiple scale checker board tests were applied to the tomographic result assessment, which is a non-linear method to quantitatively estimate the inversion results. The resolution of the tomographic model is 2km to 4km through the ray-path coverage when the threshold value is 0.5 and is 4km to 7km through the ray-path coverage when the threshold value is 0.7. The tomographic model reveals a very thick sediment cover on the crystalline basement beneath the Beijing-Tianjin metropolitan region. The P wave velocity of near surface is 1.6km/s. The thickest sediment cover area locates in the Huanghua sag and the Wuqing sag with a thickness of 8km, and the thinnest area is located at the Beijing sag with a thickness of 2km. The thickness of the sediment cover is 4km and 5km in the Cangxian uplift and the Dacang sag, respectively. The depth of crystalline basement and the tectonic features of the geological subunits are related to the extension and rift movement since the Cenozoic, which is the dynamics of formation of the giant basins.
    It is difficult to identify a buried fault system, for a tomographic regularization process includes velocity smoothing, and limited by the seismic reflection imaging method, it is more difficult to image the steep fault. Velocity and seismic phase variations usually provide important references that describe the geometry of the faults where there are velocity differences between the two sides of fault. In this paper, we analyzed the structural features of the faults with big velocity difference between the two sides of the fault system using the velocity difference revealed by tomography and the lateral seismic variations in seismograms, and constrained the geometry of the major faults in the study region from near surface to upper crust. Both the Baodi Fault and the Xiadian Fault are very steep with clear velocity difference between their two sides. The seismic refraction phases and the tomographic model indicate that they both cut the crystalline basement and extend to 12km deep. The Baodi Fault is the boundary between the Dachang sag and the Wuqing sag. The Xiadian Fault is a listric fault and a boundary between the Tongxian uplift and the Dachang sag. The tomographic model and the earthquake locations show that the near-vertical Shunyi-Liangxiang Fault, with a certain amount of velocity difference between its two sides, cuts the crystalline basement, and the seismicity on the fault is frequent since Cenozoic. The Shunyi-Liangxiang Fault can be identified deep to 20km according to the seismicity hypocenters.
    The dense acquisition seismic refraction is a good approach to construct velocity model of the upper crust and helpful to identify the buried faults where there are velocity differences between their two sides. Our results show that the seismic refraction survey is a useful implement which provides comprehensive references for imaging the fault geometry in urban active fault survey.

Shallow seismic reflection method is a commonly used technique in urban active fault detection,however,special geotectonic environment may sometimes make reflection survey inapplicable.In such cases,high-resolution seismic refraction could be a feasible option.In this study,we use the finite difference method as the main technique and the conventional methods of refraction data interpretation as auxiliary means in the interpretation of high-resolution shallow refraction data for active fault detection in Lanzhou area.After a comprehensive analysis of first-break refraction travel-time characteristics,the velocity structure and interface structure along each profile have been obtained.A detailed description of the detection results from SS04-1 and SS11-2 seismic profiles is presented in this paper.The main stratigraphic interfaces and tectonic features identified by the two profiles are quite consistent with the results from drilling surveys along the profiles.Our results indicate that high-resolution seismic refraction is an effective replacement in areas where reflection seismic survey is hard to carry out.

Surface ruptures of the M_S 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake are distributed mainly on the Longmenshan central fault and front-range fault,extending 235km and 72km,respectively.The ruptures exhibit complicated characters in geometry and kinematics.On the riverbed of Baisha river,a backthrust scarp was formed in the southwest of the major fault that comprises four right-step sub-faults,and precise topographical measurement shows a kinematic character of fault block and surface tilting in the rupture process;In Shiyan village,the master fault and the secondary fault formed an imbricate structure,and show as flexures and earthquake swells on ground surface.We analyzed the ruptures at Tongmakan village and Shiyan village,both locating on the central fault,by geometry and kinematics,and the results indicate that the earthquake rupturing along the central fault is mainly characterized by thrusting associated with right-lateral strike-slipping.This result is consistent with the focal-mechanism solutions which are promulgated by U.S.Geological Survey,Harvard University and China Earthquake Networks Center.In addition,the profiles of Tongmakan and Shiyan display different tilting directions,and the reason is that the former locates at the trailing edge of the fault,while the latter in the leading edge of fault.

Seismic refraction method is tentatively used in the exploration of urban active faults where strong interference of surface waves exists and it is difficult to use seismic reflection survey. Original seismic refraction data are calculated and inversed by using time-terms, curve of differential time-distance and finite-difference tomography, to investigate the effect of the new technique in the exploration of urban active faults.In this paper, velocity structures and interface structures are obtained after the shallow seismic refraction data in the western segment of Xushui fault of western Zhengzhou are calculated and inversed by using the above-mentioned three calculation methods, and structural characteristics and depths of main geologic strata are got by integrating inversion results and features of seismic phases. The results of these three methods are similar, and they are confirmed by drilling data in the profile. The seismic refraction method can be used in the exploration of urban active faults.

Jiashi region, Xinjiang is a strong earthquake area in western China. In recent years, several great earthquake swarms have occurred in this region, causing tremendous hazards. In order to get an insight into the relation between the deep structures and the generation of great earthquake swarm in this region, a generalized inversion technique for determining probability distributions of spatial locations of earthquake events through the travel times of P and S waves in random and vertically inhomogeneous medium, is used in this paper. Seismic data recorded by temporal digital seismic network deposed in this region were located using this method. The located earthquakes show linear distribution in north-northwest and north-northeast directions, among which the former is more distinct than the later. Based on the obtained results, the deep structural background of seismic activities in Jiashi region is discussed. The results indicate also the close relation between the earthquake and fault structures in Jiashi region. It is clear that the generation of earthquake swarm might be related to the buried fault in the vicinity of seismic source area, and might be the result of violent crustal deformation on the northern margin of Tarim basin and the present tectonic movement. These complicated structural framework and peculiar environmental conditions might be responsible for the development and generation of the strong earthquake swarm in Jiashi region.

Obvious differences of crustal structures exist in different tectonic blocks of China's continent. These differences can be found mainly in crustal stratification, structural features of the upper and lower crust, degree of crustal heterogeneity, properties of crust-mantle boundaries, distributions of crustal low-velocity layers and the interfaces within the crust, especially the tectonic forms of the Moho. These differences of crustal structures reflect the differences of deformation features and geodynamic processes within the crust of these regions, and may provide some constraints for delineating active tectonic blocks. The descriptions of the degrees of heterogeneities of the active tectonic blocks will help to understand the probabilities of decoupling of these tectonic blocks at different depth levels. The mode of motion of these active blocks is controlled by the behavior of their boundaries and the contacting styles of the blocks. Most of the strong earthquakes in China occur near the boundary belts of these active tectonic blocks. A wide-angle reflection and refraction profile about 1 000km long was deployed in 1999, which crosses through Bayan Har fold belt, Qinling-Qilianshan fold belt, Haiyuan strong earthquake region and Ordos block from southwest to northeast. From the analysis of these data, fine structural models of the crust for the eastern edge of Tibet plateau and Ordos block were established, and the results were compared with those of North China. The differences of crustal structures in Bayan Har block of eastern Kunlun at the northeastern edge of Tibet Plateau, Ordos block and Tangshan earthquake region in North China, as well as their relationships to strong earthquakes are discussed in this paper.

The Geoscience Transect passes through the China-Kroea Platform and its southern and northern borders in the southeast-northwest direction from Xiangshui, Jiangsu to Modula, Nei Mongol. This paper deals with the result of seismic refraction sounding along the geoscience transect. In combination with a part of magnetotelluric sounding, gravity and magnetic data, the crustal structure, tectonic features and the dynamic process of evolution of eight geotectonic units on the transect are revealed rerpectively. The deep structural background for the seismic activity along the transect is also discussed in this paper.