The eastern marginal fault of Daxing Uplift is located in the southeast of the Beijing Plain, which is a boundary fault that controls the Daxing Uplift and the Langgu Sag. It intersects obliquely with the NNE-trending Xiadian Fault in the north where a magnitude 8 earthquake occurred in 1679. The overall strike of the fault is northeast, dipping southeast. Previous studies have suggested that the youngest stratum of the fault is the Mid Pleistocene of the Quaternary and it is not an active fault since the Late Quaternary. Based on high-precision shallow seismic exploration data, this study carried out high-density composite drilling geological section surveys and obtained evidence of obvious activity of the fault since the Late Quaternary. The fault is shown as an active normal fault in the composite drilling geological section. The top of the footwall of the fault is the 7m-thick silty clay marker layer buried at the depth of 74m and the top of the hanging wall is 102m deep, the amount of dislocation is about 28.0m. Fault slip surfaces were found in the cores of two of the boreholes, with depths of 54.2m and 39.4m, respectively. The buried depths of the top surface of the marker layer in the two boreholes with a horizontal distance of 2m are 8m and 10m, respectively, the dislocation amount is 2m. Combined with the observation of core deformation characteristics of the two boreholes, it is believed that the buried depth of the upper breakpoint of the fault may be shallower. This research has changed the understanding that the fault zone on the eastern margin of the Daxing Uplift is not active. This new discovery not only has great application value for understanding the risk of large earthquakes of this fault zone and the risk of earthquake disasters in Beijing, but also has scientific significance for the study of fault development and evolution and the deep-shallow coupling process in North China since the late Cenozoic. The main knowledge gained is as follows: 1)Through high-precision shallow seismic exploration, it is found that the Neogene and above strata in the study area generally show an inclined morphology which is deep in the south and shallow in the north. The strata below the Neogene are in angular unconformity contact with the bottom interface of the Neogene, and the depth of the shallowest upper breakpoint is about 38~43m. 2)The combined drilling geological section exploration reveals rich dislocation information of stratigraphic markers and further confirms the existence of active faults by borehole stratigraphic correlation. In the drill cores, fault slip surfaces were observed in the late Pleistocene strata at the depth of 39.4m, 51.5m and 54.2m, respectively. The stratigraphic comparison of the boreholes 5^# and 9^# with a hole spacing of 2m further reveals a fault throw of about 2m in the stratum at the buried depth of 8~10m, thus, it is inferred that the depth of the upper breakpoint on the fault may be 8m or shallower. According to the stratigraphic age data of adjacent boreholes in this area, it is considered that the fault is a Holocene active fault. The specific age of the latest activity and its activity parameters will be further studied through the subsequent borehole chronological tests and large-scale trench excavation.

After the Fukushima nuclear accident caused by the “3·11” earthquake tsunami in Japan, whether the coastal nuclear power stations in China are liable to similar earthquake tsunami impact has been widely concerned by the whole society. According to the previous results of earthquake tsunami impact assessment conducted by professional departments on coastal nuclear power plants, China's coastal areas do not have the conditions for the occurrence of large-scale earthquake tsunami, but in order to fully learn from the experience and lessons of the Fukushima nuclear accident caused by Japan's “3·11” earthquake tsunami, definite conclusions have been drawn on the offshore tsunami and its impact on nuclear power plants in the early assessment work of potential tsunami impact of coastal nuclear power stations in China, combined with the structural background, historical seismic data and tsunami impact analysis. However, whether the earthquakes in the Ryukyu trench, Manila trench and other areas can generate tsunami has not been systematically considered. Therefore, in this paper, the seismogenic capacity of the Ryukyu trench and Manila trench is evaluated based on the seismotectonic background and relevant seismic source parameters.
Both Ryukyu and Manila trench belong to the west Pacific plate subduction zone, while the Japan's “3·11”earthquake is also located in the west Pacific plate subduction zone. Therefore, whether the former has the same tectonic background and conditions as the “3·11” earthquake does is the key factor to assess whether the Ryukyu trench and Manila trench have the same potential for M9 earthquake. Based on the analysis of a large number of data, this paper evaluates the tectonic background, segmentation characteristics and maximum potential earthquake generating capacity of the Ryukyu trench and the Manila trench. The Ryukyu trench and Manila trench are located in the west of the Philippine Sea plate. There are also subduction zones distributing in the east of the Philippine Sea plate from Izu-Ogasawara trench, Mariana trench to Yap Palau-Ayu trench. Since the Ryukyu trench-Manila trench subduction zones are not in the direct contact zone between the Pacific plate and the Eurasian plate, the plate tectonic setting is obviously different from the low-angle subduction zone where the Japan's March 11 earthquake locates. From the perspective of tectonic system, the Ryukyu trench belongs to the subduction tectonic system of trench-island arc-back arc basin. The island arc and trench are retreating eastward, showing the characteristics of weak coupling. The overall scale of the Manila trench is small, and affected by the “slab window” in the subduction slab formed by the ancient spreading ridge, the length of these two trench zones is much smaller than that of the subduction zones where M_W≥9 earthquakes have occurred.
Based on the comprehensive analysis of the differences in trench structure, earthquake data and etc., the Ryukyu trench can be divided into 6 rupture segments, and the section of the Manila trench concerned in this study can also be divided into 6 rupture segments. At the same time, the possibility of combined rupture of the rupture segment is considered from a conservative standpoint. The rupture segments RL5 and RL6 of the Ryukyu trench, RM2 and RM3 of the Manila trench all have the possibility of combined rupture, and rupture segments RM4, RM5 and RM6 also have the possibility of combined rupture. To sum up, the comprehensive estimation result of the maximum potential earthquake in the subduction zone is magnitude 8.5 in the Ryukyu trench and magnitude 8.8 in the Manila trench.

The deformation pattern in the northeastern margin of Tibetan plateau is characterized by NE compression, clockwise rotation and eastward extrusion, forming the NNE trending dextral strike-slip faults which further divide the region into several sub-blocks. The deformation of Qaidam secondary block is dominant by northwestward extrusion and rotation, which is controlled by the Elashan and East Kunlun faults. However, the deformation style of Dulan area, the junction of these two faults, remains unclear. We discovered a new active fault zone with a length of 60~70km west to Elashan Fault during our recent field geological survey around Dulan area, named Xiariha fault zone(XFZ), which is a dextral strike-slip fault zone trending NW, consisting of the Xiariha and Yingdeerkang faults. According to the remote sensing interpretation and field investigation, it is found that the Xiariha fault zone showed distinct linear characteristics, reverse scarp, sag pond and ridge dislocation on the satellite images and displaced multi-levels of alluvial fans and river terraces. According to previous studies, the exposed age of T1 terraces is Holocene in the Elashan area, which is located at east of Dulan. During the field investigation, we used the unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)to get the fine geomorphology features along the XFZ. Also, to define the active era, we tried to find the fault section of the XFZ that could provide the information of the contact between the fault and late Quaternary strata. Based on the high-resolution DEM obtained by UAV, the offset of T1 is about 2.5m, indicating its activity in Holocene compared with the Elashan area. Along the XFZ, the fault displaced late Quaternary strata revealed on the section. The geomorphic features and fault section show that the XFZ is a late Pleistocene to Holocene active fault. The Dulan area is located at the convergence of East Kunlun Fault and Elashan Fault, the southeastern end of Qaidam secondary block, which is affected by the regional NE and SW principal compressive stress and shear stress. Under this circumstance, the Qaidam block is experiencing extrusion and rotation and there are a series of NW-trending dextral strike-slip faults parallel to the Elashan Fault and EW-trending sinistral strike-slip faults parallel to the East Kunlun Fault, such as Reshui-Taosituo River Fault, developed in the Dulan area. Therefore, we suggest that the Xiariha Fault and the nearly EW trending, Holocene sinistral Reshui-Taosituo River Fault adjust the extrusion rotation deformation jointly at the southeast end of the Qaidam block under the control of the Elashan Fault and the East Kunlun Fault, respectively. Meanwhile, the new discovery of Xiariha Fault and its activity in Holocene is not only of great significance to understand the regional tectonic deformation model, but also leads to a great change in the understanding of regional seismic risk because of its capabliliby of generating strong earthquakes. Therefore, it is urgent to carry out further research work in this area, improve the understanding of regional strain distribution mode, and provide reference for regional seismic safety issues.

Xianshuihe Fault is an active fault which originated from the eastern margin of the Tibetan plateau and formed by the orogenic events in Songpang-Ganzi area. The origin of Xianshuihe Fault is discovered in the NW of Ganzi, then it extends to the SE, passing through Luhuo, Daofu, Qianning, Kangding, Luding, Moxi and disappears after passing through Shimian. Based on previous studies, Xianshihe Fault is a sinistral strike-slip fault. According to GPS and InSAR data, the horizontal component of average slip rate for Xianshuihe Fault is approximately 7.5~16.7mm/a. As a crucial member of the regional earthquake zone, Xianshuihe Fault separates Sichuan-Yunnan block and Bayankala block. More importantly, Xianshuihe Fault is responsible for a great number of large magnitude earthquakes especially in the Qianning-Kangding segment, a segment of Xianshuihe Fault which consists of three branches. From east to west, they are Yalahe Fault, Selaha Fault and Zheduotang Fault which are all active since Holocene. Yalahe Fault is responsible for a M7 earthquake that occurred around 1700AD. Selaha Fault is responsible for another M7 earthquake which occurred around 1725AD. Around 1955AD, a M7.5 earthquake occurred which was related to Zheduotang Fault.
According to the 1:50k Xianshihe Active Faults Map(1995) and relevant researches, it is discovered that, from north to south, the Holocene active Zheduotang segment starts from Kangding airport to Zheduotang village. The total length of Zheduotang segment is around 30km which includes the surface rupture zone of the 1955 M7.5 earthquake. Due to the absence of researches, the northern part of the Zheduotang Fault, which is to the north of the Kangding airport, remains unstudied. Based on satellite image, we discovered that there are signs of faults to the north of Kangding airport. Therefore, we selected four sites to carry out field investigations and trench analysis. The first site is to the NW of the Duoriagamo village. Based on satellite image and DEM data, many typical faulted geomorphologic features are discovered. To the NW of this site, both the fan and the terrace are offset. By analyzing the DEM data, the offset of T1 terrace is around 7.8m and the offset of Fan1 is around 15.6m. To the SE of this site, the fan is also offset by sinistral movement which has an offset value of 21.7m. The second site is to the NW of the Muyazuqing school where 2.6m of sinistral offset between the fan and the T1 terrace are measured. To the SE of this site, obvious offset of fan and floodplain are observed which both have sinistral offset of 2.5m. The third site is to the south of first Duoriagamo village. The fault here shows two parallel branches. The fourth site is near the Tonglilongba and there are 37.5m of horizontal offset of the fan.
Based on trench analysis, 17 stratigraphic units are defined from which carbon samples are acquired for geochronological analysis. By constraining the age of each stratigraphic unit, the age of four deformation events are defined. Event 1 is the youngest which occurred between 5 821~3 148a BP. Event 2 occurred between 13 060~10 745a BP, Event 3 occurred between 13 687~11 420a BP and Event 4 occurred between 41 443~13 715a BP. According to the integration results of our analysis, the location of northwestern segment of Zheduotang Fault is defined. It is discovered that, the NW segment of Zheduotang Fault is located between the Kangding airport and Duoriagamo village with a total length of 15km. The trace of Zheduotang Fault is also defined. From north to south, Zheduotang Fault passes through Duoriagamo village, Tonglilongba, Kangding airport, Zheduoshan nek, Ertaizidaoban and disappears near Zheduotang village. Moreover, after Holocene, the Zheduotang Fault is dominated sinistral slip movement along with minor vertical component. Different from previous researches, we believe that the Holocene active Zheduotang segment extends 15km further to the NW. This discovery provides some basis for perfecting the plane geometric images of the three active faults in Qianning-Kangding segment of Xianshuihe fault zone, such as Zheduotang Fault, Selaha Fault and Yalahe Fault, and is of great significance for understanding the strain distribution and strong earthquake rupture mode of each branch fault in Qianning-Kangding segment of Xianshuihe fault zone.

The Bolokenu-Aqikekuduk fault zone(B-A Fault)is a 1 000km long right-lateral strike-slip active fault in the Tianshan Mountains. Its late Quaternary activity characteristics are helpful to understand the role of active strike-slip faults in regional compressional strain distribution and orogenic processes in the continental compression environment, as well as seismic hazard assessment. In this paper, research on the paleoearthquakes is carried out by remote sensing image interpretation, field investigation, trench excavation and Quaternary dating in the Jinghe section of B-A Fault. In this paper, two trenches were excavated on in the pluvial fans of Fan2b in the bulge and Fan3a in the fault scarp. The markers such as different strata, cracks and colluvial wedges in the trenches are identified and the age of sedimentation is determined by means of OSL dating for different strata. Four most recent paleoearthquakes on the B-A Fault are revealed in trench TC1 and three most recent paleoearthquakes are revealed in trench TC2. Only the latest event was constrained by the OSL age among the three events revealed in the trench TC2. Therefore, when establishing the recurrence of the paleoearthquakes, we mainly rely on the paleoearthquake events in trench TC1, which are labeled E1-E4 from oldest to youngest, and their dates are constrained to the following time ranges: E1(19.4±2.5)~(19.0±2.5)ka BP, E2(18.6±1.4)~(17.3±1.4)ka BP, E3(12.2±1.2)~(6.6±0.8)ka BP, and E4 6.9~6.2ka BP, respectively. The earthquake recurrence intervals are(1.2±0.5)ka, (8.7±3.0)ka and(2.8±3)ka, respectively. According to the sedimentation rate of the stratum, it can be judged that there is a sedimentary discontinuity between the paleoearthquakes E2 and E3, and the paleoearthquake events between E2 and E3 may not be recorded by the stratum. Ignoring the sedimentary discontinuous strata and the earthquakes occurring during the sedimentary discontinuity, the earthquake recurrence interval of the Jinghe section of B-A Fault is ~1~3ka. This is consistent with the earthquake recurrence interval(~2ka)calculated from the slip rate and the minimum displacement. The elapsed time of the latest paleoearthquake recorded in the trench is ~6.9~6.2ka BP. The magnitude of the latest event defined by the single event displacement on the fault is ~M_W7.4, and a longer earthquake elapsed time indicates the higher seismic risk of the B-A Fault.

Starting from the 1980's of last century, China has launched the national plan of constructing nuclear power plants along the coastline region in eastern China. Currently, in some of these candidate sites, nuclear facilities have been installed and are in operation, but some other nuclear power plants are still under construction or in site evaluation. In 2012 the Atomic Energy Commission issued the specific guide for volcanic hazards in site evaluation for nuclear installations(IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SSG-21), which was prepared under the IAEA's program for safety standards. It supplements and provides recommendations for meeting the requirements for nuclear installations established in the safety requirements publication on site evaluation for nuclear installations in relation to volcanic hazards. To satisfy the safety standards for volcanic hazard, we follow the IAEA SSG-21 guidelines and develop a simple and practical diffusion program in order to evaluate the potential volcanic hazard caused by tephra fallout from the explosive eruptions.
In this practice, we carried out a case study of the active volcanoes in north Hainan Province so as to conduct the probabilistic analysis of the potential volcanic hazard in the surrounding region. The Quaternary volcanism in north Hainan Island, so-called Qiongbei volcanic field is characterized by multi periodic activity, in which the most recent eruption is dated at about 4 000a BP. According to IAEA SSG-21, a capable volcano is one for which both 1)a future eruption or related volcanic event is credible; and 2)such an event has the potential to produce phenomena that may affect a site. Therefore, the Qiongbei volcanic field is capable of producing hazardous phenomena that may reach the potential nuclear power plants around. The input parameters for the simulation of tephra fallout from the future eruption of the Qiongbei volcanic field, such as the size, density and shape of the tephra, the bulk volume and column height, the diffusion parameter P(z), wind direction and intensity, were obtained by field investigation and laboratory analysis. We carried out more than 10000 tephra fallout simulations using a statistical dataset of wind profiles which are obtained from China Meteorological Data Sharing Service System(CMDSSS). Tephra fallout hazard probability maps were constructed for tephra thickness threshold of 1cm. Our results show that the tephra produced by the future large-scale explosive eruption from the Qiongbei volcanic field can affect the area in a range about 250km away from the eruption center.
In summary, the current key technical parameters related to volcanic activity and potential hazards in IAEA/SSG-21 guidelines, such as 10Ma volcanic life cycle and 1×10^-7 volcanic disaster screening probability threshold, etc. are based on the volcanic activity characteristics in the volcanic island arc system. In consideration of the relatively low level of volcanic activity compared with volcanic island arc system due to the different tectonic background of volcanism in mainland China, the time scale of volcanic disaster assessment in IAEA SSG-21 guideline is relatively high for volcanoes in mainland China. We suggest that the study of "conceptual model" of volcanic activity should be strengthened in future work to prove that there is no credible potential for future eruptions, so that these volcanoes should be screened out at early stage instead of further evaluation by probabilistic model.

The eastern Himalaya syntaxis is located at the southeastern end of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and is the area where the Eurasian plate collides and converges with the Indian plate. The Namjabawa is the highest peak in the eastern section of the Himalayas, and the Yarlung Zangbo River gorge is around the Namjabawa Peak. The NE-striking Aniqiao Fault with right-lateral strike-slip is the eastern boundary fault of the Namjabawa syntaxis. Motuo Fault is in the east of and parallel to the Aniqiao Fault, distributing along the valley of the Yarlung Zangbo River. The section of Yarlung Zangbo River valley at the eastern side of the Namjabawa area is located in the southern foothills of the Himalayas and belongs to the subtropical humid climate zone with dense tropical rainforest vegetation. Dense vegetation, large terrain elevation difference, strong endogenetic and exogenic forces, and abundant valley deposition bring enormous difficulty to the research on active faults in this area.
Since 1990s, surface morphology can be quantitatively expressed by digital elevation models as the rapid development of remote sensing technology. Geomorphic types and their characteristics can be quantified by geomorphological parameters which are extracted from DEM data, describing geomorphologic evolution and tectonic activity. But to date, researches based on quantitative geomorphic parameters are mainly focus on the differential uplift of regional blocks. In the study and mapping of active faults, surface traces of active faults are acquired by visual interpretation of remote sensing images. It has not been reported to identify the location of active faults via the change of quantitative geomorphic parameters. The distribution map of topographic elevation variation coefficient is suitable to reflect the regional erosion cutting and topographic relief, and the places with higher topographic elevation variation coefficient are more strongly eroded. In this paper, we attempt to identify the active faults and explore their distribution in the Yarlung Zangbo Gorge in the east of the Namjabawa Peak based on the application of two quantitative geomorphic parameters, namely, the topographic slope and the elevation variation coefficient.
Using the DEM data of 30m resolution, two quantitative geomorphic parameters of topographic slope and elevation variation coefficient in Namjabawa and its surrounding areas were obtained on the ArcGIS software platform. On the topographic slope distribution map, the slope of the eastern and western banks of the Yarlung Zangbo River near Motuo is steep with a slope angle of more than 30°. Under the background of steep terrain, there are gentle slope belts of 5°~25° distributing intermittently and NE-striking. On the distribution map of topographic elevation variation coefficient, the elevation variation coefficient of the Yarlung Zangbo River near Motuo is greater than 0.9. On the background of the high topographic fluctuation area, it develops gently topographic undulating belts with elevation variation coefficient of 0.2~0.9. The belts are intermittently distributed and northeastern trending. Through the field geological and geomorphological investigation and trench excavation, it is found that the abnormal strips of the above-mentioned geomorphological parameters are the locations where the active faults pass. The above results show that the quantitative analysis of the topographic slope and the coefficient of variation of elevation can help us find active faults in areas with large terrain slope, serious vegetation coverage and high denudation intensity.

In this study, a detailed database of landslides triggered by the 25 April 2015 Gorkha (Nepal)M_W7.8 earthquake is constructed based on visual interpretation of pre- and post-earthquake high-resolution satellite images and field reconnaissance. Results show the earthquake triggered at least 47 200 landslides, which have a NWW direction spatial distribution, similar with the location and strike of the seismogenic fault. The landslides are of a total area about 110km² and an oval distribution area about 35 700km². On the basis of a scale relationship between landslide area (A)and volume (V), V=1.314 7×A^{1.208 5}, the total volume of the coseismic landslides is estimated to be about 9.64×10⁸m³. In the oval landslide distribution area, the landslide number density, area density, and volume density were calculated and the results are 1.32km^-2, 0.31%, and 0.027m, respectively. This study provides a detailed and objective inventory of landslides triggered by the Gorkha earthquake, which provides very important and essential basic data for study of mechanics of coseismic landslides, spatial pattern, distribution law, and hazard assessment. In addition, the landslide database related to an individual earthquake also provides an important earthquake case in a subduction zone for studying landslides related to multiple earthquakes from a global perspective.

The Chaohu-Tongling area in Anhui Province is a typical moderate-to-strong earthquake active area in the mainland of China. Four earthquakes occurred in this area, displayed as a NNE-trending zonal distribution, including the 1585 M5(3/4) Chaoxian earthquake and the 1654 M5(1/4) Lujiang earthquake, which formed a striking moderate-to-strong seismic activity zone. Field survey, shallow geophysical prospecting, drilling data, collection and dating of chronology samples and comprehensive analysis of fault activity indicate that the Fanshan, Xiajialing and Langcun faults are not active since Quaternary. The NNE-trending Tongling Fault is a buried middle-Pleistocene fault, but it can produce moderate-to-strong earthquakes and control the evolution and development of three en echelon geologic structures. The intensity of the four earthquakes is characterized by southward progressive decrease, which is in accordance with the characteristics that the subsidence range of Wuwei Basin is obviously larger than that of Guichi Basin to its south since late Cenozoic. In terms of deep structure, the characteristics of spatial distribution of Tongling Fault indicate that it corresponds to a NNE-striking Bouguer gravity anomaly gradient belt. So there is a spatial correspondence between the middle-Pleistocene Tongling Fault, the en echelon structures, the differential movement of the neotectonics, the Bouguer gravity anomaly gradient belt and the moderate-to-strong seismic activity belt in the Chaohu-Tongling area, indicating that they should be the tectonic indications of occurrence for moderate-to-strong earthquakes.

Tsunami is one of the most devastating natural coastal disasters. Most of large tsunamis are generated by submarine earthquakes occurring in subduction zones. Tsunamis can also be triggered by volcano eruptions and large landslides. There are many records about "sea-overflow" in Chinese ancient books, which are not proved to be tsunamis. Tectonics and historical records analysis are import to forecast and prevention of tsunami. Consider the tectonic environment of the China sea, the possibility of huge damage caused by the offshore tsunami is very small. And the impact of the ocean tsunami on the Bohai sea, the Yellow sea, and the East China sea is also small. But in the South China Sea, the Manila subduction zone has been identified as a high hazardous tsunamigenic earthquake source region. No earthquake larger than M_W7.6 has been recorded in the past 100a in this region, suggesting a high probability for larger earthquakes in the future. If a tsunamigenic earthquake were to occur in this region in the near future, a tragedy with the magnitude similar to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami could repeat itself. In this paper, based on tectonics and historical records analysis, we have demonstrated that potential for a strong future earthquake along the Manila subduction zone is real. Using a numerical model, we have also shown that most countries in the South China Sea will be affected by the tsunamis generated by the future earthquake. For China, it implies that the maximum wave height over 4.0 meter on China mainland, especially the Pearl River Estuary. But the island, local relief maybe influence the maximum wave. But it takes nearly 3 hours to attack China mainland, if there is the operational tsunami warning system in place in this region, should be greatly reduced losses. And the simulated results are conformable to historical records. It indicates that the tsunami hazards from Manila trench to China mainland worthy of our attention and prevention.

In 1631, an earthquake of M_S6 3/4 occurred in the Taiyangshan uplift about 10km north of Changde City, Hunan Province, which is the largest destructive temblor documented in history of South China. With the economic and social development of Changde City and the expansion of the urban, it is necessary to conduct assessment of seismic hazard, including probing the deep structure beneath the region around this historical event. To this end, three magnetotelluric(MT) profiles have been carried out across the Taiyangshan area with 76 sites in 2014. Remote reference, "robust", and phase tensor decomposition techniques were used to process the acquired MT data, and the NLCG two-dimensional inversion was made to image the deep electrical structure in combination with relevant geological and geophysical data available. The images of 3 MT profiles permit to delineate the deep extension of major faults and the deep structural features of the tectonic units in the study area. The largest fault, the Xiaowupu fault shows a steep southwest-dipping with extension of tens of kilometers from the surface to the subsurface. The Shichaipo Fault presents a low-resistivity body around a depth of about 5km. The Huanxian and Dongting Lake Basins show a low-resistivity characteristic from the ground to a depth more than 10km, good-electricity layering, meaning tectonic stability, and corresponding to extensive Cretaceous and Cenozoic strata. The electrical structure of Taiyangshan uplift overall presents a high-resistivity characteristic from the surface to a depth of about 20km, which is the widest in the central Taiyang Mountains. The deep electrical structure of 3 profiles together reveal that the contact between the Dongting Lake Basin and Taiyang Mountains is obviously segmented in NS direction. It is inferred that the Xiaowupu fault is probably the causative feature of the 1631 Changde M_S6 3/4 earthquake. The deep electrical structure nearby the epicenter appears to be complex with alternating high and low resistivity, and the epicenter is located in the high resistivity zone. The low-resistance decoupling in proximity of the fault is likely responsible for the earthquake generation. The Taiyangshan uplift resides in the southwest corner of the Jianghan-Dongtinghu Basin, where differential up and down activity during Quaternary was most intense resulting in big landform contrast, forming the tectonic setting of medium-sized earthquakes in this region.

The eastern Himalayan syntaxis is located on the leading edge of Indian-Eurasian plate collision, and the uplift rate of Namche Barwa area is higher than that of the peripheral zones, which is considered as the core position of the eastern Himalayan syntaxis(Uplift Center).It is indicated according to the recent regional earthquake observation results that, the seismic activity is poor in the area of Namche Barwa, but with strong seismic activity in its southeast region. In order to study the current geodynamical characteristics of the eastern Himalayan syntaxis, the elevation frequency distribution and hypsometry curve of Namche Barwa area, its northwest and southeast as well as the northeast Assam area is analyzed using DEM data. It is shown according to the result that, the Namche Barwa area is in the mature stage of erosion and the regional tectonic uplift and denudation are in the highly balanced status. Influenced by plateau-climate weather effect, the denudation of this area is relatively poor, which indicates that the uplift of the Namche Barwa area is relatively slow at present. The geomorphology in the northwest and southeast as well as in northeast Assam is in young evolutionary phase, belonging to erosive infancy, and the geomorphology of northeast Assam is closer to the early stage of infancy. The geomorphic evolution stage on northwest side reflects that the regional erosion is poor and it still belongs to plateau-climate area; Influenced by south subtropical monsoons, there is rich rainfall in the area from southeast Namche Barwa to Assam area, and this area still belongs to erosive infancy, even the geomorphic development degree of northeast Assam is lower as it suffers from strong erosion effect, which means that the tectonic uplift in east Namche Barwa is very intensive, and the northeast Assam has the highest uplift rate. It is considered according to the research that, under the mode that India Plate moves towards the north at present, the core position of the eastern Himalayan syntaxis(Uplift Center)moves towards the southeast, and the new core position may be located in northeast Assam, where there is intensive regional tectonic uplift with high potential of great earthquake.

The Yingkou-Weifang fault zone (YWFZ) is the part of the Tanlu fault zone across the Bohai Sea, and is also an important part of the tectonics of the eastern Bohai Bay Basin. Many studies have been carried out on the neo-tectonics and activities of the YWFZ in recent years. In this paper, the neo-tectonics and activities of the YWFZ, and other related issues were studied again, based on our previous work and results of other researchers. The neo-tectonic movement in the Bohai Sea area began in the late Miocene (12~10Ma BP), which originated from the local crust horizontal movement, the tectonic stress field is characterized by NEE-SWW and near E-W horizontal compression. The neo-tectonics of the YWFZ is represented mainly by Neogene-Quaternary deformation, due to rejuvenation of Paleogene faults. Many faults have developed. The neo-tectonics and activities of YWFZ have characteristics of segmentation and weakening, because of the development of the NE-trending Northwest Miao Island-the Yellow River Estuary fault zone, which crosses the YWFZ. Earthquakes in the east of Bohai Sea are distributed along the Northwest Miao Island-the Yellow River Estuary fault zone, only few and small earthquakes along the Liaodong Bay and the Laizhou Bay section of the YWFZ. We made a preliminary analysis of the mechanics for this phenomenon.

Motuo Fault locates at the east of Namjagbarwa Peak in eastern Himalayan syntaxis.Based on the remote sensing interpretation,the previous work,and with the field investigation,this paper obtains the spatial distribution and movement characteristics of Motuo Fault in China,and geological evidences of late Quaternary activity.Two trenches in Motuo village and Dongdi village located in Yalung Zangbo Grand Canyon reveal that the Motuo Fault dislocates the late Quternary stratum and behaves as a reverse fault in Motuo village and normal fault in Dongdi village.Motuo Fault is dominated by left-lateral strike-slip associated with the faulted landforms,with different characteristics of the tilting movement in different segments.The trench at Didong village reveals the latest stratum dislocated is~2780±30 a BP according to radiocarbon dating,implying that Motuo Fault has ruptured the ground surface since late Holocene.The movement of left-lateral strike-slip of Motuo Fault is related to the northward movement process of Indian pate.

The NE-trending Xinyi-Lianjiang fault zone is a tectonic belt, located in the interior of the Yunkai uplift in the west of Guangdong Province, clamping the Lianjiang synclinorium and consisting of the eastern branch and the western branch. The southwestern segment of the eastern branch of Xinyi-Lianjiang fault zone, about 34km long, extends from the north of Guanqiao, through Lianjiang, to the north of Hengshan. However, it is still unclear about whether the segment extends to Jiuzhoujiang alluvial plain or not, which is in the southwest of Hengshan. If it does, what is about its fault activity? According to ‘Catalogue of the Modern Earthquakes of China’, two moderately strong earthquakes with magnitude 6.0 and 6.5 struck the Lianjiang region in 1605 AD. So it is necessary to acquire the knowledge about the activity of the segment fault, which is probably the corresponding seismogenic structure of the two destructive earthquakes. And the study on the fault activity of the segment can boost the research on seismotectonics of moderately strong earthquakes in Southeast China. In order to obtain the understanding of the existence of the buried fault of the southwestern segment, shallow seismic exploration profiles and composite borehole sections have been conducted. The results indicate its existence. Two shallow seismic exploration profiles show that buried depth of the upper breakpoints and vertical throw of the buried fault are 60m and 4~7m(L5-1 and L5-2 segment, the Hengshan section), 85m and 5~8m(L5-3 segment), 73m and 3~5m(Tiantouzai section), respectively and all of them suggest the buried fault has offset the base of the Quaternary strata. Two composite borehole sections reveal that the depth of the upper breakpoints and vertical throws of the buried segment are about 66m and 7.5m(Hengshan section) and 75m and 5m(Tiantouzai section), respectively. The drilling geological section in Hengshan reveals that the width of the fault could be up to 27m. Chronology data of Quaternary strata in the two drilling sections, obtained by means of electron spin resonance(ESR), suggest that the latest activity age of the buried fault of the southwestern segment is from late of early Pleistocene(Tiantouzai section) to early stage of middle Pleistocene(Hengshan section). Slip rates, obtained by Hengshan section and Tiantouzai section, are 0.1mm/a and 0.013mm/a, respectively. As shown by the fault profile located in a bedrock exposed region in Shajing, there are at least two stages of fault gouge and near-horizontal striation on the fault surface, indicating that the latest activity of the southwestern segment is characterized by strike-slip movement. Chronology data suggest that the age of the gouge formed in the later stage is(348±49) ka.

The Yangjia Village-Yaodian segment of Weihe Fault, starting from Yangjia Village in the west, passing through Weijiaquan, Jinjiazhuang, Donger Village, Chenjiatai to Yaodian, occurs as a NE-striking fault dipping south with a total length of 33 kilometers. As a syn-depositional normal fault, it extends along the leading and trail edge of T₁, T₂ and T₃ terrace at the northern bank of Weihe River. Results of remote sensing interpretation, shallow seismic exploration, exploratory trench, and drilling show that the Yangjia Village-Yaodian section of Weihe Fault manifests as fault scarps, overlapping with the NE-extending terrace scarp at the northern bank of Weihe River. Weihe Fault broke the T₁ that can be distinguished on the shallow seismic profile and multiple profiles with broken signs from T₁ to the ground, which is the same with the cracks through the Han Tomb at the top of the exploratory trench in Yangjia Village. It shows that the fault may still be active from the late Pleistocene to Holocene. Through composite drilling section and the analysis of exploratory trench, there is no significant difference in activity between the Yangjia Village-Jinjiazhuang and Donger Village-Yaodian section. This segment has experienced a large displacement event since (46.0±3.3)ka BP, approximately 11.0~16.5m, with a vertical slip rate of 0.34~0.45mm/a. The most recent activity occurred approximately around 2.0ka BP. The left-step en echelon fracture zone at Jingjiazhuang separates this section into two minor ones, Yangjia Village-Jinjiazhuang section and Donger Villag-Yaodian section. Yangjia Village-Yaodian section in Weihe Fault and Yaodian-Zhangjiawan section which was found out in the Xi'an active fault detection and seismic risk assessment project can be combined into the Yangjia Village-Zhangjiawan section.

Based on the data of 28 strike-slip fault steps and the surface rupture traces at home and abroad, the paper analyzes the relations between the step type, size and earthquake rupture by using the mathematical statistical method, and obtains the barriers yardsticks that stop rupture propagation of earthquakes with different magnitude intervals by using the method of statistical analysis. The results show that the limiting dimensions of strike-slip fault step are different for different magnitude intervals. The limiting dimension of step width is about 3km for magnitude between 6.5 to 6.9, 4km for magnitude between 7.0 to 7.5, 6km for magnitude between 7.5 to 8.0, and about 8km for magnitude between 8.0 to 8.5. The result implies that releasing steps should be easier to rupture through than restraining steps. The limiting dimension of step width determined in this paper is basis for rupture segmentation and is of practical importance to seismic hazard analysis.

The study area of this article covers the continental shelf of the East China Sea and the Okinawa Trough. Tectonically, the area is the seaward extension of the eastern China mainland, consisting of the East China Sea shelf basin, the Diaoyudao islands uplift-fold zone, and the Okinawa Trough Basin developed in Cenozoic. Lying at the conjunction between the Eurasian and Philippine plates, the neotectonic movement since Miocene and resultant geologic structure of this area are complicated and peculiar. Based on pervious data and studies, this paper makes a systematic and in-deep analysis to the features of the neotectonic movement in this region, involving geomorphology, geological structure, magma activity and earthquakes. Then, the dynamic conditions for the neotectonic movement of the study area are discussed.
Neotectonic movement of East China Sea started from middle Miocene and the mechanism of the tectonic stress field changed from sinistral transtension to sinistral transpression. The neotectonic movement in this area is inhomogeneous, with the continental shelf basin inclining and subsiding slightly to the southeast, the Okinawa trough dominated mainly by crustal active rifting, and the Diaoyu Islands fold belt characterized by lateral compressive bending uplift. The active faults, mainly trending NNE and NE, are dominantly distributed in the continental shelf basin, especially in the Okinawa trough. Magmatism and earthquake activity are also mainly distributed in the east of the continental shelf basin, especially in the Okinawa trough. The neotectonic movement in East China Sea is co-influenced by the back arc mantle uplift which is caused by the subduction of the Philippine plate beneath the continental shelf of East China Sea and results in the NW-SE rifting of Okinawa trough, and the southeastward movement of South China block which is pushed by the lateral extrusion of eastern Tibet.

Since the Wenchuan earthquake,the seismic hazard of the northeastern segment of the Longmenshan Fault zone as well as the Hanzhong Basin has drawn more and more concerns. However,the essential data needed for further analysis on the seismic hazard in this region is scarce at present time,hence there is an urgent need for an in-depth study on the activities of faults around the basin. The faults around the Hanzhong Basin include five main faults,namely,the northern margin fault of Hanzhong Basin,the southern margin fault of Hanzhong Basin,the Qingchuan Fault,the Chaba-Lin'ansi Fault and the southern margin fault of Liangshan. Based on several detailed field investigations on the geometric distribution,movement nature and active ages of the five faults,and with consideration of previous work,our study shows that the late-Quaternary tectonic activity in the basin is relatively intense in west and weak in east. The west section of the north-margin fault of the Hanzhong Basin(east of Baohe)was active in early late Pleistocene,while its eastern section(west of Baohe)was active in middle Pleistocene. The south-margin fault of the basin was also active in middle Pleistocene. And the three faults in the southwest of the basin were all active in late Pleistocene. This activity pattern of high in the west and low in the east is also demonstrated by the difference in thickness of Quaternary system and the distribution of small earthquakes.

Many NW-trending faults are developed in West Shandong. Cangshan-Nishan Fault,about 130km long,striking 310°～340°,dipping to SW and NE with dip angle 70°～80°,is the largest one among these faults. According to geomorphological characteristics and relationship between fault and Quaternary deposits,Cangshan-Nishan Fault can be divided into three segments: the western segment(Fangshan-Tianhuang segment),about 30km long,controlling the western margin of Qufu Basin; the middle segment in the bedrock area(Tianhuang-Ganlin segment),about 80km long,forming a valley and controlling evolution of Baiyan River; and the eastern segment(Ganlin-Cangshan segment),buried in the Quaternary basin,about 20km long.
The western segment(Fangshan-Tianhuang segment)appears as a linear scarp in the satellite images. Field investigation shows that the linear scarp is mainly composed of rock with 2～5m high in topography. On the northeast side of the scarp is mountains composed of Archaeozoic Taishan group gneiss,and on the south-west side is late Pleistocene alluvial fan. A lot of profiles reveal that the late-Pleistocene deposits(the thermoluminescence dating results)are dislocated by the fault. The fault cross sections near the Qufu city show it is a normal fault with high scarps. The highest scarp is 4.7m high and the normal vertical slip rate is 0.07mm/a. However,the fault cross sections near the Tianhuang Town show it is a reverse fault with high dip angle. The highest scarp is about 1.5m high, lower than that near the Qufu city. All these information indicate that the fault,from west to east,is changed gradually from normal feature to reverse feature,and the height of fault scarp is decreased gradually from west to east.
Based on reported results in this area,Cangshan-Nishan Fault is a left-lateral strike-slip hinge fault. The results presented in this paper suggest that the western segment is dominated by normal dip-slip with left-lateral strike-slip component,the middle segment is dominated by left-lateral strike-slip with reverse dip-slip component. As the axes of hinge fault,the middle segment is the most active segment of Cangshan-Nishan Fault. Besides Cangshan-Nishan Fault,a series of NW-trending faults are developed in West Shandong with weak activity since late-Pleistocene. Many moderate-strong earthquakes are related to these NW-trending faults. We thus think these NW-trending faults have capability of generating moderate-sized quakes.

Seismogenic structure is the core of seismo-geology. The Bohai Bay Basin area in North China is highly active in terms of seismicity,where six earthquakes of M≥7.0 have occurred. After the 1966 M7.2 Xingtai event,some researchers suggested that the seismogenic structure of this earthquake was associated with the Cenozoic normal faults and the fault-depression basins the faults controls. In 1986,however,some authors proposed that this quake should be attributed to a high-angle fault beneath the basin.
The purpose of this paper is to give a systematic elucidation on seismogenetic structures in the Bohai Bay Basin area,North China,which are built on the geological studies in combination with exploration to deep structures in the seismic areas. The paper analyzes and compares the geometric features and structural attributes as well as their dynamic conditions of the Bohai Bay Basin in two evolution stages,i.e.the Eogene when the fault-depression formed and mid Miocene(12～10Ma)when the neotectonics developed. It emphasizes the distinct dynamic conditions in these two stages that formed different structural systems. In the stage of fault-depression,this area was subject to extension in NW-SE direction,which produced many gentle normal faults in the shallow subsurface that characterized the fault-bounded depression basins. While in the neotectonic stage,a set of conjugate fault system consisting of NE-trending right-lateral slip-strike faults and NW-directed left-lateral strike-slip faults were generated by the NEE to approximately EW-orientated horizontal compressional stresses. The structure of the first stage was pre-existing,while that of the second stage has both inheritance and variance to the first stage,i.e.superposition and reform,which accounts for the gestation and occurrence of the present-day major earthquakes in this area.

Many NW-trending faults have been developed on the north of the eastern segment of Altyn Tagh Fault. The Tarwan Fault,about 10km long and striking NW on the whole,is the western segment of the largest Tarwan-Dengdengshan-Chijiaciwo Fault among these faults. The fault appears as a straight linear scarp in the satellite image and a geomorphic scarp of dozens of centimeters to 5 meters high,topographically. The scarp dips NE and is composed mainly of beds of early Pleistocene conglomerate and Holocene aeolian sandy soil. As revealed by a measured topographic profile,the scarp composed of Holocene aeolian sandy soil is about 5m high,and that of early Pleistoscene conglomerate is about 1m high. Field investigation and trenches excavated on the vertical scarp have revealed the Tarwan Fault is a thrust fault,striking NW and dipping SW.The Geogene mudstone is thrust over the early Pleistocene conglomerate,with a throw of 0.5m. The Holocene aeolian sand and late Pleistocene gravel layers overlying the fault are not dislocated. The hanging wall of the fault is Geogene mudstone with rich groundwater and well-developed vegetation. Due to the protection and control of sand movement with vegetation,aeolian sand was accumulated constantly and preserved,and as a result,the aeolian sand layer became higher gradually. The foot wall of the fault consists of a Gobi gravel layer of a few centimeters thick on the surface and hard cemented conglomerate of early Pleistocene under it,with groundwater and vegetation being undeveloped. Therefore,Holocene aeolian sand is only developed on the hanging wall of the fault,and there is no Holocene stratum developed in the footwall. The height of the scarp formed on the early Pleistocene conglomerate is far lower than that on the Holocene aeolian sand. These findings indicate that the topographic scarp composed of Holocene aeolian sand was produced by external dynamic process rather than faulting,and that the Tarwan Fault is an early-middle Pleistocene thrust fault.

On 14 November 2001,an extraordinarily large earthquake(M_S 8.1)occurred on the Hoh Sai Hu segment of the eastern Kunlun Fault,northern Tibetan Plateau. The seismogenic fault,Hoh Sai Hu segment,is a left-lateral fault with a high slip rate in the geological history,and the average slip rate reaches(14.8±2.8)mm/a since the late Pleistocene. Different slip rates of Hoh Sai Hu segment can affect the fault motion in the future. So,the paper analyzes the effect of different slip rates and different initial friction coefficients on the fault surface of the Hoh Sai Hu segment of eastern Kunlun Fault on the rupture behaviors of the fault. In the research,we apply the single degree of spring block model controlled by the rate- and state-dependent frictional constitutive laws. Using the fault dislocation model and based on ancient earthquake researches,historical earthquakes data and the achievements of previous researchers,we obtained the parameters of the model. Through the numerical simulation of rupturing motion of the Hoh Sai Hu segment in the future 6500 years under different slip rates,we find that a faster annual slip rate will shorten the recurrence interval of earthquake. For example,the earthquake recurrence interval is 2100a at a slip rate of 0.014m/a,which agrees with previous research results,but,the recurrence interval will be 1000～1500a and 2100～2500a,corresponding to the slip rates of 0.018m/a and 0.008m/a,respectively. Slip rate of fault has no regular effect on the coseismic slip rate and displacement of fault in an earthquake. The initial friction coefficient on the fault surface has effect on earthquake recurrence interval. A smaller initial friction coefficient will lengthen earthquake recurrence interval. At the same time,the smaller initial friction coefficient will lead to larger slip rate and displacement of fault when earthquake occurs.

No earthquake greater than M6 has been documented on the Yilan-Yitong Fault,and no trace of activity since the late pleistocene has been seen either at the northeastern section of the famed Tanlu grand fault zone in eastern China.Thus this fault is recognized active in the early Quaternary and capable of generating moderate quakes.By analyzing high-resolution satellite images and field work,a 70km-long geomorphic scarp in Tonghe County of Heilongjiang Province and a 10km-long geomorphic scarp in Shulan County of Jilin Province were discovered.The scarps are 1～2m high and offset the young terraces.Subsequently,the trench at Tonghe County revealed fault displacement which almost reaches the surface.The uppermost stratum dislocated by the fault is dated to be 1730±40 years B.P.Analysis of geomorphic feature of the fault scarp and the trench profile suggests that an M≥7 paleoearthquake occurred along the fault since 1730±40 B.P.The trench at Shulan County reveals the faulted late Pleistocene stratum covered by stratum dated to be 2360±40 years B.P.All these data suggest that some segments of Yilan-Yitong Fault are active since Holocene and M7 earthquake occurred.So,further detailed research will be necessary to determine the range of the latest activity of this fault,the time of the rupture and recurrence intervals of major earthquakes.These data will be of great significance for earthquake zonation and assessment of seismic risk in this region.

Basing on the fault dislocation model of Yoshimitsu Okada and Steketee and filed scientific investigation,we calculate theoretically space variation of the displacement fields,including vertical and horizontal displacements of the Wenchuan earthquake along the near zone(within 30km to the fault)of Yingxiu-Beichuan reverse fault.In the simulation,we interpret the space variation of the displacement field in the near zone of Yingxiu-Beichuan reverse fault in details.However,we can't describe the space variations in much detail by the field scientific investigation and limited data of GPS stations.Comparing with the results of field science investigation on surface rupture zone,our computational results show that the displacement fields have the same variation trend.At the same time,the displacement field declines drastically with distance to the outcrop of the fault,which agrees with the present research,and the velocity of this decline is much faster on the foot wall of fault than that on the hanging wall.By the simulation,we get the main conclusions:the vertical displacement of ground surface resulting from faulting in the earthquake shows the strong spatial inhomogeneity,and most large values of vertical displacement concentrate on the terminals of the fault,i.e.nearby Yingxiu and Beichuan.The displacement of the ground surface,including horizontal and vertical component,varies more drastically on both terminals of the fault than that of the middle section of the fault.The vertical displacement changes drastically along the direction of strike in the hanging wall of the fault than that of the foot wall.Except on the terminals of the fault,the horizontal displacement distributes homogenously in space.On the whole,except on the terminals of the fault,the amplitude of the displacement field on the hanging wall of the fault is larger than that of the foot wall.

Hepu-Beiliu Fault starts from Beibuwan sea area in the southwest,extends northeastwards continually though Hepu,Bobai. The total length of the fault exceeds 400 kilometers and the general strike of the fault is 40°～60°. The Hepu-Beiliu Fault comprises two branches-the east branch and the west branch. The west branch stretches from the southwest of the Hepu Basin lying in the lower reaches of the Nanliu River towards the northeast. This paper discusses the activity of the fault segment in the Hepu Basin in the west branch of Hepu-Beiliu Fault from the following three aspects. Firstly,in view of the geological topography,fault-scarps develop widely in the Hepu Basin segment of the west branch and the linear feature of the scarp distribution is notable; Secondly,some exact locations that the fault crosses are investigated by high-resolution seismic reflection profiling; Finally,in order to evaluate the activity and their times of the Hepu Basin segment of the Hepu-Beiliu Fault,borehole drilling is carried out to find out the dislocated stratum of the fault and take samples for laboratory dating to define the latest activity time of the fault. Based on the fault chronology results,the latest active era of this segment(the Hepu Basin segment of the Hepu-Beiliu Fault)is concluded in the late era of the lower Pleistocene. The fault slip displacement is about 10 meters. This fault is covered by the strata of the middle to upper of mid-Pleistocene,which means that the activity level of this segment became lower,or it has been inactive since the late eva of mid-Pleistocene.

In 1585,an earthquake with M_S5³/4 happened in the south of Chaoxian of Anhui Province,and the parameters of this earthquake listed in earthquake catalogues of varied versions are different.According to the detail textual research of the historical earthquake records,the epicenter location of this earthquake is further confirmed by means of field seismo-geological investigation in the Chaohu-Tongling region of the western Changjiang valley.Shallow seismic prospecting and drilling methods are applied to study the buried fault,the possibility of existence of seismogenic fault and fault activity in the western Changjiang valley area are analyzed in depth,and the causative tectonic background of the 1585 M_S5³/4 south Chaoxian earthquake is studied.The result of this study indicates that the Yanjiaqiao-Fengshahu Fault,which was active in early Pleistocene to mid-Pleistocene,is possibly the causative structure of this earthquake.To identify the seismogenic structure of the 1585 south Chaoxian earthquake is helpful to deeply know the tectonic background of the moderate and small earthquake activities in eastern China.

Longgang volcano group is located in Huinan and Jingyu counties of Jilin Province,which occupies the middle segment of the Longgang mountain ranges.The volcanic activity in Quaternary,especially in the early Pleistocene,is very intensive,and as a result,over 2/3 of the total area is covered by Q_p¹(Xiaoyizishan Group)basalt sheet.The study area of this paper lies in the northeastern part of the Longgang volcano group,where some small-scaled faults are developed and their activity in the Quaternary Period is critical to the potential earthquake risk evaluation for the local engineering.In order to study the activities of these faults,a comprehensive project has been carried out by means of field investigation and application of ESR dating technique to determine the last active time of each fault.However,an inconsistent phenomenon was found in the study area,in which the age of fault gouge from ESR dating method is much younger that the age of Q_p¹ basalt sheet that covers both fault plane and fault deformed materials.We propose two facts that would be responsible for this contravention.Firstly,the extensive volcanic activity in the study area in Quaternary may produce a significant amount of heat regionally.For example,the temperature of the molten basalt lava is between 1050℃ and 1200℃,which is high enough to cause the effect of annealing and resetting of ESR signals.Consequently,such effect may result in the age of fault gouge with ESR dating method younger than the time when this heat event occurred.Secondly,after a fault is formed,chemical weathering will occur at the fault zone,which may result in dissolution on the grain surface of fault gouge.Such effect may significantly increase the amount of annual ESR dose and make the sample of weathered material younger than the un-weathered ones.Therefore,in this study area with extensively volcanic activity,the age from fault gouge dated with ESR method should be considered as the "upper limit age" of the last fault activity rather than the last time when the fault was active.Even though the "upper limit age" does not represent the age of the last activity of a fault,it is very useful in the practice of determining the capable fault for earthquake safety evaluation of large engineering sites.

In the eastern mainland of China there are few cross sections of faults where dislocation of Quaternary strata can be observed. However,recently we found such a profile about 2km away from the Nanling county,Anhui Province(30°55'456″N,118°177'74″E),west to the highway from Nanling to Fanchang. This fault has been identified on the satellite image,but its trace is confined to the southern side of the Nanling Basin. Our field investigation indicates that the northwestern end of this fault lies at the Xiaodanyang-Fangshan Fault. It is only 20km long,striking in NW,dipping to southwest. From observations on the profile,it consists of two small fractures and has two periods of activity at least. The first active period is before middle Pleistocene time,or probably in early Pleistocene. And the second active period is in or after middle Pleistocene. Its latest motion is of thrust with an amount of dislocation of 40cm. This fault cross section shows that the NW-trending faults in the eastern Mainland of China have new activities,though on small scales in general.

Combined with the consideration of relative codes,this paper mainly presents a preliminary analysis on the engineering application of Yuwangshan Fault zone based on the results achieved in the project of active fault exploration and seismic hazard assessment in the city of Ningbo. The conclusions we get from it are as follows. We don't have to take safety distance into account as to the west section of Yuwangshan Fault in engineering and construction because it has not been active since mid-Pleistocene,whereas,as to the east section of this fault,there's no need to consider the safety distance about Ⅲ-type and Ⅳ-type buildings,nevertheless,the case is different for Ⅰ-type and Ⅱ-type buildings because the potential surface deformation to some extent will occur with the scenario earthquake of 6.0,even if no direct surface offset. Due to the existence of about 6km² area where near-fault peak ground accelerations lightly exceeds the present-day standard,the authors put forward a package of aseismatic solutions which consist of the identification of aseismatic capability to buildings in the area and consideration of this factor in new buildings' construction.There's a potential area of seismic settlement of 30km² which may sink 5 cm or above according to the characteristics of distribution of soft soil as well as the assessment of near-fault strong ground motion in the east of the west section of Yuwangshan Fault. We should not ignore this important result.Given the importance of the results to the policy-decision for the mitigation of seismic disasters,we should seek for the trade-off between the safety and economic rationality in engineering application analysis.