Table of Content

20 December 2019, Volume 41 Issue 6

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GEOMORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DAQINGSHAN DRAINAGE AREA IN THE NORTHERN MARGIN OF HETAO BASIN

GAO Ze-min, LIU Xing-wang, SHAO Yan-xiu, XIE Hong

2019, 41(6):  1317-1332.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2019.06.001

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The Daqingshan Fault located in the northern margin of the Hetao Basin has experienced intensive activity since late Quaternary, which is of great significance to the molding of the present geomorphology. Since basin geomorphological factors can be used to reflect regional geomorphological type and development characteristics, the use of typical geomorphology characteristics indexes may reveal the main factors that control the formation of topography. In recent years, more successful research experience has been accumulated by using hypsometric integral(HI) values and channel steepness index(k_sn)to quantitatively obtain geomorphic parameters to reveal regional tectonic uplift information. The rate of bedrock uplifting can be reflected by channel steepness index, the region with steep gradient has high rate of bedrock uplifting, while the region with slower slope has low rate of bedrock uplifting. The tectonic uplift can shape the geomorphic characteristics by changing the elevation fluctuation of mountains in study area, and then affect the hypsometric integral values distribution trend, thus, the HI value can be used to reflect the intensity of regional tectonic activity, with obvious indicating effect.
Knick point can be formed by fault activity, and the information of knick point and its continuous migration to upstream can be recorded along the longitudinal profile of stream. Therefore, it is possible and feasible to obtain the information of tectonic activity from the geomorphic characteristics of Daqinshan area. The research on the quantitative analysis of regional large-scale tectonic activities in the Daqingshan area of the Yellow River in the Hetao Basin is still deficient so far. Taking this area as an example, based on the method of hypsometric integral(HI) and channel steepness index(k_sn), we use the DEM data with 30m resolution and GIS spatial analysis technology to extract the networks of drainage system and seven sub-basins. Then, we calculate the hypsometric integral(HI) values of each sub-basin and fit its spatial distribution characteristics. Finally, we obtain the values of channel steepness index and its fitting spatial distribution characteristics based on the improved Chi-plot bedrock analysis method. Combining the extraction results of geomorphic parameters with the characteristics of fault activity, we attempt to explore the characteristics of drainage system development and the response of stream profile and geomorphology to tectonic activities in the Daqingshan section of the Yellow River Basin.
The results show that the values of the hypsometric integral in the Daqingshan drainage area are medium, between 0.5~0.6, and the Strahler curve of each tributary is S-shaped, suggesting that the geomorphological development of the Daqingshan area is in its prime, and the tectonic activity and erosion is strong. Continuous low HI value is found in the tectonic subsidence area on the hanging wall of the Daqingshan Fault. The distribution characteristics of the HI value reveal that the Daqingshan Fault controls the geomorphic difference between basin and mountain. Longitudinal profiles of the river reveal the existence of many knick points. The steepness index of river distributes in high value along the trend of mountain which lies in the tectonic uplift area on the footwall of the Daqingshan Fault. It reflects that the bedrock uplift rate of Daqingshan area is faster. The distribution characteristics of the channel steepness index show that the uplift amplitude of Daqingshan area is strong and the bedrock is rapidly uplifted, which is significantly different from the subsidence amplitude in the depression basin at the south margin of the fault, indicating that the main power source controlling the basin mountain differential movement comes from Daqingshan Fault. Based on the comparison and analysis on tectonic, lithology and climate, there is no obvious corresponding relationship between the difference of rock erosion resistance and the change of geomorphic parameters, and the precipitation has little effect on the geomorphic transformation of Daqingshan area, and its contribution to the geomorphic development is limited. Thus, we think the lithology and rainfall conditions have limited impact on the hypsometric integral, longitudinal profiles of the river and channel steepness index. Lithology maybe has some influences on the channel knick points, while tectonic activity of piedmont faults is the main controlling factor that causes the unbalanced characteristics of the longitudinal profile of the channel and plays a crucial role in the development of the channel knick points. So, tectonic activity of the Daqingshan Fault is the main factor controlling the uplift and geomorphic evolution of the Daqingshan area.

Research Paper

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ACTIVE SANWEISHAN FAULT AND ITS MECHANISM: CONSTRAINTS ON THE GROWTH OF THE NORTHERN QINGHAI-TIBETAN PLATEAU

YUN Long, ZHANG Jin, WANG Ju, LING Hui, ZHANG Jing-jia, ZHANG Bei-hang, ZHAO Heng

2019, 41(6):  1333-1349.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2019.06.002

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The northern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is currently the leading edge of uplift and expansion of the plateau. Over the years, a lot of research has been carried out on the deformation and evolution of the northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and many ideas have been put forward, but there are also many disputes. The Altyn Tagh Fault constitutes the northern boundary of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and there are two active faults on the north side of the Altyn Tagh Fault, named Sanweishan Fault with NEE strike and Nanjieshan Fault with EW strike. Especially, studies on the geometric and kinematic parameters of Sanweishan Fault since the Late Quaternary, which is nearly parallel with the Altyn Tagn Fault, are of great significance for understanding the deformation transfer and distribution in the northwestward extension of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Therefore, interpretation of the fault landforms and statistical analysis of the horizontal displacement on the Sanweishan Fault and its newly discovered western extension are carried out in this paper. We believe that the Sanweishan Fault is an important branch of the eastern section of the Altyn Tagh fault zone. It is located at the front edge of the northwestern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and is a left-lateral strike-slip and thrust active fault. Based on the interpretation of satellite imagery and microgeomorphology field investigation of Sanweishan main fault and its western segments, it's been found that the Sanweishan main fault constitutes the contact boundary between the Sanweishan Mountain and the alluvial fans. In the bedrock interior and on the north side of the Mogao Grottoes, there are also some branch faults distributed nearly parallel to the main fault. The main fault is about 150km long, striking 65°, mainly dipping SE with dip angles from 50° to 70°. The main fault can be divided into three segments in the spatial geometric distribution:the western segment(Xizhuigou-Dongshuigou, I), which is about 35km long, the middle segment(Dongshuigou-Shigongkouzi, Ⅱ), about 65km long, and the east segment(Shigongkouzi-Shuangta, Ⅲ), about 50km long. The above three segments are arranged in the left or right stepovers.
In the west of Mingshashan, it's been found that the fault scarps are distributed near Danghe Reservoir and Yangguan Town in the west of Minshashan Mountain, and we thought those scarps are the westward extension of the main Sanweishan Fault. Along the main fault and its western extension, the different levels of water system(including gullies and rills)and ridges have been offset synchronously, forming a series of fault micro-geomorphology. The scale of the offset water system is proportional to the horizontal displacement. The frequency statistical analysis of the horizontal displacement shows that the displacement has obvious grouping characteristics, which are divided into 6 groups, and the corresponding peaks are 3.4m, 6.7m, 11.4m, 15m, 22m and 26m, respectively. Among them, 3.4m represents the coseismic displacement of the latest ancient earthquake event, and the larger displacement peak represents the accumulation of coseismic displacements of multi-paleoearthquake events. This kind of displacement characterized by approximately equal interval increase indicates that the Sanweishan Fault has experienced multiple characteristic earthquakes since the Late Quaternary and has the possibility of occurrence of earthquakes greater than magnitude 7. The distribution of displacement and structural transformation of the end of the fault indicate that Sanweishan Fault is an "Altyn Tagh Fault"in its infancy. The activities of Sanweishan Fault and its accompanying mountain uplift are the result of the transpression of the northern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, representing one of the growth patterns of the northern margin of the plateau.

INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE FINE FAULT GEO-METRY BASED ON HIGH-RESOLUTION DEM DATA DERIVED FROM UAV PHOTOGRAMMETRIC TECHNIQUE: A CASE STUDY OF TANGJIAPO SITE ON THE HAIYUAN FAULT

SUN Wen, HE Hong-lin, WEI Zhan-yu, GAO Wei, SUN Hao-yue, ZOU Jun-jie

2019, 41(6):  1350-1365.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2019.06.003

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Fault-related tectonic geomorphologic features are integrated expressions of multiple strong seismological events and long-term surface processes, including crucial information about strong earthquake behavior of a fault. It's of great significance to identify the strong seismic activity information from faulted landscapes, which include the date and sequence of the seismic activities, displacements, active fault features, for studying the seismic rupture process, predicting the future seismic recurrence behavior and evaluating the seismic hazard of the fault.
However, due to the restriction of measuring techniques and the subsequent poor quality of the acquired data, it has been difficult to accurately extract such information from complex tectonic landforms to study active faults for a long time. Recently, "small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(sUAV)" photogrammetric technique based on "Structure from Motion(SfM)" provides a cost-efficient and convenient access to high-resolution and high-accuracy "digital elevation models(DEMs)" of tectonic landforms.
This paper selects the Tangjiapo area at the Haiyuan Fault to conduct data collection, in which the structural and geomorphic features are well preserved. Using a small quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle(Inpire 2), we collect 1598 aerial photographs with a coverage area of 0.72km². For calibrating the accuracy of the aerial data, we set 10 ground control points and use differential-GPS to obtain the spatial coordinates of these control points. We use model software Agisoft PhotoScan to process these digital pictures, obtaining high-resolution and high-accuracy DEM data with the geographic information, in which data resolution is 2.6cm/pix and the average density of point cloud is 89.3 point/m². The data with these accuracy and resolution can fully show the real geomorphic features of the landform and meet the requirements for extracting specific structural geomorphic information on the surface.
Through the detailed interpretation of the tectonic landforms, we identify a series of structures associated with the strike-slip fault and divide the alluvial fan into four stages, named s₁, s₂, s₃, and s₄, respectively.Wherein, the s₁ is the latest phase of the alluvial fan, which is in the extension direction of the Haiyuan Fault and there isn't any surface fracture, indicating that the s₁ was formed after the M8.5 Haiyuan earthquake in 1920. The rupture zone on the s₂ fan is composed of varied kinds of faulting geomorphologic landforms, such as a series of en echelon tension-shear fractures trending 270°~285°, fault scarps and seismic ridges caused by the left-lateral motion of the seismic fault. In addition, a number of field ridges on the s₂ fan were faulted by the 1920 Haiyuan M8.5 earthquake, recording the co-seismic displacements of the latest earthquake event. Relatively speaking, the surface rupture structure of the s₃ fan is simple, mainly manifested as linear fault scarp with a trend of 270°~285°, which may indicate that multiple earthquakes have connected the different secondary fractures. And a small part of s₄ fan is distributed in the southwest of the study area without fault crossing.
Furthermore, we measured the horizontal displacements of river channels and vertical offsets of fault scarps. The faulted ridge on the s₂ fan and faulted gully on the s₃ fan provide good linear markers for obtaining the fault left-lateral dislocation. We used the graphical dislocation measurement software LaDiCaoz developed based on Matlab to restore the gully position before the earthquake by comparing the gully morphology on both sides of the fault, and then determined the horizontal offset of s₂, which is(4.3±0.4)m and that of s₃ is(8.6±0.6)m. In addition, based on the DEM data, we extracted the fault scarp densely along the fault strike, and obtained the vertical offset of s₂, which is(4.3±0.4)m and that of s₃ is(1.79±0.16)m.
Moreover, we detect slope breaks in the fault scarp morphology. For compound fault scarps generated by multiple surface rupture earthquakes, there are multiple inflection points on the slope of the topographic section, and each inflection point represents a surface rupture event. Therefore, the slope break point on the scarp becomes an important symbol of multiple rupture of the fault. The statistical result shows that the slope breaks number of s₂ is 1 and that of s₃ is 2. Based on the analysis of horizontal displacements of river channels and vertical offsets of fault scarps as well as its slope breaks, two surface rupturing events can be confirmed along the Tangjiapo area of the Haiyuan Fault. Among them, the horizontal and vertical displacements of the older event are(4.3±0.95)m and(0.85±0.22)m, respectively, while that of the latest event are(4.3±0.4)m and(0.95±0.14)m, which are the coseismic horizontal and vertical offsets of the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake.
These recognitions have improved our cognitive level of the fine structure of seismic surface rupture and ability to recognize paleoearthquake events. Therefore, the high-resolution topographic data obtained from the SfM photogrammetry method can be used for interpretation of fine structure and quantitative analysis of microgeomorphology. With the development of research on tectonic geomorphology and active tectonics toward refinement and quantification, this method will be of higher use value and practical significance.

DEEP VELOCITY STRUCTURE AND ITS TECTONIC IMPLICATIONS IN SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES

TAN Hao-yuan, WANG Zhi

2019, 41(6):  1366-1379.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2019.06.004

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3-D V_P and V_S images of southern Philippines at the 0~100km depths are generated by inverting a large number of travel-time data from the International Seismological Centre(1960-2017)through seismic tomography method. The results show lateral variation exists in the crust and upper mantle:High V_P and V_S anomalies emerge in mid-west Mindanao and Bohol Island, which might be caused by the combined action of huge magmatism and ophiolite accretion in the lower crust; low velocity anomalies of the upper mantle in the west of Mindanao are consistent with locations of volcanoes on the surface. It, thus, could be inferred that the low velocity anomaly is closely related to magmatic activity. The dense earthquake distribution along plate margin extending to 100km coincides with the strong activity of the Philippine Sea Plate which is located in the northeast and southeast of Mindanao. Relative weak activity of Sulawesi Sea Basin is presented simultaneously. The subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate is mostly concentrated in the crust and the top of the uppermost mantle.
Our tomographic images show that lateral heterogeneities exist in the crust and uppermost mantle of the southern Philippines. Low V_P and V_S anomalies emerge in Philippine Trench and Cotabato Trench, in contrast, high V_P and V_S anomalies appear in shallow crust of land area where a large number of earthquakes and magmatic activities develop. This may reflect strong tectonic processes between the Philippine Sea Plate and Philippine Mobile Belt.
Low V_P and V_S anomalies in the crust of eastern Mindanao coinciding with the location of volcanoes on the surface may show partial melting of crust material caused by dehydration of the subducting Philippine Sea Plate. Such a similar phenomenon can be also seen in the south of Negros Island and Cotabato Trench. Thus we infer that active tectonic behaviors are constrained within the crust of the Philippine Sea Plate, Sulu Sea Basin and Sulawesi Basin.Low V_P and V_S anomalies of the mantle in the mid-west of Mindanao island are associated with magmatic activity which may be caused by a collision between the east and west part of Mindanao at 5Ma. The fracture system in the west of Mindanao provides the possible passage ways of mantle hot material upwelling, coinciding with the model of geothermal distribution in this area. According to the geochemical analysis, ophiolite observed in Sanbaoyan and the western part of Mindanao could indicate material composition from crust to upper mantle on Eurasian continental margin which may show the evidence of rapid expansion environment of mid-ocean ridge. High V_P and V_S anomalies in the mantle of northeast and southeast of Mindanao coinciding with the distribution of massive earthquake along boundaries show a well agreement with the shape of the Philippine Sea Plate. Dense earthquake distribution in south Mindanao at 100km shows the Philippine Sea Plate has strong activity and stress accumulation in the upper mantle. On the contrary, the seismicity in southwest Mindanao and Cotabato Trench reduces rapidly at the depth from 50km to 100km, revealing weak subduciton and stress release of Sulawesi Basin in the mantle.

VELOCITY STRUCTURE TOMOGRAPHY OF REGIONS DOWNSTREAM THE JINSHA RIVER BASED ON DENSE OBSERVATION

ZHANG Na, ZHAO Cui-ping, LI Chun-hong, ZHOU Lian-qing

2019, 41(6):  1380-1394.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2019.06.005

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In this paper, the double difference seismic tomography method is applied to the phase arrival times of 7 465 seismic events to determine the hypocenter parameters of events as well as detailed 3D velocity structure at the northern segment of Xiaojiang Fault and its surrounding area. The data was recorded by 42 stations of the Jinshajiang River network from August 2013 to November 2016. At 2~6km, V_P and V_S present low velocity anomalies along the northern segment of Xiaojiang Fault, and the V_S anomaly is especially remarkable. On both sides of the Xiaojiang Fault, there also exist obvious P and S wave low velocity areas. These low velocity areas correspond to the terrain, lithology distribution and the watershed of Jinsha River at shallower layer in the study area. Starting from 6km, a NE-directed high V_P band along Zhaotong-Ludian and Huize-Yiliang Fault is formed on the eastern side of the northern segment of Xiaojiang Fault. V_S also shows the high value in the area bounded by Lianfeng Fault, Baogunao-Xiaohe Fault and Huize-Yiliang Fault. Above 10km depth, to the west side of the Xiaojiang Fault including the Ninghui Fault, V_P shows a significant low-velocity anomaly, while to the east side it presents high velocity feature. The Xiaojiang fault zone shows a significant low V_P from north to south in the study region, and the low velocity anomaly in the northern segment is relatively significant, especially the low velocity anomaly area reaches 15km deep around Qiaojia area. Beneath the Baihetan Dam, a significant low V_P area reaching to 5km deep is found. The earthquakes around the dam formed a strip from shallow to deep on the low-velocity area side. Whereas, a stable high-velocity area is found under the Wudongde Dam. The events relocation result shows that:all the focal depths in the study area are shallower than 20km, and the predominant focal depth is within 15km. Different from the NE-trending of the major faults in the study area, the relocated seismic events are obviously distributed nearly east-west along Matang Fault and Daduo Fault and the region around Huize. The focal depths of M_S6.5 Ludian earthquake sequences are shallower than 15km, and mostly less than 10km. The aftershocks within 2a after the Ludian M6.5 earthquake form two predominant bands of about 40km and 20km along near EW and SN direction, respectively.

CHARACTERISTICS OF FOCAL MECHANISMS AND STRESS FIELD IN THE EASTERN BOUNDARY OF SICHUAN-YUNNAN BLOCK AND ITS ADJACENT AREA

LI Jun, WANG Qin-cai, CUI Zi-jian, ZHANG Pei, ZHOU Lin, ZHOU Hui

2019, 41(6):  1395-1412.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2019.06.006

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This study is devoted to a systematic analysis of the stress state of the eastern boundary area of Sichuan-Yunnan block based on focal mechanisms of 319 earthquakes with magnitudes between M3.0 and M6.9, occurring from January 2009 to May 2018. We firstly determined the mechanism solutions of 234 earthquakes by the CAP method, using the broadband waveforms recorded by Chinese regional permanent networks, and collected 85 centroid moment tensor solutions from the GCMT. Then we investigated the regional stress regime through a damp linear inversion. Our results show that:1)the focal mechanisms of moderate earthquakes are regionally specific with three principal types of focal mechanisms:the strike-slip faulting type, the thrust faulting type and the normal faulting type. The strike-slip faulting type is significant in the eastern boundary area of Sichuan-Yunnan block along the Xianshuihe-Xiaojiang Fault, the Daliangshan Fault, and the Zhaotong-Lianfeng Fault. The thrust faulting type and the combined thrust/strike-slip faulting type are significant along the Mabian-Yanjin Fault, Ebian-Yanfeng Fault and the eastern section of Lianfeng Fault; 2)The most robust feature of the regional stress regime is that, the azimuth of principal compressive stress axis rotates clockwise from NWW to NW along the eastern boundary of Sichuan-Yunnan Block, and the clockwise rotation angle is about 50 degrees. Meanwhile, the angels between the principal compressive axis and the trend of eastern boundary of Sichuan-Yunnan Block remain unchanged, which implies a stable coefficient of fault friction in the eastern boundary fault zone of Sichuan-Yunnan Block. The movement of the upper crust in the southeastern Tibetan plateau is a relatively rigid clockwise rotation. On the whole, the Xianshuihe-Xiaojiang Fault is a small arc on the earth, and its Euler pole axis is at(21°N, 88°E). The Daliangshan Fault is surrounded by the Anninghe-Zemuhe Fault, which formed a closed diamond shape. When the Sichuan-Yunnan block rotates clockwise, the Daliangshan Fault locates in the outer of the arc, while the Anninghe-Zemuhe Fault is in the inward of the arc, and from the mechanical point of view, left-lateral sliding movement is more likely to occur on the Daliangshan Fault. Our results can be the evidence for the study on the "cut-off" function of the Daliangshan Fault based on the stress field background; 3)The regional stress regime of the eastern boundary faults zone of the Sichuan-Yunnan Block is the same as the south section of the Dalianshan Fault, and the focal mechanism results also reveal that the Dalianshan Fault is keeping left-lateral strike-slip. There may be the same tectonic stress field that controls the earthquake activities in the southern section of Daliangshan Fault and Zhaotong-Lianfeng Fault. The regional stress regime of Zhaodong-Lianfeng Fault is also the same with the Sichuan-Yunnan Block, which implies that the control effect of the SE movement of the Sichuan-Yunnan block may extend to Weining.

CHARACTERISTICS OF TECTONIC STRESS FIELD OF THE XIAOWAN RESERVOIR BEFORE AND AFTER THE IMPOUNDMENT

HUANG Hao, FU Hong

2019, 41(6):  1413-1428.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2019.06.007

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Using the seismic waveform data of Xiaowan seismic network and Yunnan seismic network, we determined the focal mechanisms of 36 earthquakes(M_L ≥ 3.0)from Jun. 2005 to Dec. 2008 and 51 earthquakes(M_L ≥ 2.5)from Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2015 by generalized polarity and amplitude technique.
We inverted tectonic stress field of the Xiaowan reservoir before impounding, using the focal mechanisms of 36 earthquakes(M_L ≥ 3.0)from Jun. 2005 to Dec. 2008 and CAP solutions of 58 earthquakes(M_L ≥ 4.0)collected and the solutions in the Global Centroid Moment Tensor(GCMT)catalog; We inverted local stress field of the reservoir-triggered earthquake clustering area, using 51 earthquakes(M_L ≥ 2.5)from Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2015.
Focal mechanisms statistics show that, the Weixi-Qiaohou Fault is the seismic fault. Focal mechanisms were strike-slip type in initial stage, but normal fault type in later stage. Focal depths statistics of 51 earthquakes(M_L ≥ 2.5)show that, the average value of focal depths in period Ⅰ, period Ⅱ and period Ⅲ are 8.2km, 7.3km and 7.8km respectively and the standard deviations are 4.3km, 3.5km and 6.0km respectively. The average value of focal depths is basically stable in different period, only the standard deviation is slightly different. Therefore, there is not positive connection between focal depth and deviation of focal mechanisms. What's more, there are 2 earthquakes(number 46 and number 47 in Fig.5 and Table 3)with almost the same magnitude, epicenter and focal depth, but they have different faulting types as normal and strike-slip. The focal mechanism of event No.46 is strike:302°, dip:40° and rake:-97° for plane Ⅰ, however, the focal mechanism of event No.47 is strike:292°, dip:82° and rake:140° for plane Ⅰ. Likewise, earthquake of number 3 and number 18 have similar characteristic. Therefore, the obvious focal mechanism difference of similar earthquake pair indicates the complexity of Weixi-Qiaohou Fault.
Considering the quiet-active character of reservoir-triggered earthquakes, we discussed the change of local stress field in different period. The σ₁ of tectonic stress field was in the near-south direction, with a dip angle of 14° before the impoundment, however, the direction of σ₁ of local stress field changed continuously, with the dip angle getting larger after the impoundment. The direction of σ₁ of local stress field of reservoir-triggered earthquake clustering area is close to the strike of Weixi-Qiaohou Fault, and reservoir impoundment increased the shear stress in the fault, so the weakening of fault was beneficial to trigger earthquakes. Comprehensive analysis suggests that fluid permeation and pore pressure diffusion caused by the water impounding, and the weakening of fault caused by local stress field are the key factors to trigger earthquake in the Xiaowan reservoir.

INFLUENCE OF PUMPING ON FOUR-COMPONENT BOREHOLE STRAIN AT TAI'AN SEISMIC STATION AND ITS INTERFERENCE MECHANISM

JIA Yuan, GAN Wei-jun, LI Jie, ZHU Cheng-lin, YIN Hai-tao, LU Shuang-ling, JU Jia-bin

2019, 41(6):  1429-1443.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2019.06.008

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Four-component borehole strainmeter (FCBS) is one kind of high-precision borehole strain observation instruments invented in China. As a kind of near-surface deformation observation instrument, FCBS is also easily disturbed by the external environment factors. As a common factor, pumping has significant influence on FCBS observation. Existing studies mostly identify the pumping interference from the perspective of observation curve morphology, relatively few studies focus on its interference mechanism. In order to truly capture earthquake precursor information, it is necessary to study the interference mechanism. In recent years, RZB-3 type FCBS at Tai'an seismic station has been seriously affected by pumping, so it is necessary and also feasible to study the interference mechanism of pumping. Since the influence of pumping interference on borehole strainmeter is common, this work would be very practical and be used for reference by other borehole strain observation stations.
We find that the original observation curves and observed surface strain, shear strain from RZB-3 type FCBS at Tai'an seismic station have the characteristics of synchronous change with the borehole water level, in which the linear correlation coefficient between the two observed shear strain curves and borehole water level reached 0.70 and 0.82 respectively. We further find that the principal strain direction of borehole and borehole water level after normalization meet the nonlinear function as y=1.217arctan(x)^0.224-0.284. The above phenomenon indicates that the observation of RZB-3 type FCBS at Tai'an seismic station is significantly affected by the borehole water level, and the influence is more obvious and the gradient is larger at the stage of low water level. Pumping interference often appears in low water level stage and changes the rock pore pressure state. Statistics show that pumping interference affects the borehole strain state.
To investigate the interference mechanism of pumping to RZB-3 type FCBS at Tai'an seismic station, we take a known pumping as an example, in which we study the principal strain state of the borehole in three periods of normal pumping, interruption of pumping and resuming pumping respectively. During each period, we solve 3 parameters of the principal plane strain state, i.e. the maximum principal strain rate, the minimum principal strain rate and the maximum principal strain direction from four observation equations of FCBS by nonlinear iterative least squares algorithm. On the other hand, concentrated load model (CLM) is used to simulate the mechanical mechanism of pumping. Firstly, the depth of FCBS relative to pumping source and the concentrated load at pumping source are inversed, then, the strain state surrounding the pumping well, including the state at RZB-3 borehole, is simulated by forward modeling. By comparing these results, we find that:
(1)The concentrated load at pumping source inversed by CLM during periods of normal pumping and resuming pumping are both located at or near the bottom of the pumping well, which is consistent with the actual situation, indicating that mechanism and degree of the influence of pumping on borehole strain are well simulated by CLM.
(2)The observed strain state is consistent with the simulation result of pumping interference by forward modeling, indicating that the principal strain state of borehole calculated based on observation of FCBS reflects the true strain state of borehole under different pumping states.(3)The inversed concentrated load at pumping source during pumping periods is significant greater than the load of the pumped water, indicating that the pumping process has more significant influence on the pore pressure of rocks than the load of the pumped water.
Even though CLM is an approximate simulation since it's based on some elastic assumptions, the interference mechanism of pumping on RZB-3 type FCBS at Tai'an seismic station is well explained, which is maybe very helpful for studying the influence of pumping interference on other deformation instruments, locating the unknown pumping source and studying the characteristics of pore pressure of rocks.

APPLYING 3D INVERSION OF SINGLE-PROFILE MAGNETOTELLURIC DATA TO IDENTIFY THE SHADE AND YUNONGXI FAULTS

JIANG Feng, CHEN Xiao-bin, DONG Ze-yi, CUI Teng-fa, LIU Zhong-yin, WANG Pei-jie

2019, 41(6):  1444-1463.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2019.06.009

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Many synthetic model studies suggested that the best way to obtain good 3D interpretation results is to distribute the MT sites at a 2D grid array with regular site spacing over the target area. However, MT 3D inversion was very difficult about 10 years ago. A lot of MT data were collected along one profile and then interpreted with 2D inversion. How to apply the state-of-the-art 3D inversion technique to interpret the accumulated mass MT profiles data is an important topic. Some studies on 3D inversion of measured MT profile data suggested that 2D inversions usually had higher resolution for the subsurface than 3D inversions. Meanwhile, they often made their interpretation based on 2D inversion results, and 3D inversion results were only used to evaluate whether the overall resistivity structures were correct. Some researchers thought that 3D inversions could not resolute the local structure well, while 2D inversion results could agree with the surface geologic features much well and interpret the geologic structures easily. But in the present paper, we find that the result of 3D inversion is better than that of 2D inversion in identifying the location of the two local faults, the Shade Fault(SDF)and the Yunongxi Fault(YNXF), and the deep structures.
In this paper, we first studied the electrical structure of SDF and YNXF based on a measured magnetotelluric(MT) profile data. Besides, from the point of identifying active faults, we compared the capacity of identifying deep existing faults between 2D inversion models and 3D models with different inversion parameters. The results show that both 2D and 3D inversion of the single-profile data could obtain reasonable and reliable electrical structures on a regional scale. Combining 2D and 3D models, and according to our present data, we find that both SDF and YNXF probably have cut completely the high resistivity layer in the upper crust and extended to the high conductivity layer in the middle crust. In terms of the deep geometry of the faults, at the profile's location, the SDF dips nearly vertically or dips southeast with high dip angle, and the YNXF dips southeast at depth. In addition, according to the results from our measured MT profile, we find that the 3D inversion of single-profile MT data has the capacity of identifying the location and deep geometry of local faults under present computing ability. Finally, this research suggests that appropriate cell size and reasonable smoothing parameters are important factors for the 3D inversion of single-profile MT data, more specifically, too coarse meshes or too large smoothing parameters on horizontal direction of 3D inversion may result in low resolution of 3D inversions that cannot identify the structure of faults. While, for vertical mesh size and data error thresholds, they have limited effect on identifying shallow tectonics as long as their changes are within a reasonable range. 3D inversion results also indicate that, to some extent, adding tippers to the 3D inversion of a MT profile can improve the model's constraint on the deep geometry of the outcropped faults.

THE MECHANISM OF DIURNAL VARIATION IN CONSECUTIVE APPARENT RESISTIVITY OBSERVATION

XIE Tao, LU Jun, YAN Wei

2019, 41(6):  1464-1480.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2019.06.010

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Parts of the consecutive apparent resistivity monitoring stations of China have recorded clear diurnal variations. The relative amplitudes of diurnal variations at these stations range from 1.3‰ to 5.8‰. The daily accuracies of apparent resistivity observation are better than 1‰, because the background electromagnetic noise is rather low at these stations. Therefore, the diurnal variations of apparent resistivity recorded at these stations are real phenomena. The diurnal variation shapes can be divided into two opposite types according to their characteristics. One type is that the apparent resistivity data decreases during the daytime but increases during the nighttime(Type 1). The other type is the apparent resistivity data increases during the daytime but decreases during the nighttime(Type 2). There is a correspondence between the diurnal and annual variation patterns of apparent resistivity. For the monitoring direction with diurnal variation of Type 1, the apparent resistivity decreases in summer and increases in winter. However, for the monitoring direction with diurnal variation of Type 2, the apparent resistivity increases in summer and decreases in winter.
We take an analysis on the mechanism of apparent resistivity diurnal variation, combining the influence factors of water-bearing medium's resistivity, the electric structure of stations, and the apparent resistivity sensitivity coefficient(SC)theory. Intuitively, diurnal variation of apparent resistivity is caused by diurnal variation of medium resistivity in the measured area. The diurnal variation of medium resistivity will inevitably be caused by the factors with diurnal variation. Among the possible factors, there is diural variation in earth tide and temperature.
Our analysis displays that apparent resistivity diurnal variation is not caused by the usually-believed earth tide, but by the ground temperature difference between daytime and nighttime. The earth tide strain is too small to cause remarkable effects on the apparent resistivity data. On the other hand, the daily tide strain has two peak-valley variations, and its phase and amplitude has a period of approximate 28 days. However, the apparent resistivity data do not show these corresponding features to earth tide. Furthermore, the detection range of current apparent resistivity stations is within a depth of several hundred meters. Within this depth range, the medium deformation caused by solid tide can be regarded as uniform change. Therefore, all monitoring directions and all stations will have the same pattern of diurnal variation.
In general, the temperature increases in the daytime but decreases in the nighttime. For most water-bearing rock and soil medium, its resistivity decreases as temperature increases and increases as temperature decreases. Diurnal temperature difference affects about 0.4m of soil depth. Therefore, resistivity of this surface thin soil layer decreases in the daytime while increases in the nighttime. Under layered medium model, SC of each layer represents its contribution to the apparent resistivity. For the stations with positive SC of surface layer, apparent resistivity decreases in the daytime but increases in the nighttime. While for the stations with negative SC of surface layer, apparent resistivity diurnal variations display the opposite shape.

DEFORMATION CHARACTERISTICS AND KINEMATIC PARAMETERS INVERSION OF HAIYUAN FAULT ZONE BASED ON TIME SERIES INSAR

QIAO Xin, QU Chun-yan, SHAN Xin-jian, LI Yan-chuan, ZHU Chuan-hua

2019, 41(6):  1481-1496.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2019.06.011

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Located at the bend of the northeastern margin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Haiyuan fault zone is a boundary fault of the stable Alashan block, the stable Ordos block and the active Tibet block, and is the most significant fault zone for the tectonic deformation and strong earthquake activity. In 1920, a M8.5 earthquake occurred in the eastern segment of the fault, causing a surface rupture zone of about 240km. After that, the segment has been in a state of calmness in seismic activity, and no destructive earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above have occurred. Determining the current activity of the Haiyuan fault zone is very important and necessary for the analysis and assessment of its future seismic hazard.
To study activity of the Haiyuan fault zone, the degree of fault coupling and the future seismic hazard, domestic and foreign scholars have carried out a lot of research using geology methods and GPS geodetic techniques, but these methods have certain limitations. The geology method is a traditional classical method of fault activity research, but dislocation measurement can only be performed on a local good fault outcrop. There are a limited number of field measurement points and the observation results are not equally limited depending on the sampling location and sampling method. The distribution of GPS stations is sparse, especially in the near-fault area, there is almost no GPS data. Therefore, the spatial resolution of the deformation field features obtained by GPS is low, and there are certain limitations in the kinematic parameter inversion using this method.
In this study, we obtain the average InSAR line-of-sight deformation field from the Maomaoshan section to the mid-1920s earthquake rupture segment of the Haiyuan earthquake in the period from 2003 to 2010 based on the PSInSAR technique. The results show that there are obvious differences between the slip rates of the two walls of the fault in the north and the south, which are consistent with the motion characteristics of left-lateral strike-slip in the Haiyuan fault zone. Through the analysis of the high-density cross-fault deformation rate profile of the Laohushan segment, it is determined that the creep length is about 19km. Based on the two-dimensional arctangent model, the fault depth and deep slip rate of different locations in the Haiyuan fault zone are obtained. The results show that the slip rate and the locking depth of the LHS segment change significantly from west to east, and the slip rate decreases from west to east, decreasing from 7.6mm/a in the west to 4.5mm/a in the easternmost. The western part of the LHS segment and the middle part are in a locked state. The western part has a locking depth of 4.2~4.4km, and the middle part has a deeper locking depth of 6.9km, while the eastern part is less than 1km, that is, the shallow surface is creeping, and the creep rate is 4.5~4.8mm/a. On the whole, the 1920 earthquake's rupture segment of the Haiyuan fault zone is in a locked state, and both the slip rate and the locking depth are gradually increased from west to east. The slip rate is increased from 3.2mm/a in the western segment to 5.4mm/a in the eastern segment, and the locking depth is increased from 4.8km in the western segment to 7.5km in the eastern segment. The results of this study refine the understanding of the slip rate and the locking depth of the different segments of the Haiyuan fault zone, and provide reference information for the investigation of the strain accumulation state and regional seismic hazard assessment of different sections of the fault zone.

TWO DIMENSIONAL MODEL ON RELATION BETWEEN THERMAL ANOMALY BEFORE WENCHUAN EARTHQUAKE AND TECTONIC STRESS

ZHU Chuan-hua, SHAN Xin-jian, ZHANG Guo-hong, JIAO Zhong-hu, ZHANG Ying-feng, LI Yan-chuan, QIAO Xin

2019, 41(6):  1497-1510.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2019.06.012

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It has been reported that there is thermal anomaly within a certain time and space preceding an earthquake, and previous research has indicated potential associations between the thermal anomaly and earthquake faults, but it is still controversial whether physical processes associated with seismic faults can produce observable heat.Based on rock experiments, some scholars believe that the convective and stress-induced heat associated with fault stress changes may be the cause of those anomalies. Then, did the thermal anomaly before the Wenchuan earthquake induced by the fault stress change?It remains to be tested by numerical simulations on the distribution and intensity of thermal anomalies. For example, is the area of thermal anomaly caused by the fault stress changes before the earthquake the same as the observation?Is the intensity the same?To clarify the above questions, a two-dimensional thermo-hydro-mechanical(THM)finite element model was conducted in this study to simulate the spatial and temporal variations of thermal anomalies caused by the underground fluid convection and rock stress change due to the tectonic stress release on fault before earthquake. Results showed that the simulated thermal anomalies could be consistent with the observed in magnitude and spatio-temporal distribution. Before the Wenchuan earthquake, deformation-related thermal anomalies occurred mainly in the fault zone and its adjacent hanging wall, which are usually abnormal temperature rise, and occasionally abnormal cooling, occurring in the fault zone after the peak temperature rise. In the fault zone, the thermal anomaly is usually greater than the order of 1K of the equivalent air temperature and is controlled by the combined effect of fluid convection and stress change. The temperature increases first and then decreases before the earthquake. In the hanging wall, it's weaker than that of the fault zone, mainly depending on the convection of the fluid. The temperature gradually increases before the earthquake and is dramatically affected by the permeability. Usually, only when the permeability is larger than 10^-13m², can the air temperature rise higher than 1K occur. The results of this study support the view that fluid convection and stress change caused by fault slip before the earthquake can produce observable air temperature anomalies.

THE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING IONOSPHERIC TEC BACKGROUND FIELD BASED ON SVR MODEL

SONG Dong-mei, XIANG Liang, SHAN Xin-jian, YIN Jing-yuan, WANG Bin, CUI Jian-yong

2019, 41(6):  1511-1528.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2019.06.013

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There are many factors related to the variations of TEC, and the changes of TEC caused by earthquake only occupy a small portion. Therefore, it is vital how to exclude the ionospheric interference of non-seismic factors accurately in the process of seismic ionospheric anomaly extraction. This study constructed a TEC non-seismic dynamic background field considering the influence of solar and geomagnetic activities. Firstly, the TEC components of half-year cycle and annual cycle are extracted by wavelet decomposition. Then, it establishes a regression model between TEC in which periodic factors are removed and solar activity index, geomagnetic activity index with SVR method(support vector regression)in non-seismic period. Finally, based on the constructed model, the solar activity index and geomagnetic activity index is used to reconstruct aperiodic components of TEC in earthquake's period. From the reconstructed aperiodic components of TEC plus the half-year periodic components and annual periodic components of TEC in the same period, the non-seismic dynamic background field is obtained. Comparing the residuals relative to original TEC values in non-seismic dynamic background field and traditional sliding window background, there are apparent monthly periodic change and semi-annual periodic change in the residuals of sliding window background, which can have obvious impacts on the subsequent seismic ionospheric anomaly detection. In order to test the validity of seismic TEC anomaly detection based on the background field construction method, this paper investigated the long time series TEC anomalies near Wenchuan city(30°N, 100°E)from March 1 to September 26 in 2008. It is found that under the condition of non-seismic disturbance such as solar activity and geomagnetic activity, TEC abnormal disturbance is rarely detected by non-seismic dynamic background field method, when compared with the traditional sliding time-window method. And before the earthquake, more TEC anomalies were detected based on the proposed method, also, they were more intense than those extracted by sliding window method. Therefore, the TEC background field construction method based on SVR(support vector regression)has superiorities in both system errors elimination, which are caused by solar, geomagnetism, the non-seismic ionospheric disturbance events and periodic fluctuations of TEC, and in reducing the false alarm rate of seismic TEC anomaly. Moreover, it can also improve the seismic TEC anomaly detection ability. In addition, this paper analyzed the time-spatial distribution of TEC anomaly before three earthquakes on May 12, August 21 and August 30, 2008. They were mainly negative abnormal perturbations and often distributed on the equatorial side of epicenter.

A SUPER-DYNAMIC DEFORMATION MEASUREMENT SYSTEM WITH LONG-TIME PARALLEL CONTINUOUS ACQUISITION

LI Shi-nian, QI Wen-bo, LIU Li-qiang

2019, 41(6):  1529-1538.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2019.06.014

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In the simulation experiments of earthquakes in laboratory, the instability slip or rupture events are obtained through steady state loading to simulate earthquake processes. In the experiments, steady-state deformation and unstable sliding occur alternately. It is hard to determine the origin time and duration of the instability event of fault, and there may be many instability events in one experiment. Therefore, in order to ensure that sufficient data is obtained at the extremely short instability moment to analyze the mechanical process of the earthquake source, the data acquisition system is required to continuously collect data at high-speed from the beginning of the experiment until the end, and the lasting time can be more than ten hours, so it requires huge storage space. Although the upper frequency limit of the instability signal is unknown exactly, but the previous experiments have shown that the frequency of the signal will reach hundred to several kilohertz, so the sampling frequency of the data acquisition should be above megahertz. In this case of long-time continuous high-frequency data acquisition, it is still necessary to maintain a high signal-to-noise ratio. Furthermore, previous studies have proved that the source mechanics field has a complex spatial structure, which is difficult to describe with a few measuring points, and it is necessary to perform simultaneous measurements of the source mechanics field for dozens or more measuring points. The combination of long-term continuous recording, high-resolution high-frequency sampling and multi-point simultaneous measurement poses a huge challenge to the technical indicators of the observing system. With the method for composing distributed synchronous acquisition machine group by using multiple high-resolution high-frequency sampling computers, a super dynamic deformation measurement system of high signal-to-noise ratio, which features 64-channel, 16-bit resolution, 4MHz sampling frequency, and parallel continuous acquisition with tens of hours was developed. This system can realize the synchronous acquisition of various signals, such as strain, acoustic emission, electromagnetic waves and displacement, so it is convenient for analyzing the conversion relationship between various physical quantities.

Special Review

PALEO-EARTHQUAKE STUDY METHODS ON BEDROCK FAULT SURFACE—HISTORY, CURRENT SITUATION, SUGGESTIONS AND PROSPECTS

ZOU Jun-jie, HE Hong-lin, YOKOYAMA Yosuke, WEI Zhan-yu, SHI Feng, HAO Hai-jian, ZHUANG Qi-tian, SUN Wen, ZHOU Chao, SHIRAHAMA Yoshiki

2019, 41(6):  1539-1562.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2019.06.015

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With the development and breakthrough of a series of techniques such as the fault surface morphology measurement, the geochemical element determination and Quaternary dating methods, it becomes possible to study paleo-earthquake using information recorded by the bedrock fault surface. At present, more and more scholars domestic and overseas have carried out a large number of paleo-earthquake studies on bedrock fault surfaces in different professional perspectives and have achieved a series of innovative results. This paper systematically introduces the development history, the current situation and the basic principles and applications of paleo-earthquake study on bedrock fault surface. Moreover, after the thorough discussion of the existing problems in paleo-earthquake research of bedrock fault surface, some suggestions for optimizing the current work are proposed. Finally, on the basis of comparison of the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of various research methods, the prospects and development trends of the bedrock fault paleo-earthquake study are predicted. Lots of weaknesses and limitations in the current study are pointed out in this paper:Firstly, for the method of faullt surface morphology measurement, different morphological expression parameters exist nowadays, however, their advantages and disadvantages are unknown. Secondly, the TCNs method still has a large uncertainty in the age determination of the paleo-earthquake, and the mature cosmogenic nuclides dating methods is too few to meet the dating requirements of different lithologic fault surfaces. Besides, a reliable relationship between relative dating parameters such as morphologicl and physicochemical characteristics and the absolute dating method such as TCNs are not closely established to build a reliable chronology framework. The last but not the least, the lack of mechanical research on the physical and chemical biological processes that the bedrock fault surface experienced before and after the faulting and exposure, and insufficient multi-method comprehensive comparison are also the obstacles for the paleo-earthquake study on bedrock fault surface. It is suggested that in the future study of paleo-earthquakes on bedrock fault surfaces, more attention should be paid to the following aspects:Firstly, strengthen the evaluation of the reliability, applicability and accuracy of the parameters of each morphological model in time and improve the mathematical model of current dating techniques, optimize the mechanism of cosmogenic nuclide production, and introduce new high-precision dating technology timely; Secondly, strive to establish a reliable age framework between relative dating index(X)and absolute dating age(T)regionally; In addition, the morphological structure and mineral compositions of bedrock fault surface are analyzed proactively on the microscopic scale, and the mechanical study is conducted on a series of physical, chemical and biological processes that the fault surface experienced before and after the exposure. At last, comprehensive and comparative research need to be conducted by the multi-disciplinary and multi-method approaches. In conclusion, the paleo-earthquake study on the bedrock fault surface is going through the processes from the qualitative description to the quantitative expression, from the single-disciplinary method to the multi-disciplinary integration, from the exploration of a certain technical index to the comprehensive application of multi-source data technology. The combination of relative dating indicators(X)and absolute dating(T), and putting more emphasis on the mechanical study on the microscopic scale are the development trends of paleo-earthquake study on the bedrock fault surface. The close combination of the paleo-earthquake study of the bedrock fault surface with the traditional method of trenching conducted in the Quaternary sediment region is considered to help more effectively reconstruct a more complete paleo-earthquake sequence and the faulting history on the active fault zone, thus a more reasonable evaluation of the regional seismic hazard can be obtained.