Detection of a half-microgal coseismic gravity change after the Ms7. 0 Lushan earthquake

Because only a small near-field coseismie gravity change signal remains after removal of noise from the accuracy of observations and the time and spatial resolution of the earth＇s surface gravity observation system, it is difficult to verify simulations of dislocation theory. In this study, it is shown that the GS15 gravimeter, located 99.5 km from the epicenter of the Ms7.0 Lushan earthquake on April 20, 2013 at 08 ： 04 UTC ＋ 8, showed the influence of the earthquake from 2013-04-16 to 2013-04-26 after a time calibration, tide correc- tions, drift correction, period correction and relaxation correction were applied to its data. The post-seismic relaxation process of the spring in the gravimeter took approximately 430 minutes and showed a 2. 5 ×10^-8 ms^-2 gravity change. After correcting for the relaxation process, it is shown that a coseismic gravity change of approximately ＋0.59 ＋-0. 4 ~ 10-Sms-2 was observed by the GS15 gravimeter; this agrees with the simulated gravity change of approximately 0.31 ~ 10 -8 ms-2. The rate of the coseismie gravity change and the coseismic vertical displacement, as measured by one-second and one-day sampling interval GPS units, is also consistent with the theoretical rate of change. Therefore, the GS15 gravimeter at the Pixian Station observed a coseismic gravity change after the Ms7.0 Lushan earthquake. This and similar measurements could be applied to test and confirm the theory used for these simulations.

Numerical simulation of co-seismic deformation of 2011 Japan Mw9.0 earthquake

Co-seismic displacements associated with the Mw9.0 earthquake on March 11, 2011 in Japan are numerically simulated on the basis of a finite-fault dislocation model with PSGRN/PSCMP software. Compared with the inland GPS observation, 90% of the computed eastward, northward and vertical displacements have residuals less than 0.10 m, suggesting that the simulated results can be, to certain extent, used to demon- strate the co-seismic deformation in the near field. In this model, the maximum eastward displacement increa- ses from 6 m along the coast to 30 m near the epicenter, where the maximum southward displacement is 13 m. The three-dimensional display shows that the vertical displacement reaches a maximum uplift of 14.3 m, which is comparable to the tsunami height in the near-trench region. The maximum subsidence is 5.3 m.

Influence of the 2011 Mw9. 0 Japan earthquake on groundwater levels in Chinese mainland

This paper gives a description of the co-seismic and post-seismic groundwater level changes induced in Chinese mainland by the 2011 Mw9.0 Japan earthquake, and the corresponding stress changes calculated on the assumption of linear elasticity. The result shows that the main types of changes were oscillations and step increases. The North-South Seismic Belt and the Shanxi Seismic Belt were the main areas affected by the earthquake.

Co-seismic changes of Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake and six aftershocks recorded by four deformation instruments at Xuzhou seismostation

Co-seismic changes of Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake and six strong aftershocks were recorded by 4 digital deformation instruments at Xuzhou seismostation at an cpicentral distance of 1392 km. The result shows that the straln-step changes and wave motions are caused by the arrival of the corresponding surface waves. The shape and size of the step changes and the response time were different for different instruments, even they were located in the same rock body only 7.65 m to 10.57 m apart. This difference is probably a reflection of different instrument properties, such as sensitivity and frequency response. The earthquake-caused stress changes, which were mainly compression in Xuzhou, had an important triggering effect on far-field strain changes

Analysis of datum-instability effect on calculated results of data from Longmen Mountain regional gravity network

A statistical correlation method is used to study the effect of instability of the calculation datum （ used in traditional method of indirect adjustment） on calculated gravity results, using data recorded by Longmen Mountain regional gravity network during 1996 -2007. The result shows that when this effect is corrected, anomalous gravity changes before the 2008 Wenchuan Ms8. 0 earthquake become obvious and characteristically distinctive. Thus the datum-stability problem must be considered when processing and analyzing data recorded by a regional gravity network.

Analysis on Tectonic Movement of the Longmenshan Fault Zone before the Wenchuan M_S 8. 0 Great Earthquake

On the basis of elastic rebound theory,using the horizontal velocity field of the Chinese mainland calculated from GPS data during three observation periods from 1999 to 2007,the velocity components that are parallel and plumb to the fault zone are calculated respectively for different periods,and then relative ground movements of two sides of the fault zone are analyzed with power function fitting and graphics. The results show that the relative ground movement shows right-lateral shear deformation before the Wenchuan MS8. 0 earthquake,and at the same time the movement was hindered by the Longmenshan fault zone. Thus,this result has positive significance for distinguishing the elastic strain energy accumulation and deformation anomaly in an earthquake preparation process,and for conducting further research on earthquake prediction.

Variation of the Energy Field of Longmenshan Fault Zone before the Wenchuan M_S 8. 0 Earthquake

During the process of preparation and occurrence of a large earthquake, the stress-strain state along the fault zone has close relation with the weak seismicity around the fault zone. The seismic energy release near the fault zone before an earthquake can better reflect the dynamic process of earthquake preparation. Thus, in this paper, the method of natural orthogonal function expansion has been adopted to discuss the time variation about the energy field of the seismic activity along the Longmenshan fault zone before the Wenchuan MsS. 0 earthquake, 2008. The results show that evident short-term rise changes appeared in the time factors of the typical field corresponding to several key eigenvalues of the energy field along the Longmenshan fault zone before the Wenchuan earthquake, probably being the short-term anomaly message for this earthquake. Through contrastive analysis of earthquake examples such as the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, the authors think that the study of time variation of energy field of seismicity along active fault zone will be helpful for conducting intentional and intensive earthquake monitoring and forecast in active fault regions with high seismic risk based on medium- and long-term earthquake trend judgment.

Preliminary Study on the Relationship between the M_s8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake of 2008 and the Anomalies of Earth Resistivity Observed at Qingdao Seismic Station

Near-surface earth resistivity and underground water level anomalies were recorded at Qingdao seismic observatory of Shandong Province before and after the MS8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake of May 12,2008.The observed data of earth resistivity at the observatory revealed that the underground water level dropped and the resistivity increased.It is postulated that in the special tectonic setting at Qingdao observatory,the variation of stress and strain caused the change of water level beneath the station,thus,leading to the variation of earth resistivity.The relationship between the variation of stress field and the change of earth resistivity before earthquake is analyzed.

The Contrast Study of Precursor Anomalies before the M_S 8. 0 Wenchuan Earthquake

The contrast research results show that the number of items and stations with imminent, short and medium term precursor anomalies for the Wenchuan M_S 8. 0 earthquake is less than that of the Menglian earthquake. The number of anomalies and stations associated with the Wenchuan earthquake increased in the early stage of the short-term range,as opposed to the later period for the Menglian and Lijiang earthquakes. Most of the medium term anomalies occurred two to three years before the Wenchuan earthquake,when the number of anomaly stations and items was eleven,and a great change appeared in the observation values in about half of the stations ( items ) . However,for the Menglian earthquake,medium term anomalies happened one to two years before the earthquake, the number of abnormal stations and items reached 20,and a sharp change appeared in the observation values six months to one year before the earthquake in about 30 percent of the stations or items. In the epicenter and the nearby area,the macroscopic abnormalities started 3 years before the Wenchuan earthquake and lasted intermittently until 1 month before the earthquake. Within 2 percent of the total area of the province,the macroscopic abnormalities accounted for 30 to 50 percent of the total number of anomalies of the Province. For the Xingtai,Tangshan,Haicheng,Songpan earthquakes,the macroscopic anomalies started two to three months before,or on the very day of the earthquakes. The common feature of the precursors between the Wenchuan and other strong earthquakes is the appearance of tremendous changes in a certain number of observation values of anomalies in the mid and short terms before all these earthquakes.

Responses of the East Component of Beijing GNSS Continuous Observation Stations to the 2011 Japan M_W 9.0 Earthquake

Several new demands have been put forward for the application of the Beijing continuous GNSS observations due to some particular reasons, such as the limited coverage of the observation network, the different construction and management criterion executed by different units and the intense interference resulting from human activity. In this paper, necessary processing of data is carried out, including more accurate calculation, corrections to the replacement, outliers and relocation of equipment, and elimination of linear trends in the E-component for every station. The E-components of the 16 available stations showed a lower sawtooth wave anomaly （slowly westward propagating） before the 2011 Tohoku Mw9. 0 earthquake, a coseismic step rebound （rapid eastward propagating） and a post-seismic D-shaped recovery. These steps constituted a complete earthquake process which was rarely seen before in the GNSS observations and provides a good example for further study. Moreover, the rapid eastward propagating during the earthquake is not influenced by the size of the given normal values, which may play a significant role in earthquake forecasting and early warning.