Investigation on the Site of the 2003 South Bomi (Tibet) M_S5.7 Earthquake

An earthquake with magnitude of 5.7 took place on Aug. 18, 2003 in the Nyingchi Region, Tibet. The macroseismic epicenter was located in the unpopniated high mountain area, 13 km south of Zhamo town, Bond County. The seismic intensity in the meizoseismal region was Ⅶ degree. The Ⅶ and Ⅵ areas were 2000 km^2 and 11000 km^2 , respectively. This seismic event is related to the movements of the Lhari fault trending in the NW direction and the ZhamoManiweng fault trending in the NE direction. As a result of this earthquakes, the buildings in the areas were badly damaged.

Field Investigation of the M_S6.8 Wuqia,Xinjiang Earthquake on October 5,2008

A Ms6. 8 earthquake occurred on October 5, 2008 in the Wuqia region in Xinjiang. The macroseismic epicenter is situated in the Nula village of the Kyrghyz Republic, 7km southwest of the Wuqia Yierkeshitan Port in Xinjiang. The epicenter intensity is VIII degrees （outside borders）. The areas of intensity VII and VI are 7354km^2 and 1031km^2, respectively. This seismic event is related with movement of the NE-trending Kzikeaerkate fault belt. Buildings in the earthquake-stricken area were damaged or affected to a certain extent by this earthquake, accompanied with some phenomena of geological disaster.

Dark Touristic Perception: Motivation, Experience and Benefits Interpreted from the Visit to Seismic Memorial Sites in Sichuan Province

This study investigates the motivations of Chinese domestic tourists visiting seismic memorial sites after the great Wenchuan earthquake of 2008, and examines their interpretation of experiences and benefits of the visits. Recent research on dark tourism has raised the possibility that people are attracted to death and memorial sites in ways different from other tourist attractions. The study used an empirical research design employing questionnaires to collect data from 255 Chinese domestic visitors at seismic memorial sites in west Sichuan. Analysis revealed that the obligation of commemoration mixed with curiosity represents a different set of travel motivation in dark tourism settings than in other kinds of tourism. In addition, the empirical evidence also suggests an interrelated pattern between motivations, experiences and benefits. This study implies that Chinese domestic tourists were attracted in ways different from other tourist attractions both because they tended to fulfill their obligation of commemoration and were interested in destruction; and visitor experiences played an important mediating role between travel motivations and benefits gained.

Gravitational effect of water circulation in the northwest Yunnan

Water circulation is the main disturbance source against precise gravimetry measurement which is one of the principal means of geodynamic study. Some scientists studied the disturbance of water level changes in lakes andrivers and groundwater activities on gravity field.Taking water circulation as a whole and combining it with thehydrogeological conditions in northwest Yunnan mountainous area and the measured gravity data,this paperstudies the features, connections of water circulation in atmosphere,on surface and under ground and its effecton gravimetric data. The main conclusions are as follows: 1) The water circulation in atmosphere has little directdisturbance on gravity field 1 2 ) The change of lake water level may cause gravitational effect of (10- 20) × 10-8m. s-2 ; 3) In the NW Yunnan, types of the groundwater are various,and its changes are complicated, it isnecessary to study point by point. In general, its disturbance on gravity field in this region is about 10 × 10- 8m. s- 2, less than that in plain area.

Multiple evidences indicate no relationship between prehistoric disasters in Lajia site and outburst flood in upper Yellow River valley, China

All around the world, ancient legends exist about the Great Flood, and the influence of the Great Flood in human evolutionary history is a hotly debated topic. In China, the legend of the prehistoric Great Flood and Yu the Great's flood control has a long history and is considered to be closely linked to the establishment of the Xia Dynasty. However, there is a lack of solid scientific evidence. Against this issue, some scholars have proposed that an earthquake around 1920 BCE in the Guanting Basin along the upper reaches of the Yellow River led to the creation of a lake by damming in the Jishi Gorge and that the outburst of water from that lake led to the massive flood in the Yellow River region. These studies provided new scientific evidence for the Chinese legend. In this paper, we date skeletal samples embedded in earthquake sand blasting from the Lajia site, analyze remains from natural disasters(such as earthquakes and floods) and also archaeological remains. In addition, we compared the skeletal samples dating with that of sediments from the dammed-up lake. Our results are inconsistent with those of previous scholars. The earthquake at the Lajia site occurred no earlier than 1800 BCE, and the dammed-up lake in Jishi Gorge had disappeared by 3600 BCE. Thus, the formation and outburst of the dammed lake, the sudden death of ancient humans at the Lajia site and the ancient earthquake were independent events occurring at different times. In addition, the massive flood in the upper reaches of the Yellow River did not actually happen. Thus, we argue against and invalidate the hypothesis that the massive flood was related to Yu the Great's flood control and the establishment of the Xia Dynasty.

Three-Dimensional Modeling of Shallow Shear-Wave Velocities for Las Vegas, Nevada, Using Sediment Type

A three-dimensional model of near-surface shear-wave velocity in the deep alluvial basin underlying the metropolitan area of Las Vegas, Nevada （USA）, is being developed for earthquake site response projections. The velocity dataset, which includes 230 measurements, is interpolated across the model using depth-dependent correlations of velocity with sediment type. The sediment-type database contains more than 1 400 well and borehole logs. Sediment sequences reported in logs are assigned to one of four units. A characteristic shear-wave velocity profile is developed for each unit by analyzing closely spaced pairs of velocity profiles and well or borehole logs. The resulting velocity model exhibits reasonable values and patterns, although it does not explicitly honor the measured shear-wave velocity profiles. Site response investigations that applied a preliminary version of the velocity model support a two-zone ground-shaking hazard model for the valley. Areas in which clay predominates in the upper 30 m are predicted to have stronger ground motions than the rest of the basin.