2001年昆仑山口西MS8.1地震自发破裂过程数值模拟研究

2001年11月14日,青藏高原的东昆仑断裂带发生昆仑山口西MS8.1地震,现场考察和破裂过程反演结果表明这是一次破裂过程非常复杂的走滑地震事件.研究这次地震的自发破裂过程,对于认识大陆型特大地震的发生机理具有重要意义.本文利用曲线网格有限差分法对2001年昆仑山口西MS8.1地震的动力学破裂过程进行研究.首先建立能反映这次地震主要特征的三维非平面断层模型,并以地质考察、以及根据GPS和InSAR观测数据、远场地震记录得到的反演结果为约束,通过数值模拟重现了这次地震破裂过程的主要特征.在此基础上,进一步讨论了背景应力场、断层几何、摩擦系数对断层面滑移量分布、震源时间函数、破裂传播速度的影响.研究结果表明,昆仑山口西MS8.1地震发展成为具有超长破裂尺度的大型地震的重要原因可能是:青藏高原最大水平主压应力方向沿东向的顺时针旋转特征和断层面较低的动摩擦系数.并且沿昆仑山口西地震断层面的动摩擦系数可能是非均匀的,由此产生了沿断层走向复杂变化的应力降,从而导致超剪切破裂的发生,并控制了断层面滑移量分布.

Co-seismic changes of well water level and volume strain meter in capital area and its vicinity,due to the Nov.14,2001 Ms8.1 Kunlun Mountain earthquake,China

The Kunlunshan Mountain Ms8.1 earthquake, occurred in Nov.14, 2001, is the first event with magnitude more than 8 in the China earthquake monitoring history, specifically at the beginning of digital techniques in precursor monitoring networks. Any investigation of recorded data on this earthquake is very important for testing the operation of the digital monitoring networks and understanding the preparation, occurrence, and adjustment of stress/strain of strong continental earthquakes. In this paper we investigated the coseismic response changes of well water level of groundwater and volume strain meter of bore hole in digital earthquake monitoring network of Capital area and its vicinity, due to the Nov.14, 2001 Ms8.1 Kunlun Mountain earthquake. The responding time, shapes or manners, amplitudes, and lasting time of well water level and strain-meters to seismic wave are studied in comparison. Then we discussed the possibility that the response changes of groundwater to strong distant earthquakes can be understood as one kind of observing evidence of stress/strain changes induced by distant earthquake.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CRUSTAL DEFORMATION RELATED TO Ms8.1 KUNLUNSHAN EARTHQUAKE

The co seismic and post seismic deformation velocities of M s 8.1 Kunlunshan earthquake on Nov. 14, 2001 were calculated from the results of 1991-2001 GPS data and 4 repeated GPS surveys after the event. The result indicates the maximum co seismic and post seismic changes are 1.9 m and 0.08 m respectively. On the basis of the result of post seismic velocity, we used an elastic dislocation model to inverse the crustal deformation characteristics of eastern Kunlun active fault. The result shows that the domain motion of eastern Kunlun fault is left lateral and strike slip. The trend of eastward motion for the southern block of Kunlun fault implies redistribution and reaccumulation of energy after the earthquake. It is possible that the seismicity will migrate to eastern region in the future according to the trend that strong earthquakes along Kunlun fault extended from west to east during the last several decades.

Preliminary analysis on characteristics of coseismic deformation associated with M_S=8.1 western Kunlunshan Pass earthquake in 2001

Based on the analysis of coseismic deformation in the macroscopic epicentral region extracted by Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (D-InSAR), and combined with the seismic activity, focal mechanism solutions of the earthquake and field investigation, the characteristic of coseismic deformation of MS=8.1 western Kunlunshan Pass earthquake in 2001 was researched. The study shows that its epicenter lies in the northeast side of Hoh Sai Hu; and the seismogenic fault in the macroscopic epicentral region can be divided into two central deformation fields: the west and east segments with the lengths of 42 km and 48 km, respectively. The whole fault extends about 90 km. From the distribution of interferometry fringes, the characteristic of sinistral strike slip of seismogenic fault can be identified clearly. The deformations on both sides of the fault are different with an obviously higher value on the south side. In the vicinity of macroscopic epicenter, the maximum displacement in look direction is about 288.4 cm and the minimum is 224.0 cm; the maximum sinistral horizontal dislocation of seismogenic fault near the macroscopic epicenter is 738.1 cm and the minimum is 551.8 cm.

Effect of Kunlun Ms 8.1 earthquake on crustal deformation in northeastern edge region of Qinghal-Tibet plateau

Seismic fault parameters can be inversed with Okada model based on deformation data before and after earthquakes in focal region and its adjacent area. Co-seismic displacements can be simulated by using these parameters,and then regional velocity field obtained by deducting the co-seismic displacements from the observed displacements by GPS method. We processed and analyzed the data in the northeastern edge region of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau observed during 2001 -2003 in two steps： firstly, the displacements generated by Kunlun MsS. 1 earthquake of 2001 in this region was simulated, and secondly, deducted the co-seismic displacements from it and obtained the horizontal crustal velocity field. The results reveal ： 1 ） the effect of Kunlun Ms8.1 earthquake on crustal deformation in this region is significant; 2 ）the velocity field obtained with this method is better than the original GPS velocity field in reflecting the status of regional crustal movement and strain.

Estimation of the 2001 Kunlun earthquake fault slip from GPS coseismic data using Hori’s inverse method

The Hori＇s inverse method based on spectral decomposition was applied to estimate coseismic slip distribution on the rupture plane of the 14 November 2001 Ms8.1 Kunlun earthquake based on GPS survey results. The inversion result shows that the six sliding models can be constrained by the coseismic GPS data. The established slips mainly concentrated along the eastern segment of the fault rupture, and the maximum magnitude is about 7 m. Slip on the eastern segment of the fault rupture represents as purely left-lateral strike-slip. Slip on the western segment of the seismic rupture represents as mainly dip-stip with the maximum dip-slip about 1 m. Total predicted scalar seismic moment is 5.196× 10^2° N.m. Our results constrained by geodetic data are consistent with seismological results.

Preliminary analysis on characteristics of coseismic deformation associated with MS=8.1 western Kunlunshan Pass earthquake in 2001

Based on the analysis of coseismic deformation in the macroscopic epicentral region extracted by Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (D-InSAR), and combined with the seismic activity, focal mechanism solutions of the earthquake and field investigation, the characteristic of coseismic deformation of MS=8.1 western Kunlunshan Pass earthquake in 2001 was researched. The study shows that its epicenter lies in the northeast side of Hoh Sai Hu; and the seismogenic fault in the macroscopic epicentral region can be divided into two central deformation fields: the west and east segments with the lengths of 42 km and 48 km, respectively. The whole fault extends about 90 km. From the distribution of interferometry fringes, the characteristic of sinistral strike slip of seismogenic fault can be identified clearly. The deformations on both sides of the fault are different with an obviously higher value on the south side. In the vicinity of macroscopic epicenter, the maximum displacement in look direction is about 288.4 cm and the minimum is 224.0 cm; the maximum sinistral horizontal dislocation of seismogenic fault near the macroscopic epicenter is 738.1 cm and the minimum is 551.8 cm.

Analysis of Remote Sensing Images of Ground Ruptures Resulting from the Kunlun Mountain Pass Earthquake in 2001

On November 14, 2001, an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 8.1 occurred to the west of the Kunlun Mountain Pass which is near the border between Xinjiang and Qinghai of China. Since its epicenter is located in an area at an elevation of 4900 m where the environment is extremely adverse, field investigation to this event seems very difficult. We have performed interpretation and analysis of the satellite images of ETM, SPOT, Ikonos, and ERS-1/2SAR to reveal the spatial distribution and deformation features of surface ruptures caused by this large earthquake. Our results show that the rupture zone on the ground is 426 km long, and strikes N90-110°E with evident left-lateral thrusting. In spatial extension, it has two distinct sections. One extends from the Bukadaban peak to the Kunlun Mountain Pass, with a total length of 350 km, and trending N95-110°E. Its fracture plane is almost vertical, with clear linear rupture traces and a single structure, and the maximum left-lateral offset is 7.8 m. This section is the main rupture zone caused by the earthquake, which is a re-fracturing along an old fault. The other is the section from Kushuihuan to the Taiyang Lake. It is 26 km long, trending N90-105°E, with the maximum strike-slip displacement being 3 m, and is a newly-generated seismic rupture. In a 50 km-long section between the Taiyang Lake and the Bukadaban peak, no rupture is found on the ground. The eastern and western rupture zones may have resulted from two earthquakes. The macroscopic epicenter is situated at 65 km east of the Hoh Sai Lake. The largest coseismic horizontal offset in the macroscopic epicenter ranges from 7 m to 8 m. Based on the dislocation partition of the whole rupture zone, it is suggested that this rupture zone has experienced a process of many times of intensification and fluctuation, exhibiting a remarkable feature of segmentation.

Decomposing InSAR LOS displacement into co-seismic dislocation with a linear in-terpolation model: A case study of the Kunlun Mountain M_s=8.1 earthquake

It has always been a difficult problem to extract horizontal and vertical displacement components from the InSAR LOS （Line of Sight） displacement since the advent of monitoring ground surface deformation with InSAR technique. Having tried to fit the firsthand field investigation data with a least squares model and obtained a preliminary result, this paper, based on the previous field data and the InSAR data, presents a linear cubic interpolation model which well fits the feature of earthquake fracture zone. This model inherits the precision of investigation data; moreover make use of some advantages of the InSAR technique, such as quasi-real time observation, continuous recording and all-weather measurement. Accordingly, by means of the model this paper presents a method to decompose the InSAR slant range co-seismic displacement （i.e. LOS change） into horizontal and vertical displacement components. Approaching the real motion step by step, finally a serial of curves representing the co-seismic horizontal and vertical displacement component along the main earthquake fracture zone are approximately obtained.

Gravity variation before Kunlun mountain pass western M_s=8.1 earthquake

The relation between the gravity variation features and Ms=8.1 earthquake in Qinghai-Xizang monitoring area is analyzed preliminarily, by using spatial dynamic variation results of regional gravity field from absolute gravity and relative gravity observation in 1998 and 2000. The results show that: 1) Ms=8.1 earthquake in Kulun mountain pass western occurred in the gravity variation high gradient near gravit/s high negative variation; 2) The main tectonic deformation and energy accumulation before Ms=8.1 earthquake are distributed at south side of the epicenter; 3) The range of gravity's high negative variation at east of the Ms=8.1 earthquake epicenter relatively coincides with that rupture region according to field geology investigation; 4) Gravity variation distribution in high negative value region is just consistent with the second shear strain's high value region of strain field obtained from GPS observation.

Horizontal crustal movement in Chinese mainland before and after the great Kunlun Mountain M=8.1 earthquake in 2001

The continuous GPS observation at the fiducial stations in the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC) recorded the crustal movement of Chinese mainland before and after the great Kunlun Mountain earthquake of M=8.1 on November 14, 2001, especially the horizontal crustal movement in the western part of China. Based on the datum defined by a group of stable stations with small mutual horizontal displacements for a few years, the time series of horizontal displacements at fiducial stations were obtained. Significant anomalous horizontal displacements had appeared at the fiducial stations in the western part of China since early November 2000 and several earthquakes with the magnitudes about 6.0 had occurred in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces. The northward components of the horizontal displacement at the fiducial stations in west China had decreased signifi-cantly and even changed in the opposite sense since mid April 2001. After the earthquake, the northward dis-placements still decreased and there were significant westward displacements. The process of the crustal move-ment in the western part of Chinese mainland (in reference to east China) suggests that the main force source for this earthquake came from the northward pushing of the Indian plate. The great earthquake released a large amount of energy, as a result, the action applied by the Indian plate to Chinese mainland diminished significantly and after the great earthquake, the seismic activity in Chinese mainland decreased considerably until the end of 2002.

A discussion on Corioli force effect and aftershock activity tendency of the M=8.1 Kunlun Mountain Pass earthquake on Nov. 14, 2001

Following the theory and definition of the Corioli force in physics, the Corioli force at the site of the M=8.1 Kunlun Mountain Pass earthquake on November 14, 2001, is examined in this paper on the basis of a statistical research on relationship between the Corioli force effect and the maximum aftershock magnitude of 20 earthquakes with M7.5 in Chinese mainland, and then the variation tendency of aftershock activity of the M=8.1 earthquake is discussed. The result shows: a) Analyzing the Corioli force effect is an effective method to predict maximum aftershock magnitude of large earthquakes in Chinese mainland. For the sinistral slip fault and the reverse fault with its hanging wall moving toward the right side of the cross-focus meridian plane, their Corioli force pulls the two fault walls apart, decreasing frictional resistance on fault plane during the fault movement and releasing elastic energy of the mainshock fully, so the maximum magnitude of aftershocks would be low. For the dextral slip fault, its Corioli force presses the two walls against each other and increases the frictional resistance on fault plane, prohibiting energy release of the mainshock, so the maximum magnitude of aftershocks would be high. b) The fault of the M=8.1 Kunlun Mountain earthquake on Nov. 14, 2001 is essentially a sinistral strike-slip fault, and the Corioli force pulled the two fault walls apart. Magnitude of the induced stress is about 0.06 MPa. After a comparison analysis, we suggest that the aftershock activity level will not be high in the late period of this earthquake sequence, and the maximum magnitude of the whole aftershocks sequence is estimated to be about 6.0.

Seismicity anomalies before the great earthquake of M_S=8.1 in the Kunlun Pass and its significance to earthquake prediction

A great earthquake of MS=8.1 took place in the west of Kunlun Pass on November 14, 2001. The epicenter is lo-cated at 36.2N and 90.9E. The analysis shows that some main precursory seismic patterns appear before the great earthquake, e.g., seismic gap, seismic band, increased activity, seismicity quiet and swarm activity. The evolution of the seismic patterns before the earthquake of MS=8.1 exhibits a course very similar to that found for earthquake cases with MS7. The difference is that anomalous seismicity before the earthquake of MS=8.1 involves in the lar-ger area coverage and higher seismic magnitude. This provides an evidence for recognizing precursor and fore-casting of very large earthquake. Finally, we review the rough prediction of the great earthquake and discuss some problems related to the prediction of great earthquakes.

Study on rupture zone of the M=8.1 Kunlun Mountain earthquake using fault-zone trapped waves

The observation of the fault-zone trapped waves was conducted using a seismic line with dense receivers across surface rupture zone of the M=8.1 Kunlun Mountain earthquake. The fault zone trapped waves were separated from seismograms by numerical filtering and spectral analyzing. The results show that: a) Both explosion and earthquake sources can excite fault-zone trapped waves, as long as they locate in or near the fault zone; b) Most energy of the fault-zone trapped waves concentrates in the fault zone and the amplitudes strongly decay with the distance from observation point to the fault zone; c) Dominant frequencies of the fault-zone trapped waves are related to the width of the fault zone and the velocity of the media in it. The wider the fault zone or the lower the velocity is, the lower the dominant frequencies are; d) For fault zone trapped waves, there exist dispersions; e) Based on the fault zone trapped waves observed in Kunlun Mountain Pass region, the width of the rupture plane is deduced to be about 300 m and is greater than that on the surface.

Paleo-earthquake studies on the eastern section of the Kunlun fault

Roughly along the Animaqing Maji peak, the Kunlun fault section between the Tuosuo Lake and Kendingna (east Maqin) can be subdivided into two geometric segments: the Huashixia and the Maqin segments. These two segments behave differently in their Holocene slip rates and paleo-earthquake activities, with obviously higher paleo-seismic activity on the Huashixia segment than on Maqin segment. As many as four strong Holocene earthquakes are identified on the Huashixia segment from trenching and geomorphic studies. The recurrent interval for the latest three earthquakes are at about 500 a and 640 a, respectively. On the Maqin segment, at least three paleo-earthquake events can be defined from trenching, with a recurrent interval for the latest two events at about 1000 a. M = 7.5 earthquakes on Huashixia segment recur at every 411 a to 608 a with a characteristic slip at 5.75±0.57 m. Although the Maqin segment is less active, its accumulated strain energy during the long time period since last earthquake occurred (about 1070 a BP) deserves enough notice on its future earthquake probabilities.

Large aftershocks triggering by Coulomb failure stress following the 2001 MS=8.1 great Kunlun earthquake

The great Kunlun earthquake occurred on Nov. 14, 2001 in Qinghai Province, China. Five large aftershocks with magnitude larger than 5.0 occurred near the Kunlun fault after main shock. Calculations of the change in Coulomb failure stress reveal that 4 of 5 large aftershocks occurred in areas with Dsf >0 (10-2~10-1 MPa) and one aftershock occurred in an area with Dsf =-0.56 MPa. It is concluded that the permanent fault displacement due to the main shock is the main cause of activity of large aftershocks, but not the whole cause.

Characteristics of Collapses Caused by the M8.1 Earthquake West of the Kunlun Mountains Pass

An M 8.1 earthquake that occurred west of the Kunlun Mountains Pass has caused more than 20 collapse bodies or zones, which are mainly distributed near the surface seismic rupture zone, west of Hoh Sai Lake. The collapses are of four types, bedrock, soil mass and ice mass collapses and avalanches. The spatial distribution and the characteristics of development of the collapses are analyzed in the paper. Comparised with those caused by other earthquakes, the collapses are smaller in scale. In addition to the lithological characteristics of the crustal media, topographic, geomorphic and climatic factors, weaker seismic ground motion is an important cause for formation of the smaller-scale collapses. The long surface rupture zone and weaker ground motion are important features of the seismic rupture, which may be related to the structure of the preexisting fault.

Influence of the Kunlun Mountain M_S8.1 Earthquake on Horizontal Crustal Deformation in the Sichuan and Yunnan Area

In order to track the space-time variation of regional strain field holistically(in a large scale) and to describe the regional movement field more objectively,the paper uses a nonlinear continuous strain model focused on extracting medium-low frequency strain information on the basis of a region with no rotation.According to the repeated measurements(1999～2001～2004) from GPS monitoring stations in the Sichuan and Yunnan area obtained by the Project of "China Crust Movement Measuring Network",and with the movement of 1999～2001(stage deformation background) as the basic reference,we separated the main influencing factors of the Kunlun Mountain M-S8.1 earthquake in 2001 from the data of 2001 and 2004,and the results indicate:(1) the Kunlun Mountain M-S8.1 earthquake has a discriminating effect on the Sichuan and Yunnan area,moreover,the deformation mode and background had not only certain similitude but also some diversity;(2) The movement field before the earthquake was very ordinal,while after the earthquake,order and disorder existed simultaneously in the displacement field;The displacement quantities of GPS monitoring stations were generally several millimeters;(3) The principal strain field before earthquake was basically tensile in an approximate EW direction and compressive in the SN direction,and tension was predominant.After the earthquake,the principal strain field in the Sichuan area was compressive in the EW direction and tensile in the SN direction,and the compression was predominant.In the Yunnan area,it was tensional in the NE direction and compressive in the NW direction,and tension was predominant;(4) The surficial strain before the earthquake was dominated by superficial expansion,the contractive area being located basically in the east boundary of Sichuan and Yunnan block and its neighborhood.After the earthquake,the Sichuan area was surface contractive(the further north,the greater it was),and south of it was an area of superficial expansion.Generally speaking,the Kunlun Mountain M-S8.1 earthquake played an active role in the accumulation of energy in the Sichuan and Yunnan area.Special attention shall be focused on the segment of Xichang-Dongchuan and its neighborhood.

A Preliminary Study of Palaeo-earthquakes on the Maqu Fault of East Kunlun Fault Zone

The East Kunlun active fault is an important NWW-trending boundary fault on the northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau. The Maqu fault is the easternmost segment of the East Kunlun active fault. Based on three trenches, four Holocene palaeo-earthquake events are identified along the Maqu fault. The latest palaeo-earthquake event is (1730±50) ～ (1802±52) a BP, the second is (3736±57) ～ (4641±60) a BP, the third is (8590±70) a BP, and the earliest is (12200±1700) ka BP. The time of the first and second palaeo-earthquake events is more reliable than that of the third and last ones. As a result, the recurrence interval of the palaeo-earthquakes on the easternmost segment of the East Kunlun active fault is approximately 2400 a, and the palaeo-earthquake elapsed time is (1730±50) ～ (1802±52) a BP.

Characteristics of Far-field Precursory Anomalies Before the M_S8.1 Earthquake in the West of Kunlun Mountains Pass

In this study, a number of typical precursory anomalies recorded by stations in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Hebei and Shaanxi provinces and autonomous regions before the M_S8.1 earthquake in the west of Kunlun Mountains Pass are collected and checked. According to the standards of earthquake cases in China, the criteria of the precursory anomalies are determined, and 53 distinguished. The characteristics of these anomalies before the M_S8.1 earthquake are analyzed, with results showing a very large earthquake affected area. The precursory anomalies recorded by instruments were 2900 km away from the epicenter, and according to the study in this paper, reached 2100 km away. The results also show that the anomalies present characteristics of long duration, multi-measurement items and large-amplitude variation. The authors believe that in large earthquake monitoring, attention should be paid to the variation of data over a large area, ranging up to thousands kilometers, with much denser earthquake observation networks.