Coseismic fault model of the 2017 M_(W)6.5 Jiuzhaigou earthquake and implications for the regional fault slip pattern

On August 8,2017,an M_(W)6.5 earthquake occurred in Jiuzhaigou County,Sichuan Province,China,on the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.This study investigates the coseismic deformation field and fault model with ascending and descending Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar(SAR)images,aftershock distribution,and elastic half-space dislocation model.The regional fault slip pattern is then quantita-tively examined using the boundary element method.The results show that the ascending and descending interferometric synthetic aperture radar(InSAR)coseismic deformation fields display an overall NNW-SSE trend,with more significant deformation on the southwest side of the fault.The coseismic fault geometry is divided into NW and SE sub-faults with strikes of 162.1°and 149.3°,respectively.The coseismic fault slip is dominated by a left-lateral strike-slip movement with an average rake of-2.31°,mainly occurring at a depth of 0-13.04 km with a shape of an approximately inverted triangle.The fault slip features two peak slip zones,with a maximum of 1.39 m.The total seismic moment is 6.34×10^(18) N·m(M_(W)6.47).The boundary element calculation quantitatively indicates that the regional fault slip pattern may be mainly attributable to the changing strike and dip.The strike changes from NNWeSSE to nearly NS direction,and the dip gradually decreases from the Jiuzhaigou earthquake fault in the north to the Huya fault in the south.With these characteristics,the Huya and the Jiuzhaigou earthquake faults form the eastern boundary of the Minshan uplift zone and accommodate the accumulated deformation.

A quantitative research for present-time crustal motion in Fujian Province, China and its marginal sea── Synthetical analysis of GPS measurement, fault deformation survey, leveling and focal mechanism solution

Based on the Chinese mainland GPS network (1994~1996), Fujian GPS network (1995~1997), cross fault deformation network (1982-1998), precise leveling network (1973~1980) and focal mechanism solutions of the recent several tens years, we synthetically and quantitatively studied the present-time crustal motion of the southeast coast of Chinese mainland-Fujian and its marginal sea. We find that this area with its mainland together moves toward SE with a rather constant velocity of 11 .2±3.0 mm/a. At the same time, there is a motion from the Quanzhou bay pointing to hinterland, with a major orientation of NW, extending toward two sides, and with an average velocity of 3.0±2.6 mm/a. The faults orienting NE show compressing motions, and the ones orienting NW show extending motions. The present-time strain field derived from crustal deformation is consistent with seismic stress field derived from the focal mechanism solutions and the tectonic stress field derived from geology data. The principal stress of compression orients NW (NWW) - SE (SEE). Demarcated by the NW orienting faults of the Quanzhou bay and Jinjiang-Yongan, the crustal motions show regional characteristics f the southwest of Fujian and the boundary of Fujian and Guangdong are areas of rising, the northeast of Fujian are areas of sinking. The horizontal strain rate and the fault motion of the former are both greater than the later. The side-transferring motion of Hymalaya collision zone and the compression of the west pacific subduction zone affect the motion of the research area. The amount of motion affected by the former is larger than the later, but the former is homogeneous and the later is not, which indicates that the events of strong earthquakes in this region relate more directly with western pacific subduction zone.

Characteristics of isostatic gravity anomaly in Sichuan-Yunnan region,China

Sichuan-Yunnan region in China, a tectonic transition belt where earthquakes occurred frequently and intensely, has a distinct variation characteristic of gradient zone of Bouguer gravity anomaly （BGA）. Many deep faults and epicenters of severe earthquake scatter along the BGA gradient zones. Here we apply two forward models （Airy model and Vening Meinesz model） of isostatic gravity mechanisms （local versus regional） in this region to calculated the isostatic gravity anomaly （IGA）. Afterwards, the relationship between IGA and distribution of faults as well as seismicity is also illustrated. The IGA results show that the two models are similar and most parts of the study area are in an isostatic state. Most featured faults are distributed along the steep anomaly gradient zones; earthquakes tend to occur in the non-isostatic area and steep gradient belt of IGA. The distribution of root thickness based on regional mechanism can be associated with the main trend of BGA variation. The regional mechanism is more plausible and closer to the reality because of its relatively further consideration of the horizontal forces derived from adjacent particles in the crust. Then we analyze the effect of isostasy on the tectonic movements and find that the isostatic adjustment is not the main cause of the continuous uplift process of Longmenshan Mountain fault zone. which is due to the Indian-Eurasian continental collision.