Variations of shear-wave splitting parameters in the source region of the 2023 Türkiye doublet earthquakes

In this study,the shear-wave splitting parameters of local seismic events from the source regions of the 2023 Türkiye MW7.7 and MW7.6 doublet earthquakes(event 1 and event 2,respectively)were measured from June 1,2022,to April 25,2023,and their spatiotemporal characteristics were analyzed.The results revealed clear spatial and temporal differences.Spatially,the dominant fast-wave polarization direction at each station shows a strong correlation with the direction of the maximum horizontal principal compressive stress,as characterized by focal mechanism solutions of seismic events(MW≥3.5)near the station.The dominant fast-wave polarization direction and the regional stress field also showed a strong correlation with the intermovement of the Arabian Plate,African Plate,and Anatolian Block.Along the Nurdagi-Pazarcik fault zone,the seismic fault of event 1,stations closer to the middle of the fault where the mainshock occurred exhibited notably greater delay times than stations located towards the ends of the fault and far from the mainshock.In addition,the stations located to the east of the Nurdagi-Pazarcik fault and to the north of the Sürgüfault also exhibited large delay times.The spatial distribution of shear-wave splitting parameters obtained from each station indicates that the upper-crust anisotropy in the source area is mainly controlled by the regional stress field,which is closely related to the state of the block motion.During the seismogenic process of the MW7.7 earthquake,more stress accumulated in the middle of the Nurdagi-Pazarcik fault than at either end of the fault.Under the influence of the MW7.7 and MW7.6 events,the stress that accumulated during the seismogenic process of the earthquake doublet may have migrated towards some areas outside the aftershock intensive area after the earthquakes,and the crustal stress and its adjustment range near the outer stations increased significantly.With the exception of two stations with few effective events,all stations showed a consistent change in shear-wave splitting parameters over time.In particular,each station showed a decreasing trend in delay times after the doublet earthquakes,reflecting the obvious intensification of crustal stress adjustment in the seismogenic zone after the doublet earthquakes.With the occurrence of the earthquake doublet and a large number of aftershocks,the stress accumulated during the seismogenic process of the doublet earthquakes is gradually released,and then the adjustment range of crustal stress is also gradually reduced.

Shear-wave splitting in the crust:Regional compressive stress from polarizations of fast shear-waves

When propagating through anisotropic rocks in the crust, shear-waves split into faster and slower components with almost orthogonal polarizations. For nearly vertical propagation the polarization of fast shear- wave （PFS） is parallel to both the strike of the cracks and the direction of maximum horizontal stress, therefore it is possible to use PFS to study stress in the crust. This study discusses several examples in which PFS is applied to deduce the compressive stress in North China, Longmenshan fault zone of east edge of Tibetan plateau and Yunnan zone of southeast edge of Tibetan plateau, also discusses temporal variations of PFS orientations of 1999 Xiuyan earthquake sequences of northeastern China. The results are consistent to those of other independent traditional stress measurements. There is a bridge between crustal PFS and the crustal principal compressive stress although there are many unclear disturbance sources. This study suggests the PFS results could be used to deduce regional and in situ principal compressive stress in the crust only if there are enough seismic stations and enough data. At least, PFS is a useful choice in the zone where there are a large number of dense seismic stations.

Variational characteristics of shear-wave splitting on the 2001 Shidian earthquakes in Yunnan, China

In 2001 three earthquakes occurred in Shidian in Yunnan Province, which were the MS=5.2 on April 10, the MS=5.9 on April 12 and the MS=5.3 on June 8. Based on the data from the station Baoshan of Yunnan Telemetry Digital Seismograph Network, the variational characteristics of shear-wave splitting on these series of strong earthquakes has been studied by using the systematic analysis method (SAM) of shear-wave splitting. The result shows the time delays of shear-wave splitting basically increase with earthquake activity intensifying. However the time delays abruptly decrease immediately before strong aftershocks. It accords with the stress relaxation before earthquakes, which was found recently in study on shear-wave splitting. The result suggests it is significant for reducing the harm degree of earthquakes to develop the stress-forecasting on earthquake in strong active tectonic zones and economic developed regions or big cities under the danger of strong earthquakes.

Preliminary analysis of the shear-wave splitting observations from the Qiaojia seismic array

A total of 351 shear-wave splitting results at 25 stations were obtained from the seismic data recorded in period of January,2013 to December,2016,by a broadband seismic array deployed in the northern segment of Xiaojiang Fault Zone(n-XJFZ).Meanwhile,the stress field of the n-XJFZ was determined by inverting 140 focal mechanism solutions of the small earthquakes within the study area which were recorded in the same period.This determination confirmed a compressive stress in NW-SE orientation and an extensional stress in the NE-SW orientation,with little difference from those released by previous studies.The shear-wave splitting results show a spatial complexity in polarization orientation,different from one site to another.How-ever,the polarization orientations integrated for the subareas suggest that the fault trends seemingly played important roles.All the subareas bear two dominant orientations,N10°E and N90°E,both of which are different from the azimuths of the principal compressive stress,due to the fault distribution.The time delay averaged over the entire region is 4.56 ms/km,close to that of the upper boundary of the generally accepted interval worldwide but larger than those in most of the investigated regions in the Chinese mainland,which probably implies an alignment of more micro-cracks in the n-XJFZ.Interestingly,the 2014 Ms6.5 Ludian earthquake was found to have caused a variation in the time delays of the slow shear waves within the study area though its epicenter was outside.This earthquake resulted in an evident drop of the time delays remaining for 4 months,however,lifted a bit the time-delay level with respect to that prior to the earthquake.

Shear-wave splitting beforeand after the 1999 Xiuyan earthquake in Liaoning, China

Using seismic waveform data recorded at station YK (Yingkou) of Liaoning Telemetry Digital Seismic Network, this paper studied the characteristics of shear-wave splitting before and after the Xiuyan MS5.9 (ML5.3) earthquake in November 29, 1999 with SAM method. The results show that the predominant polarizations of fast shear-waves at YK is in direction of ENE-WSW, consistent with the direction of regional principal compressive stress and also consistent with the direction of the regional tectonic stress field in North China; time-delays increasing before Xiuyan earthquake may shows accumulation of stress before earthquake. The predominant polarizations of fast shear-waves at YK are also related to the spatial distribution of small earthquakes and correlate with the fault strike. The histogram of monthly average polarizations of fast shear-waves shows that polarizations of fast shear-waves also seems to change from two months before the earthquake, but it still needs more data for verification.

Variational characteristics of shear-wave splitting on the 2001 Shidian earthquakes in Yunnan, China

In 2001 three earthquakes occurred in Shidian in Yunnan Province, which were the MS=5.2 on April 10, the MS=5.9 on April 12 and the MS=5.3 on June 8. Based on the data from the station Baoshan of Yunnan Telemetry Digital Seismograph Network, the variational characteristics of shear-wave splitting on these series of strong earthquakes has been studied by using the systematic analysis method (SAM) of shear-wave splitting. The result shows the time delays of shear-wave splitting basically increase with earthquake activity intensifying. However the time delays abruptly decrease immediately before strong aftershocks. It accords with the stress relaxation before earthquakes, which was found recently in study on shear-wave splitting. The result suggests it is significant for reducing the harm degree of earthquakes to develop the stress-forecasting on earthquake in strong active tectonic zones and economic developed regions or big cities under the danger of strong earthquakes.

A seismological evidence for the northwestward movement of Africa with respect to Iberia from shear-wave splitting

Seismic anisotropy and its main features along the convergent boundary between Africa and Iberia are detected through the analysis of teleseismic shear-wave splitting. Waveform data generated by 95 teleseismic events recorded at 17 broadband stations deployed in the western Mediterranean region are used in the present study. Although the station coverage is not uniform in the Iberian Peninsula and north- west Africa, significant variations in the fast polarization directions and delay times are observed at stations located at different tectonic domains. Fast polarization directions are oriented predominantly NW-SE at most stations which are close to the plate boundary and in central Iberia; being consistent with the absolute plate motion in the region. In the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula, fast velocity direc- tions are oriented nearly E--W; coincident with previous results. Few stations located slightly north of the plate boundary and to the southeast of lberia show E--W to NE-SW fast velocity directions, which may be related to the Alpine Orogeny and the extension direction in lberia. Delay times vary significantly between 0.2 and 1.9 s for individual measurements, reflecting a highly anisotropic structure beneath the recording stations. The relative motion between Africa and lberia represents the main reason for the observed NW-SE orientations of the fast velocity directions. However, different causes of anisotropy have also to be considered to explain the wide range of the splitting pattern observed in the western Mediterranean region. Many geophysical observations such as the low Pn velocity, lower lithospheric Q values, higher heat flow and the presence of high conductive features support the mantle flow in the western Mediterranean, which may contribute and even modify the splitting pattern beneath the studied region.

The Character of Shear-wave Splitting in Marble in the Critical State of Rupture

This paper mainly observed and analyzed the character of shear-wave splitting in rock specimens while they were in the critical state of rupture. The rock specimens for study are made of Laizhou marble from Shandong, China. A series of records were obtained from two rock specimens when they were in the critical state of rupture. The result shows that, in the critical state just before rock rupture, there may be the phenomenon of rise and fall in the time delay of shear-wave splitting, even though the load was kept constant. That is to say, the time delay of shear-wave splitting may have a falling process before rock rupture.

Upper crustal anisotropy from local shear-wave splitting and crust-mantle coupling of Yunnan,SE margin of Tibetan Plateau

The upper crustal anisotropy of Yunnan area, SE margin of Tibetan Plateau, is investigated by measuring the shear wave splitting of local earthquakes. The mean value of the measured delay times is 0.054 s and far less than that from Pms splitting analysis, indicating that the crustal anisotropy is contributed mostly from mid-lower crust. The fast polarization directions are mostly sub-parallel to the maximum horizontal compression directions while the stations near fault zones show fault-parallel fast polarization directions, suggesting both stress and geological structure contribute to the upper crust anisotropy.Comparing fast polarization directions from shear wave splitting of local earthquakes and Pms, large angle differences are shown at most stations, implying different anisotropy properties between upper and mid-lower crust. However, in southwestern Yunnan, the fast polarization directions of Pms and Swave splitting are nearly parallel, and the stress and surface strain rate directions show strong correlation, which may indicate that the surface and deep crust deformations can be explained by the same mechanism and the surface deformation can represent the deformation of the whole crust. Therefore,the high correlation between surface strain and mantle deformation in this area suggests the mechanical coupling between crust and mantle in southwestern Yunnan. In the rest region of Yunnan, the crustmantle coupling mechanisms are supported by the lack of significant crustal anisotropy with Ne S fast polarization directions from Pms splitting. Therefore, we conclude that the crust and upper mantle are coupled in Yunnan, SE margin of Tibetan Plateau.

Application of Signal Processing Methods to Shear-Wave Splitting Study

This paper briefly discusses the new methods that the authors have put forward to distinguish splitting shear-waves.By combining these new methods with other methods,the authors have processed the recorded data of an earthquake.The study results are consistent with each other.

Systematic Analysis Method of Shear-Wave Splitting:SAM Software System

In order to make a more effective use of the data from regional digital seismograph networks and to promote the study on shear wave splitting and its application to earthquake stress-forecasting, SAM software system, i.e., the software on systematic analysis method of shear wave splitting has been developed. This paper introduces the design aims, system structure, function and characteristics about the SAM software system and shows some graphical interfaces of data input and result output. Lastly, it discusses preliminarily the study of shear wave splitting and its application to earthquake forecasting.

Shear-wave Splitting in the Crust beneath Shandong and Its Adjacent Area

Based on the seismic data of near-field source from the Shandong Digital Seismic Network,this study obtained the shear-wave splitting parameters from multiple stations. The results show that dominant directions of polarizations of fast shear-waves reflect the spatial distribution characteristics of tectonic stress in this area,CHD and LIS stations show 2 dominant directions,and reveals that the crustal seismic anisotropy in the Shandong area is constrained by the regional stress background,local failure and structure.

The Temporal Evolution of Shear-wave Splitting and Geoelectrical Anisotropy During Yongdeng Earthquake

The temporal evolution of shear-wave splitting and geoelectrical anisotropy of earth media during the preparation and occurrence of the Yongdeng MS5.8 earthquake is studied based on the digital seismic data and continuous magnetotelluric (MT) records. The results show that the direction of polarization of the fast S-wave gradually rotated from north by east to north by west before the Yongdeng earthquake and returned to north by east after the earthquake. Moreover, the time delay between the fast S wave and slow S wave increased to the largest until the earthquake occurred. On the other hand, the directions of geoelectrical principal axes also changed before earthquake, and exhibited identical characteristics in the frequency domain. The direction of the axis (pxy), which was originally perpendicular to the fault near station, varied from N17°to N15°before earthquake, and returned to north by east after the earthquake. Correspondingly, the change of pxy was most obvious in the period range of 160 s to 226 s, but the variation of pyx was less obvious. The focal mechanism solution of the earthquake showed that the direction of P-axis was N15°. Conclusions are: (1) The fast S-wave polarization, one of the geoelectrical principal axes and the P-axis were in agreement in orientation during earthquake preparation, which is the result of the alignment of EDA cracks; (2) The fact that the geoelectrical axes identically varied with frequency demonstrated that EDA is really widespread in the crust; (3) The variation of MT apparent resistivity also showed the existence of anisotropy and has its own features: The static anisotropy of resistivity is controlled by the tectonic conditions of the station, while the dynamic anisotropy is caused and affected by the seismic stress field; The resistivity along the axis parallel to the P-axis showed the most obvious variation, while the difference in variation with frequency shows that the variation of resistivity depends not only on direction but also on buried depth.

Shear-wave Splitting of Aftershocks of the M_S 5.7 Jiujiang-Ruichang Earthquake

Shear wave splitting is studied based on the digital waveforms of three seismic stations DJS, SZD and WUJ, which were set up after the Jiujiang-Ruichang MS5.7 earthquake of November 26, 2005 around the epicenter area. The result shows that the time delays of slow shear waves of the DJS station, which is not far from the epicenter and where the distribution of faults is complex near the station, are relatively larger and the polarization directions of fast shear waves are not concentrated; the predominant polarization direction of fast shear waves of WUJ station, with single fault distributed nearby, has a difference of 35° to the strike of the fault and is inconsistent with the direction of regional principal compressive stress. The predominant polarization direction of fast shear waves of SZD station with no faults nearby is in accordance with regional principal compressive stress. There is no obvious regular relationshipship between the delay time and the focal depth.

Acoustic Bilayer Gradient Metasurfaces for Perfect and Asymmetric Beam Splitting

We experimentally and theoretically present a paradigm for the accurate bilayer design of gradient metasurfaces for wave beam manipulation,producing an extremely asymmetric splitting effect by simply tailoring the interlayer size.This concept arises from anomalous diffraction in phase gradient metasurfaces and the precise combination of the phase gradient in bilayer metasurfaces.Ensured by different diffraction routes in momentum space for incident beams from opposite directions,extremely asymmetric acoustic beam splitting can be generated in a robust way,as demonstrated in experiments through a designed bilayer system.Our work provides a novel approach and feasible platform for designing tunable devices to control wave propagation.

Shear-wave elastography to predict hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatitis C virus eradication:A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Direct-acting antiviral agents(DAAs)are highly effective treatment for chronic hepatitis C(CHC)with a significant rate of sustained virologic response(SVR).The achievement of SVR is crucial to prevent additional liver damage and slow down fibrosis progression.The assessment of fibrosis degree can be performed with transient elastography,magnetic resonance elastography or shear-wave elastography(SWE).Liver elastography could function as a predictor for hepato-cellular carcinoma(HCC)in CHC patients treated with DAAs.AIM To explore the predictive value of SWE for HCC development after complete clearance of hepatitis C virus(HCV).METHODS A comprehensive literature search of clinical studies was performed to identify the ability of SWE to predict HCC occurrence after HCV clearance.In accordance with the study protocol,a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the evidence was planned.RESULTS At baseline and after 12 wk of follow-up,a trend was shown towards greater liver stiffness(LS)in those who go on to develop HCC compared to those who do not[baseline LS standardized mean difference(SMD):1.15,95%confidence interval(95%CI):020-2.50;LS SMD after 12 wk:0.83,95%CI:0.33-1.98].The absence of a statistically significant difference between the mean LS in those who developed HCC or not may be related to the inability to correct for confounding factors and the absence of raw source data.There was a statist-ically significant LS SMD at 24 wk of follow-up between patients who developed HCC vs not(0.64;95%CI:0.04-1.24).CONCLUSION SWE could be a promising tool for prediction of HCC occurrence in patients treated with DAAs.Further studies with larger cohorts and standardized timing of elastographic evaluation are needed to confirm these data.

Insights on advanced substrates for controllable fabrication of photoanodes toward efficient and stable photoelectrochemical water splitting

Conversion of solar energy into H2 by photoelectrochemical(PEC)water splitting is recognized as an ideal way to address the growing energy crisis and environmental issues.In a typical PEC cell,the construction of photoanodes is crucial to guarantee the high efficiency and stability of PEC reactions,which fundamentally rely on rationally designed semiconductors(as the active materials)and substrates(as the current collectors).In this review work,we start with a brief introduction of the roles of substrates in the PEC process.Then,we provide a systematic overview of representative strategies for the controlled fabrication of photoanodes on rationally designed substrates,including conductive glass,metal,sapphire,silicon,silicon carbide,and flexible substrates.Finally,some prospects concerning the challenges and research directions in this area are proposed.

Molecular-level proton acceptor boosts oxygen evolution catalysis to enable efficient industrial-scale water splitting

Industrial water splitting has long been suppressed by the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction(OER),which requires a catalyst to be efficient.Herein,we propose a molecular-level proton acceptor strategy to produce an efficient OER catalyst that can boost industrial-scale water splitting.Molecular-level phosphate(-PO_(4))group is introduced to modify the surface of PrBa_(0.5)Ca_(0.5)Co_(2)O_(5)+δ(PBCC).The achieved catalyst(PO_(4)-PBCC)exhibits significantly enhanced catalytic performance in alkaline media.Based on the X-ray absorption spectroscopy results and density functional theory(DFT)calculations,the PO_(4)on the surface,which is regarded as the Lewis base,is the key factor to overcome the kinetic limitation of the proton transfer process during the OER.The use of the catalyst in a membrane electrode assembly(MEA)is further evaluated for industrial-scale water splitting,and it only needs a low voltage of 1.66 V to achieve a large current density of 1 A cm^(-2).This work provides a new molecular-level strategy to develop highly efficient OER electrocatalysts for industrial applications.

The component-activity interrelationship of cobalt-based bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting:Strategies and performance

Cobalt-based electrocatalysts take advantage of potentially harmonizable microstructure and flexible coupling effects compared to commercial noble metal-based catalytic materials.However,conventional water electrolysis systems based on cobalt-based monofunctional hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)or oxygen evolution reaction(OER)catalysts have certain shortcomings in terms of resource utilization and universality.In contrast,cobalt-based bifunctional catalysts(CBCs)have attracted much attention in recent years for overall water splitting systems because of their practicality and reduced preparation cost of electrolyzer.This review aims to address the latest development in CBCs for total hydrolysis.The main modification strategies of CBCs are systematically classified in water electrolysis to provide an overview of how to regulate their morphology and electronic configuration.Then,the catalytic performance of CBCs in total-hydrolysis is summarized according to the types of cobalt-based phosphides,sulfides and oxides,and the mechanism of strengthened electrocatalytic ability is emphasized through combining experiments and theoretical calculations.Future efforts are finally suggested to focus on exploring the dynamic conversion of reaction intermediates and building near-industrial CBCs,designing advanced CBC materials through micro-modulation,and addressing commercial applications.

Thermochemical splitting of CO_(2) on perovskites for CO production: A review

Energy supply dominated by fossil energy has been and remains the main cause of carbon dioxide emissions,the major greenhouse gas leading to the current grave climate change challenges.Many technical pathways have been proposed to address the challenges.Carbon capture and utilization(CCU) represents one of the approaches and thermochemical CO_(2) splitting driven by thermal energy is a subset of the CCU,which converts the captured CO_(2) into CO and makes it possible to achieve closed-loop carbon recirculation.Redox-active catalysts are among the most critical components of the thermochemical splitting cycles and perovskites are regarded as the most promising catalysts.Here we review the latest advancements in thermochemical cycles based on perovskites,covering thermodynamic principles,material modifications,reaction kinetics,oxygen pressure control,circular strategies,and demonstrations to provide a comprehensive overview of the topical area.Thermochemical cycles based on such materials require the consideration of trade-off between cost and efficiency,which is related to actual material used,operation mode,oxygen removal,and heat recovery.Lots of efforts have been made towards improving reaction rates,conversion efficiency and cycling stability,materials related research has been lacking-a key aspect affecting the performance across all above aspects.Double perovskites and composite perovskites arise recently as a potentially promising addition to material candidates.For such materials,more effective oxygen removal would be needed to enhance the overall efficiency,for which thermochemical or electrochemical oxygen pumps could contribute to efficient oxygen removal as well as serve as means for inert gas regeneration.The integration of thermochemical CO_(2) splitting process with downstream fuel production and other processes could reduce costs and increase efficiency of the technology.This represents one of the directions for the future research.