Theories and applications of earthquake-induced gravity variation:Advances and perspectives

Earthquake-induced gravity variation refers to changes in the earth’s gravity field associated with seismic activities.In recent years,development in the theories has greatly promoted seismic deformation research,laying a solid theoretical foundation for the interpretation and application of seismological gravity monitoring.Traditional terrestrial gravity measurements continue to play a significant role in studies of interseismic,co-seismic,and post-seismic gravity field variations.For instance,superconducting gravimeter networks can detect co-seismic gravity change at the sub-micro Gal level.At the same time,the successful launch of satellite gravity missions(e.g.,the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment or GRACE)has also facilitated applied studies of the gravity variation associated with large earthquakes,and several remarkable breakthroughs have been achieved.The progress in gravity observation technologies(e.g.,GRACE and superconducting gravimetry)and advances in the theories have jointly promoted seismic deformation studies and raised many new research topics.For example,superconducting gravimetry has played an important role in analyses of episodic tremor,slow-slip events,and interseismic strain patterns;the monitoring of transient gravity signals and related theories have provided a new perspective on earthquake early warning systems;the mass transport detected by the GRACE satellites several months before an earthquake has brought new insights into earthquake prediction methods;the use of artificial intelligence to automatically identify tiny gravity change signals is a new approach to accurate and rapid determination of earthquake magnitude and location.Overall,many significant breakthroughs have been made in recent years,in terms of the theory,application,and observation measures.This article summarizes the progress,with the aim of providing a reference for seismologists and geodetic researchers studying the phenomenon of gravity variation,advances in related theories and applications,and future research directions in this discipline.

Effects of Earth's curvature and radial heterogeneity in dislocation studies:Case studies of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and the 2004 Sumatra earthquake

Recently, effects of Earth＇s curvature and radial heterogeneity on coseismic deformations are often investi- gated based on the 2004 Sumatra earthquake. However, such effects are strongly related to earthquake types. As a low dip angle event, the 2004 Sumatra earthquake is not a good seismic case for such a topic since the effects for moderate dip angle events are much bigger. In this study, the half-space and spherical dislocation theories are used, respectively, to calculate co- seismic displacements caused by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and the 2004 Sumatra earthquake. Effects of Earth＇s curva- ture and stratification are investigated through the discrepancies of results calculated using the two dislocation theories. Re- sults show that the effects of Earth＇s curvature and stratification for the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake are much larger than those for the 2004 Sumatra earthquake. Ignoring the effects will cause errors up to 100%-200% in far field displacements for a moderate dip angle event like the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Such great effects are much bigger than those conclusions of previous studies. Besides, comparison with observations verifies that spherical dislocation theories yield better results than half-space ones in far fields.

A Mesh-Independent Brute-Force Approach for Traction-Free Corrections in Dislocation Problems

Simulation of dislocation dynamics opens the opportunity for researchers and scientists to observe in-depth many plastic deformation phenomena. In 2D or 3D media, modeling of physical boundary conditions accurately is one of the keys to the success of dislocation dynamics (DD) simulations. The scope of analytical solutions is restricted and applies to specific configurations only. But in dynamics simulations, the dislocations’ shape and orientation change over time thus limiting the use of analytical solutions. The authors of this article present a mesh-based generalized numerical approach based on the collocation point method. The method is applicable to any number of dislocations of any shape/orientation and to different computational domain shapes. Several verifications of the method are provided and successful implementation of the method in 3D DD simulations have been incorporated. Also, the effect of free surfaces on the Peach-Koehler force has been computed. Lastly, the effect of free surfaces on the flow stress of the material has been studied. The results clearly showed a higher force with increased closeness to the free surface and with increased dislocation segment length. The simulations’ results also show a softening effect on the flow stress results due to the effect of the free surfaces.

CONSTRUCTION OF QUANTUM FIELD THEORY OF DISLOCATIONS BASED ON THE NON-RIEMANNIANPLASTICITY

A new microscopic approach was proposed, which bridges the order gap between the dislocation theory and the crystalline plasticity based on the quantum field theory of dislocations. The Ginzburg-Landau equation was derived rigorously from the quantized Hamiltonian for a crystal body containing a large number of dislocations, which gives the reaction-diffusion (RD) type differential equations. The RD equation describes periodic patterning shown in PSBs, etc.. relationship between the proposed theory and the concepts appeared in the non-Riemannian plasticity was extensively discussed by introducing the gauge field of dislocations. (Edited author abstract) 15 Refs.

Simulation of coseismic effects of the Ms7. 0 Lushan earthquake

Using plane dislocation theory and the seismic-wave inversion results from the Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration and the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences models, the surface coseismic deformation and gravity changes caused by the 2013 Ms7.0 Lushan earthquake are simulated. The simulations of coseismic gravity change and deformation indicate that the dislocation has dip-slip characteristics. The results also show that the coseismic deformation exhibits a symmetrical, positive-and-negative distribution, with the deformation usually being less than 10 mm in the far- field but up to 140 mm in the near-field. The gravity changes are concentrated on the fault-projection area, which is greatly affected by the vertical surface deformation. The gravity change and vertical deformation in the far field are usually less than and 5 mm, respectively, but reach and 330 mm, respectively, in the near field. The simulated results agree well with the measured resuhs, which suggests a theoretical basis for the observed change in gravity before and after this earthquake.

Co-seismic Coulomb stress changes on the northern Tanlu fault zone caused by the Tohoku-Oki M_(W)9.0 earthquake

Based on the spherical earth dislocation theory and a fault slip model of the Tohoku-Oki M_(W)9.0 earthquake,the co-seismic Coulomb failure stress changes(ΔCFS)on the northern Tanlu fault zone at depths of 0–40 km are calculated.By comparing two sets of results from the spherical earth dislocation theory and the semi-infinite space one,the effect of earth curvature on the calculation results is analyzed quantitatively.First,we systematically summarize previous researches related to the northern Tanlu fault zone,divide the fault zone as detailed as possible,give the geometric parameters of each segment,and establish a segmented structural model of the northern Tanlu fault zone.Second,we calculate the Coulomb stress changes on the northern Tanlu fault zone by using the spherical earth dislocation theory.The result shows the Coulomb stress changes are no more than 0.003 MPa,which proves the great earthquake did not significantly change the stress state of the fault zone.Finally,we quantitatively analyze the disparities between the results of semi-infinite space dislocation theory and the spherical earth one.The average disparity between them is about 7.7%on the northern Tanlu fault zone and is 16.8%on the Fangzheng graben,the maximum disparity on this graben reaches up to 25.5%.It indicates that the effect of earth curvature can not be ignored.So it’s necessary to use the spherical earth dislocation theory instead of the semi-infinite space one to study the Coulomb stress change in the far field.

Coseismic gravity and displacement changes of Japan Tohoku earthquake(Mw 9.0)

The greatest earthquake in the modern history of Japan and probably the fourth greatest in the last 100 years in the world occurred on March 11, 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku.Large tsunami and ground motions caused severe damage in wide areas, particularly many towns along the Pacific coast. So far, gravity change caused by such a great earthquake has been reported for the 1964 Alaska and the 2010 Maule events. However, the spatial-temporal resolution of the gravity data for these cases is insufficient to depict a co-seismic gravity field variation in a spatial scale of a plate subduction zone. Here, we report an unequivocal co-seismic gravity change over the Japanese Island, obtained from a hybrid gravity observation（combined absolute and relative gravity measurements）. The time interval of the observation before and after the earthquake is within 1 year at almost all the observed sites, including 13 absolute and 16 relative measurement sites, which deduced tectonic and environmental contributions to the gravity change. The observed gravity agrees well with the result calculated by a dislocation theory based on a self-gravitating and layered spherical earth model. In this computation, a co-seismic slip distribution is determined by an inversion of Global Positioning System（GPS） data. Of particular interest is that the observed gravity change in some area is negative where a remarkable subsidence is observed by GPS, which can not be explained by simple vertical movement of the crust. This indicated that the mass redistribution in the underground affects the gravity change. This result supports the result that Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment（GRACE） satellites detected a crustal dilatation due to the 2004 Sumatra earthquake by the terrestrial observation with a higher spatial and temporal resolution.

Co-seismic strain changes of Wenchuan Mw7.9 earthquake recorded by borehole strainmeters on Tibetan plateau

Co-seismic strain changes of the Wenchuan MwT. 9 earthquake recorded with three four-component borehole strainmeters showed NW-SE and roughly EW extensions, respectively, at two locations in the interior and northern part of Tibetan plateau, and NS shortening at a location south of the epicenter, in agreement with the tectonic stress field of this region retical values obtained with half-space effects, such as local crustal structure The observed values of as much as 10-7 are, however, larger than theo- and spherical-earth dislocation theories, implying the existence of other and initial stress.

Recent advances of computing coseismic deformations in theory and applications

This paper reviews the recent advances in computing coseismic deformations,and their contributions to seismology and geodesy. At first,an overview on the history of the dislocation theory development is given in the introduction section. Then,emphasis are given on some new developments through few examples in the following sections,such as the new dislocation theory for a 3D Earth model,a new computing scheme on coseismic deflection change of vertical,the relation of dislocation Love number and the conventional Love numbers,the application of dislocation theory applied in satellite gravity observations,the coseismic deformations observed by GRACE,and a new method to determine dislocation Love numbers by GRACE. Furthermore,some advanced theoretical and cases studies are introduced to illustrate how dislocation theory is important in interpret geodetic data,or invert seismic slip for co- and post-seismic processes,using seismic and geodetic data. Final remarks are given in the last section,with discussions,conclusions,comments on existing problems,and expected methods to solve them.

Formation Mechanism of Ground Fissures Originated from the Hanging Wall of Normal Fault:A Case in Fen-Wei Basin,China

This paper takes Fen-Wei Basin(FWB)as a case to study the ground fissures controlled by normal fault.Based on the field investigation,geophysical exploration,drilling,GNSS data and numerical calculation,the characteristics and mechanism of ground fissures originated from the hanging wall of normal faults are revealed.The results show that the distribution of ground fissures in the hanging wall and heading wall of the active faults is not uniform.Ground fissures are mostly distributed in the hanging wall of active faults and show a linear distribution on the surface,their strike is consistent with the fault,mainly characterized by vertical offset and horizontal tension.Ground fissures destroy the farmland and building foundation through which they pass and cause the rupture or displacement.In profile section,the ground fissure shows the characteristics of normal faults and dislocates the strata,and is connected with the underlying faults.Numerical analysis shows that the vertical displacement of normal fault activity in hanging wall is much larger than that in heading wall,which is the reason that tectonic ground fissures mainly originate from hanging wall.The range of dangerous area of ground fissures is controlled by the depth of fault,the strength of the ground fissures disaster is mainly controlled by the activity of fault.The formation of the ground fissures originated from the hanging wall of the fault experienced three stages:the main fault activity stage,the secondary fault activity stage and the fissure formation stage.