Advances in seismological methods for characterizing fault zone structure

Large earthquakes frequently occur along complex fault systems.Understanding seismic rupture and long-term fault evolution requires constraining the geometric and material properties of fault zone structures.We provide a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in seismological methods used to study fault zone structures,including seismic tomography,fault zone seismic wave analysis,and seismicity analysis.Observational conditions limit our current ability to fully characterize fault zones,for example,insufficient imaging resolution to discern small-scale anomalies,incomplete capture of crucial fault zone seismic waves,and limited precision in event location accuracy.Dense seismic arrays can overcome these limitations and enable more detailed investigations of fault zone structures.Moreover,we present new insights into the structure of the Anninghe-Xiaojiang fault zone in the southeastern margin of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau based on data collected from a dense seismic array.We found that utilizing a dense seismic array can identify small-scale features within fault zones,aiding in the interpretation of fault zone geometry and material properties.

Rock Damage Structure of the South Longmen-Shan Fault in the 2008 M8 Wenchuan Earthquake Viewed with Fault-Zone Trapped Waves and Scientific Drilling

This article is to review results from scientific drilling and fault-zone trapped waves （FZTWs） at the south Longman-Shan fault （LSF） zone that ruptured in the 2008 May 12 M8 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan,China.Immediately after the mainshock,two Wenchuan Fault Scientific Drilling （WFSD） boreholes were drilled at WFSD-1 and WFSD-2 sites approximately 400 m and 1 km west of the surface rupture along the Yinxiu-Beichuan fault （YBF）,the middle fault strand of the south LSF zone.Two boreholes met the principal slip of Wenchuan earthquake along the YBF at depths of 589-m and 1230-m,respectively.The slip is accompanied with a 100-200-m-wide zone consisting of fault gouge,breccia,cataclasite and fractures.Close to WFSD-1 site,the nearly-vertical slip of ～4.3-m with a 190-m wide zone of highly fractured rocks restricted to the hanging wall of the YBF was found at the ground surface after the Wenchuan earthquake.A dense linear seismic array was deployed across the surface rupture at this venue to record FZTWs generated by aftershocks.Observations and 3-D finite-difference simulations of FZTWs recorded at this cross-fault array and network stations close to the YBF show a distinct low-velocity zone composed by severely damaged rocks along the south LSF at seismogenic depths.The zone is several hundred meters wide along the principal slip,within which seismic velocities are reduced by ～30-55％ from wall-rock velocities and with the maximum velocity reduction in the ～200-m-wide rupture core zone at shallow depth.The FZTW-inferred geometry and physical properties of the south LSF rupture zone at shallow depth are in general consistent with the results from petrological and structural analyses of cores and well log at WFSD boreholes.We interpret this remarkable low-velocity zone as being a break-down zone during dynamic rupture in the 2008 M8 earthquake.We examined the FZTWS generated by similar earthquakes before and after the 2008 mainshock and observed that seismic velocities within fault core zone was reduced by ～10％ due to severe damage of fault rocks during the M8 mainshock.Scientific drilling and locations of aftershocks generating prominent FZTWs also indicate rupture bifurcation along the YBF and the Anxian-Guangxian fault （AGF）,two strands of the south LSF at shallow depth.A combination of seismic,petrologic and geologic study at the south LSF leads to further understand the relationship between the fault-zone structure and rupture dynamics,and the amplification of ground shaking strength along the low-velocity fault zone due to its waveguide effect.

Fault zone structures of northern and southern portions of the main central fault generated by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake using fault zone trapped waves

The rupture process of the May 12, 2008 Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake was very complex. To study the rupture zones generated by this earthquake, four dense temporary seismic arrays across the two surface breaking traces of the main-shock were deployed in July and recorded a great amount of aftershocks. This paper focuses on the data interpretation of two arrays across the central main fault, the northern array line 1 and southern array line 3. The fault zone trapped waves recorded by the two arrays were used to study the structure of the central main fault and the difference between the northern and southern portions. The results show that the widths of the rupture zone are about 170-200 m and 200-230 m for northern and southern portions respectively. And the corresponding dip angles are 80° and 70°. The seismic velocity inside the fracture zone is about one half of the host rock. By comparison, the northern portion of the rupture zone is slightly narrower and steeper than the southern portion. Besides these differences, one more interesting and important difference is the positions of the rupture zone with respect to surface breaking traces. At the northern portion, the rupture zone is centered at the surface breaking trace, while at the southern portion it is not but is shifted to the northwest. This difference reflects the difference of rupture behaviors between two portions of the central main fault. The width of the rupture zone is smaller than that of MS.1 Kunlun earthquake though these two earthquakes have almost the same magnitudes. Multiple ruptures may be one factor to cause the narrower rupture zone.

Spatial-temporal characterization of the San Andreas Fault by fault-zone trapped waves at seismic experiment site,Parkfield,California

In this article,we review our previous research for spatial and temporal characterizations of the San Andreas Fault(SAF)at Parkfield,using the fault-zone trapped wave(FZTW)since the middle 1980s.Parkfield,California has been taken as a scientific seismic experimental site in the USA since the 1970s,and the SAF is the target fault to investigate earthquake physics and forecasting.More than ten types of field experiments(including seismic,geophysical,geochemical,geodetic and so on)have been carried out at this experimental site since then.In the fall of 2003,a pair of scientific wells were drilled at the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth(SAFOD)site;the main-hole(MH)passed a~200-m-wide low-velocity zone(LVZ)with highly fractured rocks of the SAF at a depth of~3.2 km below the wellhead on the ground level(Hickman et al.,2005;Zoback,2007;Lockner et al.,2011).Borehole seismographs were installed in the SAFOD MH in 2004,which were located within the LVZ of the fault at~3-km depth to probe the internal structure and physical properties of the SAF.On September 282004,a M6 earthquake occurred~15 km southeast of the town of Parkfield.The data recorded in the field experiments before and after the 2004 M6 earthquake provided a unique opportunity to monitor the co-mainshock damage and post-seismic heal of the SAF associated with this strong earthquake.This retrospective review of the results from a sequence of our previous experiments at the Parkfield SAF,California,will be valuable for other researchers who are carrying out seismic experiments at the active faults to develop the community seismic wave velocity models,the fault models and the earthquake forecasting models in global seismogenic regions.

Fault-zone trapped waves at Muyu in Wenchuan earthquake region

Trapped waves in the Qingchuan fault zone were observed at Muyu near the northeastern end of the fractured zone of the Wenchuan Ms8. 0 earthquake. The results indicate a fault-zone width of about 200 m and a great difference in physical property of the crust on different sides of the fault. The inferred location of crustal changes is consistent with land-form boundary on the surface

Fault zone trapped waves at Longmenshan fault belt

Trapped waves in different sections of Longmenshan fault belt were observed, and the results show the difference between the northern and southern portions of this fault belt. Guanzhuang and Leigu surveying lines are located at the northern portion of the fault belt, and the result indicates that the width of the rupture zone underground in this area is about 160 - 180 m. The center position of rupture zone underground corresponds to the surface breaking trace, and is equally distributed at the edges of the two fault walls. However, Hongkou surveying line is located at the southern portion of the fault belt, and the result indicates that the width of the rupture zone underground in this area is about 180 -200 m. The rupture zone underground is mainly distributed below fault scarp. The Wenchuan MsS. 0 earthquake and Lushan Ms7.0 earthquake both occurred at the Longmenshan fault belt. The results will provide information for the structure background of the two violent earthquakes.

Exploration of fault-zone trapped waves at Pingtong Town,in Wenchuan earthquake region

Pingtong Town is located on the fractured zone of the Wenchuan 8.0 earthquake, and is seriously damaged by the earthquake. Our observation line is centered at an earthquake exploration trench across the fractured zone in the NW-SE direction, and is about 400 m long. The results reveal trapped waves in the rup- tured fault zone of the earthquake, and indicate a great difference in physical property between the media inside and outside the fault zone. The predominant frequency of the fault-zone trapped waves is about 3 -4 Hz. The wave amplitudes are larger near the exploration trench. The width of the fault zone in the crust at this location is estimated to be 200 m. In some records, the waveforms and the arrival times of S waves are quite different between the two sides of the trench. The place of change coincides with the boundary of uplift at the surface.

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.

Prospects and Current Studies on the Fault Zone Seismic Waves

Deep structure and material properties of faults can be understood by observing and simulating the particular phase in a fault fracture zone. This paper reviews the development of fault-zone seismic waves in the seismological domain. The present research status of fault-zone head wave and trapped wave are summarized systematically. Based on recent progress in this field,the paper discusses the prospect on the utilization of seismic wave in fault structure research.

Characterization of Fault Zones by Analysis of Aftershock Waveform Data

Large property contrasts between materials in a fault zone and the surrounding rock are often produced by repeating earthquakes. Fault zones are usually characterized by fluid concentration, clay-rich fault gouge, increased porosity, and dilatant cracks. Thus, fault zones are thought to have reduced seismic velocities than the surrounding rocks. In this article, we first investigated the synthetic waveforms at a linear array across a vertical fault zone by using 3D finite difference simulation. Synthetic waveforms show that when sources are close to, inside, or below the fault zone, both arrival times and waveforms of P-and S-waves vary systematically across the fault zone due to reflections and transmissions from boundaries of the low-velocity fault zone. The arrival-time patterns and waveform characteristics can be used to determine the fault zone structure. Then, we applied this method to the aftershock waveform data of the 1992 Landers M7.4 and the 2008 Wenchuan （汶川） M8.0 earthquakes. Landers waveform data reveal a low-velocity zone with a width of approximately 270-370 m, and P-and S-wave velocity reductions relative to the host rock of approximately 35%-60%; Wenchuan waveform data suggest a low-velocity zone with a width of approximately 220-300 m, and P-and S-wave velocities drop relative to the host rock of approximately 55%.

昆仑山断层围陷波的分析和研究

对2001年昆仑山口西Ms8.1级地震产生的断层带,布设了沿断层和横跨断层的两条人工地震测线.通过对观测资料的定量分析和处理,求得了昆仑山断层带内部的细结构.分析工作包括从S波震相开始的振幅谱计算、速度频散计算、群速度测量,并用面波频散方法反演S波速度结构,用振幅谱比的方法估计断层带的Q值.野外试验结果表明,S波震相与围陷波组的时间差随炮点与台站之间距离增大而增加,在断层带外的测点上观测到与断层带相关的场地效应.最后得出昆仑山断层带宽度为250m、速度结构为断层内低速的分层结构和Q值为15(断层内)和30(围岩).虽然昆仑山口西地震的震级比美国加州Landers地震的震级(Ms7.6)大,且地震产生的破裂带长度长得多,但是这两个地震断层带的宽度却相差不大.

海原断裂带断层通道波观测与破碎带宽度

断层通道波是低速断层破碎带与高速围岩之间的边界相干多重反射形成的,其振幅和频率强烈依赖于断层的几何形态和物理性质,故能用于探测断裂带的内部结构。在宁夏海原西安州附近海原断裂带上,横跨1920年海原8.6级地震地表破裂带布设2条测线,接收测线之间人工爆破激发的断层通道波。每条测线由14台3分量数字地震仪组成,靠近破裂带台间距30～40m,远离破裂带台间距增大至230～250m。对测线1的台站接收到的一炮垂直道地震波数据进行了0.1～4.0Hz频段的滤波,结果表明在S波到时之后存在多组强振幅、低频率、长波链的断层通道波。由断层通道波揭示的海原断裂带在西安州附近的断裂破碎带宽度约为250m。

利用断层围陷波研究昆仑山口西8.1级地震破裂面

利用横跨地表破裂带的小点距的地震测线, 对2001年11月14日昆仑山口西8.1级地震进行了断层围陷波的观测实验. 经过数字滤波和频谱分析等技术, 由地震记录图中分离出了断层围陷波. 资料处理结果表明: ①无论是人工地震震源还是天然地震震源, 只要位于断层带内或紧靠断层带, 均能激发断层围陷波; ②断层围陷波的能量主要集中于断层带内, 其振幅随测点与断层带距离的增加而急剧衰减; ③断层围陷波的优势频率与断层的宽度及断层带内介质的速度有关, 断层带越宽, 或断层带内部介质速度越低, 则观测到的断层围陷波的优势频率越低; ④断层围陷波存在着频散现象; ⑤根据昆仑山口西地震测线断层围陷波的观测结果, 可推断该处破裂面宽度为300 m左右, 远远大于地表破裂带的宽度.

汶川地震断裂带东北端浅部结构的人工地震探测

结合汶川地震断裂带动态监测,利用快速响应探测系统,开展了断层带浅部结构人工地震探测.针对地震断裂带动态监测条件下的复杂波场和低信噪比的情况,在f-k波场分离的基础上,分别利用了折射波共中心点成像、面波速度反演、反射波叠加成像方法,进行了浅层断层和构造成像处理,并对处理结果进行了综合解释,给出了断裂带浅部断层分布和速度特征.为汶川地震龙门山断裂带东北端动态监测提供了基础结构信息,所发展的断裂带快速响应探测技术对于地震应急动态监测具有重要意义.

确定断裂带内部结构和物性参数的一种方法

上地壳的深大断裂在地下深处常常伴有几百米至几千米宽的低速带,它对油气的储集和运移或对储层的破环起着重要的控制作用。了解其三维形态、规模、倾向及物性参数(如波速和Q值等),对指导油气勘探有重要作用。断层带围陷波方法是精确确定断层几何形态和物性参数的一种有效方法。本文给出了确定断裂带内部物性参数的计算公式和步骤,开发了一套综合利用断层带围陷波和体波(P波和S波)确定断层几何形态和物性参数的软件,还给出了围陷波分析和计算的应用实例。研究及应用结果表明:通过谱分析方法,利用断层带围陷波能够初步确定断层的结构、随深度的延续特征及物性参数;借助于围陷波和体波的走时及波形资料,利用谱分析和射线追踪方法可进一步确定断层的三维几何形态和物性参数。

库赛湖-玛沁断裂带东段断层通道波的观测研究

断层通道波由地震波在断层带内低速介质和高速围岩之间的界面内侧多次反射相干而形成,只要震源和观测点在断层带内或附近,就可以观测到跟在S波后边的呈现长周期、大振幅的断层通道波。通过横跨库赛湖—玛沁断裂布设的小点距地震测线获得的断层通道波数据,利用有限差分正演模拟分析表明:库赛湖-玛沁断裂带东段(L2测线附近)的地表宽度为225 m,在150 m以下,断层带的宽度减小到175 m。

汶川地震区平通镇断层围陷波探测

平通镇位于汶川8.0级地震断层带上,地表破坏十分严重。该断层围陷波测线横跨断层,以地震探槽为大致中点,沿NW-SE方向两端延伸,测线长约400m。观测结果表明,在汶川8.0级地震的新破裂带中可以观测到断层围陷波,反映了断层带内外的介质在物理性质上有较大的差异。该测线记录的断层围陷波优势频率大约为3～4Hz。探槽附近的台站断层围陷波较强,初步推测,该地段地壳内断层的宽度有200多米。另外,从一些地震记录上可以看出,以探槽为界,两侧波形差异十分明显,S波到时错位也很明显。地壳内波形明显差异的部位与考察看到的地表隆起边界位置一致。

太行山断裂带南端的地震纵波速度结构分析

断裂构造的活动是地震的成因之一。断裂构造上的小震速度结构分布为人们准确提供了地下壳质结构模型,为断裂的活动性分析提供了依据。文中结合太行山南端的地震台网监测资料,利用小震P波走时数据,通过震源和速度结构的联合反演,确定了太行山断裂构造南端的三维速度结构模型。结果表明:太行山山前断裂带的西侧存在NNE向断层,速度结构平面分布显示低速区沿断裂带呈条带状分布,太行山隆起区沉积层厚度由8km左右逐渐减薄为2km左右,同时受西侧作用力的影响地壳厚度逐渐增厚。

利用断层围陷波资料研究汶川M_S8.0地震构造特征

利用汶川地震区不同地段的断层围陷波记录,分析了该地震断层的分段性特征。对断层北东段的关庄测线分析研究结果表明：地壳内破碎带的宽度大约160~180m,地下破碎带的中间与地表破裂的位置对应,并且地下破碎带在断层的两盘边缘较均匀地分布,反映了北东段的断层倾角较陡,近似直立断层。对断层南西段的虹口测线研究结果表明：地壳内破碎带的宽度大约180~200m,地下破碎带主要分布在地表断层陡坎上盘所对应的地壳内,反映了南西段断层倾角比北东段断层倾角小。本文的研究结果可以为汶川8.0级地震的构造背景研究提供依据。

汶川地震区断层围陷波探测

对汶川地震区开展震后科考和断层围陷波探测，本文主要介绍平通镇断层围陷波探测及初步结果。平通镇处在汶川8．0级地震断层带正上方，地表破坏十分严重。该断层围陷波测线横跨断层，以地震探槽为大致中点，沿NW—SE方向两端延伸，测线长约400m。这次观测结果表明，在汶川8．0级地震的新破裂带中可以观测到断层围陷波，反映了断层带内外的介质在物理性质上有较大的差异。该测线记录的断层围陷波优势频率大约为3—4Hz。探槽附近的台站断层围陷波较强，初步推测，该地段地壳内断层的宽度大约有200m。