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 o...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.展开更多
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.I...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.展开更多
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 dif...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展开更多
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...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.展开更多
The great M_S8.0 Wenchuan earthquake on May 12,2008 was generated by abrupt faulting in the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault along the Longmenshan fault zone. The earthquake not only produced surface ruptures along the Yingxiu-...The great M_S8.0 Wenchuan earthquake on May 12,2008 was generated by abrupt faulting in the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault along the Longmenshan fault zone. The earthquake not only produced surface ruptures along the Yingxiu-Beichuan and Guanxian-Jiangyou faults,but also surface ruptures,arching of highway pavement,sand-boils and waterspouts in various degrees in areas such as Shifang and Mianzhu on the Chengdu Plain. To understand the shallow geological structures under the surface rupture zone,a 6350m long high-resolution shallow seismic reflection profile in near-EW direction was performed. This profile is located at Shigu town,Shifang city,where a suspected earthquake surface rupture zone was discovered. In this study,a group interval of 3m,shotpoint interval of 18m,and a 300-channel 25-fold observation system were used. In consideration of both near-surface reflections and dipping interface imaging,we adopted the split-spread geometry and asymmetrical zero-offset receiving technique. To better suppress random-noise and raise the signal-to-noise ratio of seismic data,30 times vertical stacking of vibrator signals was made for each common-shot gather after correlation of individual records. By using the above work method and spread geometry,we obtained high-resolution images of structures in the depth range of 15m～800m after data processing. The result shows the existence of buried thrust faults thrusting to the plain area and back-thrust faults under the surface rupture zone. It also shows that the activity of the buried thrust faults may be the main cause for folding and deformation in near-surface strata and coseismic surface rupturing.展开更多
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 ...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.展开更多
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 h...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.展开更多
基金sponsored by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.40674043, 90814001)China Earthquake Admini-stration (Wenchuan Earthquake Scientific Survey 03-05)The contribution No. of this paper is RCEG 0905 of Geophysical Prospecting Center,China Earthquake Administration
文摘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.
基金supported by the "Wenchuan Earthquake Fault Scientific Drilling" of the National Science Foundation of China
文摘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.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation ofChina(41074069,40974053,90814001)RRCEG201103
文摘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
基金supported by the Natural Science Fundation of China(40774043,40674043,90814001)
文摘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.
基金Special R&D Project of Earthquake Trade ( No.200808041)the Project of Emergency Investigation of M_S8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake of CEA
文摘The great M_S8.0 Wenchuan earthquake on May 12,2008 was generated by abrupt faulting in the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault along the Longmenshan fault zone. The earthquake not only produced surface ruptures along the Yingxiu-Beichuan and Guanxian-Jiangyou faults,but also surface ruptures,arching of highway pavement,sand-boils and waterspouts in various degrees in areas such as Shifang and Mianzhu on the Chengdu Plain. To understand the shallow geological structures under the surface rupture zone,a 6350m long high-resolution shallow seismic reflection profile in near-EW direction was performed. This profile is located at Shigu town,Shifang city,where a suspected earthquake surface rupture zone was discovered. In this study,a group interval of 3m,shotpoint interval of 18m,and a 300-channel 25-fold observation system were used. In consideration of both near-surface reflections and dipping interface imaging,we adopted the split-spread geometry and asymmetrical zero-offset receiving technique. To better suppress random-noise and raise the signal-to-noise ratio of seismic data,30 times vertical stacking of vibrator signals was made for each common-shot gather after correlation of individual records. By using the above work method and spread geometry,we obtained high-resolution images of structures in the depth range of 15m～800m after data processing. The result shows the existence of buried thrust faults thrusting to the plain area and back-thrust faults under the surface rupture zone. It also shows that the activity of the buried thrust faults may be the main cause for folding and deformation in near-surface strata and coseismic surface rupturing.
基金Joint Earthquake Science Foundation of China (201001).
文摘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.
文摘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.
