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.

Recent advances in imaging crustal fault zones: a review

Crustal faults usually have a fault core and surrounding regions of brittle damage, forming a low-velocity zone （LVZ） in the immediate vicinity of the main slip interface. The LVZ may amplify ground motion, influence rupture propagation, and hold important information of earthquake physics. A number of geophysical and geodetic methods have been developed to derive high-resolution structure of the LVZ. Here, I review a few recent approaches, including ambient noise cross-correlation on dense across-fault arrays and GPS recordings of fault-zone trapped waves. Despite the past efforts, many questions concerning the LVZ structure remain unclear, such as the depth extent of the LVZ. High-quality data from larger and denser arrays and new seismic imaging technique using larger portion of recorded waveforms, which are currently under active development, may be able to better resolve the LVZ structure. In addition, effects of the alongstrike segmentation and gradational velocity changes across the boundaries between the LVZ and the host rock on rupture propagation should be investigated by conducting comprehensive numerical experiments. Furthermore, high-quality active sources such as recently developed large-volume airgun arrays provide a powerful tool to continuously monitor temporal changes of fault-zone properties, and thus can advance our understanding of fault zone evolution.

Internal structures and high-velocity frictional properties of Longmenshan fault zone at Shenxigou activated during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

This paper reports internal structures of a wide fault zone at Shenxigou,Dujiangyan,Sichuan province,China,and high-velocity frictional properties of the fault gouge collected near the coseismic slip zone during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.Vertical offset and horizontal displacement at the trench site were 2.8 m（NW side up）and 4.8 m（right-lateral）,respectively.The fault zone formed in Triassic sandstone,siltstone,and shale about 500 m away from the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault,a major fault in the Longmenshan fault system.A trench survey across the coseismic fault,and observations of outcrops and drill cores down to a depth of 57 m revealed that the fault zone consists of fault gouge and fault breccia of about0.5 and 250-300 m in widths,respectively,and that the fault strikes N62°E and dips 68° to NW.Quaternary conglomerates were recovered beneath the fault in the drilling,so that the fault moved at least 55 m along the coseismic slip zone,experiencing about 18 events of similar sizes.The fault core is composed of grayish gouge（GG） and blackish gouge（BG） with very complex slip-zone structures.BG contains low-crystalline graphite of about 30 %.High-velocity friction experiments were conducted at normal stresses of 0.6-2.1 MPa and slip rates of 0.1-2.1 m/s.Both GG and BG exhibit dramatic slip weakening at constant high slip rates that can be described as an exponential decay from peak friction coefficient lpto steadystate friction coefficient lssover a slip-weakening distance Dc.Deformation of GG and BG is characterized by overlapped slip-zone structures and development of sharp slickenside surfaces,respectively.Comparison of our data with those reported for other outcrops indicates that the high-velocity frictional properties of the Longmenshan fault zones are quite uniform and the high-velocity weakening must have promoted dynamic rupture propagation during the Wenchuan earthquake.

Characteristics of fault zones and their control on remaining oil distribution at the fault edge: a case study from the northern Xingshugang Anticline in the Daqing Oilfield, China

Most major oil zones in the Daqing Oilfield have reached a later,high water cut stage,but oil recovery is still only approximately 35%,and 50%of reserves remain to be recovered.The remaining oil is primarily distributed at the edge of faults,in poor sand bodies,and in insufficiently injected and produced areas.Therefore,the edge of faults is a major target for remaining oil enrichment and potential tapping.Based on the dynamic change of production from development wells determined by the injection-recovery relationship at the edge of faults,we analyzed the control of structural features of faults on remaining oil enrichment at the edge.Our results show that the macroscopic structural features and their geometric relationship with sand bodies controlled remaining oil enrichment zones like the edges of NNE-striking faults,the footwalls of antithetic faults,the hard linkage segments（two faults had linked together with each other to form a bigger through-going fault）,the tips of faults,and the oblique anticlines of soft linkages.Fault edges formed two types of forward microamplitude structures：（1） the tilted uplift of footwalls controlled by inverse fault sections and（2） the hanging-wall horizontal anticlines controlled by synthetic fault points.The remaining oil distribution was controlled by microamplitude structures.Consequently,such zones as the tilted uplift of the footwall of the NNW-striking antithetic faults with a fault throw larger than 40 m,the hard linkage segments,the tips of faults,and the oblique anticlines of soft linkage were favorable for tapping the remaining oil potential.Multi-target directional drilling was used for remaining oil development at fault edges.Reasonable fault spacing was determined on the basis of fault combinations and width of the shattered zone.Well core and log data revealed that the width of the shattered zone on the side of the fault core was less than 15 m in general;therefore,the distance from a fault to the development target should be larger than 15 m.Vertically segmented growth faults should take the separation of the lateral overlap of faults into account.Therefore,the safe distance of remaining oil well deployment at the fault edge should be larger than the sum of the width of shattered zone in faults and the separation of growth faults by vertical segmentation.

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%.