Investigations of anomalous gravity signals prior to 71 large earthquakes based on a 4-years long superconducting gravimeter records

Using continuous 1-Hz sampling time-series recorded by a SC （superconducting gravimeter） at Hsinchu station, Taiwan of China, we investigate the anomalous gravity signals prior to 71 large earthquakes with moment magnitude larger than 7.0 （Mw7.0） occurred between 1 Jan 2008 and 31 Dec 2011. We firstly evaluate the noise level of the SC records at Hsinchu （HS） station in microseismic bands from 0.05 Hz to 0.1 Hz by computing the PSD （power spectral density） of seismically quiet days selected based on the RMS of records. Based on the analysis of the noise level and the spectral features of the seismically quiet SC records at I-IS station, we detect ACSs （anomalous gravity signals） prior to large earthquakes. We apply HHT （Hilbert-Huang transformation） to establish the TFEP （time-frequency-energy paradigms） and MS （marginal spectra） of the SC data before the large earthquakes, and the characteristics of TFEP and MS of the SCs data during the typhoon event are also analyzed. By comparing the spectral characteristics of the SCs data during seismically quiet period, three types of ACSs are found; and the occurrence rate of ACSs before 71 earthquakes is given in terms of the cases with different epicenter distance and different focal depth. The statistical results show that 56.3% of all the examined large earthquakes were preceded by AGSs; and if we constrain the epicenter distance to be smaller than 3500 km and focal depth less than 300 kin, 75.3% of the examined large earthquakes can be associated with the ACSs. Especially, we note that for all the large earthquakes occurred in the Eurasian plate in recent four years, the precursory AGSs can always be found in the SC data recorded at HS station. Our investigations suggest that the AGSs prior to large earthquakes may be related to focal depth, epicentre distance and location.

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.

Spatial distribution characteristics and mechanism of nonhydrological time-variable gravity in China's Mainland

The purpose of this study is to explore nonhydrological mass transfer in China's Mainland.For this purpose,gravity recovery and climate experiment(GRACE)data were obtained to study the spatial distribution of time variant gravity signals in China's Mainland.Then,from auxiliary hydrological data processed according to the current hydrological model,a new more comprehensive hydrological model of China's Mainland was constructed.Finally,the time variant signals of this new hydrological model were removed from the time variant gravity field computed from GRACE data,thus obtaining a description of the nonhydrological mass transfer of China's Mainland.The physical sources and mechanisms of the resulting mass transfer are then discussed.The improved,more realistic,hydrological model used here was created by selecting the hydrological components with the best correlations in existing hydrological models,by use of correlation calculation,analysis,and comparison.This improved model includes water in soils and deeper strata,in the vegetation canopy,in lakes,snow,and glaciers,and in other water components(mainly reservoir storage,swamps,and rivers).The spatial distribution of the transfer signals due to nonhydrological mass in China's Mainland was obtained by subtracting the combined hydrological model from the GRACE time-variable gravity field.The results show that the nonhydrological signals in China's Mainland collected in GRACE data were mainly positive signals,and were distributed in the Bohai Rim and the northern and eastern parts of the Tibetan Plateau.The above nonhydrological mass transfer signals have been studied further and are discussed.The results show that the nonhydrological mass migration signals in the Bohai Rim region originate primarily from sea level change and marine sediment accumulation.The mass accumulation from Indian plate collision in the Tibetan Plateau appears to be the main reason for the increase in the residual gravity field in that region.

Evaluation of global ocean tide models based on tidal gravity observations in China

Previous studies show that the calculated loading effects from global ocean tide models do not match actual measurements of gravity attraction and loading effects in Southeast Asia.In this paper,taking advantage of a unique network of gravity tidal stations all over the Chinese mainland,we compare the observed and modeled tidal loading effects on the basis of the most recent global ocean tide models.The results show that the average efficiencies of the ocean tidal loading correction for O_(1),K_(1),M_(2) are 77%,7 s3%and 59%,respectively.The loading correction efficiencies using recent ocean tidal models are better than the 40 years old Schwiderskis model at coastal stations,but relative worse at stations far from ocean.

Anomalous signals before 2011 Tohoku-oki Mw9.1 earthquake,detected by superconducting gravimeters and broadband seismometers

The 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake,occurred on 11 March,2011,is a great earthquake with a seismic magnitude Mw9. 1,before which an Mw7. 5 earthquake occurred. Focusing on this great earthquake event,we applied Hilbert-Huang transform（ HHT） analysis method to the one-second interval records at seven superconducting gravimeter（ SG） stations and seven broadband seismic（ BS） stations to carry out spectrum analysis and compute the energy-frequency-time distribution. Tidal effects are removed from SG data by T-soft software before the data series are transformed by HHT method. Based on HHT spectra and the marginal spectra from the records at selected seven SG stations and seven BS stations we found anomalous signals in terms of energy. The dominant frequencies of the anomalous signals are respectively about 0. 13 Hz in SG records and 0. 2 Hz in seismic data,and the anomalous signals occurred one week or two to three days prior to the event. Taking into account that in this period no typhoon event occurred,we may conclude that these anomalous signals might be related to the great earthquake event.