Stress triggering of the Lushan M7. 0 earthquake by the Wenchuan Ms8. 0 earthquake

The Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake and the Lushan M7.0 earthquake occurred in the north and south segments of the Longmenshan nappe tectonic belt, respectively. Based on the focal mechanism and finite fault model of the Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake, we calculated the coulomb failure stress change. The inverted coulomb stress changes based on the Nishimura and Chenji models both show that the Lushan MT. 0 earth- quake occurred in the increased area of coulomb failure stress induced by the Wenchuan Ms8. 0 earthquake. The coulomb failure stress increased by approximately 0. 135 - 0. 152 bar in the source of the Lushan M7.0 earthquake, which is far more than the stress triggering threshold. Therefore, the Lushan M7.0 earthquake was most likely triggered by the coulomb failure stress change.

Electrical triggering of earthquakes:results of laboratory experiments at spring-block models

Recently published results of field and laboratory experiments on the seismic/acoustic response to injection of direct current （DC） pulses into the Earth crust or stressed rock samples raised a question on a possibility of electrical earthquake triggering. A physical mechanism of the considered phenomenon is not clear yet in view of the very low current density （10-7-10-s A/m^2） generated by the pulsed power systems at the epicenter depth （5-10 km） of local earthquakes occurred just after the current injection. The paper describes results of laboratory ＂earthquake＂ triggering by DC pulses under conditions of a spring-block model simulated the seismogenic fault. It is experimentally shown that the electric triggering of the laboratory ＂earthquake＂ （sharp slip of a movable block of the spring-block system） is possible only within a range of subcritical state of the system, when the shear stress between the movable and fixed blocks obtains 0.98-0.99 of its critical value. The threshold of electric triggering action is about 20 A/m^2 that is 7-8 orders of magnitude higher than estimated electric current density for Bishkek test site （Northern Tien Shan, Kirghizia） where the seismic response to the man-made electric action was observed. In this connection, the electric triggering phenomena may be explained by contraction of electric current in the narrow conductive areas of the faults and the corresponding increase in current density or by involving the secondary triggering mechanisms like electromagnetic stimulation of conductive fluid migration into the fault area resulted in decrease in the fault strength properties.

Review of the Effectiveness of Vehicle Activated Signs

This paper reviews the effectiveness of vehicle activated signs. Vehicle activated signs are being reportedly used in recent years to display dynamic information to road users on an individual basis in order to give a warning or inform about a specific event. Vehicle activated signs are triggered individually by vehicles when a certain criteria is met. An example of such criteria is to trigger a speed limit sign when the driver exceeds a pre-set threshold speed. The preset threshold is usually set to a constant value which is often equal, or relative, to the speed limit on a particular road segment. This review examines in detail the basis for the configuration of the existing sign types in previous studies and explores the relation between the configuration of the sign and their impact on driver behavior and sign efficiency. Most of previous studies show that these signs have significant impact on driver behavior, traffic safety and traffic efficincy. In most cases the signs deployed have yielded reductions in mean speeds, in speed variation and in longer head-ways. However most experiments reported within the area were performed with the signs set to a certain static configuration within applicable conditions. Since some of the aforementioned factors are dynamic in nature, it is felt that the configurations of these signs were thus not carefully considered by previous researchers and there is no clear statement in the previous studies describing the relationship between the trigger value and its consequences under different conditions. Bearing in mind that different designs of vehicle activated signs can give a different impact under certain conditions of road, traffic and weather conditions the current work suggests that variable speed thresholds should be considered instead.