Abnormal Phenomena of Volume Strain before Large Earthquakes

This paper studies the imminent anomalies observed by the Sacks volume strainmeter in Erzhangying station and Tiantanghe station before 80 earthquakes with M S≥7. 0 which took place from January 2011 to April 2014 all over the world. Then,preconditions for anomaly identification are put forward for complex earthquake cases. Statistical results show that volume strain observation has a better earthquake reflecting ability for earthquakes with magnitudes larger than 7. 0 and epicentral distance within 8000 km. In addition,these results also reflect that the volume strain observation can better reflect precursory anomalies of such earthquakes. Based on categorization and description of those anomalies,we divide the anomalies into three types,that is,earth tide distortion type,abrupt change type and slow earthquake type. Furthermore,the paper makes a statistical analysis of these types and preliminarily discusses their mechanical properties as well. According to research,volume strain anomaly has an indicative significance to future strong earthquakes in the world.

Characteristics of Late-Quaternary Activity and Seismic Risk of the Northeastern Section of the Longmenshan Fault Zone

Following the 2008 Wenchuan M8 earthquake,the seismic risk of the northeastern section of the Longmenshan fault zone and the adjacent Hanzhong basin has become an issue that receives much concern.It is facing,however,the problem of a lack of sufficient data because of little previous work in these regions.The northeastern section of the Longmenshan fault zone includes three major faults：the Qingchuan fault,Chaba-Lin＇ansi fault,and Liangshan south margin fault,with the Hanzhong basin at the northern end.This paper presents investigations of the geometry,motion nature,and activity ages of these three faults,and reveals that they are strike slip with normal faulting,with latest activity in the Late Pleistocene.It implies that this section of the Longmenshan fault zone has been in an extensional setting,probably associated with the influence of the Hanzhong basin.Through analysis of the tectonic relationship between the Longmenshan fault zone and the Hanzhong basin,this work verifies that the Qingchuan fault played an important role in the evolution of the Hanzhong basin,and further studies the evolution model of this basin.Finally,with consideration of the tectonic setting of the Longmenshan fault zone and the Hanzhong basin as well as seismicity of surrounding areas,this work suggests that this region has no tectonic conditions for great earthquakes and only potential strong events in the future.

Heterogeneous strain regime in the eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau and its tectonic implications

The eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau is one of the most active zones of tectonic deformation and seismicity in China. To monitor strain buildup and benefit seismic risk assessment, we constructed 14 survey-mode global position system （GPS） stations throughout the northwest of Longmenshan fault. A new GPS field over 1999-2011 is derived from measurements of the newly built and pre-existing stations in this region. Sequentially, two strain rate fields, one preceding and the other following the 2008 MwT.9 Wenchuan earthquake, are obtained using the Gausian weighting approach. Strain field over 1999-2007 shows distinct strain partitioning prior to the 2008 MwT.9 Wenchuan earthquake, with compression spreading over around Longmenshan area. Strain fieldderived from the two measurements in 2009 and 2011 shows that the area around Longmenshan continues to be under striking compression, as the pattern preceding the Wenchuan earthquake, implying a causative factor of the sequent of 2013 Mw6.7 Lushan earthquake. Our GPSderived dilatation shows that both the Wenchuan and Lushan earthquakes occurred within the domain of pro- nounced contraction. The GPS velocities demonstrate that the Longriba fault underwent slight motion with the faultnormal and -parallel rates at 1.0 -4- 2.5 mm and 0.3 4-2.2 mm/a; the Longmenshan fault displayed slow activity, with a fault-normal rate at 0.8 ± 2.5 mm/a, and a fault-parallel rate at 1.8 4- 1.7 mm/a. Longriba fault is on a par with Longmenshan fault in strain partitioning to accommodate the southeastward motion of eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Integrated analysis of principal strain tensors, mean principal stress, and fast directions of mantle anisotropy shows that west of Sichuan is characterized as mechanically strong crust-mantle coupling.

The structure and elasticity of phase B silicates under high pressure by first principles simulation

The structures and elasticities of phase B silicates with different water and iron（Fe） content are obtained by firstprinciples simulation to understand the effects of water and Fe on their properties under high pressure.The lattice constants a and b decrease with increasing water content.On the contrary,c increases with increasing water content.On the other hand,the b and c decrease with increasing Fe content while a increases with increasing Fe content.The decrease of M（metal）–O octahedral volume is greater than the decrease of SiO polyhedral volume over the same pressure range.The density,bulk modulus and shear modulus of phase B increase with increasing Fe content and decrease with increasing water content.The compressional wave velocity（Vp） and shear wave velocity（Vs） of phase B decrease with increasing water and Fe content.The comparisons of density and wave velocity between phase B silicate and the Earth typical structure provide the evidence for understanding the formation of the X-discontinuity zone of the mantle.

First-principles simulation of Raman spectra and structural properties of quartz up to 5 GPa

The crystal structure and Raman spectra of quartz are calculated by using first-principles method in a pressure range from 0 to 5 GPa. The results show that the lattice constants（a, c, and V） decrease with increasing pressure and the a-axis is more compressible than the c axis. The Si–O bond distance decreases with increasing pressure, which is in contrast to experimental results reported by Hazen et al. [Hazen R M, Finger L W, Hemley R J and Mao H K 1989 Solid State Communications 725 507–511], and Glinnemann et al. [Glinnemann J, King H E Jr, Schulz H, Hahn T, La Placa S J and Dacol F 1992 Z. Kristallogr. 198 177–212]. The most striking changes are of inter-tetrahedral O–O distances and Si–O–Si angles. The volume of the SiO4^4- tetrahedron decreased by 0.9%（from 0 to 5 GPa）, which suggests that it is relatively rigid.Vibrational models of the quartz modes are identified by visualizing the associated atomic motions. Raman vibrations are mainly controlled by the deformation of the Si O4-4tetrahedron and the changes in the Si–O–Si bonds. Vibrational directions and intensities of atoms in all Raman modes just show little deviations when pressure increases from 0 to 5 GPa.The pressure derivatives（dνi/d P） of the 12 Raman frequencies are obtained at 0 GPa–5 GPa. The calculated results show that first-principles methods can well describe the high-pressure structural properties and Raman spectra of quartz. The combination of first-principles simulations of the Raman frequencies of minerals and Raman spectroscopy experiments is a useful tool for exploring the stress conditions within the Earth.

Structural,elastic,and vibrational properties of phase H:A first-principles simulation

Phase H（MgSiO4H2）, one of the dense hydrous magnesium silicates（DHMSs）, is supposed to be vital to transporting water into the lower mantle. Here the crystal structure, elasticity and Raman vibrational properties of the two possible structures of phase H with Pm and P2/m symmetry under high pressures are evaluated by first-principles simulations. The cell parameters, elastic and Raman vibrational properties of the Pm symmetry become the same as the P2/m symmetry at～ 30 GPa. The symmetrization of hydrogen bonds of the Pm symmetry at ～ 30 GPa results in this structural transformation from Pm to P2/m. Seismic wave velocities of phase H are calculated in a range from 0 GPa to 100 GPa and the results testify the existence and stability of phase H in the lower mantle. The azimuthal anisotropies for phase H are A（P0）= 14.7%,A（S0）= 21.2%（P2/m symmetry） and A（P0）= 16.4%, A（S0）= 27.1%（Pm symmetry） at 0 GPa, and increase to A（P30）= 17.9%,A（S30）= 40.0%（P2/m symmetry） and A（P30）= 19.2%, A（S30）= 37.8%（Pm symmetry） at 30 GPa. The maximum V P direction for phase H is [101] and the minimum direction is [110]. The anisotropic results of seismic wave velocities imply that phase H might be a source of seismic anisotropy in the lower mantle. Furthermore, Raman vibrational modes are analyzed to figure out the effect of symmetrization of hydrogen bonds on Raman vibrational pattern and the dependence of Raman spectrum on pressure. Our results may lead to an in-depth understanding of the stability of phase H in the mantle.

Elastic properties of CaCO3 high pressure phases from first principles

Elastic properties of three high pressure polymorphs of CaCO_3 are investigated based on first principles calculations.The calculations are conducted at 0 GPa–40 GPa for aragonite, 40 GPa–65 GPa for post-aragonite, and 65 GPa–150 GPa for the P2_1/c-h-CaCO_3 structure, respectively. By fitting the third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state（EOS）, the values of bulk modulus K_0 and pressure derivative K~＇_0 are 66.09 GPa and 4.64 for aragonite, 81.93 GPa and 4.49 for post-aragonite, and 56.55 GPa and 5.40 for P2_1/c-h-CaCO_3, respectively, which are in good agreement with previous experimental and theoretical data. Elastic constants, wave velocities, and wave velocity anisotropies of the three highpressure CaCO_3 phases are obtained. Post-aragonite exhibits 25.90%–32.10% V_P anisotropy and 74.34%–104.30% V_S splitting anisotropy, and P2_1/c-h-CaCO_3 shows 22.30%–25.40% V_Panisotropy and 42.81%–48.00% V_S splitting anisotropy in the calculated pressure range. Compared with major minerals of the lower mantle, CaCO_3 high pressure polymorphs have low isotropic wave velocity and high wave velocity anisotropies. These results are important for understanding the deep carbon cycle and seismic wave velocity structure in the lower mantle.

SEM Numerical Simulation of Vertical and Inclined Fault Zone Trapped Waves and Comparison of Their Wave Fields

Fault zone trapped waves( F ZTWs) m ainly travel along the fractured fault zone( F Z)which is of low velocity and high attenuation. FZTWs often carry significant information about a fault  s internal structure,so it is important to understand their wave field characteristics for FZ structure inversion. Most previous simulations are based on vertical faults,while in this paper we implement the FZTW simulations on vertical or inclined faults and compare their wave fields in both time and frequency domains. The results show that the existence of fault zone and inclined angle of fault can significantly influence the features of waves near faults. In amplitude,a fault zone can generate a larger amplitude of waves. The velocity contrast between two walls of fault may lead to amplification of amplitudes in the low velocity fault wall. In frequency,a fault zone tends to influence the waves in the low frequency range. In a pattern of particle polarization of FZTWs,it tends to be single direction for vertical faults but fork to multiple directions for inclined faults,which might provide a new way to study the fault zone with FZTWs. These conclusions may be valuable for FZ structure inversion,and will enhance the knowledge on near-fault strong ground motions.

Temporal and Spatial Images of Ambient Noise Intensity in the Chinese Mainland

Successive waveforms of the vertical component recorded by 888 broadband seismic stations in the China Seismography Network from January,2010 to June,2011 are used to investigate the temporal and spatial distribution of ambient noise intensity,and the images of ambient noise intensity at the period of 10 s in the Chinese Mainland are obtained. The temporal variation of ambient noise intensity shows some seasonal and periodic characteristics. The maximum ambient noise intensity occurred from January,2011 to March,2011. The spatial distribution images of ambient noise intensity show obvious zoning features,which doesnt correlate with surface geology,suggesting that the noise field is stronger than the site factors. The strength in southeastern coastal areas reaches its maximum and generally decreases toward to inland areas,and arrives at the minimum in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The zonal intensity distribution is probably correlated with ocean tides from the Philippine Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It also shows that the influence from the Indian Ocean seems small. However, the ambient noise intensity increases to a certain degree in the Xinjiang area,indicating that the main source of ambient noise in the western area of the Chinese Mainland is not derived from the East and South China Sea,but rather from the deep interior of the Eurasian continent. The ambient noise intensity obtained in this study can supply reference for seismology research based on ambient noise correlation. Moreover,it can supply basic data for attenuation research based on ambient noise, and thus help achieve the object of retrieving the attenuation of Rayleigh waves from ambient noise.

Motion and Deformation State of the Tancheng-Lujiang Fault Zone Derived from GPS Data

Based on the rotation in the entire block and homogeneous strain model ( REHSM) ,we firstly analyze the motion and deformation features across the southern part of Tancheng- Lujiang fault zone from GPS velocity fields in period of 1999 ～ 2001,2001 ～ 2004,2004 ～ 2007 and 2007 ～ 2009. The results show a dextral strike-slip feature in the Weifang- Tancheng segment and sinistral strike-slip in the Tancheng-Lujiang segment. And the deformation perpendicular to the Tancheng-Lujiang fault zone alternates between tension and compression in different time-intervals. Then we resolve the relative rigid motion of blocks around Bohai Bay to the Circum-Bohai Sea area by deducting the entire rigid motion of the Circum-Bohai Sea area. We find that the Yanshan-Bohai seismic belt split this area into two parts,the northern part moving NW,and the other SE.

The Analysis of Coseismic Response of 4-component Borehole Strainmeters with High Sampling Rate

In this paper,we adopt the observation data of two 10Hz YRY 4-component borehole strainmeters and one 100Hz FBS-3B broadband seismometer to study the responses of their observations to the April 11,2012 MW8. 6 earthquake off the west coast of northern Sumatra,and compare the response characteristics during the coseismic stage after preprocessing of the data. We analyze the spectrum's dynamic process during the coseismic stage with the S transformation method,and discuss the spectrum's details in different seismic phases. The S transformation results of the data of seismometer and borehole strainmeter at the same station show that the coseismic spectrum evolution of the two kinds of observation are similar to each other and can be cross-referenced in indentifying the wave signals,which proves that the borehole strainmeter measurements at high frequencies are reliable.

Preliminary Study on Simulation of Global Seismic Activities with Global Strain Rate

The relationship between the strain rate field observed by GPS and global distribution of strong earthquakes is analyzed in this work. How do we recognize the characteristics of global seismic activities with space observation technology? A preliminary model of Cellular Automata that could simulate the global seismic activities both in time and space has been established based on the results of global strain rate field provided by the GSRM Program. The grid of the model is evenly divided,which is consistent with that of GSRM.The status of each cell is its strain state,and is adjusted according to the evolution rules.Maximum shear strain criterion is adopted in the evolution of the Cellular Automata. The threshold for cells in surface expansion is 80% of that for those in compression. The preliminary model could in general simulate the main characteristics of the distribution of the global seismic activities. It could exhibit in general the global distribution of weak and active tectonic activities. Although the preliminary Cellular Automata model needs to be improved in many aspects,the result suggests the possibility of modeling the general features of rather complicated global seismic activities based on the strain rates obtained by GPS and other observations.

Preliminary results pertaining to coseismic displacement and preseismic strain accumulation of the Lushan M_S7.0 earthquake,as reflected by GPS surveying

This paper presents the coseismic displacement and preseismic deformation fields of the Lushan MS7.0 earthquake that occurred on April 20,2013.The results are based on GPS observations along the Longmenshan fault and within its vicinity.The coseismic displacement and preseismic GPS results indicate that in the strain release of this earthquake,the thrust rupture is dominant and the laevorotation movement is secondary.Furthermore,we infer that any possible the rupture does not reach the earth’s surface,and the seismogenic fault is most likely one fault to the east of the Guanxian-Anxian fault.Some detailed results are obtainable.(1)The southern segment of the Longmenshan fault is locked preceding the Lushan earthquake.After the Wenchuan earthquake,the strain accumulation rate in the southeast direction accelerates in the epicenter of the Lushan earthquake,and the angle between the principal compressional strain and the seismogenic fault indicates that a sinistral deformation background in the direction of the seismogenic fault precedes the Lushan earthquake.Therefore,it is evident that the Wenchuan MS8.0 earthquake accelerated the pregnancy of the Lushan earthquake.(2)The coseismic displacements reflected by GPS data are mainly located in a region that is 230 km(NW direction)×100 km(SW direction),and coseismic displacements larger than 10 mm lie predominantly in a100-km region(NW direction).(3)On a large scale,the coseismic displacement shows thrust characteristics,but the associated values are remarkably small in the near field(within 70 km)of the earthquake fault.Meanwhile,the thrust movement in this70-km region does not correspond with the attenuation characteristics of the strain release,indicating that the rupture of this earthquake does not reach the earth’s surface.(4)The laevorotation movements are remarkable in the 50-km region,which is located in the hanging wall that is close to the earthquake fault,and the corresponding values in this case correlate with the attenuation characteristics of the strain release.

The plate contact geometry investigation based on earthquake source parameters at the Burma arc subduction zone

Accurately characterizing the three-dimensional geometric contacts between the crust of the Chinese mainland and adjacent regions is important for understanding the dynamics of this part of Asia from the viewpoint of global plate systems.In this paper,a method is introduced to investigate the geometric contacts between the Eurasian and Indian plates at the Burma arc subduction zone using earthquake source parameters based on the Slab1.0 model of Hayes et al.(2009,2010).The distribution of earthquake focus depths positioned in 166 sections along the Burma Arc subduction zone boundary has been investigated. Linear plane fitting and curved surface fitting has been performed on each section.Three-dimensional geometric contacts and the extent of subduction are defined quantitatively.Finally,the focal depth distribution is outlined for six typical sections along the Burma arc subduction zone,combining focal mechanisms with background knowledge of geologic structure.Possible dynamic interaction patterns are presented and discussed.This paper provides an elementary method for studying the geometric contact of the Chinese mainland crust with adjacent plates and serves as a global reference for dynamic interactions between plates and related geodynamic investigations.

Global crustal movement and tectonic plate boundary deformation constrained by the ITRF2008

On the basis of the newly released International Terrestrial Reference Frame（ITRF2008） by the International Earth Rotation Service （IERS）, a new global plate model ITRF2008 plate for the major plates is established. This ITRF2008-derived model is analyzed in comparison with NNR-NUVEL1A model, which is mainly based on geological and geophysical data. The Eurasia and Paeifi6 plates display obvious differences in terms of the velocity fields derived from the two plate motion models. Plate acceleration is also introduced to characterize the differences of the two velocity fields which obtained from ITRF2008-plate and NNR-NUVEL1A models for major individual plates. The results show that the Africa, South America and Eurasia plates are undergoing acceleration, while the North America and Australia plates are in the state of deceleration motion

Effect of Temperature upon Fe-Mg Composition of Garnet in Pelitic System

Garnet is an essential phase in a wide range of metamorphic grades. Ratios of Fe and Mg concentrations in garnet have been widely used as a geothermometer for the crystallization, cooling rate and tectonic uplift rate because garnets in natural rocks always show a variety of Fe-Mg compositional partition. Normally, Fe-Mg concentrations of natural garnets vary widely and the Fe-Mg exchange reactions usually occur in a complex chemical system. Effect of pressure and temperature on Fe-Mg compositions of garnet in natural pelitic system was studied experimentally at temperatures of 700 to 780 ℃ and pressures from 21 to 29.4 kbar. The concentrations of FeO and MgO of garnet in the run products showed a linear relation with experimental temperatures. The result provided experimental evidence of Fe-Mg partition trend with temperature in a complex natural rock and therefore improved our understanding in the determinations of metamorphic temperature calculated by garnet geothermometer. Although the accurate geological application of our results requires the knowledge of the effects of other components upon [D(Mg)] and [D(Fe)] which is largely unknown currently, the data provided in this study are useful to build the relation between FeO-MgO contents and temperature, which is useful in the metamorphic temperatures determine of rocks with pelitic composition.

High-resolution data acquisition technique in broadband seismic observation systems

The dynamic range of the currently most widely used 24-bit seismic data acquisition devices is 10–20 d B lower than that of broadband seismometers, and this can affect the completeness of seismic waveform recordings under certain conditions. However, this problem is not easy to solve because of the lack of analog to digital converter(ADC) chips with more than 24 bits in the market. In this paper, we propose a method in which an adder, an integrator, a digital to analog converter chip, a field-programmable gate array, and an existing low-resolution ADC chip are used to build a third-order 16-bit oversampling delta-sigma modulator. This modulator is equipped with a digital decimation filter, thus facilitating higher resolution and larger dynamic range seismic data acquisition. Experimental results show that, within the 0.1–40 Hz frequency range, the circuit board's dynamic range reaches 158.2 d B, its resolution reaches 25.99 bits, and its linearity error is below 2.5 ppm, which is better than what is achieved by the commercial 24-bit ADC chips ADS1281 and CS5371. This demonstrates that the proposed method may alleviate or even completely resolve the amplitude-limitation problem that so commonly occurs with broadband observation instruments during strong earthquakes.