Learning and Progressing Through Scientific Practices—Commemorating the 90th Anniversary of the Haiyuan Earthquake and Working to Improve the Ability of Earthquake Prediction and Seismic Hazard Reduction

The great Haiyuan earthquake occurred at 20:06:09 on December 16,1920 in the south of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.The magnitude of this earthquake is 8.5,listed as one of the three greatest earthquakes to ever occur in Chinese continent.This devastating earthquake killed about 230,000 people according to previous reports.Recent studies show that total casualties may have reached 270,000.The study of this earthquake using modern scientific and technological methods is the first in the history of earthquake research in China.Significant breakthroughs took place in the middle of last century.The earthquake surface rupture,with 200km in length and prominent left-lateral strike-slip displacement,was discovered.The first monograph on the Haiyuan earthquake was published.In the 1980s,innovative large-scale geological mapping technology for active faults was developed during studies on the Haiyuan earthquake surface ruptures,with the publication of the first large-scale map of the Haiyuan active fault.Quantitative studies were carried out on the fine structure and geometry of the fault zone,Holocene slip rate,co-seismic displacement,paleoearthquake and recurrence intervals and future earthquake risk assessment.The innovative studies also included rupture propagation along the strike-slip fault,evolution of pull-apart basins,determination of total displacement of the strike-slip fault,transition equilibrium between strike-slip displacement along its major strand and crustal shortening at the end of the strike-slip fault,and the mechanism of deformation on Liupan Mountain.On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Haiyuan earthquake,careful retrospect of scientific progress achieved during the recent 20 years would be helpful in providing further direction in the study of active faults and earthquake hazard reduction.While taking this occasion to remember those lost by the Haiyuan earthquake,we aim to make greater contributions to earthquake prediction and seismic hazard reduction.     

Interpretation of the Spatial Distribution Characteristics of the Co-seismic Landslides Induced by the 1920 Haiyuan M8 1/2 Earthquake Using Remote Sensing Images

Analyzing the spatial distribution characteristics of earthquake-induced secondary disasters based on advanced techniques is significantly important, especially in understanding the process of strong earthquakes in the Loess Pateau. Using ArcGIS, this study interprets multi-temporal high-resolution satellite images, field investigation data, and historical seismic records. Major conclusions are obtained as follows:① Landslides induced by the Haiyuan earthquake are mainly distributed in the intersection area of the end of the Haiyuan fault and Liupanshan fault, as indicated by multiple dense distribution centers; ② The landslide distribution of the Haiyuan Earthquake is determined by the distance to the fault, topographic relief, slope, lithology, and other factors. In detail, the closer the distance to the fault, the greater the density of the landslide. The greater the slope and relief of the terrain, the greater the density and the smaller the average area of a landslide. Compared with tertiary strata, Quaternary strata has a larger average area, and the density of the landslides is smaller; ③ The density curve of the death toll in the Haiyuan earthquake can be used as a reference for the distribution of co-seismic landslides. Several Haiyuan co-seismic landslides are distributed in the Tongwei landslide area; however, the major landslides here are induced by the 1718 Tongwei earthquake rather than the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake; ④ The co-seismic landslides of the Haiyuan earthquake exhibits the "slope effect" in the south-west plate of Haiyuan fault, presenting the dominant sliding direction towards the fault and epicenter; however, the "slope effect" is not evident in the northeast plate of the fault.     

Crustal Movement in the Northern Part of North China Associated with Zhangbei Earthquake

Crustal Deformation Monitoring Center, China Seismological Bureau, Tianjin 300180, China Crustal deformation in the northern part of North China associated with Zhangbei earthquake is analyzed using GPS data collected during 1992, 1996 and 1999, precise re-leveling data collected during 1992, 1998 and 2000, and INSAR result (September 22, 1997～May 6, 1998). The results indicate: ① The vertical deformation is not remarkable since 1992. The vertical crustal deformation in the central and northern part of North China in recent 10 years is of inheritance. The scope of the significant deformation is 15km×15km with a magnitude of 250mm when the event occurred. ② The horizontal deformation is not remarkable in any unit of North China. ③ Before and after the event (1992～1996 and 1996～1999), there is kinematic change of horizontal motion between different units. The activity mode along Yinshan tectonic zone changed from relative static state to left-lateral strike slip; The dominant extensional movement along Shanxi rift zone changed to right-lateral strike slip; Yanshan tectonic zone changed from left-lateral strike-slip with extension to left-lateral strike slip; Yanshan-Hebei transitional zone formed before the event disappeared after the event. ④ The scale of the deformation is closely related to the physical property of media and geological structure environment. Further analysis indicates that ① Zhangbei earthquake does not mean that the earthquake activity begins to be strengthened in North China; ② The crustal movement is normal at present; ③ Next stronger earthquake in North China might be located in Yanshan tectonic zone, especially at its both ends, and Shanxi tectonic zone.     

首都圈断层活动及地震关系探讨

In this paper, we made a systematic study on more than 40 years of observational data of ten temporary fault-crossing measurement sites in the capital circle region of China. We calculated horizontal and vertica1 components of fault slip, and horizontal extension or compression components. Considering the tectonic characteristics of the capital circle region and regional seismicity, we analyzed the present fault activity of the capital circle region and the relationship with earthquakes. The results show the complexity of fault activity in the region: the level of activity of all faults is low, most faults are left-lateral strike-slip faults; there is less vertical activity than horizontal activity and crustal movement is controlled by horizontal movement; fault activity and earthquake activity have a certain relationship, regional fault activity increases before an earthquake, and fault activity has certain abnormal features before strong earthquakes.     

Late Quaternary surface deformation and rupture behavior of strong earthquake on the segment north of Mianning of the Anninghe fault

The Anninghe fault is an important active fault along the eastern boundary of Sichuan-Yunnan active tectonic block, and the study of its surface deformation and rupture behavior during strong earthquake in the late Quaternary is of fundamental importance for understanding the future seismic risk of the fault zone or even the entire western Sichuan region. Using the methods of detailed geomorphic and geological survey, digital image analysis, total station instrument survey, excavation of combined trench and dating, we analyze the geomorphologic sequences of the offset strata at several sites where the late Quaternary deformation remnants are fairly well preserved and obtain some new results as follows: Strong earthquake events with left-lateral displacements of about 3 m occurred at the two sites of Zimakua and Yejitong at 1634-1811, 1030-1050 and 280-550 a BP, respectively, and the recurrence interval is 520-660 a; The youngest event in the area of Dahaizi-Ganhaizi should be the earthquake of 1536, other events are at 1768-1826, 2755-4108 and 4108-6593 a BP, respectively, with a recurrence interval of 1300-1900 a. The strong earthquake activity shows a clustering character. The possibility of occurrence of a strong earthquake exists on the north segment of the Anninghe fault sometime in the future.     

Fracture Characters and Seismogenic Fault of the Yajiang Earthquake Sequence with Ms6.0 in Sichuan in 2001

The Yajiang earthquake sequence in 2001, with the major events of Ms5.1 on Feb. 14 and of Ms6.0 on Feb.23, are significant events in the Sichuan region during the last 13 years. Eighty-eight earthquakes in the sequence with at least 5 distinct onset parameters for each recorded by the Sichuan Seismic Network in the period of Jan. 1 through June 30,2001 were chosen for this study. The events are relocated and the focal mechanism is derived from P-wave onsets for 13 events with relatively larger magnitudes. The focal depth of all earthquakes fall between a range of 2km to 16km, with dominant distribution between 9km to 11km. Theforeshocks, the Ms5.1 earthquake and the Ms6.0 earthquake and their aftershocks are all located close to the Zihe fault and the dominant epicentral distribution is in NW direction, identical to that of the fault. The fracture surface of the focal mechanism is determined in accordance to the mass transfer orientation in the recent earth deformation field in the Yajiang region. The P axes of the principal compressive stress in focal mechanism solutions of the 13 events show bigger vertical components, and the horizontal projection trending SE. The earthquakes are of left-lateral, strike-slip normal, and normal strike-slip types. The rupture surface of most earthquakes strike NW-SE, dipping SW. Based on the above information, we conclude that the Zihe fault that crosses the earthquake area, striking NW and dipping SW, is the seismogenic fault for the Yajiang earthquake sequence.     

东昆仑断裂带东部塔藏断裂地震地表破裂特征及其构造意义

The East Kunlun fault zone is located in the northern margin of the Bayan Har block. The study of earthquake rupture behavior in the fault zone is of importance for understanding the future seismic risk in northwest Sichuan. A number of geological field investigations, typical micro topography DGPS measurements and sample dating show that the earthquake activity of the East Kunlun fault zone extends to the north boundary of Zoige basin, a segment known as the Luocha segment of Tazang fault. In the satellite image, the segment is seen clearly as gray and yellow strips. The earthquake deformation zone mainly features fault scarp, valleys on the slope, offset gullies and terraces, linear distribution of plants, waterfall, fault spring, fault sag pond, and landslide, collapse and talus associated with surface rupturing. These phenomena are distributed intermittently along the re-existing fault and form a ～50km-long inverse L-shaped deformation zone. Fault activities caused left-lateral offset of gullies and terraces, with horizontal displacement concentrated at 5.5m~6m, 18m～23m, 68m～75m, and 200m～220m, respectively. The recent earthquake occurred between 340±30～500±30BP. The macro epicenter is located 5km～7km northwest of Benduo village, with magnitude of MW7.3～7.4, maximum coseismic displacement of 6m, horizontal displacement 5.5m～6m and vertical displacement 0.2m～0.5m, being in a proportion of 5∶1～10∶1. These phenomena show that the Tazang fault is the causative fault of this earthquake. The fault is a Holocene active fault and was dominated recently by left-lateral movement with a small amount of thrust component under compressive shear stress. This characteristic is similar to the movement in other segments of the East Kunlun fault zone. The results of this study support the "continental escape" model.     

Structural analysis and interpretation of the surface deformation associated with the Ning’er, Yunnan Province, China M S6.4 earthquake of June 3, 2007

The seismogenic fault and the dynamic mechanism of the Ning’er, Yunnan Province MS6.4 earthquake of June 3, 2007 are studied on the basis of the observation data of the surface fissures, sand blow and water eruption, land-slide and collapse associated with the earthquake, incorporating with the data of geologic structures, focal mecha-nism solutions and aftershock distribution for the earthquake area. The observation of the surface fissures reveals that the Banhai segment of the NW-trending Ning’er fault is dominated by right-lateral strike-slip, while the NNE-trending fault is dominated by left-lateral strike-slip. The seismo-geologic hazards are concentrated mainly within a 330°-extending zone of 13.5 km in length and 4 km in width. The major axis of the isoseismal is also oriented in 330° direction, and the major axis of the seismic intensity VIII area is 13.5 km long. The focal mechanism solutions indicate that the NW-trending nodal plane of the Ning’er MS6.4 earthquake is dominated by right-lateral slip, while the NE-trending nodal plane is dominated by left-lateral slip. The preferred distribution orientation of the aftershocks of MS≥2 is 330°, and the focal depths are within the range of 3~12 km, predominantly within 3~10 km. The distribution of the aftershocks is consistent with the distribution zone of the seismo-geologic hazards. All the above-mentioned data indicate that the Banhai segment of the Ning’er fault is the seismogenic fault of this earthquake. Moreover, the driving force of the Ning’er earthquake is discussed in the light of the active block theory. It is believed that the northward pushing of the Indian plate has caused the eastward slipping of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, which has been transformed into the southeastern-southernward squeezing of the southwest Yunnan region. As a result, the NW-trending faults in the vicinity of the Ning’er area are dominated by right-lateral strike-slip, while the NE-trending faults are dominated by left-lateral strike-slip. This tectonic     

Study of the Late Quaternary Slip Rate Along the Northern Segment on the South Branch of the Longling-Ruili Fault

The Longling-Ruili fault is an important active fault in Southwestern China,striking generally northeast.The fault controls the development of the sedimentary series and magmatic action on its two sides,as well as the development of the Longling basin,Mangshi basin and the Zhefang basin along it.Due to limited Quaternary sediments and harsh natural conditions,the study of late Quaternary fault activity on the northern segment of the Longling-Ruili fault is lacking and the time of the newest faulting and the Quaternary slip rate are not clear at present.Based on the interpretation of remote images,quantitative geomorphologic deformation measurements and dating of young terrace deposits and alluvial fans,this paper obtains some new results as follows.The northern segment of the Longling-Ruili fault is a Holocene dextral strike-slip fault with some component of a normal slip.The terrace T 1 composing mainly of alluvial deposits formed during 4ka B.P.was offset by the northern segment of the Longling-Ruili fault and its left-lateral and its vertical displacements are 8m ～ 12m and 2m,respectively.The late Pleistocene alluvial fan was displaced with a left-lateral and vertical displacement of 70m and 18m,respectively.The strike-slip rate of the Longling-Ruili fault is 2.2mm/a ～ 2.5mm/a and the vertical slip rate is 0.6mm/a since the late Pleistocene epoch.The strike-slip rate of the Longling-Ruili fault is 1.8mm/a ～ 3.0mm/a and vertical slip rate is 0.5mm/a during the Holocene epoch.The proportion of horizontal to vertical displacement is about 4:1,which means that the vertical slip rate on the northern segment of the Longling-Ruili fault is about 25% of the horizontal slip rate.The left-lateral slip rate in the late Holocene is consistent with the GPS measurement.The strike slip rate is of great consistency in different time scales since the late Pleistocene epoch,indicating that the activity of the Longling-Ruili fault is of great stability.     

Re-discussion on the Jiaochang Arcuate Structure, Sichuan Province, and the Seismogenic Structure for Diexi Earthquake in 1933

The Jiaochang arcuate structure is one of the numerous arcuate structural belts in Sichuan. The present paper gives a further argument about the characteristics of that arcuate structure and the new activity of the Songpinggou fault and affirms that the Songpinggou fault is an active fault in the Holocene epoch. The Diexi M7.5 earthquake took place in 1933 on the west wing of that arcuate structure, near the apex of the arc. Many authors have given quite different opinions about the genetic structure of that earthquake. The authors have made on-the-spot investigations time and again over recent years. Besides this, the authors have also further studied the shape of intensity contour lines, the distribution characteristics of ground surface seismic hazards, the left-lateral dislocation of buildings along the Songpinggou fault, the NWtrending ground fissures that developed on the ground surface after earthquake, and so on. On this basis, it is still considered that the seismogenic fault of the 1933 Diexi M7.5 earthquake was the Songpinggou fault on the west wing of the Jiaochang arcuate structure.     

Study on the Genesis of the Yongsheng Earthquake with Ms6.0 on October 27, 2001

On October 27, 2001, a large earthquake with Ms6.0, named the Yongsheng earthquake, occurred along the Jinshajiang segment of Chenghai fault in Yongsheng County, Yuunan Province. It is the largest event to occur along the Chenghai fault in the last 200 years. The seismo-geological survey shows that the seismogenic fault, which is the Jinshajiang segment of Chenghal fault, takes left-lateral strike-slip as its dominant movement pattern. According to differences in vertical motion, motion time, landforms and scales, the Chenhai fault can be divided into eight segments. The Jinshajiang segment has a vertical dislocation rate of 0.4mm/a, far lower than the mean rate of the Chenghai fault, about 2.0 mm/a. It‘ s deduced that the two sides of Jinshajiang segment “stuck“ tightly and hindered the strike-slip of the Chenghai fault. The strong earthquake distribution before this event shows that the Jinshajiang segment was in the seismic gap. The Chenghai fault, as a boundary of tectonic sub-blocks, makes the Northwest Yunnan block and the Middle Yunnan block move clockwise, and their margins move oppositely along the Chenghai fault. In the motion process of the Chenghai fault, structural hindrance and the seismic gap of strong earthquakes are propitious to the concentration and accumulation of structure stress. As a result, the Yongsheng Ms6.0 earthquake occurred. The Sujiazhuang-Shangangfu segment is similar to the Jinshajiang segment with a low vertical motion rate of 0.3 mm/a and in the seismic gap. So it‘s postulated that the segment may become a new structure hindrance, and the Yongsheng Ms6.0 earthquake may trigger the occurrence of future large earthquakes along this segment.     

Focal Fault of the 1999 Datong Ms5.6 Earthquake in Shanxi Province

Several earthquakes with Ms≥5.0 occurred in the Datong seismic region in 1989,1991 and 1999,The precise focus location of the earthquake sequence was made by the records of the remote sensing seismic station network in Datong.Using that data together with macro-intensity distribution and focal mechanism solutions,we analyze the difference among three subsequences.The results show that the focal fault of the 1999 Ms 5.6 earthquake was a NWW-trending left-lateral strike-slip fault.It is 16km long and 12km wide.It developed at the depth of 5km and is nearly vertical in dip.The two previous earthquake subsequences,however,were generated by activity along NNE-trending right-lateral strike-slip fault.It can be found that the rupture directioin of the 1999 earthquake has changed.It is generally found that a rupture zone has more than two directions and has different strength along these two directions.The complicate degree of focal circumstance is related to the type of earthquake sequences.There is the NE-trending Dawangcun fault and the NW-trending Tuanbu fault in the seismic region,but no proof indicates a connection between focal faults and these two tectonic faults.The feature that focal faults of three subsequences are strike-slip is different from that of the two tectonic faults.It is suggested that the 1999 earthquake subsequence was possibly generated by a new rupture.     

Recent movement changes of main fault zones in the Sichuan-Yunnan region and their relevance to seismic activity

The Wenchuan earthquake occurred near the "triple junction" linking the Bayan Har block, the South China block, and the Sichuan-Yunnan rhombic block, and its influences on the surrounding blocks and the main fault zones in the Sichuan-Yunnan region, i.e., the block boundary zone, cannot be ignored. In this paper, changes of movement and stress of the fault zones before and after a strong earthquake were simulated based on the GPS repetition survey results recently obtained during 1999–2007, 2009–2011, and 2011–2013 with a two-dimensional finite-element contact model and the "block- loading" method. The results show that, before the Wenchuan earthquake, the movement of the Longmenshan fault zone was very slow and its compressive stress accumulated rapidly; after the Wenchuan earthquake, movements toward the E-SSE direction of the Bayan Har, southwestern Yunnan, and rhombic blocks were enhanced, and the dextral and horizontal compressive speeds and annual accumulative compressive stress of the Longmenshan fault zone increased markedly by factors of 4.5, 2.1, and 2.5, respectively. The southern Xianshuihe, Anninghe, Zemuhe, Daliangshan, and Lijiang-Xiaojinhe fault zones accumulated compressive stress rapidly, forming enhanced compressive stress zones along a NE strike crossing the central part of the Sichuan-Yunnan region. The tensional movement of the Xianshuihe fault zone was enhanced and the slip movement in the central part of the zone was reversed in a short time. The changes are tightly related to the medium-intensity earthquakes that occurred during the same period in this region, revealing that the spatial migration of seismic activity is related to changes of movement of the blocks.     

Retrospection on the Conclusions of Earthquake Tendency Forecast before the Wenchuan M_S8.0 Earthquake

The reason for the failure to forecast the Wenchuan M_S8.0 earthquake is under study, based on the systematically collection of the seismicity anomalies and their analysis results from annual earthquake tendency forecasts between the 2001 Western Kunlun Mountains Pass M_S8.1 earthquake and the 2008 Wenchuan M_S8.0 earthquake. The results show that the earthquake tendency estimation of Chinese Mainland is for strong earthquakes to occur in the active stage, and that there is still potential for the occurrence of a M_S8.0 large earthquake in Chinese Mainland after the 2001 Western Kunlun Mountains Pass earthquake. However the phenomena that many large earthquakes occurred around Chinese Mainland, and the 6-year long quietude of M_S7.0 earthquake and an obvious quietude of M_S5.0 and M_S6.0 earthquakes during 2002～2007 led to the distinctly lower forecast estimation of earthquake tendency in Chinese Mainland after 2006. The middle part in the north-south seismic belt has been designated a seismic risk area of strong earthquake in recent years, but, the estimation of the risk degree in Southwestern China is insufficient after the Ning’er M_S6.4 earthquake in Yunnan in 2007. There are no records of earthquakes with M_S≥7.0 in the Longmenshan fault, which is one of reasons that this fault was not considered a seismic risk area of strong earthquakes in recent years.     

Discussion of Some Problems in the Research into the Seismotectonics of Strong Earthquakes on the North China Plain

The tectonic characteristics and research problems of five earthquakes with M≥7.0 on the North China Plain over the last 300 years are addressed in the paper, including the cognition that there were no ground fractures in the 1966 Xingtai earthquake, the question caused by the thrust activity of the seismic fault of the Tangshan Earthquake and the discussion of the seismotectonic environment of the 1830 Cixian earthquake and the 1937 Heze earthquake. The author thinks that the main reason for the problems in research of strong earthquake tectonics in the region is that the status of activity of the main tectonics during the Late Quaternary are unknown. This affects the founding of discrimination criteria for seismotectonics of strong earthquakes on the North China Plain. Discriminating the Holocene active faults from the large number of faults is the most effective method for seismic hazard assessment in the area in future.     

Internal structure of Longmenshan fault zone at Hongkou outcrop,Sichuan,China,that caused the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

This paper reports the internal structures of the Beichuan fault zone of Longmenshan fault system that caused the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake,at an outcrop in Hongkou,Sichuan province,China.Present work is a part of comprehensive project of Institute of Geology,China Earthquake Administration,trying to understand deformation processes in Longmenshan fault zones and eventually to reproduce Wenchuan earthquake by modeling based on measured mechanical and transport properties.Outcrop studies could be integrate...     

Faulting on the Anninghe fault zone, Southwest China in Late Quaternary and its movement model

The Anninghe fault is one of the significant earthquake-generating fault zones in the Southwest China. Local his-torical record shows that a M≥7 strong earthquake occurred in the year of 1536. On the basis of the detailed air-photographic interpretation and field investigation, we have acquired the following knowledge: 1 The average sinistral strike-slip rate since the Late Pleistocene is about 3~7 mm/a; 2 There is important reverse faulting along the fault zone besides the main left-lateral strike-slip motion, and the shortening rate across the Anninghe fault zone due to the reverse faulting is about 1.7~4.0 mm/a. If the Xianshuihe fault zone is simply partitioned into the Anninghe and Daliangshan faults, we can also get a slip rate of 3~7 mm/a along the Daliangshan fault zone, which is the same as that on the Anninghe fault zone. Moreover, on the basis of our field investigation and the latest knowledge concerning the active tectonics of Tibetan crust, we create a dynamic model for the Anninghe fault zone.     

Moment tensor inversion of the November 6, 1988 M S=7.6, Lancang-Gengma, China, earthquake using long-period body-waves data

Moment tensor inversion was carried out to invert the source mechanism and source time function of the MS=7.6 November 6, 1988, Lancang-Gengma, Yunnan Province, China, earthquake. Waveforms of long-period body-waves recorded by China Digital Seismograph Network (CDSN) were used in the inversion. The inverted result shows one nodal plane of right-lateralstrike-slip faulting and another of left-lateral strike-slip faulting and a simple source time function of a duration of about 15 s and scalar seismic moment of 6.4(1020 N(m. From the geological dataand tectonic settings and also from field observations and epicentral distribution of aftershocks, the nodal plane striking in the azimuth of 313( is preferred as the fault plane. The pressure axis lies almosthorizontally in north-south direction.     

The tectonic settings and seismogenic tectonics of the M5.7 Jiujiang earthquake in 2005,Jiangxi Province,China

The M5.7 Jiujiang earthquake in 2005 was a mid-strong one, stronger than expected to occur in the region. This paper discusses the neo-tectonic settings of this earthquake, and it is thought that the earthquake region is located in the transitional belt, a potential area inducing weak to moderately strong earthquakes, between two large different tectonic units. The results of the reconnaissance work and on-the-spot investigation after earthquake indicate that the occurrence of the M5.7 Jiujiang earth- quake is closely related with the NE-trending fault on the western margin of Ruichang Basin. From its controlling to the landforms and Quaternary depositions, geological profiles, ESR dating, etc., the ac- tivity of the Dingjiashan-Langjunshan fault bounding the basin is discussed. It suggests that this fault displays an active one in Middle Pleistocene by the outcrop. Based on the activity of the fault, and the direction and location of the ground fissures, the isoseismal lines and the nodal plane of the focal mechanism solution, it is inferred that the Dingjiashan-Langjunshan fault is the seismogenic tectonics of the M5.7 Jiujiang earthquake, and the intersection point between this fault and the active NW ones is the possible origin of location of this earthquake. Our study shows that this earthquake is not an event exceeding expectation, and that the active and invisible characteristics of the causative fault are typical in the eastern area of China.     

Deformation Evolution Characteristics Revealed by GPS and Cross-fault Leveling Data before the MS8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake

Based on GPS velocity during 1999-2007, GPS baseline time series on large scale during 1999-2008 and cross-fault leveling data during 1985-2008, the paper makes some analysis and discussion to study and summarize the movement, tectonic deformation and strain accumulation evolution characteristics of the Longmenshan fault and the surrounding area before the M_S8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, as well as the possible physical mechanism late in the seismic cycle of the Wenchuan earthquake. Multiple results indicate that:GPS velocity profiles show that obvious continuous deformation across the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau before the earthquake was distributed across a zone at least 500km wide, while there was little deformation in Sichuan Basin and Longmenshan fault zone, which means that the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau provides energy accumulation for locked Longmenshan fault zone continuously. GPS strain rates show that the east-west compression deformation was larger in the northwest of the mid-northern segment of the Longmenshan fault zone, and deformation amplitude decreased gradually from far field to near fault zone, and there was little deformation in fault zone. The east-west compression deformation was significant surrounding the southwestern segment of the Longmenshan fault zone, and strain accumulation rate was larger than that of mid-northern segment. Fault locking indicates nearly whole Longmenshan fault was locked before the earthquake except the source of the earthquake which was weakly locked, and a 20km width patch in southwestern segment between 12km to 22.5km depth was in creeping state. GPS baseline time series in northeast direction on large scale became compressive generally from 2005 in the North-South Seismic Belt, which reflects that relative compression deformation enhances. The cross-fault leveling data show that annual vertical change rate and deformation trend accumulation rate in the Longmenshan fault zone were little, which indicates that vertical activity near the fault was very weak and the fault was tightly locked. According to analyses of GPS and cross-fault leveling data before the Wenchuan earthquake, we consider that the Longmenshan fault is tightly locked from the surface to the deep, and the horizontal and vertical deformation are weak surrounding the fault in relatively small-scale crustal deformation. The process of weak deformation may be slow, and weak deformation area may be larger when large earthquake is coming. Continuous and slow compression deformation across eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau before the earthquake provides dynamic support for strain accumulation in the Longmenshan fault zone in relative large-scale crustal deformation.