活断层的术语、研究进展及问题思考

新构造与活动构造都是研究地球最新的构造变形和构造地貌演化过程，也是地震地质工作的主要内容与基础，而活断层是其中最重要的构造表现形式和研究对象。活断层研究成果经常是地震预测与预报、城乡防震减灾和重要工程规划设计如何有效规避活断层地质灾害的重要依据。从新构造角度认识和研究活断层的时间尺度与特定区域的地球动力学背景密切相关，更关注从十万年到百万年尺度的地质构造过程，强调的是“过去与现在”的断裂活动性。而活动构造最关注距今100~150 ka以来的地质-地貌过程，更强调认识和评价“现在与未来”的断裂活动性，因此，它是地震危险性评价的重点。近年来的活断层研究领域的主要进展表明，第四纪年代学、空对地观测和地理信息系统等技术方法的快速发展及应用，极大地提高了定量化研究新构造演化、构造地貌、断裂活动性和古地震等的水平和精度，也促进了活断层数据的数字化与共享程度，并进一步提升了地震危险性评价的可靠性与准确性。但对于中国这样活断层发育密度高和活动构造体系极为复杂的区域，针对地震危险性评价的新构造与活动构造方面的基础性工作仍需要进一步加强，尤其是借助高精度遥感技术和新构造定年方法等，开展快速有效的区域性活断层普查，提升活断层调查研究的规范化、精细化和定量化程度，并重视活动构造体系的综合研究，从而为预防地震地质灾害夯实地质基础。同时，还需要注意区分断层活动性与危险性的关系，重视稳定大陆区和低活动速率断层的强震危险性问题。

Active Faults: Terminology,Research Advances,and Thinking on Some Problems

Neotectonics and active tectonics are sub-disciplines of tectonics that study the process of recent tectonic deformation and tectonic geomorphic evolution on the earth. They are also the main content and foundation of seismic geological work, and active faults are the most important structural manifestation and research object. The research results of active faults are often the important basis for earthquake forecast and prediction, urban and rural earthquake prevention and disaster reduction and important engineering planning and design to effectively avoid the geological disasters of active faults. Understanding and studying the time scale of active faults is closely related to the geodynamic background of specific areas from the perspective of neotectonics. It focuses more on geological structural processes from 100 ka to 1 000 ka, emphasizing past and present fault activities. The active tectonics pays the most attention to the geological and geomorphological processes since 100-150 ka ago, and emphasizes the understanding and evaluation of current and future fault activities, so it is the focus of seismic risk assessment. Recent advances in active fault research have shown that the rapid development and application of quaternary chronology, open space observation and geographic information systems greatly improve the level and accuracy of quantitative research on neotectonic evolution, tectonic geomorphology, fault activity and paleoearthquake, and promote the digitization and sharing of active fault data, and further improve the reliability and accuracy of seismic risk assessment. However, in the regions with high density of active faults and complex active tectonic systems, the basic work of neotectonics and active tectonics for seismic hazard assessment needs to be further strengthened. Especially with the help of high-precision remote sensing technology and neotectonics dating method, a rapid and effective regional active fault survey can be producted, and the degree of standardization and quantification of the investigation of active faults can be improved, and the great importance to the comprehensive research of active tectonic systems can be attached, so as to prevent earthquake geological disaster to lay solid geological foundation. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish the relationship between fault activity and risk, and pay attention to the problem of strong earthquake risk of stable continental regions and the faults with low slip rate.