Dozens of >M5, hundreds of >M4, and much more >M3 aftershocks occurred after the 2008/05/12 Wenchuan earthquake, which were well recorded by permanent and portable seismic stations. After relocated with P arr...Dozens of >M5, hundreds of >M4, and much more >M3 aftershocks occurred after the 2008/05/12 Wenchuan earthquake, which were well recorded by permanent and portable seismic stations. After relocated with P arrival, the >M3 aftershocks show two trends of distribution, with most of the aftershocks located along the north-east strike consistent with Longmenshan fault system, yet there is a north-west trend around the epicenter. It seems that substantially more aftershocks occur in regions with crystalline bedrocks. Then we collected waveform data from National Digital Seismograph Network and regional seismograph network of China, and employed 'Cut and Paste' method to obtain focal mechanisms and depths of the big aftershocks (M≥5.6). While most of those aftershocks show thrust mechanism, there are some strike slip earthquakes in the northern-most end of the rupture. Focal mechanisms show that the events located on the southern part of central Beichuan-Yingxiu Fault (BY) are mainly thrust earthquakes, which is consistent with initial mechanism of the main shock rupture. In the north part the aftershocks along the BY are also dominated by thrust slip, which is quite different from the right slip rupture of the main shock. Around Qingchuan-Pingwu Fault, the focal mechanisms are dominated by right-slip rupture with large depths (~18 km). So we suspected that in the north part the main shock might rupture on two faults: Beichuan Fault and Qingchuan-Pingwu Fault. The complex pattern of aftershock mechanisms argues for presence of a complicated fault system in the Longmenshan area.展开更多
We relocate the spatial distribution of its aftershocks. The relocation database is obtained the devastating 12 May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and from 89 stations deployed by the China Earthquake Administration, includ...We relocate the spatial distribution of its aftershocks. The relocation database is obtained the devastating 12 May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and from 89 stations deployed by the China Earthquake Administration, including 54 525 seismograms from 1 376 local earthquakes over Ms3.5 between 12 May 2008 and 3 August 2008. The cross-correlation technique used in this paper has greatly improved the relocation precision by giving much more accurate P-wave differential travel-time measurements than those obtained from routinely picked phase onsets. At the same time, we pick P-wave polarity observations of the Wenchuan earthquake series (hereafter referred to as WES) from 1023 stations in China and 59 IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions of Seismology) stations. Then, employing a newly developed program CHNYTX, we obtain 83 well-determined focal mechanism solutions (hereafter referred to as FMSs). Based on spatial distribution and FMSs of the WES, we draw following conclusions: (1) The region near the main shock exhibits a buried low-angle northwest-dipping seismic zone with the main shock at its upper end and two conjugated seismic zones dipping southeast with roughly equal dip-angle; (2) The compressional directions of all kinds of FMSs of the WES are subhorizontal, which reflects the dominant stress in this area is eompressional; (3) The principal compressional direction of the regional stress around Wenchuan is roughly perpendicular to the strike of Beichuan-Yingxiu fault, while around Qingchuan it is roughly parallel to the strike of Qingehuan fault. In intermediate part of the Longmenshan area, the principal compressional direction of the stress should be in-between; (4) The possibly existed molten materials in the lower crust of Songpan-Garze terrain have small contribution to the local stress state in Longmenshan area. The listric geometries of the Longmenshan faults most probably resulted from subhorizontal compression along NW-SE direction in history.展开更多
基金Supported by Knowledge Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant Nos. KZCX3-SW-153, KZCX2-YW-116-1)National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40604004)National Basic Technology R & D Program (GrantNo. 2006BAC01B02-01-02)
文摘Dozens of >M5, hundreds of >M4, and much more >M3 aftershocks occurred after the 2008/05/12 Wenchuan earthquake, which were well recorded by permanent and portable seismic stations. After relocated with P arrival, the >M3 aftershocks show two trends of distribution, with most of the aftershocks located along the north-east strike consistent with Longmenshan fault system, yet there is a north-west trend around the epicenter. It seems that substantially more aftershocks occur in regions with crystalline bedrocks. Then we collected waveform data from National Digital Seismograph Network and regional seismograph network of China, and employed 'Cut and Paste' method to obtain focal mechanisms and depths of the big aftershocks (M≥5.6). While most of those aftershocks show thrust mechanism, there are some strike slip earthquakes in the northern-most end of the rupture. Focal mechanisms show that the events located on the southern part of central Beichuan-Yingxiu Fault (BY) are mainly thrust earthquakes, which is consistent with initial mechanism of the main shock rupture. In the north part the aftershocks along the BY are also dominated by thrust slip, which is quite different from the right slip rupture of the main shock. Around Qingchuan-Pingwu Fault, the focal mechanisms are dominated by right-slip rupture with large depths (~18 km). So we suspected that in the north part the main shock might rupture on two faults: Beichuan Fault and Qingchuan-Pingwu Fault. The complex pattern of aftershock mechanisms argues for presence of a complicated fault system in the Longmenshan area.
基金supported by the Wenchuan Fault Scientific Drilling Program(WFSD),the Key Projects in the National Science and Technology Pillar Program during the Eleventh Five-year Plan Period under grant No. 2008BAC38B02-4the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant No. 40821062
文摘We relocate the spatial distribution of its aftershocks. The relocation database is obtained the devastating 12 May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and from 89 stations deployed by the China Earthquake Administration, including 54 525 seismograms from 1 376 local earthquakes over Ms3.5 between 12 May 2008 and 3 August 2008. The cross-correlation technique used in this paper has greatly improved the relocation precision by giving much more accurate P-wave differential travel-time measurements than those obtained from routinely picked phase onsets. At the same time, we pick P-wave polarity observations of the Wenchuan earthquake series (hereafter referred to as WES) from 1023 stations in China and 59 IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions of Seismology) stations. Then, employing a newly developed program CHNYTX, we obtain 83 well-determined focal mechanism solutions (hereafter referred to as FMSs). Based on spatial distribution and FMSs of the WES, we draw following conclusions: (1) The region near the main shock exhibits a buried low-angle northwest-dipping seismic zone with the main shock at its upper end and two conjugated seismic zones dipping southeast with roughly equal dip-angle; (2) The compressional directions of all kinds of FMSs of the WES are subhorizontal, which reflects the dominant stress in this area is eompressional; (3) The principal compressional direction of the regional stress around Wenchuan is roughly perpendicular to the strike of Beichuan-Yingxiu fault, while around Qingchuan it is roughly parallel to the strike of Qingehuan fault. In intermediate part of the Longmenshan area, the principal compressional direction of the stress should be in-between; (4) The possibly existed molten materials in the lower crust of Songpan-Garze terrain have small contribution to the local stress state in Longmenshan area. The listric geometries of the Longmenshan faults most probably resulted from subhorizontal compression along NW-SE direction in history.