Focal depth research of earthquakes in Mainland China: Implication for tectonics

Focal depth data of earthquakes in Mainland China are processed and analyzed in this paper, as well as the relationship between the focal depths and large-scale tectonic structures. As a basic parameter for earthquakes, focal depth is used to investigate deep environment of seismogenic regions, tectonic backgrounds for concentration and release of seismic energy, the inner crustal deformation and its mechanic features. Depth data of 31282 ML≥2.0 events with 1st class and 2nd class precision in Mainland China from Jan. 1, 1970 to May 31, 2000 are used to get spatial features of earthquakes distributed with depth and to provide average depth for each grid area throughout China. Researches show that the average depth (D-) for all the earthquakes used in this paper is (16±7) km, and (13±6) km and (18±8) km for the events in eastern China and western China, respectively. The area with the deepest focal depth is located in southwest Xinjiang region, near the western and southwestern ends of the Tarim Basin. The focal depth related to large-scale tectonic structures, for instance, = (33±12), (21±10), (14±7), (11±5) and (10±4) km in Tibet plateau block, Xinjiang block, North China, Northeastern China and South China, respectively. The earthquakes are deeper at the bounders of the integrated tectonic blocks, including the southwestern and northern brims of the Tarim Basin, southern brim of the Zhunge'r Basin and that of the Alashan block, as well as the eastern and western sides of the Edos block and the western brim of the Sichuan Basin. The earthquakes at the newly ruptured belts are relatively shallower, for instance, at the southwestern Yunnan seismic belt and the Zhangjiakou-Bohai seismic belt. The mechanic behavior, deformation and features for the crust and mantle structures are also discussed.     

Tensile behavior of AA3104 aluminum sheets at low deformation degree

The texture of a rolled AA3104 aluminum sheet was measured by the X-ray transmission method. The Lankford values or r values (ratio of plastic strain) and yield strengths in directions of 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90° to RD (rolling direction) of the sheet were tested during tensile loading at a strain of 2%. r values were predicted by the Sachs model and the reaction stress model in consideration of the measured texture. The simulated results indicate that r values calculated by the Sachs model are more exactly approaching with the experimental values on the whole than those predicted by the reaction stress model. The deformation behavior of the AA3104 aluminum sheet reveals characteristic predicted by the Sachs model, which should be resulted from the sheet geometry different from bulk material as well as the low tensile deformation degree.     

Origin of the Changbai intraplate volcanism in Northeast China： Evidence from seismic tomography

Seismic images of the mantle beneath the active Changbai intraplate volcano in Northeast China determined by teleseismic travel time tomography are presented. The data are measured at a new seismic network consisting of 19 portable stations and 3 permanent stations. The results show a columnar low-velocity (-3%) anomaly extending to 400 km depth under the Changbai volcano. High velocity anomalies are visible in the mantle transition zone, and deep earthquakes occur at depths of 500--600 km under the region,suggesting that the subducting Pacific slab is stagnant in the transition zone, as imaged clearly also by global tomography.These results suggest that the Changbai intraplate volcano is not a hotspot like Hawaii but a kind of back-arc volcano related to the upwelling of hot asthenospheric materials associated with the deep subduction and stagnancy of the Pacific slab under northeast Asia.     

Significant isostatic imbalance near the seismic gap between the M8.0 Wenchuan and M7.0 Lushan earthquakes

A gravity network with 302 observation points has been established in the western Sichuan Foreland Basin （SFB） to explore Bouguer gravity anomalies （BGAs）. Our observational results reveal that the BGAs are negative as a whole, with a maximum value of -220 mGal （10^-5m s^-2） at the northwest region of the study area. The real Moho depths beneath the SFB revealed by BGA data change smoothly from 39.5 km in the southeast to 43.7 km in the northwest of the monitoring region. However, the isostatic ones deduced from Airy isostatic model and topographical data vary approximately 39.5-42.0 km. The maximum differences of 2.7 km between the real and isostatic Moho depths are found near the seismic gap between the M8.0 Wenchuan and M7.0 Lushan earthquakes, where the crust is in the greatest isostatic imbalance of the monitoring region. Analysis of the isostatic state indicates that the deep dynamic environment near the seismic gap between these two earthquakes indicates an M ≥ 7.0 earthquake in the future. This study indicates that we can use isostasy as a potential approach to study the dynamic process of crustal material movement and to analyze regional potential seismic risks.     

Study on seismogenesis of the 1997 Jiashi earthquake swarm, western China

The 1997 Jiashi swarm earthquakes are relocated using the master event method improved by the authors. From the relocated hypocenters and focal mechanisms of the earthquakes, it is inferred that a pair of echelon faults, striking in northern north-west direction, right-step allocated and right-laterally moved, may exist in the earthquake swarm region. The composite focal mechanism obtained by analyzing the data of 2177 P-wave first motion polarities indicates that both mean P- and T-axis are horizontal, orienting in N19°E and N110°E respectively, and the mean B-axis is nearly vertical. The co-seismic deformation caused by this earthquake swarm is compressive nearly in North-South and extensional nearly in East-West. Obviously low earthquake stress drops are found via analyzing the source spectra of the swarm earthquakes, which may be one of the main reasons why the Jiashi earthquake swarm has lasted for a long period of time. The interaction between discontinuous segments of the echelon fault has been discussed. The result indicates that the stress drop is usually low for the earthquakes occurring on the right step echelon faults.     

Localized 3D-structural features of dynamic-chemical processes of urban air pollution in Beijing winter

The Beijing City Air Pollution Observation Field Experiment (BECAPEX) is described with emphases on the “point-surface” research approach and composite analysis. The analysis results of measurements from four observation sites across the Beijing urban area from January to March indicate that the overall impact of urban emission sources in the heating season is significant, and the staggered impact of urban emission sources has different features at observation sites over different parts of Beijing in both heating and non-heating seasons. The pollutants NOx, SO2 and CO in the urban boundary layer have the in-phase variation features over a large area. 03 concentrations at different sites have the same variation trend but its change is reversed phases with above pollutants. The pollutants over the urban area in heating and non-heating seasons also have the synchronous variation trend. The comprehensive sounding of BECAPEX indicates that pollutants and aerosol verticalprofiles are closely correlated to the vertical structure of the large-scale inversion layer in the urban boundary layer over the urban area. The localized 3D-structural features of local urban polluting processes associated with the peripheral areas are discussed with a “point-surface” comprehensive sounding technique.     

Compressive stress field in the crust deduced from shear-wave anisotropy: an example in capital area of China

The rocks in the crust are pervaded by stress-aligned fluid-saturated microcracks, and the complex fault tectonics and stress control the configuration of the microcracks, however shear-wave splitting could indicate this kind of characteristics. In this paper, Capital Area Seismograph Network （CASN）, the widest scope and highest density of regional seismograph network presently in China, is adopted to deduce the principal compressive stress field distribution pattern from polarizations of fast shear- waves, based on shear-wave splitting analysis. The principal compressive stress in capital area of China is at NE85.7°±41.0° in this study. Compared with the results of principal compressive stress field in North China obtained from other methods, the results in this study are reliable in the principal com- pressive stress field distribution in capital area. The results show that it is an effective way, although it is the first time to directly obtain crustal stress field from seismic anisotropy. It is effectively applied to the zones with dense seismograph stations.     

Lakes’ state and abundance across the Tibetan Plateau

Understanding the changes in number and areal extent of lakes,as well as their abundance and size distribution is important for assessments of regional and global water resources,biogeochemical cycles,and changes in climate.In this study,changes in lake area greater than 1 km2are mapped using Landsat datasets,spanning the 1970s,1990,2000,and 2010.In addition,high-resolution images(GeoCover Landsat mosaic 2000,with a pixel size of 14.25 m)are used for the first time to map lakes as small as 0.001 km2across the entire Tibetan Plateau(TP).Results show that the numbers and areal extent of individual lakes[1 km2in size show a slight decrease between the 1970s and 1990,followed by a clear increase from 1990 to 2010.Ninety-nine new lakes are identified between the 1970s and 2010,71 of which are found between 1990 and 2010.This indicates the accelerated glacier melt and/or increased difference of precipitation minus evaporation since the 1990s.More than 80%of the lakes show an increase in their area between the 1970s and2010.The lake census,using 2000 imagery,shows that there are 32,843 lakes with a total area of 43,151.08±411.49 km2,which makes up 1.4%of the total area of the TP.Around 96%of all lakes are small,with an area\1 km2,while the 1,204 large lakes([1 km2)account for96%of the total lake area.The TP is subdivided into 12greater drainage basins,and of these the inner TP dominates in terms of the number of lakes(55.03%),the total area of lakes(66%),and lake density(0.026/km2compared to the mean,0.011/km2).A plot of lake abundance against size shows that the size distribution of lakes departs from a typical power-law distribution,but displays such a distribution at the mean elevation(4,715 m),with an r2value of 0.97 and a slope of-0.66.The slopes of the abundance-size equations from each of the 12 greater basins,and from all basins together,are larger than-1,supporting the inference that larger lakes,rather than the small lakes,contribute more to the total lake surface area across the TP.The lake inventory provided in this study,along with the assessment of lake size distribution,have important implications for estimates of water balance,for water resource management,and for lake area estimations in the TP.     

The formation depth of coesitebearing eclogite, Dabie UHPM zone, China, modified by tectonooriginal additional hydrostatic pressure

The knowledge that hydrostatic pressure is equal to the gravity value of the overlying rocks in studying a dynamic state of certain underground site is argued. It is suggested that the stress field T in the crust is a combination or superposition of total hydrostatic pressure P with differential stress σ , and the total hydrostatic pressure P at any point in the crust comprises two parts: one is spherical stress tensor PG caused by the gravity, and the other is spherical stress tensor Ps caused by tectonic stress; therefore P could not be attributed to the gravity of overlying rocks only. The results obtained by a finite-element simulation indicate that the tectono-original additional hydrostatic pressures Ps decrease gradually from the compressive zone (Pcs) to the shear zone (PSHs) and to the tensile zone (PTs), i. e. PCS>PSHs> PTs in the same depth. On the basis of the above-mentioned research, the method of measurement and calculation of metal logenetic depth corrected by Ps is established, i.e. first tectonic additional hydrostatic pressure Ps is removed from general hydrostatic pressure P to get PG, gravity additional pressure, then accordingly the depth data are measured and calculated. The plastic deformation of garnet in coesite-bearing eclogite, quartz eclogite and garnet amphibo-lite of the ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic (UHPM) complex in the Yingshan County in Dabie Mt. is studied by the transmission electron microscope (TEM). It is shown that the garnets have ductile deformation in the metamorphic condition of eclogite and amphibolite facies. Microstructures of the garnet vary greatly among coesite-bearing eclogite, quartz eclogite and garnet amphibolite. The tectonic principal stress in three-dimensional space and the tectonic additional hydrostatic pressure are reconstructed by differential stress and strain ratio (α) of garnet in minor coesite-bearing eclogite, then the gravity and thickness of overlying rocks are determined. The formation depth of ≥ 32.09-32.106 km of the coesite-bearing eclogite in Yingshan County in the Dabie UHPM zone is obtained from difference PG which comes from P minus Ps, Ps = (σ1 + σ2 + σ3) /3. The value of P is 2.8 GPa resulting from Qz-coes geobarmeter. This result is at all different from other researchers' conclusion that the formation depth of eclogite in Dabie UHPM zone is ≥100 km by the method of weight/ special weight (W/SW). The strong tectionic action makes a great contribution to the formation of e-clogite in the Dabie UHPM zone at so shallow depth of about 32 km, therefore it is thought that attention should be paid to the tectonc-original additional hydrostatic pressure in the study on UHPM zone.     

The U/Ω effect of electricity parameters of the lotus root silk in the liquor with different pH values

The silk of lotus root is a kind of natural biomaterial with the advantages of easy absorbing and dis-solving and poisonless. It may become a new engineering material for clinic and tissue engineering. However, the relationship between its electricity parameters and the pH values of the liquor that the silk is dipped in is unknown presently. The electricity parameters of inductance, capacitance and imped-ance of the silk were measured in the environment with the temperature ranging from 23℃ to 25℃ and the humidity ranging from 45% to 55% when it was dipped in the liquor with different pH values for 24 h. The results show that the inductance and impedance vary in U shape curves with the liquor pH value, and the capacitance varies in Ω shape curve. The minimal value of the U curves and the maximal value of the Ω curve appear at the point where the pH value equals to 7. The phenomena are called the U/Ω effect. It means that the silk has perfect biocompatibility with human tissues. The study results may imply that the silk have broader potential applications in biomedicine, tissue engineering and bioelec-tronics. silk of lotus root, biomedicine engineering material, U/Ω effect, pH value of liquor     

强震孕育过程中地震类型的动态变化及实验研究

 讨论了1965年以来云南地区强震孕育过程中地震类型的动态变化,发现:云南地区发生6.7级以上强震前数月至数年,云南省内均有2次以上5级双震或群震型地震发生;部分强震前数月至数年,至少有3次以上前主震型地震密集发生.强震发生在这些前主震、双震、群震型地震150 km以外地区.典型地区地震类型的追踪研究也表明:宁蒗地区发生5级双震、前主震型地震以及腾冲地区发生6级群震型地震,云南地区均发生6.5级和7级以上强震,但地点远在宁蒗、腾冲200 km以外地区.实验中,随着载荷的增大,岩样的破裂类型经历了主余破、孤立破→群破→前主破→破裂类型多元化的过程.震例和实验研究结果的对照显示:地震的类型不仅与发震地区地质构造有关,也与地壳介质所处的应力状态有关.     

Crustal P-wave velocity structure in Lower Yangtze region： Reinterpretation of Fuliji-Fengxian deep seismic sounding profile

A deep seismic sounding profile in this paper, from Fuliji in Anhui Province to Fengxian of Shanghai City, is located at eastern China (Fig. 1). The field work was jointly accomplished by the Chinese Geological and Mineral Bureau, the China Seismological …     

Ultrahigh-pressure (4.5–5.5 GPa) experimental research on pyroxene-garnet transition and its significance

Conclusions The transition from natural Al-enstatite to garnet and Al-poor pyroxene has taken place under the condition of about 1000°C and 4.5–5.5 GPa, and new phases of garnet and corundum have formed when 15% Al₂O₃ was added to the initial natural Al-enstatite. This experimental result has explained the ultrahigh pressure (3.5–5.0 GPa) and relatively low temperature (< 1000°C) genesis of the ultramafic rock of high-pressure metamorphic zone in Dabieshan-northern Jiangsu-Jiaodong and of red corundum garnetite coexisting with garnet peridotite. From the genetic mineralogy, petrology andP-T equilibrium conditions of garnet peridotite of the high-pressure metamorphic zone, kimberlite and Cenozoic basalt and the ultrahigh pressure experimental result, it is inferred that the upper mantle garnet peridotite is transformed with the increase of depth from Al-rich pyroxene garnet peridotite (80–120 km) to Al-poor pyroxene garnet peridotite (greater than 120–150 km).     

Phase transition in the subducted oceanic lithosphere and generation of the subduction zone magma

Two metamorphic processes, i.e. subsolidus dehydration and partial melting occurring in MORB, metasediments and peridotite of subducted oceanic lithosphere are discussed on the basis of available experimental work and phase equilibrium modeling. Phase diagrams of hydrous MORB show that in most cold subduction P-T （pressure-temperature） regimes a large portion of water in the basic layer has released below the onset of blueschist facies （〈 20 km）, and at a depth （60--70 km） of transition from lawsonite blueschist to lawsonite eclogite facies through glaucophane dehydration; only a smaller portion of water will escape from the slab through dehydration of lawsonite and chloritoid in the depth range suitable for arc magma formation; and a very small portion of water stored in lawsonite and phengite will fade into the deeper mantle. The role of amphibole for arc magma formation is still arguable. In cold subduction P-Tregimes, the dehydration of chlorite and talc in AI-poor metasediments, and chloritoid and carpholite in AI-rich metapelites at a depth around 80--100 km will make some con- tributions to the formation of arc magma. Comparatively, dehydration of serpentine in hydrated peri- dotite occurs at depths of 120--180 km, playing an important role in the arc magmatism. Subduction of oceanic crust along warm P-T regimes will cross the solidi at a depth over 80 km, resulting in partial melting under fluid-saturated and fluid-absent conditions in the metasediments involving biotite and phengite, and in the basic rocks involving epidote and amphibole. The melt compositions of the basic crust are adakitic at pressures 〈 3.0 GPa, but become peraluminous granitic at higher pressures.     

Far-field coseismic displacements associated with the great Sumatra earthquakes of December 26, 2004 and March 29, 2005 constrained by Global Positioning System

On December 26, 2004, a great earthquake along the northern Sumatra coast, with its consequent tsunami, caused about 300000 deaths (refer to the 2004 earth-quake hereafter). This great thrust faulting event oc-curred on the subduction zone between Indian …     

Microwave sintering of Ca<Subscript>0.6</Subscript>La<Subscript>0.2667</Subscript>TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> microwave dielectric ceramics

Ca_0.6La_0.2667TiO₃ ceramics were prepared by conventional and microwave sintering techniques and their sinterability, microstructure, and microwave dielectric properties were investigated in detail for comparison. Densified Ca_0.6La_0.2667TiO₃ ceramics were obtained by microwave sintering at 1350°C for 30 min and by conventional sintering at 1450°C for 4 h. An unusual phenomenon was found that some larger grains (grain size range: 8–10 μm) inclined to assemble in one area but some smaller ones (grain size range: 2–4 μm) inclined to gather in another area in the microwave sintered ceramics. The microwave dielectric properties of Ca_0.6La_0.2667TiO₃ ceramics prepared by microwave sintering at 1350°C were as follows: dielectric constant (ɛ _r) = 119.6, quality factor (Qf) = 17858.5 GHz, and temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ _f) = 155.5 ppm/°C. In contrast, the microwave dielectric properties of the ceramics prepared by conventional sintering at 1450°C were ɛ _r = 117.4, Qf = 13375 GHz, and τ _f = 217.2 ppm/°C.     

First record of Lower Triassic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Undichna</Emphasis> spp. fish swimming traces from Emei,Sichuan Province,China

We discuss traces from the ichnospecies Undichna unisulca recorded from the Triassic that are reported for the first time in this paper. These fossils are also some of the oldest vertebrate ichnites discovered in China to date. The fish swimming traces (Undichna unisulca) described originate from the Lower Triassic. These traces were found in the Jialingjiang Formation and are located at a gorge ~7.5 km from Emei, Sichuan Province, China. The ichnospecies Undichna unisulca consists of a regular sinusoidal wave. The wavelengths and amplitudes are quite constant between each specimen ranging between 28-32 mm and 9-12 mm, respectively. The fish swimming traces and distribution within the same bed are preserved as hypichnial ridges at the undersurface.     

Slip rate along the Lijiang-Ninglang fault zone estimated from repeating microearthquakes

Seismicity and slip rates along the Lijiang-Ninglang fault zone between 1999 and 2006 were investigated with the waveform data recorded by the Yunnan digital Seismic Network. The relocated seismicity by the double difference method clearly exhibits different features between the northern and southern segments. More than 76% earthquakes occurred in the southern segment of the fault near the Lijiang area. The relocated seismicity appears to reflect the crustal velocity structure of the study area. Using cross-correlation analysis, we identified a total of 92 doublets and 70 multiplets that show high waveform similarity. Most of these sequences are aperiodic with recurrence intervals varying from a few minutes to hundreds of days. Using two sequences that occurred regularly over the study period, we obtained a fault slip rate of approximately 5 mm/a at ∼23 km, in good agreement with geologic and surface GPS measurement. Supported by National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2004CB418405) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40174014)