Seismology: energy radiation from the Sumatra earthquake

We determined the duration of high-frequency energy radiation from Indonesia's great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake (26 December 2004) to be about 500 seconds. This duration can be translated into a rupture length of about 1,200 km, which is more than twice as long as that inferred from body-wave analyses performed soon after the event. Our analysis was able rapidly to define the extent of rupture, thereby aiding the assessment of seismic hazard in the immediate future.     

Seismology: earthquake risk on the Sunda trench

On 28 March 2005 the Sunda megathrust in Indonesia ruptured again, producing another great earthquake three months after the previous one. The rupture was contiguous with that of the December 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, and is likely to have been sparked by local stress, although the triggering stresses at its hypocentre were very small - of the order of just 0.1 bar. Calculations show that stresses imposed by the second rupture have brought closer to failure the megathrust immediately to the south, under the Batu and Mentawai islands, and have expanded the area of increased stress on the Sumatra fault. Palaeoseismologic studies show that the Mentawai segment of the Sunda megathrust is well advanced in its seismic cycle and is therefore a good candidate for triggered failure.     

Tracking the rupture of the Mw = 9.3 Sumatra earthquake over 1,150 km at teleseismic distance

On 26 December 2004, a moment magnitude Mw = 9.3 earthquake occurred along Northern Sumatra, the Nicobar and Andaman islands, resulting in a devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean region. The rapid and accurate estimation of the rupture length and direction of such tsunami-generating earthquakes is crucial for constraining both tsunami wave-height models as well as the seismic moment of the events. Compressional seismic waves generated at the hypocentre of the Sumatra earthquake arrived after about 12 min at the broadband seismic stations of the German Regional Seismic Network (GRSN), located approximately 9,000 km from the event. Here we present a modification of a standard array-seismological approach and show that it is possible to track the propagating rupture front of the Sumatra earthquake over a total rupture length of 1,150 km. We estimate the average rupture speed to be 2.3-2.7 km s(-1) and the total duration of rupture to be at least 430 s, and probably between 480 and 500 s.     

Seismology: dynamic triggering of earthquakes

After an earthquake, numerous smaller shocks are triggered over distances comparable to the dimensions of the mainshock fault rupture, although they are rare at larger distances. Here we analyse the scaling of dynamic deformations (the stresses and strains associated with seismic waves) with distance from, and magnitude of, their triggering earthquake, and show that they can cause further earthquakes at any distance if their amplitude exceeds several microstrain, regardless of their frequency content. These triggering requirements are remarkably similar to those measured in the laboratory for inducing dynamic elastic nonlinear behaviour, which suggests that the underlying physics is similar.     

Extent, duration and speed of the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake imaged by the Hi-Net array

The disastrous Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of 26 December 2004 was one of the largest ever recorded. The damage potential of such earthquakes depends on the extent and magnitude of fault slip. The first reliable moment magnitude estimate of 9.0 was obtained several hours after the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, but more recent, longer-period, normal-mode analyses have indicated that it had a moment magnitude of 9.3, about 2.5 times larger. Here we introduce a method for directly imaging earthquake rupture that uses the first-arriving compressional wave and is potentially able to produce detailed images within 30 min of rupture initiation. We used the Hi-Net seismic array in Japan as an antenna to map the progression of slip by monitoring the direction of high-frequency radiation. We find that the rupture spread over the entire 1,300-km-long aftershock zone by propagating northward at roughly 2.8 km s(-1) for approximately 8 minutes. Comparisons with the aftershock areas of other great earthquakes indicate that the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake did indeed have a moment magnitude of approximately 9.3. Its rupture, in both duration and extent, is the longest ever recorded.     

Particle size and energetics of gouge from earthquake rupture zones

Grain size reduction and gouge formation are found to be ubiquitous in brittle faults at all scales, and most slip along mature faults is observed to have been localized within gouge zones. This fine-grain gouge is thought to control earthquake instability, and thus understanding its properties is central to an understanding of the earthquake process. Here we show that gouge from the San Andreas fault, California, with approximately 160 km slip, and the rupture zone of a recent earthquake in a South African mine with only approximately 0.4 m slip, display similar characteristics, in that ultrafine grains approach the nanometre scale, gouge surface areas approach 80 m2 g(-1), and grain size distribution is non-fractal. These observations challenge the common perception that gouge texture is fractal and that gouge surface energy is a negligible contributor to the earthquake energy budget. We propose that the observed fine-grain gouge is not related to quasi-static cumulative slip, but is instead formed by dynamic rock pulverization during the propagation of a single earthquake.     

地震中广义分维的计算结果

对某海域20年实测的地震数据分段进行广义分维计算，分析表明高q值的分维数在强震前后有明显差别.     

1755年里斯本大地震与2008年汶川大地震 灾后恢复重建比较

1755年里斯本大地震是欧洲历史上最具破坏力、最具影响力的地震之一,2008年汶川大地震是中国近年来发生的典型巨灾,两者灾后恢复重建均产生深远影响和意义.1755年里斯本大地震和2008年汶川大地震虽然发生在不同时代、不同地理位置和不同社会性质下,但在自然环境、人文环境和社会环境等方面却有相似之处,具有一定可比性.本文主要将两者灾后恢复重建的政府主导、整体规划、融资方式和心理干预4方面进行比较,分析两者在恢复重建中存在的困难和取得的进步,最终得出针对我国恢复重建的相关建议:将"以人为本"根植于政府主导的恢复重建模式;整体规划重点体现整体性、全局性和前瞻性;坚持多种融资方式并存,并严格监管;在专业人才、组织管理体系和法律法规等方面完善心理干预.     

Indonesian earthquake: earthquake risk from co-seismic stress

Following the massive loss of life caused by the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake in Indonesia and its tsunami, the possibility of a triggered earthquake on the contiguous Sunda trench subduction zone is a real concern. We have calculated the distributions of co-seismic stress on this zone, as well as on the neighbouring, vertical strike-slip Sumatra fault, and find an increase in stress on both structures that significantly boosts the already considerable earthquake hazard posed by them. In particular, the increased potential for a large subduction-zone event in this region, with the concomitant risk of another tsunami, makes the need for a tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean all the more urgent.     

The success of the prediction of Haicheng earthquake and the negligence of the Tangshan earthquake

The success of the prediction of Haicheng earthquake and the failure of the prediction of Tangshan earthquake were both well known in the world. What happened, why such a strong earthquake as occurred in Haicheng had been predicted successfully and with a small loss of lives and property？ Why a successively strong earthquake about a year later in a region not so further was failure in the imminent stage of prediction and there were so many fatalities and a great degree of property？ The author addresses these points based on these true experiences including the first hand experiences leading up to, during, and following these two earthquarter. In addition, he also introduced some seimic phenomena which he had seen after Chi-chi earthquake in Taiwan.     

南苏门答腊盆地北部新生代层序地层格架及有利储层分布

南苏门答腊盆地是在欧亚、印度洋-澳大利亚、太平洋三大板块交汇处发育起来的新生代弧后裂谷沉积盆地,经历了一次完整的海进—海退旋回。应用层序地层学的原理和方法,综合研究盆地北部钻井、测井及地震资料,确定4种层序界面识别标志,在盆地北部新生代始新世—中新世识别出2种类型层序界面:不整合面和沉积作用转换面。南苏门答腊盆地北部新生代始新世—中新世发育8个具有等时意义的层序界面,将其划分为7个三级层序。分析层序格架内基准面上升期与下降期地层叠加样式及沉积相构成特征,认为冲积扇、河流、三角洲和盆底低位扇等沉积体系是南苏门答腊盆地北部最重要的勘探目标,有利的岩性储集相带主要分布在基准面上升期,为后期盆地勘探的潜在领域,特别要重视对邻近不整合面或沉积作用转换面位置的储集层精细描述,选择有利相带进行钻探与评价。     

我国安全新闻报道的重大转变

汶川地震发生后,我国的媒体投入了大量的报道。相比唐山地震时媒体的表现,对这两次震级相当的地震的报道,我国媒体的表现差异很大。本文对两次地震后媒体对灾难的报道进行对比,从新闻时效性、信息量、报道角度、新闻表现等几个方面看我国媒体在应对重大安全新闻事件时的转变。