Fault-scarp features and cascading-rupture model for the Mw Wenchuan earthquake, eastern Tibetan Plateau, China

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America

Volumn 100, Issue 5 B, 2010, Pages 2590-2614

  Yu, G ^a   Xu, X ^a   Klinger, Y ^b   Diao, G ^c   Chen, G ^a   Feng, X ^c   Li, C ^a   Zhu, A ^d   Yuan, R ^a   Guo, T ^a   Sun, X ^a   Tan, X ^a   An, Y ^a  

^a INSTITUTE OF GEOLOGY   (China)

^b STATION DE RADIOASTRONOMIE DE NANÇAY   (France)

^c Earthquake Administration of Hebei Province   (China)

^d Earthquake Administration of Shanghai Municipality   (China)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

COSEISMIC SURFACE RUPTURE; CRUSTAL FLOW; CRUSTAL SHORTENING; DRIVING FORCES; EARTHQUAKE RUPTURE; EASTERN TIBETAN PLATEAU; FAULT GEOMETRY; FAULT PLANES; FAULT-RELATED FOLD; FOCAL MECHANISM; NORMAL FAULTS; PRESSURE RIDGE; REVERSE FAULTING; REVERSE FAULTS; RUPTURE MODELS; SECOND ORDERS; SEISMIC NETWORKS; SITE TO SITES; STRIKE-SLIP COMPONENT; SUBSEGMENTS; SURFACE RUPTURES; THRUST BELTS; TIBETAN PLATEAU; WENCHUAN EARTHQUAKE;

AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS; TECTONICS;

EARTHQUAKES;

AFTERSHOCK; COSEISMIC PROCESS; CRUSTAL SHORTENING; EARTHQUAKE RUPTURE; FAULT GEOMETRY; FAULT SCARP; FOCAL MECHANISM; MODELING; REVERSE FAULT; SICHUAN EARTHQUAKE 2008;

CHINA; QINGHAI-XIZANG PLATEAU;

EID: 78149485489     PISSN: 00371106     EISSN: 19433573     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1785/0120090255     Document Type: Article

References (84)

1. Aki, K. (1979). Characterization of barriers on an earthquake fault, J. Geophys. Res. 84, 6140-6148.
2. Aki, K. (1989). Geometric features of a fault zone related to nucleation and termination of an earthquake rupture, U.S. Geol. Surv. Open-File Rept. 89-315, 1-9.
3. Avouac, J. P., and P. Tapponnier (1993). Kinematic model of active deformation in Central Asia, Geophys. Res. Lett. 20, 895.
4. Basile, C., and J. P. Brun (1999). Transtensional faulting patterns ranging from pull-apart basins to transform continental margins: An experimental investigation, J. Struct. Geol. 21, no. 1, 23-37.
5. Bowman, D., G. King, and P. Tapponnier (2003). Slip partinioning by elastoplastic propagation of oblique slip at depth, Science 300, 1121-1123.
6. Burchfiel, B. C., L. H. Royden, R. D. Van der Hilst, Z. Chen, R. W. King, C. Li, J. Lu, H. Yao, and E. Kirby (2008). A geological and geophysical context for the Wenchuan earthquake of 12 May 2008, Sichuan, People's Republic of China, GSA Today (Geological Society of America) 18, no. 7, doi 10.1130/GSATG18A.1.
7. Chen, G., F. Ji, R. Zhou, J. Xu, and B. Zhou (2007). Primary research of the activity segmentation of Longmen Shan fault zone since late Quaternary, Seismology and Geology 29, no. 3, 657-673 (in Chinese).
8. s 8.0 earth-quake sequence, Chin. J. Geophys. 52, no. 2, 390-397.
9. s 8.0 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Chin. J. Geophys. 52, no. 5, 1384-1394.
10. Chen, S. F., C. J. L. Wilson, Q. D. Deng, X. L. Zhao, and Z. L. Luo (1994). Active faulting and block movement associated with large earthquakes in the Min Shan and Longmen Mountains, northeastern Tibetan Plateau, J. Geophys. Res. 99, 24025-24038.
11. China Earthquake Administration (1999). The Catalog of Modem Earth- quakes in China, China Science and Technology Press, Beijing, 637 pp. (in Chinese).
12. Cunningham, W. D., and P. Mann (2007). Tectonics of strike-slip restraining and releasing bends, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 290, 1-12 doi 10.1144/SP290.1.
13. Deng, Q. (2007). Active Tectonics Map of China, Earthquake Press, Beijing, ISBN 978-7-5028-3051-9 (in Chinese).
14. Deng, Q., S. Chen, and X. Zhao (1994). Tectonics, seismicity and dynamics of Longmenshan Mountains and its adjacent regions, Seismology and Geology 16, no. 4, 389-403 (in Chinese).
15. Densmore, A. L., M. A. Ellis, Y. Li, R. Zhou, G. S. Hancock, and N. Richardson (2007). Active tectonics of the Beichuan and Pengguan faults at the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, Tectonics 26, TC4005 doi 10.1029/2006TC001987.
16. DePolo, C. M., D. G. Clark, D. B. Slemmons, and A. R. Ramelli (1991). Historical surface faulting in the Basin and Range province, western North America: Implications for fault segmentation, J. Struct. Geol. 13, no. 2, 123-136.
17. s 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake of May 12th, 2008, Sichuan, China: Eastward growth of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Acta Geol. Sin. 82, no. 5, 801-840.
18. Dooley, Tim, and Ken McClay (1997). Analog modeling of pull-apart basins, AAPG Bulletin 81, no. 11, 1804-1826.
19. Du, H. L., L. S. Xu, and Y. T. Chen (2009). Rupture process of the 2008 great Wenchuan earthquake from the analysis of the Alaska-array data, Chin. J. Geophys. 52, no. 2, 372-378 (in Chinese).
20. Duman, T. Y., O. Emre, A. Dogan, and S. Ozalp (2005). Step-over and bend structures along the 1999 Düzce earthquake surface rupture, North Anatolian Fault, Turkey, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 95, no. 4, 1250-1262 doi 10.1785/0120040082.
21. s 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake using high-resolution remote sensing imagery, Acta Geol. Sin. 82, no. 12, 1679-1687 (in Chinese).
22. Hanks, T. C., and H. Kanamori (1979). A moment-magnitude scale, J. Geophys. Res. 84, 2348-2350.
23. w 7.9, China, Geophys. Res. Lett. 36, L11303 doi 10.1029/2009GL037971.
24. w 7.9) earthquake, Nature 458, doi 10.1038/nature07837.
25. w 7.9 eastern Sichuan, China earthquake, U.S. Geol. Surv., Va. (available at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/eqinthenews/2008/us2008ryan/finite-fault.php).
26. Jia, Q., D. Jia, A. Zhu, Z. Chen, Q. Hu, L. Luo, Y. Zhang, and Y. Li (2007). Active tectonics in the Longmen thrust belt on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Sichuan basin: Evidence from topography and seismicity, Chinese Journal of Geology 42, no. 1, 31-44
27. Kadinsky, K., and A. A. Barka (1989). Effects of restraining bends on the rupture of strike-slip earthquakes, U.S. Geol. Surv. Open-File Rept. 89-135, 181-192.
28. Kao, H., and W. P. Chen (2000). The Chi-Chi earthquake sequence: Active, out-of-sequence thrust faulting in Taiwan, Science 288, no. 5475, 2346-2349 doi 10.1126/science.288.5475.2346.
29. Kelson, K. I., K. H. Kang, W. D. Page, C. T. Lee, and L. S. Cluff (2001). Representative styles of deformation along the Chelungpu fault from the 1999 Chi-Chi (Taiwan) earthquake: Geomorphic characteristics and response of man-made structures, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 91, no. 5, 930-952.
30. w 7.8 2001 Kokoxili earthquake, China, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 95, 731-738.
31. Klinger, Y. (2010). Relation between continental strike-slip earthquake segmentation and thickness of the crust, J. Geophys. Res. 115, doi 10.1029/2009JB006550.
32. w ~ 7:8 Kokoxili (Tibet) earthquake slip-distribution, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 242, 354-364.
33. w ~ 7:8, 14 November 2001 Kokoxili earthquake, Kunlun fault, northern Tibet, China, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 95, 1970-1987.
34. Knuepfer, P. L. K. (1989). Implications of the characteristics of end-points of historical surface fault ruptures for the nature of fault segmentation, U.S. Geol. Surv. Open-File Rept. 89-135, 193-228.
35. Lettis, W., J. Bachhuber, R. Witter, C. Brankman, C. E. Randolph, A. Barka, W. D. Page, and A. Kaya (2002). Influence of releasing step-overs on surface fault rupture and fault segmentation: Examples from the 17 August 1999 Izmit earthquake on the North Anatolian Fault, Turkey, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 92, no. 1, 19-42.
36. s 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, Acta Geol. Sin. 82, no. 12, 1623-1643 (in Chinese).
37. Li, Q., R. Gao, H. Wang, J. Zhang, Zh. Lu, P. Li, Y. Guan, and R. He (2009). Deep background of Wenchuan earthquake and the upper crust structure beneath the Longmen Shan and adjacent areas, Acta Geol. Sin. 83, no. 4, 733-739 (in Chinese).
38. Li, X., Zh. Zhou, H. Yu, R. Wen, D. Lu, M. Huang, Y. Zhou, and J. Cu (2008). Strong motion observations and recordings from the great Wenchuan Earthquake, Earthquake Eng. Eng. Vib. 7, no. 3, 235-246 doi 10.1007/s11803-008-0892-x.
39. Li, Y., R. Zhou, A. L. Densmore, and M. A. Elli (2006). Geomorphic evidence for the late Cenozoic strike-slipping and thrusting in Longmen Mountain at the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, Quaternary Res. 26, no. 1, 40-51.
40. Li, Y., R. Zhou, A. Densmore, L. Yan, N. Richardson, S. Dong, M. A. Ellis, Y. Zhang, Y. He, H. Chen, B. Qiao, and B. Ma (2008). Surface rupture and deformation of the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault by the Wenchuan earthquake, Acta Geol. Sin. 82, no. 12, 1688-1702 (in Chinese).
41. s 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake hazard, Seismology and Geology 30, no. 4, 855-876 (in Chinese with English abstract).
42. w 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake, China, Tectonophysics doi 10.1016/j.tecto.2009.02.014.
43. s 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake co-seismic rupture and its tectonic implications-An out-of-sequence thrusting event with slip partitioned on multiple faults, Acta Geol. Sin. 82, no. 12, 1707-1722 (in Chinese).
44. s 8.0 earthquake: Preliminary study of the S-wave velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle, Chin. J. Geophys. 52, no. 2, 309-319 (in Chinese).
45. Ma, B., G. Su, Z. Hou, and S. Shu (2005). Late Quaternary slip rate in the central part of the Longmen Shan fault zone from terrace deformation along the Minjiang River, Seismology and Geology 27, no. 2, 234-242 (in Chinese).
46. Molnar, P., and P. Tapponnier (1975). Cenozoic tectonics of Asia: Effects of a continental collision: Features of recent continental tectonics in Asia can be interpreted as results of the India-Eurasia collision, Science 189,419.
47. Nishimura, N., and Y. Yagi (2008). Rupture process for May 12, 2008 Sichuan earthquake (preliminary result): http://www.geol.tsukuba.ac.jp/nisimura/20080512/.
48. Philip, H., and F. Meghraoui (1983). Structural analysis and interpretation of the surface deformations of the El Asnam earthquake of October 10, 1980, Tectonics 2, 17-49.
49. Philip, H., E. Rogozhin, A. Cisternas, J. C. Bousquet, B. Borisov, and A. Karakhanian (1992). The Armenian earthquake of 1988 December 7: Faulting and folding, neotectonics and paleoseismicity, Geophys. J. Int. 110, 141-158.
50. Royden, L. H., B. C. Burchfiel, R. W. King, E. Wang, Z. Chen, F. Shen, and Y. P. Liu (1997). Surface deformation and lower crustal flow in eastern Tibet, Science 294, 1671-1677.
51. Royden, L. H., B. C. Burchfiel, and R. D. van der Hilst (2008). The geological evolution of the Tibetan Plateau, Science 321, 1054-1058.
52. Schwartz, D. P., and K. J. Coppersmith (1984). Fault behavior and characteristic earthquake: Example from the Wasatch and San Andreas fault zones, J. Geophys. Res. 85, 4337-4350.
53. Shaw, J. H., C. Connors, and J. Suppe (2005). Seismic interpretation of contractional fault-related folds, in An AAPG Seismic Atlas, Studies in Geology, Vol. 53, The American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 156 pp.
54. Shen, Z., J. Lu, M. Wang, and R. Bürgmann (2005). Contemporary crustal deformation around the southeast borderland of the Tibetan Plateau, J. Geophys. Res. 110, 1-17.
55. Shen, Z., J. Sun, P. Zhang, Y. Wan, M. Wang, R. Bürgmann, Y. Zeng, W. Gan, H. Liao, and Q. Wang (2009). Slip maxima at fault junctions and rupturing of barriers during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Nat. Geosci. 2, 718-724 doi 10.1038/ngeo636.
56. Song, H. (1994). The comprehensive interpretation of geological and geophysical data in the orogenic belt of Longmen Mountains, China, J. Chengdu Inst. Technology 21, no. 2, 79-88 (in Chinese).
57. Song, H., and Z. Luo (1995). The study of the basement and deep geological structure of Sichuan Basin, China, Earth Science Frontiers 2, no. 4, 231-237 (in Chinese).
58. Suppe, J. (1983). Geometry and kinematics of fault-bend folding, Am. J. Sci. 283,684-721.
59. Tang, R. and W. Han (1993). Active Faults and Earthquakes in Sichuan Province, Seismological Press, Beijing, 368 (in Chinese).
60. Tapponnier, P., and P. Molnar (1977). Active faulting and tectonics in China, J. Geophys. Res. 82, 2905-2930.
61. Tapponnier, P., Zh. Xu, F. Roger, B. Meyer, N. Arnaud, G. Wittlinger, and J. Yang (2001). Oblique stepwise rise and growth of the Tibet Plateau, Science 294, 1671-1677.
62. s 8.0 earthquake of 2008, Chin. J. Geophys. 51, no. 4, 1385-1402 (in Chinese).
63. Waldhauser, F., and W. Ellsworth (2000). A double-difference earthquake location algorithm: method and application to the northern Hayward fault, California, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 90, no. 6, 1353-1368.
64. Wang, W. H., S. H. Chang, and C. H. Chen (2001). Fault slip inverted from surface displacements during the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan, earthquake, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 91, no. 5, 1167-1181.
65. s 8, 0 Wenchuan earthquake of Sichuan, China, Chin. J. Geophys. 51, no. 5, 1403-1410 (in Chinese).
66. Wesnousky, S. (2006). Predicting the endpoints of earthquake ruptures, Nature 444, 358-360.
67. w 6.1 Taitung earthquake, Geophys. Res. Lett. 33, L22305 doi 10.1029/2006GL027572.
68. Xu, X., X. Wen, G. Chen, and G. Yu (2008). Discovery of the Longriba fault zone in eastern Bayan Har Block, China and its tectonic implication, Sci. China Earth Sci. 51, no. 9, 1209-1223.
69. s 8.0 Wenchuan earth-quake surface ruptures and its seismogenic structure, Seismology and Geology 30, no. 3 597-629 (in Chinese).
70. w 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake, China, Geology 37, no. 6, 515-518 doi 10.1130/G25462A.1.
71. Xu, X., G. Yu, G. Chen, Y. Ran, Ch. Li, Y. Chen, and Ch. Chang (2009). Parameters of coseismic reverse- and oblique-slip surface ruptures of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, eastern Tibetan Plateau, Acta Geol. Sin.-English Edition, 83, no. 4, 673-684.
72. Xu, X. (2009). Album of 5.12 Wenchuan Earthquake Surface Ruptures, China, Seismological Press, Beijing, 110 pp. (in Chinese).
73. w 7.8), Northern Tibetan Plateau, China, J. Geophys. Res. 111, B05316 doi 10.1029/2004JB003488.
74. Yagi, Y. (2008). Rupture process for May 12,2008 Sichuan earth-quake: (preliminary result): http://www.geol.tsukuba.ac.jp/nisimura/20080512/.
75. Yang, X., P. Jiang, F. Song, X. Liang, X. Chen, and Zh. Deng (1999). The evidence of the south Longmen Shan fault zone cutting late Quaternary stratum, Seismology and Geology 21, no. 4, 341-345 (in Chinese).
76. Yang, X. P., X. J. Feng, T. Y. Ge, F. M. Song, Y. Q. Shi, and Y. F. Liu (2008). Geological and geomorphic evidence for the Quaternary activity on the northeastern segment of Longmenshan fault zone, Seismology and Geology 30, no. 3, 644-657 (in Chinese).
77. Yeats, R. S., K. Sieh, and C. R. Allen (1997). The Geology of Earthquake, Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, 568 pp.
78. Yuan, X., and A. S. Egorov (2000). The Arctic Ocean-Eurasian Continent-Pacific Ocean Geosciences Transect, The ICL Publications 276, Sciences Press, Beijing.
79. Zhang, P., D. B. Slemmons, and F. Mao (1991). Geometric pattern, rupture termination and fault segmentation of the Dixie Valley-Pleasant Valley active fault system, Nevada, J. Struct. Geol. 13, no. 2, 165-176.
80. Zhang, Y., L. Sh. Xu, and Y. T. Chen (2009). Spatiotemporal variation of source mechanism of the 2008 Wenchuan great earthquake, Chin. J. Geophys. 52, no. 2, 379-389 (in Chinese).
81. Zhao, X., Q. Deng, and S. Chen (1994). Tectonic geomorphology of the central segment of the Longmenshan thrust belt, western Sichuan, southern China, Seismology and Geology 16, no. 4, 422-428 (in Chinese).
82. Zhu, A., X. Xu, Y. Zou, J. Yin, W. Gan, and G. Chen (2005). Relocation of the small earthquakes in western Sichuan, China and its implications for active tectonics, Chin. J. Geophys. 48, no. 3, 629-636 (in Chinese).
83. Zhu, A., X. Xu, G. Diao, J. Sun, X. Feng, Q. Sun, and Y. Wang (2008). Relocation of the Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake sequence in part: preliminary seismotectonic analysis, Seismology and Geology 30, no. 3, 759-767 (in Chinese).
84. Zhu, J. (2009). The Wenchuan earthquake occurrence background in deep structure and dynamics of lithosphere, J. Chengdu Univ. Technology (Science & Technology Edition), 35, no. 4, 348-356 (in Chinese).