Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A seismic gap on the Anninghe fault in western Sichuan, China

  • Published:
Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Through integrated analyses of time-varying patterns of regional seismicity, occurrence background of strong and large historical earthquakes along active faults, and temporal-spatial distribution of accurately relocated hypocenters of modern small earthquakes, this paper analyzes and discusses the implication of a 30-year-lasting seismic quiescence in the region along and surrounding the Anninghe and Zemuhe faults in western Sichuan, China. It suggests that the seismic quiescence for M L⩾4.0 events has been lasting in the studied region since January, 1977, along with the formation and evaluation of a seismic gap of the second kind, the Anninghe seismic gap. The Anninghe seismic gap has the background of a seismic gap of the first kind along the Anninghe fault, and has resulted from evident fault-locking and strain-accumulating along the fault during the last 30 years. Now, two fault sections either without or with less small earthquakes exist along the Anninghe fault within the Anninghe seismic gap. They indicate two linked and locked fault-sections, the northern Mianning section and the Mianning-Xichang section with lengths of 65 km and 75 km and elapsed time from the latest large earthquakes of 527 and 471 years, respectively. Along the Anninghe fault, characteristics of both the background of the first kind seismic gap and the seismicity patterns of the second seismic gap, as well as the hypocenter depth distribution of modern small earthquakes are comparable, respectively, to those appearing before the M=8.1 Hoh Xil earthquake of 2001 and to those emerging in the 20 years before the M=7.1 Loma Prieta, California, earthquake of 1989, suggesting that the Anninghe seismic gap is tending to become mature, and hence its mid-to long-term potential of large earthquakes should be noticeable. The probable maximum magnitudes of the potential earthquakes are estimated to be as large as 7.4 for both the two locked sections of the Anninghe fault.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Fedotov S A. Regularities of the distribution of strong earthquakes in Kamchatka, the Kurile Islands, and northeast Japan. Tr Inst Fiz Zemli Akad Nauk SSSR, 1965, 36: 66–93

    Google Scholar 

  2. Sykes L R. Aftershock zones of great earthquakes, seismicity gaps, and earthquake prediction for Alaska and the Aleutians. J Geophys Res, 1971, 76: 8021–8041

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Mogi K. Two kinds of seismic gaps. Pure Appl Geophys, 1979, 117: 1172–1186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Wyss M, Habermann R E. Precursory quiescence before the August 1982 Stone Canyon, San Andreas Fault, earthquakes. Pure Appl Geophys. 1988, 126: 333–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Wiemer S, Wyss M. Seismic quiescence before the Landers (M = 7.5) and Big Bear (M = 6.5) 1992 earthquakes. Bull Seismol Soc Amer, 1994, 84: 900–916

    Google Scholar 

  6. Wyss M, Martirosyan A. Seismic quiescence before the M7, 1988, Spitak earthquake, Armenia. Geophys J Int, 1998, 134: 329–340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Katsumata K, Kasahara M. Precursory seismic quiescence before the 1994 Kurile earthquake (M w=8.3) revealed by three independent seismic catalogs. Pure Appl Geophys, 1999, 155(2–4): 443–447

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Wyss M, Matsumura S. Most likely location of large earthquakes in the Kanto and Tokai areas, Japan, based on the local recurrence times. Phys Earth Planet Int, 2002, 131: 173–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Wen X Z, Yi G X, Li G F. The background seismic gap of Xichang and its implication for seismic hazard. In: Chen Y T, Panza G F, Wu Z L, eds. Earthquake Hazard, Risk, and Strong Ground Motion. Beijing: Seismological Press, 2004. 31–44

    Google Scholar 

  10. Yi G X, Wen X Z, Fan J, et al. Assessing current faulting behaviors and potential seismic risk of the Anninghe-Zemuhe fault zone from seismicity parameters. Acta Seism Sin (in Chinese with English ab-stract), 2004, 26(3): 294–303

    Google Scholar 

  11. Wen X Z, Yi G X, Xu X W. Background and precursory seismicities along and surrounding the Kunlun fault before the Ms 8.1, 2001, Hoh Xil earthquake, China. J Asian Earth Sci, 2007, 30(1): 63–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Zhang P, Deng Q, Zhang G, et al. Active tectonic blocks and strong earthquake activities in the continent of China. Sci China Ser D-Earth Sci, 2003, 33(Suppl): 13–24

    Google Scholar 

  13. Department of Earthquake Disaster Prevention, China Earthquake Administration. The Catalogue of Chinese Historical Strong Earthquakes (in Chinese). Beijing: Seismological Press, 1995. 1–514

    Google Scholar 

  14. Department of Earthquake Disaster Prevention, China Earthquake Administration. The Catalogue of Chinese Modern Earthquakes (in Chinese). Beijing: China Science and Technology Press, 1999. 1–637

    Google Scholar 

  15. Hu X M. Study on induced earthquake of Mianning Daqiao reservoir. J Geodesy and Geodynamics (in Chinese with English abstract), 2004, 24(2): 88–91

    Google Scholar 

  16. Editor Group of the Data Compilation of Earthquakes in Sichuan. The Data Compilation of Earthquakes in Sichuan (Book 1) (in Chinese). Chengdu: Sichuan People’s Publishing House, 1980. 1–576

    Google Scholar 

  17. Allen C R, Lou Z L, Qian H, et al. Field study of a highly active fault zone: The Xianshuihe fault of southwestern China. Geol Soc Am Bull, 1991, 103: 1178–1199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Ren J W, Li P. The characteristics of surface faulting of 1850 earthquake in Xichang, Sichuan. Seism Geol (in Chinese with English ab-stract), 1993, 15(2): 97–106

    Google Scholar 

  19. Yu W X, Song F M, Wen X Z, et al. Study of the surface rupture zone of the Xichang earthquake in 1850. J Seism Res (in Chinese with English abstract), 2001, 24(4): 346–350

    Google Scholar 

  20. Wen X Z. Rupture segmentation and assessment of probabilities of seismic potential on the Xiaojiang fault zone. Acta Seism Sin (in Chinese with English abstract), 1993, 15(3): 322–330

    Google Scholar 

  21. Wen X Z, Du P S, Long D X. New evidence of paleoearthquakes and date of the latest event on the Xiaoxiangling mountain segment of the Anninghe fault zone. Seism Geol (in Chinese with English abstract), 2000, 22(1): 1–8

    Google Scholar 

  22. Wen X Z. Character of rupture segmentation of the Xianshuihe-Anninghe-Zemuhe fault zone, western Sichuan. Seism Geol (in Chinese with English abstract), 2000, 22(3): 239–249

    Google Scholar 

  23. Wen X Z, Ma S L, Lei X L, et al. Newly found surface rupture remains of large historical earthquakes on and near the transition seg ment of the Anninghe and Zemuhe fault zones, western Sichuan, China. Seism Geol (in Chinese with English abstract), 2007, 29(4): 826–833

    Google Scholar 

  24. Wen X Z. Earthquake behavior of variable rupture-scale on active faults and application of the cascade-rupturing model. Acta Seism Sin (in Chinese with English abstract), 2001, 23(4): 380–390

    Google Scholar 

  25. Zhang C G, Wang X M, Pei X Y. The large 1536 earthquake and the latest surface offsets along the Anninghe fault. Earthquake Research in Sichuan (in Chinese with English abstract), 1998, (4): 34–51

  26. Prugger A F, Gendzwill D J. Microearthquake location: A nonlinear approach that makes use of a simplex stepping procedure. Bull Seism, Soc Amer, 1988, 78(2): 799–815

    Google Scholar 

  27. Zhao Z, Zhang R S. Primary study of crustal and upper mantle velocity structure of Sichuan province. Acta Seism Sin (in Chinese with English abstract), 1987, 9(2): 154–166

    Google Scholar 

  28. Jiang Z S, Niu A F, Wang M. Quantitative analysis for tectonic deformation on active rupture zones. Acta Seism Sin (in Chinese with English abstract), 2005, 27(6): 610–619

    Google Scholar 

  29. Jiang Z S. The coseismic displacement field of the M=8.7 Sumatra earthquake and its influence on the crustal movement in mainland China. In: Department of Monitoring and Forecasting, China Earthquake Administration, eds. The Great Sumatra, Indonesia, Earthquake of M=8.7 in 2004, and Its Influences on Mainland China (in Chinese). Beijing: Seismological Press, 2005. 365–387

    Google Scholar 

  30. Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities. Probabilities of large earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay region, California. U S Geol Surv Circ 1053, 1990. 1–51

  31. Xu X W, Wen X Z, Zheng R Z, et al. Pattern of latest tectonic motion and its dynamics for active blocks in Sichuan-Yunnan region, China. Sci China Ser D-Earth Sci, 2003, 46(Suppl): 210–226

    Google Scholar 

  32. Lü J N, Shen Z K, Wang M. Contemporary crustal deformation and active tectonic block model of the Sichuan-Yunnan region, China. Seism Geol (in Chinese with English abstract), 2003, 25(4): 543–554

    Google Scholar 

  33. Brune J N. Seismic moment, seismicity, and rate of slip along major fault zone. J Geophys Res, 1968, 73: 2777–2784

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Chen P S, Chen H T. Scaling law from two-dimensional faulting model. Acta Seism Sin (in Chinese with English abstract), 1989, 11(4): 337–350

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. XueZe Wen

    Present address: Earthquake Administration of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, 610041, China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Earthquake Science, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, 100036, China

    XueZe Wen

  2. College of Information Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, China

    Jun Fan & GuiXi Yi

  3. Earthquake Administration of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Jun Fan, GuiXi Yi, YiWei Deng & Feng Long

Authors
  1. XueZe Wen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jun Fan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. GuiXi Yi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. YiWei Deng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Feng Long
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2004CB418401)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wen, X., Fan, J., Yi, G. et al. A seismic gap on the Anninghe fault in western Sichuan, China. Sci. China Ser. D-Earth Sci. 51, 1375–1387 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-008-0114-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-008-0114-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation