Abstract
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.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Deng Q D, Zhang P Z, Ran Y K, et al. Basic characteristics of active tectonics of China. Sci China Ser D-Earth Sci, 2003, 46(4): 356–372
Earthquake Administration of Inner Mongolia. Two 5.9 Earthquakes in Inner Mongolia Between 2003 and 2004 (in Chinese). Beijing: Seismological Press, 2005. 3–7
Zhang G M, Wang S Y, Li L, et al. Focal depth research of earthquakes in Mainland China: Implication for tectonics. Chin Sci Bull, 2002, 47: 969–974
McCowan D W. Moment tensor representation of surface wave sources. Geophys J R Astr Soc, 1976, 44: 595–599
Patton H J. Reference point method for determining the source and path effects of surface waves. J Geophys Res, 1980, 85: 821–848
Kanamori H, Given J W. Use of long period surface waves for rapid determination of the earthquake source parameters. Phys Earth Planet Inter, 1981, 27: 8–31
Lay T, Giveva J W, Kanamori H. Long period mechanism of the 8 November 1980 Eureka, California, earthquake. Bull Seismol Soc Amer, 1982, 72: 439–456
Xu L L, Rondenay S, van der Hilst R D. Structure of the crust beneath the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau from teleseismic receiver functions. Phys Earth Planet Inter, 2007, 165: 176–193
Dziewonski A M, Chou T A, Woodhouse J H. Determination of earthquake source parameters from waveform data for studies of global and regional seismicity. J Geophys Res, 1981, 86: 2825–2852
Dreger D S, Helmberger D V. Determination of source parameters at regional distances with three-component sparse network data. J Geophys Res, 1993, 98: 8107–8125
Takeo M. An inversion method to analyze the rupture processes of earthquakes using near-field seismogram. Bull Seismol Soc Amer, 1987, 77: 490–513
Burchfiel B C, Royden L H, Van der Hilst R D, et al. A geological and geophysical context for the Wenchuan earthquake of 12 May 2008, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China. GSA Today, 2008, 18: 4–11
Royden L H, Burchfiel B C, King R W, et al. Surface deformation and lower crustal flow in eastern Tibetan. Science, 1997, 276: 788–790
Clark M, Royden L H. Topographic ooze: Building the eastern margin of Tibet by lower crustal flow. Geology, 2000, 28: 703–706
Zheng Y, Fu R S, Xiong X. Dynamic simulation of lithospheric evolution from the modern China mainland and its surrounding areas (in Chinese). Chin J Geophys, 2006, 49(2): 415–427
Xu L S, Chen Y T. Temporal and spatial rupture process of the great Kunlun Mountain Pass earthquake of November 14, 2001 from the GDSN long period waveform data. Sci China Ser D-Earth Sci, 2005, 48(1): 112–122
Yao H, Van der Hilst R D, de Hoop M V. Surface-wave array tomography in SE Tibet from ambient seismic noise and two-station analysis-I, Phase velocity maps. Geophys J Int, 2006, 166(2): 732–744
Yao H, Beghein C, van der Hilst R D. Surface wave array tomography in SE Tibet from ambient seismic noise and two-station analysis-II. Crustal and upper-mantle structure. Geophys J Int, 2008, 173(1): 205–219
Lü J, Zheng Y, Ni S D. Focal mechanisms and seismogenic structure of the M,5.7 and M,4.8 Jiujiang-Ruichang earthquake of Nov 26, 2005 (in Chinese). Chin J Geophys, 2008, 51(1): 158–164
Zhu L P, Helmberger D V. Advancement in source estimation techniques using broadband regional seismograms. Bull Seismol Soc Amer, 1996, 86(5): 1634–1641
Tan Y, Zhu L P, Helmberger D V, et al. Locating and modeling regional earthquakes with two stations. J Geophys Res, 2006, 111: B01306, doi: 1029/2005JB003775
Geiger L. Probability method for the determination of earthquake epicenters from the arrival time only (translated from Geiger’s 1910 German article). Bull St Louis Univ, 1912, 8(1): 56–71
Waldhauser F, Ellsworth W L. A double-difference earthquake location algorithm: Method and application to the northern Hayward fault. Bull Seismol Soc Amer, 2000, 90: 1353–1368
Song H B. The comprehensive interpretation of geological and geophysical data in the orogenic belt of Longmen mountains, China (in Chinese). J Chendu Inst Technol, 1996, 21(2): 79–88
Zhao Z, Fan J, Zheng S H, et al. Precise revise of crustal velocity structure and earthquake locations of Longmenshan Fault (in Chinese). Acta Seismol Sin, 1997, 19(6): 615–622
Huang Y, Wu J P, Zhang T Z, et al. Relocation of the M8.0 Wenchuan earthquake and its aftershock sequence. Sci China Ser D-Earth Sci, 2008, 51(12): 1703–1711
Wang W M, Zhao L F, Li J, et al. Rupture process of the Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake of Sichuan, China (in Chinese). Chin J Geophys, 2008, 51(5): 1403–1410
Zhang P Z, Xu X W, Wen X Z, et al. Slip rates and recurrence intervals of the Longmen Shan active fault zone, and tectonic implications for the mechanism of the May 12 Wenchuan earthquake, 2008, Sichuan, China (in Chinese). Chin J Geophys, 2008, 51(4): 1066–1073
Engdahl E R, Van der Hilst R D, Buland R. Global teleseismic earthquake relocation with improved travel times and procedures for depth determination. Bull Seismol Soc Amer, 1998, 88(3): 722–743
Burchfiel B C, Chen Z, Liu Y, et al. Tectonics of the Longmenshan and adjacent regions, central China. Int Geol Rev, 1995, 37(8): 661–735
Chinese Academy of Geology. Geological structure map of Wenchuan earthquake disaster area. In: Wenchuan Expert Committee, ed. Atlas of Wenchuan M8.0 Earthquake (in Chinese). Beijing: Chinese Atlas publisher, 2008. 6–7
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
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), and National Basic Technology R & D Program (Grant No. 2006BAC01B02-01-02).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zheng, Y., Ma, H., Lü, J. et al. Source mechanism of strong aftershocks (M s⩾5.6) of the 2008/05/12 Wenchuan earthquake and the implication for seismotectonics. Sci. China Ser. D-Earth Sci. 52, 739–753 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-009-0074-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-009-0074-3