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Study on the crustal stress field of the Tengchong volcanic area using composite focal mechanism method

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Abstract

We calculated the crustal stress field using the composite focal mechanism method based on the P-wave initial motion polarity data of the Tengchong volcanic area from January 2011 to April 2019 obtained from the Bulletin of Seismological Observations of Chinese stations. The magnitude range of earthquakes used in this study is 0–4, and their magnitudes are mainly approximately 1.0. To investigate the influence of the source location on the stress field and obtain reliable stress fields of the study area, we applied the double-difference algorithm to relocate the seismic events, obtaining more accurate and reliable relative positions of seismic events with a clearer seismic belt. On the basis of relocation results, the study on the stress field along the fault zone was conducted, and the influence of seismic event position on the stress field was analyzed. Results show that, first, the current stress regime in the shallow crust of the Tengchong volcanic area is strike-slip faulting, the orientation of the principal compressive stress axis is NE-SW, the orientation of the principal extension stress axis is SE-NW, the principal compressive and extension stress axes are nearly horizontal, and the dip angle of intermediate principal stress axis is relatively large. This reflects that the volcanic and seismic activities in the Tengchong volcanic area are mainly controlled by the collision and squeezing effect of the Indian-Eurasian plate. It also reflects that the current tensile action caused by deep magma activity has little influence on the shallow crustal stress field. Second, the stress field along fault zones reveals that there exist local stress fields, such as the thrust stress regime at the strike-slip fault terminal area, which is consistent with the compressional area at the intersection of conjugate strike-slip faults indicated by previous study. Third, the stress field results are consistent, regardless of using the original location in the bulletin or the relocated location, indicating that the influence of the event location error can be neglected when there are sufficient data and reflecting the stability of the composite focal mechanism method. The findings can serve as a reference for investigating geological structure movement, seismic activities, and volcanic activities in the Tengchong volcanic area.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the National Scholarship Fund, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.41704053, 42174074, 41674055), and the East China University of Technology Research Foundation for Advanced Talents (ECUT) (DHBK2019084) for financial support. We thank the China Seismological Network Center (CENC) for providing the observation report. We also appreciated the valuable help from the Associate Research Fellow of Xin Hai-liang, Xu Zhi-guo, and Wang Wei-lai.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geophysics and Measurement-control Technology, East China University of Technology, Nanchang, 330013, China

    Shu-zhong Sheng

  2. Institute of Disaster Prevention, Sanhe, Hebei, 065201, China

    Yong-ge Wan & Xiao-hui Hu

  3. Hebei Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Sanhe, Hebei, 065201, China

    Yong-ge Wan

  4. Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, 100081, China

    Chang-sheng Jiang

  5. Earthquake Administration of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang, 050021, China

    Xiao-shan Wang

  6. China Earthquake Networks Center, Beijing, 100045, China

    Shan-shan Liang

  7. School of Geomatics, East China University of Technology, Nanchang, 330013, China

    Gen-ru Xiao

Authors
  1. Shu-zhong Sheng
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  2. Yong-ge Wan
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  3. Chang-sheng Jiang
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  7. Xiao-hui Hu
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Correspondence to Yong-ge Wan.

Additional information

Sheng Shu-Zhong, associate professor, graduated from Anhui University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics. In 2008 and 2016, he obtained Master of Engineering and Doctor of Science degrees from the Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration, respectively. From 2008 to 2018, he worked as an associate professor in the Institute of Disaster Prevention and currently works at East China University of Technology. He is mainly engaged in the research of tectonic stress field and seismicity triggering.

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Sheng, Sz., Wan, Yg., Jiang, Cs. et al. Study on the crustal stress field of the Tengchong volcanic area using composite focal mechanism method. Appl. Geophys. 18, 239–252 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11770-021-0897-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11770-021-0897-z

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