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Dynamic simulation of interactions between major earthquakes on the Xianshuihe fault zone

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Abstract

The authors firstly evaluate the strain accumulation rate of the Xianshuihe fault zone based on earthquake activity. We calculated the stress and seismic moment accumulation rate for each subsection of the Xianshuihe fault zone based on the distribution of geological slip rate and GPS survey results. According to the results, we get the recurrence intervals of characterized earthquakes on each subsection respectively. A three-dimensional finite element model for western Sichuan is constructed to discuss the earthquakes triggering among major earthquakes ({ntM}>6.7) that occurred along the Xianshuihe fault zone since 1893. The calculated Coulomb failure stress changes (ÄCFS) show that 5 of the 6 earthquakes with Ms>6.7 were triggered by positive ÄCFS. The interactions between major earthquakes not only influence recurrence intervals of characterized earthquakes on each subsection, but also change recurrence behavior of major earthquakes along the whole fault zone.

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Hui Wang & GuoMin Zhang

  2. Laboratory of Computational Geodynamics, Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Hui Wang, YaoLin Shi & Huai Zhang

  3. China Earthquake Network Center, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, 100045, China

    Jie Liu

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  1. Hui Wang
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  2. Jie Liu
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  3. YaoLin Shi
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  4. Huai Zhang
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  5. GuoMin Zhang
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Correspondence to Hui Wang.

Additional information

Supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant No. 2004CB418406), and the “Basic Science Research Plan” of the Institute of Earthquake Science, China Earthquake Administration (Grant No. 2007-03)

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Wang, H., Liu, J., Shi, Y. et al. Dynamic simulation of interactions between major earthquakes on the Xianshuihe fault zone. Sci. China Ser. D-Earth Sci. 51, 1388–1400 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-008-0110-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-008-0110-8

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