Coseismic Coulomb failure stress changes caused by the 2017 M7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquake, and its relationship with the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

• Published in: Science China. Earth sciences Vol. 60; no. 12; pp. 2181 - 2189
• Main Authors: Shan, Bin, Zheng, Yong, Liu, ChengLi, Xie, ZuJun, Kong, Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Science China Press 01.12.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Accumulation; Aftershocks; Casualties; Damage detection; Disasters; Dislocations; Distribution; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Earthquake damage; Earthquakes; Failure; Faults; Geological hazards; Multilayers; Property damage; Researcr Paper; Seismic activity; Seismic hazard; Stress analysis; Stress concentration; China; Jiuzhaigou earthquake; Seismic hazard; Wenchuan earthquake; Coulomb failure stress
• ISSN: 1674-7313; 1869-1897
• DOI: 10.1007/s11430-017-9125-2

On August 8, 2017, a M 7.0 earthquake occurred in Jiuzhaigou County, Sichuan Province, China, resulting in significant casualties and property damage. Therefore, it is critical to identify the areas of potential aftershocks before reconstruction and re-settling people to avoid future disasters. Based on the elastic dislocation theory and a multi-layered lithospheric model, we calculate the Coulomb failure stress changes caused by the Wenchuan and Jiuzhaigou earthquakes, discuss the relationship between the M w 7.9 Wenchuan and M 7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquakes, and analyze the influence of the aftershock distribution and stress changes on the major faults in this region caused by the Jiuzhaigou earthquake. The co- and post-seismic stress changes caused by the Wenchuan earthquake significantly increased the stress accumulation at the hypocenter of the Jiuzhaigou earthquake. Therefore, the occurrence of the Jiuzhaigou earthquake was probably stimulated by the Wenchuan earthquake. The aftershock distribution is well explained by the co-seismic stress changes of the Jiuzhaigou earthquake. The stress accumulation and corresponding seismic hazard on the Maqu-Heye segment of the East Kunlun fault and the northern extremity of the Huya fault has been further increased by the Jiuzhaigou earthquake.