Hydrothermal anomalies of the Earth's surface and crustal seismicity related to Ms8.0 Wenchuan EQ

Shuo Zheng (), Kai Qin, Lixin Wu, Yanfei An, Qifeng Yin and Chunkit Lai
Additional contact information
Shuo Zheng: Anhui University
Kai Qin: China University of Mining and Technology
Lixin Wu: Central South University
Yanfei An: Anhui University
Qifeng Yin: Anhui University
Chunkit Lai: University of Brunei Darussalam

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 2020, vol. 104, issue 3, No 8, 2097-2114

Abstract: Abstract Hydrothermal anomalies related to the Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake (EQ) on May 12, 2009, have been widely reported. However, the reported anomalies have not been associated with multi-geosphere analysis, and space–time analysis with crustal seismicity is lacking. In this paper, the space–time variation of hydrothermal parameters, including soil moisture, soil temperature, near-surface relative humidity (RHsig995) and air temperature (TMPsfc), was first extracted and analyzed with the NCEP-FNL reanalysis dataset. The b-value (a seismic parameter from the Gutenberg–Richter law) was calculated and mapped to unravel the crustal stress and rock rupture. Our results reveal a similar time window for hydrothermal anomalies on April 20 and April 30, 2008, and these anomalies are mainly distributed along the southern and middle parts of the Longmenshan fault zone. The surface temperature anomalies lag behind the humidity anomalies, and the accelerating stress accumulation started since June 2007 and lasted for eight to nine months before the mainshock. The b-value mapping shows a segmented difference along strike of the Longmenshan fault, and that regional stress accumulated mainly in the southern parts of the F2 and F3 faults. We propose the occurrence of a complex coupling process led by crustal stress buildup before the Wenchuan EQ. The anomalies are concentrated in the southern part of the surface rupture zone. The prolonged crustal stress accumulation corresponds to the short intermittent hydrothermal response on the Earth’s surface before the Wenchuan EQ. Our findings reveal new hydrothermal anomalies in the Earth’s surface and atmosphere and explore direct link with seismogenic processes in the crust.

Keywords: Hydrothermal anomalies; b-value; Seismicity; Wenchuan earthquake (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11069-020-04263-7 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:104:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s11069-020-04263-7

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/11069

DOI: 10.1007/s11069-020-04263-7

Access Statistics for this article

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards is currently edited by Thomas Glade, Tad S. Murty and Vladimír Schenk

More articles in Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards from Springer, International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().