Source Fault and Slip Distribution of the 2017 Mw 6.5 Jiuzhaigou, China, Earthquake and Its Tectonic Implications

Research Article| May 16, 2018 Source Fault and Slip Distribution of the 2017 Mw 6.5 Jiuzhaigou, China, Earthquake and Its Tectonic Implications Yingfeng Zhang; Yingfeng Zhang aState Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Yard No. 1, Hua Yan Li, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China, jingqing129@163.com, zhanggh@ies.ac.cn, xjshan@163.com, huiping@ies.ac.cn, 571217872@qq.com, gwenyu@alaska.edu, dqyquchy@163.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Guohong Zhang; Guohong Zhang aState Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Yard No. 1, Hua Yan Li, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China, jingqing129@163.com, zhanggh@ies.ac.cn, xjshan@163.com, huiping@ies.ac.cn, 571217872@qq.com, gwenyu@alaska.edu, dqyquchy@163.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Eric A. Hetland; Eric A. Hetland bEarth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 500 S. State Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 U.S.A., ehetland@umich.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Xinjian Shan; Xinjian Shan aState Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Yard No. 1, Hua Yan Li, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China, jingqing129@163.com, zhanggh@ies.ac.cn, xjshan@163.com, huiping@ies.ac.cn, 571217872@qq.com, gwenyu@alaska.edu, dqyquchy@163.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Huiping Zhang; Huiping Zhang aState Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Yard No. 1, Hua Yan Li, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China, jingqing129@163.com, zhanggh@ies.ac.cn, xjshan@163.com, huiping@ies.ac.cn, 571217872@qq.com, gwenyu@alaska.edu, dqyquchy@163.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Dezheng Zhao; Dezheng Zhao aState Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Yard No. 1, Hua Yan Li, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China, jingqing129@163.com, zhanggh@ies.ac.cn, xjshan@163.com, huiping@ies.ac.cn, 571217872@qq.com, gwenyu@alaska.edu, dqyquchy@163.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Wenyu Gong; Wenyu Gong aState Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Yard No. 1, Hua Yan Li, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China, jingqing129@163.com, zhanggh@ies.ac.cn, xjshan@163.com, huiping@ies.ac.cn, 571217872@qq.com, gwenyu@alaska.edu, dqyquchy@163.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Chunyan Qu Chunyan Qu aState Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Yard No. 1, Hua Yan Li, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China, jingqing129@163.com, zhanggh@ies.ac.cn, xjshan@163.com, huiping@ies.ac.cn, 571217872@qq.com, gwenyu@alaska.edu, dqyquchy@163.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Yingfeng Zhang aState Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Yard No. 1, Hua Yan Li, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China, jingqing129@163.com, zhanggh@ies.ac.cn, xjshan@163.com, huiping@ies.ac.cn, 571217872@qq.com, gwenyu@alaska.edu, dqyquchy@163.com Guohong Zhang aState Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Yard No. 1, Hua Yan Li, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China, jingqing129@163.com, zhanggh@ies.ac.cn, xjshan@163.com, huiping@ies.ac.cn, 571217872@qq.com, gwenyu@alaska.edu, dqyquchy@163.com Eric A. Hetland bEarth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 500 S. State Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 U.S.A., ehetland@umich.edu Xinjian Shan aState Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Yard No. 1, Hua Yan Li, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China, jingqing129@163.com, zhanggh@ies.ac.cn, xjshan@163.com, huiping@ies.ac.cn, 571217872@qq.com, gwenyu@alaska.edu, dqyquchy@163.com Huiping Zhang aState Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Yard No. 1, Hua Yan Li, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China, jingqing129@163.com, zhanggh@ies.ac.cn, xjshan@163.com, huiping@ies.ac.cn, 571217872@qq.com, gwenyu@alaska.edu, dqyquchy@163.com Dezheng Zhao aState Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Yard No. 1, Hua Yan Li, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China, jingqing129@163.com, zhanggh@ies.ac.cn, xjshan@163.com, huiping@ies.ac.cn, 571217872@qq.com, gwenyu@alaska.edu, dqyquchy@163.com Wenyu Gong aState Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Yard No. 1, Hua Yan Li, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China, jingqing129@163.com, zhanggh@ies.ac.cn, xjshan@163.com, huiping@ies.ac.cn, 571217872@qq.com, gwenyu@alaska.edu, dqyquchy@163.com Chunyan Qu aState Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Yard No. 1, Hua Yan Li, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China, jingqing129@163.com, zhanggh@ies.ac.cn, xjshan@163.com, huiping@ies.ac.cn, 571217872@qq.com, gwenyu@alaska.edu, dqyquchy@163.com Publisher: Seismological Society of America First Online: 16 May 2018 Online Issn: 1938-2057 Print Issn: 0895-0695 © Seismological Society of America Seismological Research Letters (2018) 89 (4): 1345–1353. https://doi.org/10.1785/0220170255 Article history First Online: 16 May 2018 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Yingfeng Zhang, Guohong Zhang, Eric A. Hetland, Xinjian Shan, Huiping Zhang, Dezheng Zhao, Wenyu Gong, Chunyan Qu; Source Fault and Slip Distribution of the 2017 Mw 6.5 Jiuzhaigou, China, Earthquake and Its Tectonic Implications. Seismological Research Letters 2018;; 89 (4): 1345–1353. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/0220170255 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietySeismological Research Letters Search Advanced Search ABSTRACT The 2017 Mw 6.5 Jiuzhaigou, China, earthquake occurred in the very northeastern corner of the Bayanhar block, in a region of a complex confluence of several faults. There were no surface ruptures during the earthquake, making it hard to determine which fault ruptured in the Jiuzhaigou earthquake. Based on Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements, we infer that the Jiuzhaigou earthquake involved predominantly left‐lateral motion on a north‐northwest–south‐southeast‐trending fault, dipping about 50° to the southwest. We infer a compact coseismic slip distribution, located in the range of about 1–10 km depth below the surface. The estimated geodetic moment is 6.3×1018 N·m⁠, corresponding to Mw 6.5. Based on the coseismic slip model and relocated aftershocks, we infer that the Jiuzhaigou earthquake occurred on a previously unidentified segment of the Huya fault, extending to the north‐northwest from the mapped Huya fault toward the eastern Kunlun fault. The Jiuzhaigou earthquake, along with the 1973 and 1976 Songpan earthquakes and surrounding fault motion, suggests that the Huya fault forms the boundary of a triangle sub‐block (TSB) within the eastern Bayanhar block. The TSB is rotating clockwise and accommodates the eastern extrusion of the Tibetan plateau and collision of the Bayanhar and Sichuan blocks. The occurrence of the latest Jiuzhaigou earthquake highlights the fact that that the seismic risks posed by such blind or buried faults alike in the northeastern Tibet should be considered. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.