Liquefaction in western Sichuan Basin during the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake, China

Abstract

Strong ground shaking during the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake, which occurred in the foothills of the Longmen Shan in southwestern China, resulted in widespread coseismic deformation features, such as liquefaction and water ejection. We present a systematic survey of the soil liquefaction and water ejection features caused by this major earthquake. The majority of liquefaction sites occurred along major alluvial fan-building rivers, where the water table was a few meters below the surface. While there is no clear correlation between water fountain height and peak ground acceleration, ~58% of liquefaction sites are located 20–35km from the Beichuan fault. Clusters of sites with anomalously high (>2m) water ejections are located near the surface projection of the Range Front blind thrust and its splay faults. The density of anomalously high eruptions within the window surrounding the Range Front blind thrust is 3–6 times greater than outside this region. Our results suggest that geologic structures may play a role in augmenting liquefaction intensity and shaking-related seismic hazards in sedimentary basins. We speculate that the mechanism could be the amplification of shaking by fault zone structures. Alternatively, faults may act as pathways with increased vertical permeability, allowing fluids from deeper confined aquifers to migrate to and enhance liquefaction of the upper soil, as proposed previously by Wang (2007). Liquefaction associated with the Wenchuan earthquake thus demonstrates the importance of considering geologic structures other than the primary earthquake-producing fault in seismic hazard evaluation and earthquake resistance design in areas with similar geologic and hydrological settings.