Multiple faulting events revealed by trench analysis of the seismogenic structure of the 1976 Ms7.1 Luanxian earthquake, Tangshan Region, China

Abstract

The Ms7.8 Tangshan earthquake occurred on 28 July 1976 at 03:42 CST. Approximately 15 h later, the Ms7.1 Luanxian earthquake occurred approximately 40km northeast of the main shock. The two earthquakes formed different surface rupture zones. The surface rupture of the Tangshan earthquake was NNE-trending and more than 47km long. The surface rupture of the Luanxian earthquake was more than 6km long and consisted of two sections, forming a protruding arc to the west. The north and south sections were NE- and NW-trending and 2km and 4km long, respectively. A trench was excavated in Sanshanyuan Village across the NE-trending rupture of the Luanxian earthquake, at the macroscopic epicenter of the Luanxian earthquake. Analysis of this trench revealed that the surface rupture is connected to the underground active fault. The following major conclusions regarding Late Quaternary fault activity have been reached. (1) The Sanshanyuan trench indicated that its fault planes trend NE30° and dip SE or NW at angles of approximately 69–82°. (2) The fault experienced four faulting events prior to the Luanxian earthquake at <9.73ka, 18.42–19.02ka, 22.73–23.79ka, and >27.98ka with an average recurrence interval of approximately 7.5ka. (3) The Ms7.1 Luanxian earthquake resulted from the activity of the Luanxian Western fault and was triggered by the Ms7.8 Tangshan earthquake. The seismogenic faults of the 1976 Ms7.1 Luanxian earthquake and the 1976 Ms7.8 Tangshan earthquake are not the same fault. This example of an M7 earthquake triggered by a nearly M8 earthquake after more than 10 h on a nearby fault is a worthy topic of research for the future prediction of strong earthquakes.