Origin and current activity of the Jiaocheng ground fissure, a 48 km long fissure in northern China

Abstract

Since the mid to late 20th century, several regions in Northern China have had to contend with ground fissure disasters, with the FenWei basin and North China Plain being clear examples. The Jiaocheng ground fissure, which spans a total of 48 km in the FenWei basin, has caused severe damage to infrastructure along its path. In recent years, the local activity of the Jiaocheng ground fissure has worsened. Field investigations, mapping, trenching, geophysical surveys and other methods have been used to determine the origin mechanism and current activity characteristics of the Jiaocheng fissure. The Jiaocheng ground fissure has a general orientation stretching 48 km in the NE-NEE direction, inclining towards the SE. The Jiaocheng ground fissure involves horizontal tension and vertical dislocation, with segmented activity on the surface, with the most intense activity observed in the northern Qingxu section. In profile, it displays characteristics of synsedimentary faults and primary-secondary fissure combinations. The activity of the Jiaocheng fault underlies the occurrence of the Jiaocheng ground fissure. Over-extraction of groundwater has exacerbated the fissure activity. Recently, the Jiaocheng ground fissure has displayed localized intensification and the emergence of new fissures stretching towards the north. This has been linked to heightened tectonic activity in the northern region of the Taiyuan basin.