Reevaluation of the offset of the Great Wall associated with the ca. M 8.0 Pingluo earthquake of 1739, Yinchuan graben, China

Abstract

In this study, we reevaluate, based on our investigation, the ground deformation caused around the area of the Great Wall by the ca. M 8 Pingluo earthquake of 1739 along an active fault zone in the Yinchuan graben, on the western margin of the Ordos Block in northern central China. Previous studies have shown that the Great Wall of China was damaged and right-laterally offset by the 1739 M 8 Pingluo earthquake up to ∼1.6–2 m, with a 0.1–1.9-m vertical component, at three locations. However, our recent fieldwork and in-situ measurements have shown that the Great Wall was not affected by the ca. M 8 Pingluo earthquake of 1739, as reported previously, but was actually built on preexisting active fault scarps. This study reinterprets the offset of the Great Wall based on these new field observations and attempts to identify the seismogenic source fault that triggered the 1739 Pingluo earthquake. More work is required if we are to better understand the deformation characteristics of the seismogenic source fault and also improve our ongoing assessments of the seismic hazard within the densely populated area of the Yinchuan graben, central China.