Seismotectonic Mechanisms of Lushan (Ms7.0) Earthquake in the Frontal Propagation Belt of the Longmen Shan, Sichuan, China

Abstract

In recent years, the apparent seismic activity around Longmen Shan and its front has included the Wenchuan (Ms8.0) Earthquake and the Lushan (Ms7.0) Earthquake, occurring in 2008 and 2013, respectively. Based on the focal mechanism solution, rupture processes, seismic intensity, surface deformation, and aftershocks of the Lushan Earthquake and the active fault on Longmen Shan, we divided the Longmen Shan and its front into two tectonic deformation belts, the Longmen Shan thrust belt and the frontal propagation belt. By comparing the differences in the tectonic deformation styles, active faults, and earthquake histories of the two belts, we propose two kinds of seismotectonic models: one is a thrusting belt characterized by napping and detachment, and the other is a frontal propagation belt characterized by thrusting and detachment folding. By analyzing the seismogenic mechanisms of thrusting and detachment folding in the frontal propagation belt during the Lushan Earthquake, we have inferred that the Lushan Earthquake was formed by thrusting and detachment folding in the frontal propagation belt. The seismogenic fault of the Lushan Earthquake was the Dayi Fault, which dips NW with a listric surface, and converges on the detachment surface. The detachment surface is the seismic source layer of the Lushan Earthquake.