Study on Seismic Source Parameter Characteristics of Baihetan Reservoir Area in the Lower Reaches of the Jinsha River

Abstract

The source parameters of earthquakes (stress drop, corner frequency, seismic moment, source size, radiant energy, etc.) provide important information about the source features, the state of stress, and the mechanism of earthquake rupture dynamics. Using the digital observation data obtained from a high-density seismic monitoring network deployed in the Baihetan reservoir area of the lower Jinsha River, we obtained Brune source parameters of the 459 earthquakes ranging in magnitude ML 1.50~4.70. The results revealed seismic moments M0 within the range of 2.03 × 1012~1.45 × 1016 N·m, corner frequencies between 2.00 and 10.00 Hz, and source dimensions varying from 130.00 to 480.00 m, with stress drops spanning from 0.12 to 61.24 MPa. It is noteworthy that the majority of the earthquakes had stress drops less than 10.00 MPa, with as much as 73.30% of these events having stress drops within the range of 0.10 to 2.00 MPa. We found that stress drop, corner frequency, and source size in the study area exhibited positive correlations with earthquake magnitude. Earthquakes occurring at shallower depths for the same magnitude tended to have smaller stress drops and corner frequencies, but larger rupture scales. During the first 2 years of impoundment with significant water level fluctuation, earthquakes beneath or near the reservoir released higher stress drops relative to pre-reservoir conditions, with average stress drops significantly elevated from 5.52 to 13.562 Mpa for events above ML3 since the impoundment. The radiated energy released by earthquakes with magnitudes below ML3.0 are significantly more than before impoundment, indicating that earthquakes of similar magnitudes in the reservoir area may produce greater intensity and perceptibility following the impoundment. According to our result, the triggered seismicity will continue to be active under annual regulation changes in the water level of the Baihetan Dam at high elevations in future years.