Physics
Scientific paper
Oct 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009georl..3620315g&link_type=abstract
Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 36, Issue 20, CiteID L20315
Physics
5
Seismology: Earthquake Dynamics (1242), Hydrology: Groundwater Hydrology, Tectonophysics: Stresses: General, Geodesy And Gravity: Ocean/Earth/Atmosphere/Hydrosphere/Cryosphere Interactions (0762, 1218, 3319, 4550)
Scientific paper
The devastating May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (Mw 7.9) resulted from thrust of the Tibet Plateau on the Longmen Shan fault zone, a consequence of the Indo-Asian continental collision. Many have speculated on the role played by the Zipingpu Reservoir, impounded in 2005 near the epicenter, in triggering the earthquake. This study evaluates the stress changes in response to the impoundment of the Zipingpu Reservoir and assesses their impact on the Wenchuan earthquake. We show that the impoundment could have changed the Coulomb stress by -0.01 to 0.05 MPa at locations and depth consistent with reported hypocenter positions. This level of stress change has been shown to be significant in triggering earthquakes on critically stressed faults. Because the loading rate on the Longmen Shan fault is <0.005 MPa/yr, we thus suggest that the Zipingpu Reservoir potentially hastened the occurrence of the Wenchuan earthquake by tens to hundreds of years.
Ge Shemin
Godt Jonathan W.
Liu Mian
Lu Ning
Luo Gang
No associations
LandOfFree
Did the Zipingpu Reservoir trigger the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake? does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Did the Zipingpu Reservoir trigger the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake?, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Did the Zipingpu Reservoir trigger the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake? will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1513913