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Velocity structure of the upper crust and its correlation with earthquake swarms activity in Laizhou Bay and its adjacent areas, China

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Abstract

This study used the double-difference seismic tomography method to obtain the upper crustal velocity structure in Laizhou Bay and its adjacent areas (LBAA). We found that the horizontal and vertical distributions of the earthquakes after relocation in earthquake swarms are more concentrative than that before relocation. The lateral heterogeneity of crustal velocity structure near the surface in the LBAA is weak, and the low-velocity sedimentary caprocks are developed in most areas except for the Jiaobei uplift. The velocity structure in 5–25 km depth range is highly heterogeneity, which is closely related to different tectonic units. The local uplift tectonic units in Jiyang depression show high-velocity anomalies and should have deep crustal media properties. The high-velocity anomalies under the crust of Tancheng–Lujiang fault zone and the northern Laizhou Bay indicate the properties of upwelling mantle material media. Earthquake swarms activity in the study area are mainly concentrated in the high-velocity interlayer of the upper crust and its periphery. Compared with the relatively stable high-velocity body at the bottom crust, the location of high-velocity interlayer in the study area is more prone to earthquakes under the combined action of gravity and tectonic stress.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the Open Fund of Shandong Key Laboratory of Depositional Mineralization and Sedimentary Mineral (Project No. DMSM20190016) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41,701,228).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jinan Earthquake Monitoring Center, 8577 Lvyou Road, Jinan, 250000, China

    Jinchao Shen

  2. Shandong Key Laboratory of Depositional Mineralization and Sedimentary Mineral, College of Earth Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, China

    Jinchao Shen & Huiyong Yin

  3. Shandong Academy of Environmental Sciences Co., Ltd, Jinan, 250000, China

    Minmin Xu

  4. Department of Land Resource Management, School of Public Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Shicheng Li

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  1. Jinchao Shen
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Correspondence to Jinchao Shen.

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Shen, J., Xu, M., Li, S. et al. Velocity structure of the upper crust and its correlation with earthquake swarms activity in Laizhou Bay and its adjacent areas, China. Acta Geod Geophys 55, 421–436 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40328-020-00305-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40328-020-00305-5

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