Research on Reservoir-induced Earthquake Monitoring of Yangtze Three Gorges Area

A high dam of 185 meters above sea level is designed for the Yangtze Three Gorges reservoir, which can accommodate water of 39.3 billion cubic meters at its maximum and whose impoundment will reach up to 175 meters deep. The local stress status, medium propriety and regional stress field in and around the reservoir will vary with the impounding and water fluctuation in the reservoir, which will probably induce earthquakes. In order to detect the crustal deformation, the tectonic fault displacement and the sink of a reservoir basin in the area and the reservoir induced seismicity, it is necessary to set up a monitoring system. The paper introduces a study of monitoring in the Yangtze Three Gorges area.