Research on the Relationship between Active Faults and Earthquakes in the Junction Area of the China North-South Seismic Belt and Central Orogenic Belt Based on GIS

Research on the relationship between faults and seismicity in the junction area of China’s north-south seismic belt and central orogenic belt based on the Geography Information System (GIS) has been done.For each of the 16 faults in this area,we build a 25km buffer zone and use overlay analysis to investigate the seismicity and its characteristics on each fault.The results unveil the main seismic faults as follows:the western segment of the northern-edge of the west Qinling fault,the southwestern segment of the Lixian-Luojiabao fault,the southeastern segment of the Lintan-Dangchang fault,the southwestern segment of the Wenxian fault,the Huya fault,and the Xueshan fault.The most active faults are the Huya and Xueshan faults,then the Tazang fault,the Lixian-Luojiabao fault and the northern piedmont of the Guanggaishan-Dieshan fault.The research zone can be divided into four areas according to focal depth,which gets deeper from north to south.The profile of focal depth indicates the geometry and mechanical property of faults,and further reveals the movement model of eastward extrusion of the Tibetan plateau and southeastward escape of masses,thus providing basis for the protection against earthquakes and hazard mitigation in this area.