New insights into the generation of the 2013 Lushan Earthquake (Ms 7.0), China

Abstract Global seismic waveform inversion can provide information on where the 2013 Ms 7.0 Lushan earthquake occurred in Sichuan Province, China, and how its aftershock sequence expanded. To investigate the generation mechanism of the Lushan earthquake and its relation to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (Ms 8.0), 50 temporary seismic stations were installed in the source area following the Lushan earthquake. Crustal stress data were also collected along the Longmen‐Shan Fault zone (LMFZ) to reveal its influence on the generation of the Lushan earthquake. Seismic imaging and crustal stress analysis have revealed that the Lushan earthquake occurred in a distinct area with high velocity (Vp, Vs), low Poisson's ratio (σ), and high crustal stress. The high‐velocity zone at the Lushan source may reflect Precambrian metasedimentary or igneous rock in the seismogenic layer, which enables the accumulation of high crustal stress to generate large earthquakes. However, a sharply contrasting gap zone with low‐velocity, high‐σ anomalies is clearly imaged in the upper crust under the concatenated area between the Lushan and Wenchuan earthquakes. Seismic images indicate that the low‐velocity gap zone is associated with fluid‐bearing ductile flow from the lower crustal materials of Tibet being pushed into a weakened segment of the LMFZ. This study suggests that the 2013 Lushan earthquake may have been triggered by high crustal stress accumulation together with high coseismic stress further increased by the Wenchuan earthquake in the metamafic seismogenic layer. Contrasting rheological variations in the crust and crustal stress changes along the LMFZ control the rupture processes that generated the Lushan and Wenchuan earthquakes, as well as the generation of new earthquakes in the future.