Preparatory mechanism of Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake evidenced by crust-deformation data

Some crustal-deformation data related to the Ms8.0 Wenchuan in 2008, was described and a model that is capable of explaining the observed deformation features is presented. The data include: pre-earthquake uplift in an area south of the epicenter obtained by repeated-leveling measurements; pre-earthquake horizontal deformation by GPS observation during two periods in Sichuan-Yunnan area; vertical deformation along a short cross-fault leveling line in the epicenter area; and co-seismic near-field vertical and horizontal crustal-movement data by GPS. The model is basically “elastic-rebound”, but involves a zone between two local faults that was squeezed out at the time of earthquake.