THE DISTRIBUTION AND ACTIVITIES OF ACTIVE FAULTS IN THE BOHAI STRAIT AND ITS ADJACENT AREAS

A high-resolution seismic survey has been carried out to reveal the distribution pattern and activity characteristics of the active faults in the Bohai strait and adjacent Areas. The survey has found that the NNE-trending faults and NW-trending faults control the tectonic movement of the Bohai Strait, and the main faults in both directions have been active since Late Pleistocene. By comparing it with the earthquake data, we found that those faults are more active in the junction areas and have caused great earthquakes in history and have the possibility to happen again in the future. A further analysis of the distribution and activity characteristics of these faults shows that they are caused by movement of the Indian plate and the Pacific plate. The analysis also suggests that both the NW-trending and the NNE-trending faults are seismogenic faults, but only NNE-trending faults can control the distribution of earthquakes.