The relation between the tectonic st r e ss fields in focal regions and stresses released by earthquakes is discussed on the basis of the idea by one of the authors. That is, in cases where earthquakes can be considered brittle fractures of rocks in the crust, the directions of
P and
T axes in the focal mechanism solutions of earthquakes make an angle of (45-θ)° with the maximum and minimum principal tectonic stress axes respectively. This idea is applied to the Matsushiro earthquake swarm and the following are the points clarified:
1) Earthquakes whose
P axes deviate counterclockwise from the E-W direction correspondto the so-called Matsushiro earthquake fault (the fault
A) and faults (
Ai(i=1,2,.... )) parallel to the fault
A. On the other hand, earthquakes whose
P axes deviate clockwise from the E-W direction correspond to the fault B which is conjugate to the fault
A. (There may be other faults (
Bi (i=1,2,.... )) parallel to the fault
B.)
2) In the first period (August,1965∼February,1966), only the fault
B was active. In the second period (March-July,1966), the fault
A began to be very active, and the fault
B was not so active as the fault
A. In the third period (August∼December,1966)not only the faults
A and
Ai (i=1,2,.... ) but also the faults
B and
Bi (i=1,2,.... )were active. In the fourth period (January,1967∼), the fault
A andthe part of the fault
B near the fault
A were inactive, andthe faults
Ai (i=1,2,.... ),
B (excluding the above mentioned part) and
Bi (i=1,2,.... ) continued to be active but with decreased activities.
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