Possible roles of the Zipingpu Reservoir in triggering the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

摘要: Abstract To better understand the role Zipingpu Reservoir may have played in triggering 2008 M s 8 ( w 7.9) Wenchuan earthquake China, this study evaluates changes of Coulomb failure stress (ΔCFS) and assesses their local seismicity potential impact on earthquake. In addition, key aspects associated with reservoir-triggered (RTS), including mechanisms permeability fault zones, is briefly reviewed. ΔCFS was calculated at faults involved due to combined effects gravitational loading pore-pressure diffusion from impoundment history reservoir. major source larger than 0.1 MPa upper 10 km below reservoir reached a few tens kPa focal depth. Such levels are large enough modulate secular buildup kPa/yr Longmen-shan thrust zone. Based detailed analysis numerical results seismicity, author suggests that it not proper rule out possibility being RTS only based very limited knowledge cases historical so far.