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Assessing the role of absolute stress measurement and relative stress real-time monitoring for earthquake research

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Abstract

The change of crustal stress is considered the fundamental factor leading to earthquakes. The inherent relationship between in situ stress and earthquake has promoted the development of absolute stress measurement and relative stress real-time monitoring techniques to gain new insights into earthquake genesis and look for new directions for earthquake prediction and hazard assessment. Stress measurement/monitoring activities aim to identify the stress/strain anomalies and the impending precursor information in critical earthquake risk areas and have attracted widespread attention in this field. Despite enormous progress and some successful applications of stress measurement/monitoring in earthquake research, the prediction of time, magnitude, and location of large earthquakes remain challenging due to the limited knowledge of the link between stress changes and the mechanism of earthquake genesis as well as the genetic mechanism of abnormal stress/strain, and the challenges posed by the extraordinary complexity of the seismological setting in the unknown stress-field, geology, structure, and tectonics and the limitations of current stress measurement/monitoring technique and equipment. In this article, we discussed the controversial topic of seismic hazard assessment and earthquake prediction based on the crustal stress state from a personal perspective intending to highlight the role and implications of stress measurement/monitoring in earthquake research and present the challenges of this field, together with the future studies associated with field practice.

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Acknowledgements

This project is financially funded by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (no. 2021M700388), the Interdisciplinary Research Project for Young Teachers of USTB (Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities) (no. FRF-IDRY-20-013), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. U2034206).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil and Resources Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China

    Peng Li & Mei-feng Cai

  2. Key Laboratory of High-Efficient Mining and Safety of Metal Mines (Ministry of Education of China), University of Science and Technology, Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China

    Peng Li & Mei-feng Cai

  3. Beijing Key Laboratory of Urban Underground Space Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China

    Peng Li & Mei-feng Cai

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  1. Peng Li
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Correspondence to Peng Li.

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Responsible Editor: Longjun Dong

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Li, P., Cai, Mf. Assessing the role of absolute stress measurement and relative stress real-time monitoring for earthquake research. Arab J Geosci 15, 831 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-10135-0

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