Haiyuan earthquake and Haiyuan active fault zone have aroused great interest of Chinese and foreign scientists. The ground deformation relics caused by earthquakes, such as fractures, landslides, ground fissures and uplifted depressions, have remained intact after decades of changes. In addition, the remains of ancient earthquake events and tectonic activities have been found in the area from Liupanshan to Helan Mountain. Scientists believe that Ningxia is not only a unique museum of historical earthquake relics, but also a living teaching material for studying seismically active faults. From 198 1 up to now, more than 30 foreign experts from Japan, the United States, the former Soviet Union, Canada and Thailand 10 have come to Ningxia to engage in earthquake investigation and research. There are more domestic experts. China Haiyuan has once again become a "geomantic treasure house" for world geosciences to pay attention to and carry out earthquake research, and has also become a "window" for the world to understand Ningxia!
It was not until five months after the Haiyuan earthquake that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce jointly sent six people, including Xie and Weng, to conduct a four-month field trip to the disaster area ahead. The report formed by this investigation has a very important position in the earthquake history of China.
Xie, Weng and others not only described the earthquake situation in detail, but also expressed many opinions on earthquake prevention and disaster reduction. Weng, China's first doctor of geology and later president of the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China, said in a petition for Chen to investigate the Gansu earthquake that the intensity of the earthquake is constant all over the world, but the death toll from the Haiyuan earthquake is rare in all countries. In earthquakes abroad, most people were injured and few died. In Haiyuan earthquake, many people died, but the number of injured and survivors were rare. Analyzing the reasons, he thinks it has something to do with many people living in caves on the loess slope. Even if there are houses, they are mostly mud buildings.
Weng's improvement measures include "advising people to support each other with wooden columns and beams when building", as well as afforestation and dredging water conservancy projects.
Regarding earthquake research, Weng Wenhao also suggested that the Central Observatory cooperate with the Geological Survey Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce to change the situation that there is no specialized equipment and no specialized personnel. He also specifically mentioned the setting of the "seismograph": "Zhang Heng made the seismograph in Han Dynasty, and Chang 'an Prophet of Longxi earthquake. China was the first country to invent the seismograph, but it was lost because no one imitated it. The seismographs used in Europe, America and Japan in modern times regard the ancient seismographs as a great progress, and they can be studied in an extremely detailed way in the fluctuation state ... This must be completed as soon as possible. "
More relevant to the subsequent earthquake precursors and their predictions is Xie's 19901February Gansu Earthquake Report, which mentioned the strange weather, singing and Jing Quan's ups and downs before and after the earthquake, and attached his own opinions. The reports of the governors of Dingxi and Jingning counties showed that there were many strong winds and morning fog during the earthquake, while Ganzhou and Yumen counties reported that the wind was dark and yellow sand was flying the next day after the earthquake. The governor of Haiyuan County also said that he "saw a red light" during the earthquake. Xie thinks: "The dust fog or twilight during the earthquake is caused by dust and soot flying due to vibration, or by the collapse of earth mountains and loess scattered in the air. This phenomenon is not surprising. " As for the red light phenomenon, Xie can't explain it, thinking that "fear is not completely true."
The so-called singing refers to the sound similar to thunder before and after the earthquake, and there are also some places where there is no sound during the earthquake. Xie said that the level of sound waves seems to be directly related to the intensity of vibration, but there seems to be no necessary relationship as to which is the front or the back. He didn't relate the songs before the earthquake to the precursors of the earthquake.
The change of groundwater has also been concerned. Jingchuan, Dingxi, Huining and other counties reported that Jingquan after the earthquake tasted slightly salty. Ningxia, Jingning and Huanxian reported that the spring water rose as much as ten feet after the earthquake. The spring water in Ningxia county is slightly warmer and smelly than before the earthquake. In Tongwei, Haiyuan and other counties, there are reports that Jing Quan has dried up. In Longde County, Jing Quan suddenly rose before the earthquake and recovered after the earthquake. Xie believes that the changes in Jing Quan are different due to the topographical and geological conditions in different places, and cannot be generalized. As for the reports in these counties, it is quite difficult to determine whether they are true or purely far-fetched. He just listed them as "future research".
It was not until more than 30 years later that the study of these abnormal phenomena suddenly became a prominent study in China.
According to Guo Anning, a researcher at Lanzhou Institute of Seismology, China Earthquake Administration, Haiyuan earthquake is not only unique in magnitude and death toll. "Weng et al.' s investigation marks the beginning of seismology in China and is a milestone. At the same time, the first shot of modern earthquake prediction in China also started from there. " He told the Southern Reporter.
The investigation by Guo Zengjian and others started the "first shot of modern earthquake prediction"
The so-called "the first shot of modern earthquake prediction" began with 1958 after the founding of New China. Guo Anning's father Guo Zengjian is one of the representatives who explore earthquake prediction.
"At that time, the first five-year plan of New China had just ended, and the Soviet Union helped China to carry out many big projects. Their experts require that before designing drawings and construction, we must first understand the earthquake situation in these places. We will be committed to this work. " 193 1 was born, 1953 said Guo Zengjian, who entered the Institute of Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Haiyuan earthquake, which happened more than 30 years ago, has become a key project of Institute of Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The investigation team, also composed of six people, set out from Beijing and visited Haiyuan, Guyuan and Xiji counties for more than 20 days.
Guo Zengjian said that the focus of their trip was earthquake prediction. "Why do you want to predict? It was related to the political situation at that time, because during the Great Leap Forward, the Central Committee proposed "walking on two legs", which meant that both local and foreign people should use it. Scientific research units have set ambitious goals. We are engaged in earthquake prediction. They also walk on two legs, and some study instruments for observing earthquake precursors, which is a foreign aspect; In terms of soil, we went to Haiyuan. At that time, people were called upon to learn from the scriptures. Are there any precursors before the earthquake? What have people observed? The six of us made a comprehensive visit. "
The change of groundwater has attracted the attention of local people. "They said that the spring water was very large before the earthquake, and it was gone after the earthquake. Let's help find it. We can't find it because the stratum has changed. " Guo Zengjian recalled that local residents also mentioned the temperature changes before and after the earthquake, and six of them also discussed it at that time.
"This is the first small-scale earthquake prediction discussion in China." Guo Zengjian said that at that time, he just felt that earthquake prediction was difficult and did not hear any opposition from abroad. Moreover, both Japan and the Soviet Union said at that time that they would do earthquake prediction.
After more than 20 days' journey, Guo Zengjian and others discovered a long earthquake fault zone that Weng and others had not discovered before. What has a far-reaching impact on China's earthquake cause is that this investigation has established a precursor system for earthquake prediction.
The precursors of Haiyuan earthquake are mainly attributed to groundwater, animals, ground sound, ground light and meteorology. "The future earthquake precursors are basically these categories, except for a fog before the Haicheng earthquake." Guo Zengjian said. They finally wrote a report and carved more than twenty copies with wax paper. The first shot of earthquake prediction in China was fired.
For a long time after that, the observation of earthquake precursors was quite marketable in China. Many people object that earthquakes can be predicted, mainly because there are two theories: chaos theory and self-organized criticality theory. From 65438 to 0999, China Association for Science and Technology organized more than a dozen first-class associations to discuss disaster prevention. I responded to these two theories and thought they were predictable in theory, but we haven't actually done it yet. "
Earthquake prediction in China is at an awkward juncture. Guo Anning, the son of Guo Zengjian, is also a strong advocate of earthquake prediction, but he also admits that earthquake prediction has lost its support in the mainstream international academic circles. Many so-called "earthquake precursors" do not cause earthquakes when they occur, and there are no such precursors before earthquakes in other places. This brings difficulties to the judgment of "earthquake precursors".
But he also believes that this is not a reason to stop the exploration of earthquake prediction. As a researcher of the earthquake system, he clearly felt his own opinion, even in the system of the Seismological Bureau, it is difficult to get Olympic assistance. His book on earthquake prediction was not even published by seismological press.
Zhang Peizhen, director of the Institute of Geology, Seismological Bureau of China, will give an academic report on the development of earthquake science and technology at the Haiyuan earthquake seminar to be held tomorrow. The topic of earthquake prediction will also be in this original origin again in generate.
Over the past 90 years, pretentious human beings have shown more powerlessness in the face of huge natural disasters.
Haiyuan earthquake is probably the most unknown disaster in the world.
Haiyuan, a remote county in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is little known. The great earthquake with this place as its epicenter 90 years ago seemed to be buried under the loess of the plateau, just like Haiyuan.
But with only a few numbers, Haiyuan earthquake should be remembered forever-magnitude 8.5, and the energy released is equivalent to 1 1.2 Tangshan earthquake. This is not only rare in the history of China, but also one of the biggest earthquakes in the world. At that time, 96 seismic stations around the world recorded the earthquake, and Haiyuan earthquake was also called "global earthquake".
The latest research results show that the death toll caused by Haiyuan earthquake reached 270,000. In the vast and sparsely populated northwest, the number of earthquake deaths actually exceeded the Tangshan earthquake, which shows its tragic trend.
20 10 12 16 is the 90th anniversary of the earthquake. Haiyuan Earthquake Museum officially opened on Memorial Day, and the unprecedented disaster opened the dust for people to mourn and pay tribute.