Waveform inversion and analysis of an unusual earthquake swarm in the Boshan mining area, Shandong Province, China

Moment tensor solutions were retrieved for the earthquake swarm that occurred during November and December 2010 in the Boshan mining area, Shandong Province, China. The results showed that the double-couple components in the source mechanisms were higher at the beginning of the swarm and consisted mainly of shear faulting controlled by tectonic stress. The subsequent events had significant non-double-couple components, indicating tensile faulting. The double-couple components predominately presented as normal faulting and the P axes were orientated almost vertically. The slip vectors of the swarm events were relatively stable. With reference to the tectonic features near the epicenter, we concluded that the swarm was a result of subordinate fault motion related to the Wangmu Mountain fault and that high-pressure pore fluids played a crucial role in the activity of the earthquake swarm.