Seismogenic environment and mechanism of the Yangbi MS6.4 earthquake in Yunnan, China

The Yangbi M_S6.4 earthquake occurred on May 21, 2021 in western Yunnan, China, where moderate earthquakes strike frequently. It exhibited a typical “foreshock-mainshock-aftershock” sequence and did not occur on a pre-existing active fault. The seismogenic environment and mechanism of this earthquake have aroused considerable research attention. In this study, we obtain the three-dimensional v_P, v_S and v_P/v_S images using the v_P/v_S consistency-constrained double-difference tomography method, which improves the accuracy of v_P/v_S models. We focus on characteristics of v_P/v_S images in areas with a lateral resolution of 0.1°, and reveal the seismogenic environment of the Yangbi M_S6.4 earthquake. The conclusions are as follows: (1) Low velocity and high-v_P/v_S anomalies are revealed at different depths around the northern segment of the Red River fault. v_S and v_P/v_S images along the Weixi-Qiaohou-Weishan fault and the buried faults on its west show obviously segmented feature. (2) The source region of the Yangbi M_S6.4 earthquake is located in a low-v_P/v_S zone implying high medium strength. High-v_P/v_S anomalies in its NW direction indicate cracks development and the existence of fluids or partial melts, which are unfavorable for stress accumulation and triggering large earthquakes. Such conditions have also prevented the earthquake sequence from extending northwestward. (3) With the southeastward extrusion of materials from the Tibetan Plateau, fluid migration was blocked by the low-v_P/v_S body in the source region. The high-v_P/v_S anomaly beneath the source region may implies that the fluids or partial melts in the middle and lower crust gradually weakened medium strength at the bottom of the seismogenic layer, and preparing the largest foreshock in the transition zone of high to low v_P/v_S. Meanwhile, tectonic stress incessantly accumulated in the brittle upper crust, eventually led to the M_S6.4 earthquake occurrence.