REMOTE SENSING-ROCK MECHANICS ( I )———— LAWS OF THERMAL INFRARED RADIATION FROM FRACTURING OF DISCONTINOUS JOINTED FAULTS AND ITS MEANINGS FOR TECTONIC EARTHQUAKE OMENS
Abstract：The fracturing of discontinuous jointed faults is a mechanism of tectonic earthquake. By use of biaxial loading system and thermal infrared imaging system，the thermal infrared radiation features of two kinds of discontinuous jointed faults，en echelon faults and collinear disconnected faults，were experimentally studied in the process of loading and fracturing. It is revealed that the thermal infrared radiation of the surface of loaded samples is related to the load stress，and the variation stage can be classified into five stages including initial，elastic，stress blocking，stress deblocking and fracturing stage. From elastic stage to stress deblocking one，the dynamic curve of average infrared radiation temperature (AIRT) vs time is of the features of rising to dropping，and to rising again. During the stage of stress deblocking，positive infrared abnormity strip emerges in the discontinuous locations of en echelon faults and disconnected faults，and the positive infrared abnormity strip of disconnected faults is of the features of enhancing to weakening (or silence)，and to enhancing again. Its important meanings for earthquake omens include that (1) the rise of AIRT curve of satellite infrared remote sensing for the seismic active region can be taken as the index for the middle-term forecast of structural earthquake，(2) the location of local positive infrared abnormity strip can be used to predict the location of hypocenter and (3) the dropping of AIRT curve together with the weakening (silence) of local positive infrared abnormity strip can be taken as the short-term prediction omen.
