Abstract
By analyzing surface latent heat flux (SLHF) data from the NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis Project for the period three months before and after the Sept. 3, 2010 M S 7.1 New Zealand earthquake, an isolated SLHF positive anomaly on Aug. 1, 2010 was found with a high value of about 160 W/m2 to the northeast of the epicenter. Historical data, background pixels, and wavelet transforms of time series were comprehensively analyzed to study the spatiotemporal features of the SLHF anomaly. After removing the influences of wind speed and cloud cover, the key factor leading to local SLHF anomalies is the surface temperature increment. Combined with GPS displacement observations and tectonic settings, we determined that the physical mechanism of the SLHF anomaly could possibly be attributed to hot underground materials related to high-temperature and high-pressure upwelling from the deep crust and mantle along the nearby subduction zone, thereby explaining the local temperature increment to the northeast of the epicenter, as well as in the center of the North Island and the southwest of the South Island. Furthermore, it changed the specific humidity between the ground and surface air, causing the local SLHF increment.
Article PDF
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Dey S, Singh R P. Nat Hazards Earth Sys, 2003, 3: 749–755
Chen M H, Deng Z H, Yang Z Z, et al. Chinese Sci Bull, 2005, 51: 1010–1013
Singh R P, Cervone G, Kafatos M, et al. Int J Remote Sensing, 2007, 31: 2885–2896
Li J P, Wu L X, Wen Z Y, et al. Sci Tech Rev, 2008, 26: 40–44
Qin K, Guo G M, Wu L X. Earthq Sci 2009, 22: 555–562
Qin K, Wu L X, Ma W Y. Sci Tech Rev, 2010, 28: 68–73
Cervone G, Singh R P, Kafatos M, et al. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci, 2005, 5: 87–99
Nikitas P, Guido C, Fotini P, et al. Physica A, 2006, 371: 703–718
Chen S Y, Liu P X, Liu L Q, et al. Chin J Geophys, 2006, 49: 824–830
Zhang Y S, Guo X, Zhong M J, et al. Chinese Sci Bull, 2010, 55: 1917–1924
Liu W T, Katsaros K B, Businger J A. J Atmos Sci, 1979, 36: 1722–1735
Shi Y L, Fan T Y. Chin J Geophys, 2001, 44: 754–760
Wallace L M, Beavan J, McCaffrey R, et al. Geophys J Int, 2007, 168: 332–352
Wu L X, Liu S J. Advances in Geosciences & Remote Sensing. Sweden: In-Teh, 2009. 709–741
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Rights and permissions
This article is published under an open access license. Please check the 'Copyright Information' section either on this page or in the PDF for details of this license and what re-use is permitted. If your intended use exceeds what is permitted by the license or if you are unable to locate the licence and re-use information, please contact the Rights and Permissions team.
About this article
Cite this article
Qin, K., Wu, L., De Santis, A. et al. Surface latent heat flux anomalies before the M S 7.1 New Zealand earthquake 2010. Chin. Sci. Bull. 56, 3273–3280 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-011-4680-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-011-4680-z