The causes of frequent earthquakes in Xinjiang are very complex, including many factors, such as the change of groundwater level, human activities and the movement of the earth plate. On May 26, a 3.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Wuqia County, Suzhou, Kizil, Xinjiang. As time goes by, Xinjiang, China, has become a place where earthquakes often occur. Although most people know that Xinjiang is located in the seismic zone, many people are still curious about why Xinjiang has frequent earthquakes.
Xinjiang is an inland province, located at the intersection of three plate suture zones, where the crustal movement is very active. Large earthquakes such as Kashi earthquake, Yushu earthquake and Yili earthquake in this area are deeply remembered by its people. Since most areas in Xinjiang are mountainous areas, especially karst and karst landforms, the permeability of Xinjiang is poor, and underground water is easy to form channels, which leads to insufficient stability of the crust and easy collapse.
Earthquake is also an inevitable natural phenomenon, and it is difficult to predict without error in advance. Nevertheless, scientists are still trying to explore new early warning and prediction technologies to predict earthquakes more accurately. A new study on earthquakes shows that the seismicity in Xinjiang seems to be affected by the change of groundwater level. The fluctuation of groundwater may cause stress changes on the crust and trigger earthquakes. In Xinjiang, there are many lakes and rivers, so the change of groundwater level is very common, which is one of the reasons for frequent earthquakes in this area.
In addition to changes in the groundwater level, human activities may also increase the risk of earthquakes. There are many mines and oil fields in Xinjiang, and industrial activities may lead to crustal stress changes and promote earthquakes. Large scale water conservancy projects have also been carried out, which may also change the groundwater level and crustal stress, triggering earthquakes to some extent. Although the earthquake activity in Xinjiang is frequent, we should not be overly nervous and worried. Scientists and geologists are constantly studying the earthquake situation in this area to better protect people's lives and property. It can also reduce the losses caused by earthquakes by strengthening the earthquake resistance of buildings and infrastructure.
