The China Active Faults Database (CAFD) and its web system

Abstract

Active faults serve as potential sources of destructive earthquakes. Studies and investigations of active faults are necessary for earthquake disaster prevention. This study presents a nation-scale database of active faults in China and its adjacent regions, in tandem with an associated web-based query system. This database is an updated version of the active faults data included in the Seismotectonic Map of China and its Adjacent Regions (1:4 000 000), which is one of the four essential maps of the mandatory Chinese standard GB 18306-2015 Seismic Ground Motion Parameter Zonation Maps of China. The data update and integration stem from regional-scale studies and surveys conducted over the past 2 decades (at reference scales from 1:250 000 to 1:50 000). The information amassed from these regional-scale studies and surveys encompasses geophysical probing, drill logging, measurement of offset landforms, sample dating, as well as geometric and kinematic parameters of exposed and blind faults, paleo-earthquake sequences, and recurrence intervals. These data have been acquired and analyzed utilizing a uniform technical standard framework and reviewed by expert panels in both field and laboratory settings. Our system hosts this nation-scale database accessible through a Web Geographic Information System (GIS) application, enabling browsing, querying, and downloading functionalities via a web browser. The system we built also publishes the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Feature Service and the OGC Web Map Service of active faults data. Users can incorporate map layers and obtain fault data in OGC-compliant GIS software for further analysis through these services. The Chinese government, research institutions, and companies have widely used the active faults data from the previous versions of the database. The database is available at https://doi.org/10.12031/activefault.china.400.2023.db (Xu, 2023) and via the web system (https://data.activetectonics.cn/arcportal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=684737e8849c4170bbca14447608c451, CEFIS, 2023; http://data.activetectonics.cn/arcserver/services/Hosted/CAFD400_2022_WFS/MapServer/WFSServer, CAFD WFS, 2024).