Characteristics and mechanism of Jiaocheng ground fissure in Taiyuan Basin, China

The Fenwei Basin, which has 612 developed ground fissures, is the most concentrated and severe area in China and even the world for ground fissure hazards. The Jiaocheng ground fissure in the Taiyuan Basin is known for being the longest length and causing the most damage and impact in China. To discover the origin of the Jiaocheng ground fissure, surveying, trenching, and geophysical exploration were used to study its geological basis, developmental characteristics, and genetic processes. With a total length of 46 km and an impact bandwidth of 80–120 m, it is one of the longest ground fissures found in the world. The fissure is located on the hanging wall of the Jiaocheng fault, and the NE strike is quite consistent with this fault. Houses, roads, fields, and other structures have all been damaged to varying degrees by the fissure. The most common movements are vertical slip, horizontal tension, and right-lateral slide. According to trenching and shallow seismic profiling, this fissure has synsedimentary features. The Jiaocheng ground fissure was formed due to the interaction of several forces. First, the Jiaocheng fault shifted because of regional extension, creating a rupture system in the surface strata. Pumping activity contributed to the formation of the current ground fissure. This research has significant implications for understanding fissure mechanics and preventing and mitigating ground fissures.