Pre-seismic gravity anomalies before Linkou Ms6.4 earthquake by continuous gravity observation of Crustal Movement Observation Network of China

A Ms6.4 earthquake occurred at Linkou country, Heilongjiang Province (44.8°N, 129.9°E) on January 2, 2016 at a depth of 580 km. Pre-seismic gravity anomalies obtained at a 1 Hz sampling rate from Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC) are analyzed after the earthquake. The results show that: (1) different from previous studies, both pre-seismic amplitude perturbation and co-seismic amplitude perturbation are not critical inversely proportional to epicentral distance; (2) unlike shallow earthquake, the pre-seismic and co-seismic amplitude perturbation of gravity illustrate synchronous spatial variation characters with decrease of epicentral distance for Linkou earthquake. This may because Linkou earthquake is a deep earthquake and occurred in Pacific Plate subduction zone; (3) compared to basement and semi-basement, cave can provide a better observation environment for gPhone gravimeter to detect pre-seismic gravity anomalies.