Gravity exploration

shallow seismic investigation and high density resistivity measurement were applied to study Sunyi fault in Beijing

and the data in astronomical cyclostratigraphy

magnetic susceptibility and paleomagnetic chronology from a series of drilling cores were used to infer sporadically activities of the fault's northern segment since Quaternary. The astronomical time scales of the footwall and hanging wall of the Shunyi fault were established respectively to constrain the stratigraphic age of two walls. Its activity characteristics since the Quaternary were revealed through comparison with the thickness of strata and differences of deposition rate. The Shunyi fault showed hallmark of intermittency. Seven intensive phases (~2.5 Ma

~2.3 Ma

~2.0 Ma

1.6~1.8 Ma

1.2~1.3Ma

~0.5 Ma and ~0.3 Ma) and one sub-intensive phase (~0.9Ma) can be distinguished

and the rest time is considered to be relatively quiet period. Furthermore

Shunyi fault acted intensively in the early and middle Early Pleistocene (earlier than ~ 1.1Ma) being featured by sink-slip-dominated activity

and became weak profoundly since the late Early Pleistocene (after ~ 1.1Ma) with a feature of creep-dominated activity.