Source characteristics of the deep Philippine earthquake cluster, 23 and 24 July 2010

We determine the rupture velocity, rupture area, stress drop and duration of four strong deep-focus earthquakes in the Philippines by back-projecting the teleseismic P waves. Four deep-focus earthquakes occurred in a totally consumed Molucca microplate; their focal depths were greater than 550 km and their moment magnitudes were between M _w 6.6 and M _w 7.6. By studying this deep-focus cluster, we are able to estimate the rupture velocity, rupture area and stress drop which would assist in constraining the physical mechanism for earthquakes deeper than 500 km. Since the Molucca microplate is totally consumed, little evidence is left on the surface for us to do research. This deep-focus cluster provides us the opportunity to reveal the properties of this totally consumed microplate by using seismic method for the first time. Four earthquakes in this deep-focus cluster all have multiple rupture subevents. The M _w 7.3 event ruptures in two subevents, the M _w 7.6 and M _w 7.4 events both have three subevents. The M _w 6.6 event has single peak on the amplitude as a function of time; however, its energy releases at two spatially separated areas. Our results show that this deep-focus cluster has a slow rupture velocity which is about 0.27 to 0.43 of the shear wave velocity, long-scaled duration, concentrated energy release area, and high stress drop. These source properties are similar to those of other deep earthquakes occurring in warm slabs and indicate that the totally consumed Molucca microplate possibly is a warm plate.     

Partial breaking of a mature seismic gap: The 1987 earthquakes in New Britain

To better understand the mechanics of subduction and the process of breaking a mature seismic gap, we study seismic activity along the western New Britain subduction segment (147°E–151°E, 4°S–8°S) through earthquakes withm _b 5.0 in the outer-rise, the upper area of subducting slab and at intermediate depths to 250 km, from January 1964 to December 1990. The segment last broke fully in large earthquakes of December, 28, 1945 (M _s =7.9) and May 6, 1947 (M _s =7.7.), and its higher seismic potential has been recognized byMcCann et al., (1979). Recently the segment broke partially in two smaller events of February, 8, 1987 (M _s =7.4) and October 16, 1987 (M _s =7.4), leaving still unbroken areas.We observe from focal mechanisms that the outer-rise along the whole segment was under pronounced compression from the late 60's to at least October 1987 (with exception of the tensional earthquake of December 11, 1985), signifying the mature stage of the earthquake cycle. Simultaneously the slab at intermediate depths below 40 km was under tension before the earthquake of October 16, 1987. That event, with a smooth rupture lasting 32 sec, rupture velocity of 2.0 km/sec, extent of approximately 70 km and moment of 1.2×10²⁷ dyne-cm, did not change significantly the compressive state of stress in the outer-rise of that segment. The earthquake did not fill the gap completely and this segment is still capable of rupturing either in an earthquake which would fill the gap between the 1987 and 1971 events, or in a larger magnitude event (M _s =7.7–7.9), comparable to earthquakes observed in that segment in 1906, 1945 and 1947.     

Source parameters of the Gonghe,Qinghai Province,China,earthquake from inversion of digital broadband waveform data

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An unusual zone of seismic coupling in the Bonin arc: The 1972 Hachijo-Oki earthquakes and related seismicity

The 1972 February and December Hachijo-Oki earthquakes (M _s=7.3 and 7.4), in the northernmost part of the Izu-Bonin subduction zone, are the only major events (M _s>7.0) in the Bonin arc for the past 80 years. Relocation of the hypocenters, using one smaller event having a wellconstrained focal depth as a master event, shows that the depth of the February event is 10 km shallower than that of the December event. We have determined the rupture process for both events by minimizing the error in waveform between observed and synthetic seismograms. Although the number of available stations are limited, the depth range of the major energy release for the December event extends deeper than for the February one. The rupture propagated up-dip for both events. It is likely that the rupture zone of the two events overlapped, and that the December event ruptured the deeper part. This suggestion is consistent with the observation that the aftershock zones of both events overlap with that of the December event shifted landward. The waveforms of the December event have a smaller high frequency component than those of the February event, suggesting that the stress at the thrust zone became more uniform or reduced after the February event.No thrust type smaller event occurred near the rupture zone. Instead, theP-axes of smaller events are parallel to the dip of the slab and theirT-axes dip to the southwest. Focal depths of these events estimated byP-wave forward modeling are generally between 40–50 km and located beneath the thrust zone. We thus interpret them as the events within the Pacific slab near the zone ruptured by the two major events. The stress concentration around the rupture zone of the major events is suggested to have triggered these slab events. After the occurrence of the large events, the slab events are concentrated near the deeper portion of the rupture zone. These events may have been caused by the loading of the down-dip compressional stress near the down-dip end of the rupture zone due to the rupture. The occurrence of the doublet of large earthquakes and a number of down-dip compressional events beneath their rupture zones in a shallow portion of the subducting slab indicates an unusual zone of seismic coupling in the Bonin arc, most of which is seismically quiescent.     

2015年11月23日青海祁连MS5.2地震震源机制解及发震构造初步探讨

采用CAP（Cut and Paste）方法反演了2015年11月23日青海祁连M_S5.2主震的震源机制解,其最佳双力偶解：节面Ⅰ走向109°、倾角58°、滑动角21°,节面Ⅱ走向8°、倾角72°、滑动角146°,矩震级M_W5.16,矩心震源深度约为9 km。结合震区的活动构造,判定发震断层面为节面Ⅰ,推测托勒山北缘活动断裂中段为此次地震的发震断裂。     

The April 24, 2013 Changning M s4.8 earthquake: a felt earthquake that occurred in Paleozoic sediment

The dense broadband seismic network provides more high-quality waveform that is helpful to improve constraint focal depth of shallow earthquake. Many shallow earthquakes occurring in sediment were regarded as induced events. In Sichuan basin, gas industry and salt mining are dependent on fluid injection technique that triggers microseismicity. We adopted waveform inversion method with regional records to obtain focal mechanism of an M _s4.8 earthquake at Changning. The result suggested that the Changning earthquake occurred at a ESE thrust fault, and its focal depth was about 3 km. The depth phases including teleseismic pP phase and regional sPL phase shows that the focal depth is about 2 km. The strong, short-period surface wave suggests that this event is a very shallow earthquake. The amplitude ratio between Rayleigh wave and direct S wave was also used to estimate the source depth of the mainshock. The focal depth (2–4 km) is far less than the depth of the sedimentary layer thickness (6–8 km) in epicentral region. It is close to the depth of fluid injection of salt mining, which may imply that this event was triggered by the industrial activity.     

A large normal-fault earthquake at the junction of the Tonga trench and the Louisville ridge

The source mechanism of a large (M_s ? 7.2) earthquake that occurred in the oceanic plate at the junction of the Tonga—Kermadec trench systems with the aseismic Louisville ridge is found by inverting long-period vertical-component Rayleigh waves recorded by the IDA network. The solution is an almost-pure normal fault, on a plane striking roughly parallel to the trench axis, with seismic moment of 1.7 × 10²⁷ dyn cm, and thus is among the ten largest documented shallow normal-fault earthquakes. A point-source depth of 20 km for the event is resolved by modeling teleseismic body waves; the actual rupture may have extended deeper, to 30 or 40 km. The earthquake was a multiple event, consisting of two sources separated by 16 s. A rupture velocity of 3.5 km s^?1 is inferred. The earthquake can be interpreted as tensional failure in the shallow portion of the downgoing plate caused by the gravitational pull of the slab. The Louisville ridge may be creating a local degree of decoupling of the oceanic plate from the overriding plate, and/or a zone of extension within the slab, which could enhance the effect of the gravitational forces in the shallower part of the downgoing plate. In particular, the earthquake could be associated with the break-up of the leading seamount of the ridge, which is currently right at the trench. Alternatively, the earthquake may have been caused by stresses associated with the bending of the plate prior to subduction.     

The use of teleseismic P-wave complexity for seismic event screening – results determined from GRF and GERESS array data

Seismic data recorded at the broad-band teleseismic GRF array and theshort-period regional GERESS array, which is a designated IMS primarystation, are analyzed to determine the effectiveness of teleseismic P-wave complexity for the purpose of seismic event screening within theframework of Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty verification. For theGRF array, seismic waveform data from nearly 200 nuclear explosions havebeen recorded since its installation in the late 1970's, which were studiedalong with several thousand earthquakes from the last few years.Additionally, we investigated teleseismic P wave complexity for a similarnumber of earthquakes recorded at GERESS. However, owing to itsoperation starting in 1991, only a limited number of nuclear explosionseismograms are available for study.For nuclear explosions, complexity does not exceed levels of 0.3 except fora number of events from the Nevada Test Site recorded only at the GRFarray and located at a large distance where PcP may interfere with the initialP wavelet. Since all events with complexity at GRF larger than 0.3 areexclusively located on Pahute Mesa within the Nevada Test Site,near-source geology or topography must play a dominant role for theseincreased complexity values, while PcP may not contribute significantly tothe high-frequency energy measured by the complexity parameter.Although many earthquakes show complexities below this level, for morethan 25% of the earthquakes investigated the complexities determined arelarger than 0.7, thus showing distinctly larger values than nuclearexplosions. Therefore, this percentage may be screened as earthquakes fromall seismic events detected. As currently only about half of the eventsdetected by the global IMS network are screened out based on focal depthand the m _b :M _s criterion, teleseismic P-wavecomplexity may contribute significantly to the task of seismic eventscreening.     

乳山震群震源区地壳速度结构初步研究

运用距离乳山震群最近的乳山台2011-2014年远震波形资料,计算接收函数,确定震群震源区及邻近区域的地壳厚度和波速比。结果显示：乳山台下方各个方位的接收函数差异比较大,地壳速度结构呈现横向非均匀性;震源区与邻近区域存在明显差别,邻近区域的中、下地壳存在明显的高速区,震源区中下地壳中存在明显的低速区;震群中M_L3.0以上地震基本发生在高低速交界处。据此推断,乳山震群可能是由于中下地壳小范围内的物质的不均匀性导致上地壳破裂。     

Source modeling of the Hsingtai,China earthquakes of March 1966

The Hsingtai, China earthquakes of March 1966 were a series of destructive earthquakes associated with the Shu-lu graben. Five strong shocks of M_s ≥ 6 occurred within a period of less than a month, the largest of which was M_s 7.2. Body and surface waves over the period range from several to 100 s have been modeled for the four largest events using synthetic seismograms in the time domain and spectral analysis in the frequency domain. Data from ground deformation, local geology, regional seismic network, and teleseismic joint epicenter determination have also been used to constrain the source model and the rupture process.The fault mechanism of the Hsingtai sequence was mainly strike-slip with a small component of normal dip-slip. The strikes of the four largest shocks range from ～ N26° to 30°E, approximately along strike of the major faults of the Shu-lu graben and the aftershock distribution. The source mechanisms can be explained with a NNW-SSE extensional stress and a NEE-SWW compressional stress acting in the area. The major shocks all had focal depths ～ 10 km.The four largest shocks in the sequence were characterized by a relatively simple and smooth dislocation time history. The durations of the far-field source time functions ranged from 3.5 to 5 s, while the rise times were all ～ 1 s. The seismic moments of the four largest earthquakes ranged from 1.43 × 10²⁵ to 1.51 × 10²⁶ dyne cm^?1. The fault sizes of the four events were very close. Assuming circular faults, the diameters of the four events were determined to be between 10 and 14 km. Stress drops varied from ～ 52 to 194 bars. A trend of increasing stress drop with earthquake size was observed.A survey of stress drop determinations for 15 major intraplate earthquakes shows that on the average the magnitude of stress drop of oceanic intraplate earthquakes and passive continental margin events is higher (～ 200 to several hundred bars) than that of continental intraplate earthquakes (～ 100 bars or less).     

Fracture characteristics of the 1997 Jiashi, Xinjiang, China, earthquake swarm inferred from source spectra

Broadband P and S waves source spectra of 12 MS5.0 earthquakes of the 1997 Jiashi, Xinjiang, China, earthquake swarm recorded at 13 GDSN stations have been analyzed. Rupture size and static stress drop of these earthquakes have been estimated through measuring the corner frequency of the source spectra. Direction of rupture propagation of the earthquake faulting has also been inferred from the azimuthal variation of the corner frequency. The main results are as follows: ①The rupture size of MS6.0 strong earthquakes is in the range of 10～20 km, while that of MS=5.0～5.5 earthquakes is 6～10 km.② The static stress drop of the swarm earthquakes is rather low, being of the order of 0.1 MPa. This implies that the deformation release rate in the source region may be low. ③ Stress drop of the earthquakes appears to be proportional to their seismic moment, and also to be dependent on their focal mechanism. The stress drop of normal faulting earthquakes is usually lower than that of strike-slip type earthquakes. ④ For each MS6.0 earthquake there exists an apparent azimuthal variation of the corner frequencies. Azimuthally variation pattern of corner frequencies of different earthquakes shows that the source rupture pattern of the Jiashi earthquake swarm is complex and no uniform rupture expanding direction exists.     

Analysis on the Characteristics of the Kalpin MS5.3 Earthquake Sequence of December 1, 2013 and Anomalies before the Earthquake

This paper introduces the basic parameters, focal mechanism solutions and earthquake sequence characteristics of the Kalpin M_S5.3 earthquake sequence of December 1, 2013, and analyzed seismic activity before the earthquake, the adjacent tectonic features and the precursory anomaly at fixed points within a range of 200km. Research indicates:(1) The earthquake occurred on Kalpin fault, the source rupture type is thrust faulting with sinistral strike-slip component. (2) The earthquake sequence is mainshock-aftershock type, with the aftershock distribution attenuating quickly and trending NE. (3) Abnormal seismic activity before the earthquake was characterized by seismically nesting quiescence of M_S2.0-4.0 earthquakes, seismic quiescence of M_S4.0 earthquakes and seismic belts of M_S3.0 earthquakes in the Kalpin block, abnormal enhancement zone of moderate earthquakes on Puchang fault and seismological parameters. (4) Anomalies of precursory observation data at fixed stations are mainly characterized by mutation. Apart from the borehole tiltmeter in Halajun, the spatial distribution of other abnormal precursors showed a phenomenon of migration from the near field to far field and from the epicenter to the peripheries.     

Source Characteristics of the 12 November 1996 Mw 7.7 Peru Subduction Zone Earthquake

—The 12 November 1996 M _w 7.7 Peru subduction zone earthquake occurred off the coast of southern Peru, near the intersection of the South American trench and the highest topographical point of the subducting Nazca Ridge. We model the broadband teleseismic P-waveforms from stations in the Global Seismic Network to constrain the source characteristics of this subduction zone earthquake. We have analyzed the vertical component P-waves for this earthquake to constrain the depth, source complexity, seismic moment and rupture characteristics. The seismic moment determined from the nondiffracted P-waves is 3–5 × 10²⁰ N·m, corresponding to a moment magnitude M _w of 7.6–7.7. The source time function for the 1996 Peru event has three pulses of seismic moment release with a total duration of approximately 45–50 seconds. The largest moment release occurs at approximately 35–40 seconds and is located ～90km southeast of the rupture initiation. Approximately 70% of the seismic moment was released in the third pulse.¶We find that the 1996 event reruptured part of the rupture area of the previous event in 1942. The location of the 1996 earthquake corresponds to a region along the Peru coast with the highest uplift rates of marine terraces. This suggests that the uplift may be due to repeated earthquakes such as the 1996 and 1942 events.     

Relocation of the MS5.7 Earthquake Sequence in Songyuan, Jilin Province, 2018 and the Analysis of Its Seismogenic Structure

The 2018,Songyuan,Jilin M_S5. 7 earthquake occurred at the intersection of the FuyuZhaodong fault and the Second Songhua River fault. The moment magnitude of this earthquake is M_W5. 3,the centroid depth by the waveform fitting is 12 km,and it is a strike-slip type event. In this paper,with the seismic phase data provided by the China Earthquake Network, the double-difference location method is used to relocate the earthquake sequence,finally the relocation results of 60 earthquakes are obtained. The results show that the aftershock zone is about 4. 3km long and 3. 1km wide,which is distributed in the NE direction. The depth distribution of the seismic sequence is 9km-10 km. 1-2 days after the main shock,the aftershocks were scattered throughout the aftershock zone,and the largest aftershock occurred in the northeastern part of the aftershock zone. After 3-8 days,the aftershocks mainly occurred in the southwestern part of the aftershock zone. The profile distribution of the earthquake sequence shows that the fault plane dips to the southeast with the dip angle of about 75°. Combined with the regional tectonic setting,focal mechanism solution and intensity distribution,we conclude that the concealed fault of the Fuyu-Zhaodong fault is the seismogenic fault of the Songyuan M_S5. 7 earthquake. This paper also relocates the earthquake sequence of the previous magnitude 5. 0 earthquake in 2017. Combined with the results of the focal mechanism solution,we believe that the two earthquakes have the same seismogenic structure,and the earthquake sequence generally develops to the southwest. The historical seismic activity since 2009 shows that after the magnitude 5. 0 earthquake in 2017,the frequency and intensity of earthquakes in the earthquake zone are obviously enhanced,and attention should be paid to the development of seismic activity in the southwest direction of the earthquake zone.     

Automatic detection,location and quantification of earthquakes: Application to tsunami warning

We describe a fully automated seismic event detection and location system, providing for real-time estimates of the epicentral parameters of both local and distant earthquakes. The system uses 12 telemetered short-period stations, with a regional aperture of 350 km, as well as two 3-component broad-band stations. Detection and location of teleseismic events is achieved independently and concurrently on the short-period and long-period channels. The long-period data is then used to obtain an estimate of the seismic momentM ₀ of the earthquake through the mantle magnitudeM _m, as introduced byOkal andTalandier (1989). In turn, this estimate ofM ₀ is used to infer the expected tsunami amplitude at Papeete, within 15 minutes of the recording of Rayleigh waves. The performance of the method is discussed in terms of the accuracy of the epicentral parameters and seismic moment obtained in real time, as compared to the values later published by the reporting agencies. Our estimates are usually within 3 degrees of the reported epicenter, and the standard deviation on the seismic moment only 0.19 unit of magnitude for a population of 154 teleseismic events.     

A low magnitude seismic sequence near Isernia (Molise,Central Italy) in January 1986

Following the increase in seismic activity which occurred near Isernia (Molise, Central Italy) in January 1986, a digital seismic network of four stations with three-component, short-period seismometers, was installed in the area by the Osservatorio Vesuviano. The temporary network had an average station spacing of about 8–10 km and, in combination with permanent local seismic stations, allowed the accurate determination of earthquake locations during an operating period of about one month. Among the 1517 detected earthquakes, 170 events were selected with standard errors on epicentre and depth not greater than respectively 0.5 and 1.5 km. The most frequent focal depths ranged between 4 and 8 km, while the epicentres distribution covered a small area NE of Isernia of about 10 km². A main rupture zone could not be clearly identified from the spatial distribution of the earthquakes, suggesting a rupture mechanism involving heterogeneous materials. The activity was characterized by low energy levels, the largest earthquake, on January 18, 1986, havingM _D =4.0. The time sequence of events and pattern of seismic energy release revealed a strong temporal clustering of events, similar to the behaviour commonly associated with seismic swarms.     

Temporal variation of body wave attenuation as related to two earthquake doublets in W. Greece

In this research four earthquakes, which are considered to compose two earthquake doublets, recorded prior to and after a magnitudeM _s =5.0 and a magnitudeM _s =4.8 event in W. Greece are used to derive temporal variations ofP-wave attenuation in the region.Spectral ratios at four stations are computed and the results indicated a variation (increase) ofQ of the order of 15–20%. To confirm that this variation is not an artifact due to changes of the source parameters, a smaller event which occurred at the same hypocentre was used as a Green function and the deconvolution proved that the earthquakes of one of the doublet possessed the same source parameters.The outcome of this research verifies the possible role of the migration of fluids in the crust in the focal region and their effect on the attenuation of seismic waves.     

2013年山东莱州M4.6地震序列发震构造初探

采用双差定位法对山东莱州地震序列重新定位,通过CAP方法反演M4.6地震震源机制,在此基础上初步探讨莱州地震序列发震构造。结果显示:精确定位震中位置主要位于柞村—仙夼断裂的NW方向,深度剖面显示从SE方向到NW方向断层深度呈由浅逐渐变深的趋势,这均与柞村—仙夼断裂位置、走向、倾向特征较为吻合;M4.6地震震源机制解的节面Ⅰ与柞村—仙夼断裂走向、倾角较为接近。综合精确定位震中位置、剖面深度分布特征、M4.6地震震源机制解及宏观调查烈度分布等结果与柞村-仙夼断裂产状之间的关系,初步推测柞村—仙夼断裂可能为莱州地震序列的发震断层。     

Moment tensor inversion and source rupture process of the September 27, 2003 M S=7.9 earthquake occurred in the border area of China, Russia and Mongolia

We conducted moment tensor inversion and studied source rupture process for M _S=7.9 earthquake occurred in the border area of China, Russia and Mongolia on September 27 2003, by using digital teleseismic P-wave seismograms recorded by long-period seismograph stations of the global seismic network. Considering the aftershock distribution and the tectonic settings around the epicentral area, we propose that the M _S=7.9 earthquake occurred on a fault plane with the strike of 127°, the dip of 79° and the rake of 171°. The rupture process inversion result of M _S=7.9 earthquake shows that the total rupture duration is about 37 s, the scalar moment tensor is M ₀=0.97×10²⁰ N·m. Rupture mainly occurred on the shallow area with 110 km long and 30 km wide, the location in which the rupture initiated is not where the main rupture took place, and the area with slip greater than 0.5 m basically lies within 35 km deep middle-crust under the earth surface. The maximum static slip is 3.6 m. There are two distinct areas with slip larger than 2.0 m. We noticed that when the rupture propagated towards northwest and closed to the area around the M _S=7.3 hypocenter, the slip decreased rapidly, which may indicate that the rupture process was stopped by barriers. The consistence of spatial distribution of slip on the fault plane with the distribution of aftershocks also supports that the rupture is a heterogeneous process owing to the presence of barriers.     

Source process of the 14 November 2001 western Kunlun Mountain M S=8.1 earthquake

Based on digital teleseismic P-wave seismograms recorded by 28 long-period seismograph stations of the global seismic network, source process of the November 14, 2001 western Kunlun Mountain M _S=8.1 (M _W=7.8) earthquake is estimated by a new inversion method. The result shows that the earthquake is a very complex rupture event. The source rupture initiated at the hypocenter (35.95°N, 90.54°E, focal depth 10 km, by USGS NEIC), and propagated to the west at first. Then, in several minutes to a hundred minutes and over a large spatial range, several rupture growth points emerged in succession at the eastern end and in the central part of the finite fault. And then the source rupture propagated from these rupture growth points successively and, finally, stopped in the area within 50 km to the east of the centroid position (35.80°N, 92.91°E, focal depth 15 km, by Harvard CMT). The entire rupture lasted for 142 s, and the source process could be roughly separated into three stages: The first stage started at the 0 s and ended at the 52 s, lasting for 52 s and releasing approximately 24.4% of the total moment; The second stage started at the 55 s and ended at the 113 s, lasting for 58 s and releasing approximately 56.5% of the total moment; The third stage started at the 122 s and ended at the 142 s, lasting for 20 s and releasing approximately 19.1% of the total moment. The length of the ruptured fault plane is about 490 km. The maximum width of the ruptured fault plane is about 45 km. The rupture mainly occurred within 30 km in depth under the surface of the Earth. The average static slip in the underground rocky crust is about 1.2 m with the maximum static slip 3.6 m. The average static stress drop is about 5 MPa with the maximum static stress drop 18 MPa. The maximum static slip and the maximum stress drop occurred in an area within 50 km to the east of the centroid position. Foundation item: Joint Seismological Science Foundation of China (103066) and Foundation of the Seismic Pattern and Digital Seismic Data Application Research Office of Institute of Earthquake Science of the China Earthquake Administration.