On the causes of unordinary periodicity of earthquakes

The diurnal periodicity of seismic events from three earthquake catalogs of Fennoscandia and Turkey is studied. The shape of diurnal distribution of seismic events in all the catalogs under investigation is similar to the unordinary diurnal periodicity of earthquakes described in previous papers. The principal feature of the diurnal periodicity of seismic events revealed in this paper is a wide maximum of the events in the day time. The very reliable conclusion is made that it is caused by presence of a great amount of quarry blasts in the catalogs.     

Space-time analysis of earthquake-generating structures in the Baikal Rift system

The epicenter field of earthquakes that occur in the Baikal Rift System (BRS) was analyzed to identify certain areas that have stable concentrations of seismic events; these are reflections (in time) of deformable earthquake-generating volumes in the tectonosphere, or earthquake-generating structures. The patterns that are identifiable in the interrelationships and interactions of earthquake-generating structures as found by analysis of the space-time characteristics of the seismic process characterize the present-day dynamics of the BRS. Time series of earthquake-generating structures were analyzed for the 1964?C2002 period using the following parameters: the number of earthquakes (N) and the logarithm of total energy released by the earthquakes (log E_sum). The tool was frequency-time analysis (FTAN), which revealed dominant periodic components in the seismic process for each earthquake-generating structure. We also used correlation analysis based on the parameter N to determine the order of activation for the earthquake-generating structures and to identify periods of synchronization in the seismic process.     

Review and Proposed Method to Study the Damage Orientation of Earthquake Effects in Pre-Instrumental Earthquakes

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - The information and seismic parameters gained from pre-instrumental earthquakes are essential to improve the seismic catalogs and hazard studies. The...     

2013年甘肃岷县漳县M_S6.6地震余震序列时域衰减特征分析

本文基于补充遗漏地震事件后的地震目录和修正的大森公式,对2013年7月22日甘肃岷县漳县6.6级地震余震序列时间域衰减特征进行了分析.鉴于主震后短时间内目录遗漏的余震较多,首先利用岷县台连续地震记录波形的高频包络差,检测主震后3h内目录遗漏的地震.经检测在主震后3h内共发现目录遗漏的ML1.0以上地震139个,最大震级为ML3.6.主震后1000s内检测到遗漏地震69个,约为目录给出余震数量的6倍.而后使用补充遗漏地震的目录,基于修正的大森公式分别拟合余震频度和余震地震矩随时间的变化.结果显示拟合p值约为1.07,表明岷县漳县地震余震序列衰减速率与全球平均水平接近,而未补充遗漏地震的频度拟合会造成余震序列衰减速率的低估.利用高频包络差直接计算地震频度曲线,通过三种衰减模式对地震频度曲线拟合参数比较,未观察到岷县漳县地震主震后存在早期余震缺失现象.分析认为,加入遗漏地震可以提高余震频度拟合估计衰减速率结果的准确度和精度,若缺少遗漏地震检测结果,则使用地震矩拟合所得衰减速率结果准确度较优,但需充分考虑其精度上的误差.在分析余震序列衰减特征的实际研究工作中,需根据地震目录完整性选择适当的拟合方法.     

东汉早期的地震活动

东汉早期(公元25—127年)的地震史料十分宝贵, 它反映了从远古零散、 不系统的地震记载转入连续记载并逐渐认识地震的过程. 这时的地震事件较多, 但研究不充分, 地震参数基本呈空白状. 史料的记载方式以“郡国地震”和“京师地震”为主; 时间上, 基本在汉和帝以后; 地点上, 以大华北为主. 本文具体分析了东汉早期的33次地震事件, 利用新的地震烈度衰减关系, 采用郡国平均地理面积和有感面积的概念, 比照地震范例的标准, 按《中国地震目录》的烈度震级表进行参数估算. 研究期间最主要的地震事件是4次震级≥6 1/₂ 的强震, 即公元46年10月和119年3月南阳地震、 121年10月冀南-鲁西地震和123年5月汉阳地震, 震后都有持续1—2年的余震活动. 公元118年前的地震主要分布于大华北, 震中至京师洛阳的距离多在200 km以外. 除两次5 1/₂ —6级地震外, 均属5—5 1/₂ 级中等强度地震, 少数小于4 3/₄ 级. 京师洛阳虽经历过多次地震, 但其受影响程度并不强, 基本为有感或强有感的水平, 没有遭受过破坏性或中等强度的震害.      

根据西德戈丁根地震台仪器记录编制的中国地震目录——对中国地震目录中1903年以来M7地震参数的核对day

本文根据西德戈丁根(Goettingen)台自1903年装置维肖尔式地震仪以来,连续观测的八十余年记录,选编了中国及其邻区的地震目录。另一方面又根据中国自己编制的中国地震目录已有的几种版本中,汇编了一份1903——1985年M7.0地震最新公布的数据的目录。本文对这两套目录所提供的地震次数及其参数,作了初步对比。为研究中国仪器记录地震所测参数的时间连贯性提供了一个重要机会。本文同时还列出了上述各个中国地震在目前世界上最主要的十四种地震目录中所给出的参数。这使我们能在纵(1903——1985年同一仪器的连续记录中),横(戈丁根台目录、中国目录以及世界主要的十四种目录)两方面来研究中国地震。      

中国大陆及周缘地震目录完整性统计分析

地震目录资料是进行地震预测、地震危险性分析、地震活动性研究等地震学研究的基础资料.对地震目录资料的完整性可靠性分析是地震学研究的基础工作之一.近几十年来我国积累的大量的仪器地震记录,历史地震也在不断更新,为地震活动性研究提供了更为丰富的样本,因此有必要对新的地震目录进行完整性分析.本文采用了新的统计方法对我国仪器记录地震目录和历史破坏性地震目录进行了完整性分析.结果表明,对于仪器记录地震目录（M≥3.0）我国东部地区1975年后基本完整,西部地区1980年后基本完整.对于历史地震目录（M≥5.0）,东部地区1500年后基本完整,西部地区1950年后基本完整.考虑到华北地震区历史破坏性地震（M≥4³/₄）活动的时间非平稳性,我们采用突变点分析法研究了华北地震区历史破坏性地震目录的时间特征,得到了华北地震区地震活动周期性变化的突变点位置,并揭示了华北地震区历史破坏性地震目录完整起始时间约为公元1500年前后.     

Monitoring of the Arctic region: contribution of the Arkhangelsk seismic network

We evaluate the contribution of the Arkhangelsk seismic network to the recording of seismic events of the Arctic region. The evaluation is performed by means of the general analysis of the network seismic catalog, evaluation of the magnitude sensitivity, and comparative analysis of the Arkhangelsk network catalogs with NORSAR seismological data services and the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It is established that the Arkhangelsk network has a rather high sensitivity and records the intra-plate and inter-plate seismic activity in the Arctic Region. Due to the start of the seismic station operation on the Franz Josef Land Archipelago, there is a capability to record earthquakes, data on which are missing in the catalogs of well-known seismological data services.     

河北及邻区地震烈度衰减关系研究

地震震动的衰减关系在地震区划和工程场地的安全性评估过程中是不可或缺的。利用河北及周边区域历史地震的等震线资料,运用统计回归的分析方法,得到统计回归方程及地震烈度衰减关系,与其他烈度衰减关系进行对比分析,并与地震应急指挥技术系统软件及地震烈度分布资料进行对比,从而得到适用于河北及周边地区的地震烈度衰减关系。     

Implications of differences in thermodynamic conditions for the seismic process

Variations in characteristics of the seismic process are considered under various thermodynamic conditions. In addition to the usual parameters, differences between hypocenter depths obtained from seismic moment solutions and ordinary hypocentral determinations are considered. Two different tendencies are shown to prevail in source parameter variations for events that occur above and below 80–100 km. The first tendency apparently corresponds to variations in the parameters of ordinary crustal earthquakes with increasing pressure. The second tendency is supposedly associated with the prevalence of specific deep mechanisms of seismogenesis. Distinctions in the dynamics of earthquakes developing downward and toward the surface are examined and accounted for by a low density fluid phase present in earthquake sources. The localization of deep earthquakes at certain depths and specific features of deep seismogenesis are discussed. Such features are related to the role of transformations in the material of subducting plates in the occurrence of deep earthquakes. The problem of genesis of deep earthquakes is discussed.     

Estimation of shear-wave attenuation characteristics for the Klyuchevskoi volcanic edifice

This paper reports a study of intrinsic attenuation and scattering in the Klyuchevskoi volcanic edifice. The data set consisted of small volcano-tectonic earthquakes occurring as deep as 30 km beneath Klyuchevskoi Volcano and recorded by radio telemetry seismograph stations installed on the edifice and near it. The digital seismograms of small volcano-tectonic earthquakes were processed by the multiple lapse time window analysis (MLTWA) method currently in use in seismology. The method uses experimental normalized integrals of 3D seismic energy density determined from several time windows applied to earthquake records that have been put through bandpass filters. The parameters that characterize the intrinsic attenuation and scattering of seismic energy of small volcano-tectonic earthquakes in Klyuchevskoi Volcano were estimated by adjusting the coefficients to ensure the best fit between experimental and theoretical integrals. An analytical solution to the seismic energy transfer equation was used to calculate the theoretical integrals of 3D seismic energy. Reliable estimates of the parameters that characterize the intrinsic attenuation and scattering in the material of the Klyuchevskoi volcanic edifice have been obtained. Our estimates of the Q for the edifice are below those derived by other workers for the Kamchatka lithosphere.     

新疆北天山非弹性衰减、场地响应及其震源参数研究

本文利用新疆北天山22个数字地震台的地震波形资料,首先采用Atkinson方法得到了北天山Q值随频率f的关系式为Q(f)=465.2f^0.53; 其次采用Moya方法反演得到了22个台站的场地响应,结果显示,绝大多数台站的场地响应在1附近,其中5个台站的场地响应表现出不同程度的放大效应,可能与台基岩性和仪器工作状态有关; 最后用ω平方震源模型计算了161次地震的震源参数,结果表明,在单对数坐标下,161次地震震级(M_S)与地震矩的对数、震源破裂半径、矩震级呈正相关关系、与拐角频率呈负相关关系、与应力降并无明显的依存关系,进而利用震源参数中的应力降时序图,分析了研究区内2次6级地震前后应力降随时间的变化特征: 表现为震前出现高应力异常,震后趋于低值的变化过程。     

Diurnal periodicity of weak earthquakes in Central Asia

Data on the time moments and numbers of weak earthquakes (M ≥ 0) are analyzed in five regions of Central Asia where long-term extensive instrumental observations of seismicity were conducted. Spectra of time moments of seismic events were calculated in the range of periods from 1 to 48 h with a step of half an hour. The time variations in the numbers of these earthquakes were also calculated in windows of 4 to 48 h wide with a summation step of 1 h. The presence of significant high-quality spectral extrema at periods of 24 and 12 h is established for all catalogs used, and less significant extrema at a period of 8 h are established for some catalogs. These periodicities are observed in the analysis of weak earthquakes with M < 2.2 (K < 8) and are virtually absent for stronger seismic events. It is shown that lunisolar tides have no appreciable gravitational effect on the observed variations in seismic emission. Daily variations in the actual sensitivity of the observation network due to the daytime increase in the noise level as a factor responsible for the observed diurnal periodicity raise doubts.     

Data replenishment of five moderate earthquake sequences in Japan,with semi-automatic cluster selection

Missing early aftershocks following relatively large or moderate earthquakes can cause significant bias in the analysis of seismic catalogs. In this paper, we systematically address the aftershock missing problem for five earthquake sequences associated with moderate-size events that occurred inland Japan, by using a stochastic replenishing method. The method is based on the notion that if a point process (e.g., earthquake sequence) with time-independent marks (e.g., magnitudes) is completely observed, it can be transformed into a homogeneous Poisson process by a bi-scale empirical transformation. We use the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) earthquake catalog to select the aftershock data and replenish the missing early events using the later complete part of each aftershock sequence. The time windows for each sequence span from 6 months before the mainshock to three months after. The semi-automatic spatial selection uses a clustering method for the epicentral selection of earthquakes. The results obtained for the original JMA catalog and replenished datasets are compared to get insight into the biases that the missing early aftershocks may cause on the Omori-Utsu law parameters’ estimation, characterizing the aftershock decay with time from the mainshock. We have also compared the Omori-Utsu law parameter estimates for two datasets following the same mainshock; the first dataset is the replenished sequence, while the second dataset has been obtained by waveform-based analysis to detect early aftershocks that are not recorded in the JMA catalog. Our results demonstrate that the Omori-Utsu law parameters estimated for the replenished datasets are robust with respect to the threshold magnitude used for the analyzed datasets. Even when using aftershock time windows as short as three days, the replenished datasets provide stable Omori-Utsu law parameter estimations. The p-values for all the analyzed sequences are about 1.1 and c-values are significantly smaller compared to those of original datasets. Our findings prove that the replenishment method is a fast, reliable approach to address the missing aftershock problem.     

四川地区强震前弱震空区的变化特征

本文使用四川台网地震目录全部资料,适当参考邻省地震目录,对于四川省从1970年下半年以来发生的15组5级以上地震(另有5组缺乏完整资料无法讨论),作 R-t 图、D-t 图寻找时间空区,并作相应的平面空区图.通过对比分析,发现6组6级以上和4组5级地震前震中附近出现空区现象.根据形成空区的变化过程可分为先扩(大)后缩(小)型和逐渐扩大的开放型两种类型.平面空区的位置和形状往往与构造展布有关.有5组5级震例,或因震前震中区小震不断,或因震中及其附近地区小震太少,看不出明显的空区.本文利用出现空区的10个震例,总结出空区参数与未来地震的震级的经验关系:M=5.50 lg Rmax-2.331.32 M=2.98 lgT+2.941.06 M=2.52lg(RmaxT)-0.510.96文中将上述结果与大竹政和的结果作了对比.空区不同变化形态可用金森博雄概括的突起点模式加以解释.      

Commentary on “Earthquake Depths in the Crimea–Black Sea Region” by V.E. Kulchitsky,B.G. Pustovitenko and V.A. Svidlova

It is well known that the results of determining earthquake parameters depend to a large extent on data processing algorithms and velocity models of the seismic wave propagation medium used in solving hypocenter problems. In 1992, V.Yu. Burmin developed a hypocentric algorithm that minimizes the functional of distances between the points corresponding to the theoretical and observed travel times of seismic waves from an earthquake source to recording stations. The determination of the coordinates of earthquake hypocenters in this case is much more stable than for the commonly used minimization of the functional of discrepancies in the seismic wave arrival times at a station. Using this algorithm and the refined velocity model of the medium, V.Yu. Burmin and L.A. Shumlyanskaya reinterpreted the earthquake parameters for the Crimea–Black Sea region. The most important result of this reinterpretation was the conclusion about the occurrence of deep earthquakes with a source depth of more than 60 km in the region. This result contradicts the conventional beliefs about the seismicity of the region and therefore aroused strong criticism from experts directly involved in compiling the existing catalogs of regional earthquakes. These comments and criticisms are presented by V.E. Kulchitsky with coauthors in a work published in this issue of the journal. In the present paper, we analyze the comments in detail and respond. In particular, we show that the previously used methods of seismic data processing made it highly unlikely by default that deep earthquakes would appear in the results. As an example, we refer to the use of travel-time curves for depths down to 35 km. It is clear that deep earthquakes could not have been found with this approach.     

Macroseismic Intensity Modelling of Earthquakes in Southern Spain: Attenuation and Tectonic Implications

A modelling of the observed macroseismic intensity of historical and instrumental earthquakes in southern Spain is proposed, with the aim of determining the macroseismic parameters for seismic hazard evaluation in a region in which the characterization of intensity distribution of seismic events shows different levels of difficulty referable to the complex faults system of the area in study. The adopted procedure allows an analytical determination of epicenters and principal attenuation directions of earthquakes with a double level of verification with reference to the maximum shaking area and structural lineaments of the region, respectively. The analyses, carried out on a suitable number of events, highlight, therefore, some elements for a preliminary characterization of a seismic zonation on the basis of the consistency between seismic intensity distribution of earthquakes and corresponding structural framework.     

ETAS Model Analysis on the Chang Island Earthquake Swarm in Shandong Province,China

Influenced by the layout of seismic network and the location of earthquakes, earthquake catalogs are often incomplete; such incompleteness of earthquake catalogue directly affects the analysis of sequence activity characteristics. In this paper, the GPU-acceleration-based g template matching method is used to scan the continuous waveforms of Chang Island earthquake swarm in Shandong Province from February 9 to August 20, 2017. In total, 15,286 earthquakes events were detected, which was more than 6 times compared with those in network catalogue and thus reduced the magnitude of completeness from 1.0 to 0.5. Based on the intergrated catalogue of earthquakes, the characteristics of Chang Island earthquake swarm were then analyzed using the Epidemic Type Aftershock Sequences (ETAS) model. The stochastic components in the ETAS model are used as a proxy for possible earthquake triggered by external forces (fluids). The results show that the proportion of earthquakes triggered by external forces of Chang Island swarm increases gradually (from 31.9% to 63.5%) and then decreases. The latter stage of swarm development is mainly affected by the self-excitation of earthquakes,suggesting that the fluids play an important role in the development of the Chang Island swarm. However, the triggering intensity of fluids to microseismicity is divergent in different periods, which may be related to the process of fluid permeation.