A shallow attenuating anomaly inside the ring fracture of the Valles Caldera, New Mexico

Spectral ratios of teleseismic direct and scattered P waves observed in the Valles Caldera, New Mexico, show a systematic pattern of low amplitudes at sites inside the caldera relative to sites on or outside the ring fracture. Waveforms recorded at caldera stations are considerably more complex than those recorded outside the caldera. The data used in this study were collected during a passive seismic monitoring experiment conducted in 1987. Twenty-four teleseismic events were recorded on two linear arrays spanning the caldera. To first order, the pattern of low amplitudes did not vary with source incidence angle or azimuth of approach, and could not be explained by anomalous amplification at the ring fracture. This observation suggests the presence of a shallow, attenuating zone associated with the caldera fill material inside of the ring fracture. We estimated the general features of the caldera's near-surface structure for the two-dimensional vertical cross section beneath the array, using a modification of the Aki-Larner discrete-wavenumber method to forward model the observed amplitude variations. Our results indicate that the caldera fill material must be subdivided into at least two distinct zones: a strongly attenuating lower zone, extending to depths in excess of 4 km, and a mildly attenuating surface layer. To fit the data we had to assign an unrealistically low value to seismic Q in the deeper attenuating anomaly. We attribute this to the inability of the Aki-Larner method to account for strong re-direction of energy away from the caldera due to local heterogeneity that we could not include within the low-Q anomaly. This interpretation is consistent with the pervasive, fractured hydrothermal system that is known to exist in the caldera fill material.     

Preliminary Results on the 3-dimensional Seismic Structure of the Lithosphere under the USGS Central California Seismic Array

About 1500 readings of teleseismic P -time residuals obtained from the US Geological Survey seismograph network in central California have been used to obtain a three-dimensional image of seismic velocity anomalies for this area by the method of Aki, Christoffersson & Husebye We found that the California network is less suitable than the LASA and NORSAR arrays for this kind of studies because of its greater proportion of peripheral blocks in which the resolution is very poor for the stochastic inverse solution and the random error effect is severe for the generalized inverse solution. Nevertheless, the resultant velocity anomalies show a remarkable correlation with the San Andreas fault zone to a depth of 75 km. The anomaly pattern changes drastically as the depth exceeds 75 km, suggesting that the asthenosphere has been reached.     

Seismicity simulation with a mass-spring model and a displacement hardening-softening friction law

Dieterich simulated aftershocks numerically, using a one-dimensional mass-spring model with a time-dependent friction law. But an important precursory phenomenon called quiescence cannot be produced by this model unless, as Mikumo and Miyatake showed with a three-dimensional continuum model, a somewhat arbitrary bimodal distribution of frictional strength is assumed. Here we used the friction law proposed by Stuart, which is a displacement hardening-softening model, and simulated the quiescence. By varying the parameters of the friction law in our mass-spring model, we found a variety of seismicity patterns. When we choose extremely large critical displacement we get a recurrent sequence of creep followed by mainshock without small earthquakes. But when we choose a critical displacement in the same order of magnitude as the slip-weakening critical displacement estimated by Papageorgiou and Aki from strong motion data, we get a normal seismicity pattern, including quiescence before large events. This simple model points to a promising approach for the interpretation of the rupture process during an earthquake by the same physical model.     

Sealing law of far-field spectra based on observed parameters of the specific barrier model

A set of acceleration source spectra is constructed using the observed parameters of the specific barrier model of Papageorgiou and Aki. The spectra show a significant departure from the ²-model at the high frequency range. Specifically, the high frequency spectral amplitudes of seismic excitation are higher as compared to the level predicted by the ²-model. This is also supported by other observational evidence. The high frequency amplitudes of acceleration scale proportionally to the square root of the rupture areaS, to the rupture spreading velocityv, and to the local strain drop (/) (=strain drop in between barriers). The local strain drop in between barriers is not related in a simple way to the global strain drop, which is the strain drop estimated by assuming that it is uniform over the entire rupture area. Consequently, the similarity law does not apply. Using the source spectra which we constructed, we derive expressions for high frequency amplitudes of acceleration such asa _rms anda _max. Close to the fault both are independent of fault dimensions and scale as (/µ)(f)^1/2, while away from the fault plane they scale asW ^1/2(/µ)(f)^1/2, whereW is the width of the fault and f is the effective bandwidth of the spectra.     

Attenuation of shear-waves in the lithosphere for frequencies from 0.05 to 25 Hz

Q for shear-waves in the crust and upper mantle was determined as a function of frequency in the range 1–25 Hz, using band-pass filtered records of about 900 earthquakes occurring in the central Japan area with focal depths from 0 to 150 km. The data were supplied from two stations in the Kanto region, operated by the Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo. The method is taken from Aki and Chouet (1975) and Rautian and Khalturin (1978), and is based on elimination of the source effect from observed spectra of shear-waves, by taking the ratio of their amplitudes to those of coda-waves (measured at a fixed lapse time). The effect of radiation patterns is removed by averaging the ratio over many events. The experimental procedure uses basically a single-station method, and its validity was confirmed by the agreement between results obtained from station Tsukuba and those from Dodaira. We found that Q shows a strong dependence on frequency: Q increases with frequency f proportionally to fⁿ, where n was found to be 0.8 in the northeastern part of Kanto (area A), and 0.6 in the rest of the region (areas B + C). Previously, a value for n of 0.5 had been determined for the Garm area in central Asia by Rautian and Khalturin. In general, our results agree with those of Fedotov and Boldyrev (1969), who obtained values of n around 0.6 for the Kuril-Islands, using a single-station method based on assumptions more restrictive than those adopted here. Q values for the lithosphere have been estimated by various workers using surface-waves with periods greater than 15 s. If we combine the results from surface-waves with those obtained from the S- to coda-amplitude ratio, we find that the frequency-dependence of Q^?1 is similar to that obtained from a simple relaxation model, with the peak somewhere around 0.5 Hz.     

Temporal (Un)correlations Between Coda <Emphasis Type="Italic">Q</Emphasis> and Seismicity: Multiscale Trend Analysis

This paper introduces a statistical technique, based on the recently developed Multiscale Trend Analysis (MTA), for quantifying correlations between non-stationary processes observed at irregular non-coincident time grids. We apply this technique to studying the temporal correlation between the dynamics of the ductile and brittle layers in the lithosphere. Our results confirm the previously reported strong positive correlation between the coda Q^–1 and seismicity and its drop before major earthquakes observed in California. The proposed technique has significant advantages over the conventional correlation analysis: (1) MTA allows one to work directly with non-coincident time series without preliminary resampling the data; (2) the correlation is defined via the stable objects—trends—rather than noisy individual observations, hence it is highly robust; (3) the correlations are quantified at different time scales. The suggested technique seems promising for the wide range of applied problems dealing with coupled time series.     

Observation and modelling of fault-zone fracture seismic anisotropy - I. P, SV and SH travel times

Summary. Three-component VSP borehole seismograms taken in the vicinity of an active normal fault in California show strong systematic shear-wave splitting that increases with proximity to the fault. Using Červený's method of characteristics for ray tracing in anisotropic heterogeneous media and Hudson's formulation of elastic constants for media-bearing aligned fractures, we have fitted a suite of P, SV and SH hanging-wall and foot-wall travel times with a simple model of aligned fractures flanking the fault zone. The dominant fracture set is best modelled as parallel to the fault plane and increasing in density with approach to the fault. The increase in fracture density is non-uniform (power law or Gaussian) with respect to distance to the fault. Although the hanging-wall and the foot-wall rock are petrologically the same unit, the fracture halo is more intense and extensive in the hanging wall than in the foot wall. Upon approach to the fault plane, the fracture density or fracture-density gradient becomes too great for the seismic response to be computed by Hudson–Červený procedures (the maximum fracture density that can be modelled is about 0.08). Within this 25 m fracture domain it appears more useful to model the fault and near field fractures as a low-velocity waveguide. We observe production of trapped waves within the confines of the intense fracture interval.