2016年日本本州东岸近海MS7.2地震前后的地壳运动

2016年11月22日日本本州东岸近海发生东日本M_W9.0大地震的M_S7.2强余震。本文利用美国内华达大学内华达大地测量实验室网站获得此次大地震周围共30多个GPS连续观测站及其它台站的IGS08全球参考框架坐标时间序列,采用北京附近的GPS连续观测站BJSH作为区域位移参考框架的核心站,获取了此次M_S7.2强余震的同震水平位移和区域参考框架位移时间序列,得到了此次强余震前后的位移时空变化图像。结果显示:尽管本州东岸近海M_S7.2地震作为东日本M_W9.0地震的强余震,受其震后形变的影响强烈,但其地壳水平形变的前兆规律与已观测到的大地震一致;不同的是东日本M_W9.0地震前的垂直位移无积累,而本州东岸近海M_S7.2地震前后的垂直位移保持M_W9.0地震后均匀而缓慢的衰减变化;临震前震中附近的GPS连续观测站的东西分量明显减速,有的甚至减至零,是明显的短期前兆异常。此外,本文还进一步讨论了两种同震位移及其成因,并推断地壳水平运动挤压是此次地震的成因。      

Liquefaction of soil in the Tokyo Bay area from the 2011 Tohoku (Japan) earthquake

Immediately following the 11th March 2011 M_w 9.0 Tohoku (Japan) earthquake, a field investigation was carried out around the Tokyo Bay area. This paper provides first-hand observations (before or just at the onset of repair) of widespread liquefaction and the associated effects. Observations related to uplift of manholes, settlement of ground, performance of buildings and bridges and the effects of ground improvements are also presented. Recorded ground motions near the Tokyo Bay area were analysed to understand their key characteristics (large amplitude and long duration). Lessons learnt are also presented.     

Spatio-temporal characteristics of aftershocks and seismogenic structure of the 2011 MW9.0 Tohoku earthquake,Japan

The Tohoku megathrust earthquake, which occurred on March 11, 2011 and had an epicenter that was 70 km east of Tohoku, Japan, resulted in an estimated ten's of billions of dollars in damage and a death toll of more than 15 thousand lives, yet few studies have documented key spatio-temporal seismogenic characteristics. Specifically, the temporal decay of aftershock activity, the number of strong aftershocks (with magnitudes greater than or equal to 7.0), the magnitude of the greatest aftershock, and area of possible aftershocks. Forecasted results from this study are based on Gutenberg-Richter's relation, Bath's law, Omori's law, and Well's relation of rupture scale utilizing the magnitude and statistical parameters of earthquakes in USA and China (Landers, Northridge, Hector Mine, San Simeon and Wenchuan earthquakes). The number of strong aftershocks, the parameters of Gutenberg-Richter's relation, and the modified form of Omori's law are confirmed based on the aftershock sequence data from the M_W9.0 Tohoku earthquake. Moreover, for a large earthquake, the seismogenic structure could be a fault, a fault system, or an intersection of several faults. The seismogenic structure of the earthquake suggests that the event occurred on a thrust fault near the Japan trench within the overriding plate that subsequently triggered three or more active faults producing large aftershocks.     

Study of the correlations between main shocks and aftershocks and aftershock synthesis method

To consider the influence of aftershocks in engineering design, the correlations between main shocks and aftershocks should be examined, and an aftershock simulation method with main shock ground motions needs to be developed. In this study, the data on the sequences of main shock-aftershock ground motions and other related parameters were collected. Using these data, correlations between the magnitude, frequency, duration and energy of the main shock-aftershock ground motions were investigated. The results showed that the magnitude of the aftershock can be larger than that of the main shock. The shapes of the Fourier amplitude spectra of main shocks and aftershocks were similar; however, the predominant frequency and high-frequency components of the aftershock tended to be larger. Considering the magnitude difference between the main shock and the aftershock, the correlation of durations was explored. Additionally, a new concept, the duration ratio, was defined to describe the concentration of seismic energy release, and main shock energy was strongly positively correlated with the energy attenuated during the main shock-aftershock sequence. Finally, based on these results regarding correlation, an aftershock synthesis using recorded main shock ground motions was constructed with the trigonometric series method for seismic design, and some examples are given to analyze the rationality of this synthetic method.

     

Response of the Tarzana strong motion site during the 1994 Northridge earthquake

Exceptionally high ground motions (horizontal peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 1.82g) were recorded at the Tarzana Station during the main shock of the 1994 Northridge earthquake (moment magnitude 6.7 at an epicentral distance of 6 km). At the time of the main shock, the instrument was located near the edge of a 21 m-high ridge with side slopes ranging from 3H:1V to 15H:1V. The ridge is underlain by shallow fill and soft rocks of Medelo Formation.

The objectives of this study were to (1) identify the relative contributions of various factors such as local geology, topography, source mechanism, and travel path on the large ground motions recorded at Tarzana Station and (2) develop an analytical model that could adequately predict observed ground motions at the Tarzana site during the Northridge earthquake and at similar sites during future earthquakes. This study is an integral part of a series of inter-related studies referred to as the ROSRINE research (Resolution of Site Response Issues during Northridge Earthquake) project.

The PGA at the surface of competent bedrock (1 km/s shear wave velocity found about 100 m below ground surface) is estimated by Silva [ROSRINE Study (2000)] at 0.46 gravity (g). To identify the source of ground motion amplification, one-dimensional ( ), two-dimensional (TELDYN and SASSI), and three-dimensional (SASSI) analyses were conducted using both recorded aftershock data and an estimated ground acceleration time histories at a 100 m depth.

The results of the analyses indicate that (1) local geology and topography could only partially account for the observed ground motion amplification, and (2) the PGA and response spectra at a point near the edge of the ridge (the location of the instrument at the time of the main shock) is in good agreement with recorded values when the angle of incident of shear waves (SV waves) at 100 m depth is assumed at 30° from vertical. Considering the local geology and variation of shear wave velocity with depth, the 30° incident angle at 100 m depth corresponds to an 8° incident angle of shear waves at the ground surface. This observation is, in general, consistent with the incident angles of shear waves reported from study of the recorded aftershock data.     

Stochastic procedure for the simulation of synthetic main shock‐aftershock ground motion sequences

According to the current seismic codes, structures are designed to resist the first damaging earthquake during their service life. However, after a strong main shock, a structure may still face damaging aftershocks. The main shock‐aftershock sequence may result in major damage and eventually the collapse of a structure. Current studies on seismic hazard mainly focus on the modeling and simulation of main shocks. This paper proposes a 3‐step procedure to generate main shock‐aftershock sequences of pairs of horizontal components of a ground motion at a site of interest. The first step generates ground motions for the main shock using either a source‐based or site‐based model. The second step generates sequences of aftershocks' magnitudes, locations, and times of occurrence using either a fault‐based or seismicity‐based model. The third step simulates pairs of ground motion components using a new empirical model proposed in this paper. We develop prediction equations for the controlling parameters of a ground motion model, where the predictors are the site condition and the aftershock characteristics from the second step. The coefficients in the prediction equations and the correlation between the model parameters (of the 2 horizontal components of 1 record and of several records in 1 sequence) are estimated using a database of aftershock accelerograms. A backward stepwise deletion method is used to simplify the initial candidate prediction equations and avoid overfitting the data. The procedure, based on easily identifiable engineering parameters, is a useful tool to incorporate effects of aftershocks into seismic analysis and design.     

The reservoir-associated earthquakes of April 1983 in western Thailand: Source modeling and implications for induced seismicity

On 22 April 1983, a very large area of Thailand and part of Burma were strongly shaken by a rare earthquake (m _b=5.8,M _s=5.9). The epicenter was located at the Srinagarind reservoir about 190 km northwest of Bangkok, a relatively stable continental region that experienced little previous seismicity. The main shock was preceded by some foreshocks and followed by numerous aftershocks. The largest foreshock ofm _b=5.2 occurred 1 week before the main shock, and the largest aftershock ofm _b=5.3 took place about 3 hours after the main shock. Focal mechanisms of the three largest events in this earthquake sequence have been studied by other seismologists using firts-motion data. However, the solutions for the main shock and the largest aftershock showed significant inconsistency with known surface geology and regional tectonics. We reexamined the mechanisms of these three events by using teleseismicP-andS-waveforms and through careful readings ofP-wave first motions. The directions of theP axes in our study range from NNW-SSE to NNE-SSW, and nodal planes strike in the NW-SE to about E-W in agreement with regional tectonics and surface geology. The main shock mechanism strikes 255°, dips 48°, and slips 63.5°. The fault motions during the main shock and the foreshock are mainly thrust, while the largest aftershock has a large strike-slip component. The seismic moment and the stress drop of the mainshock are determined to be 3.86×10²⁴ dyne-cm and 180 bars, respectively. The occurrence of these thrust events appears to correlate with the unloading of the Srinagarind reservoir. The focal depths of the largest foreshock, the main shock, and the largest aftershock are determined to be 5.4 km, 8 km, and 22.7 km, respectively, from waveform modeling and relative location showing a downward migration of hypocenters of the three largest events during the earthquake sequence. Other characteristics of this reservoir-induced earthquake sequence are also discussed.     

2014年新疆于田MS7.3地震强地面运动模拟及震动图预测

基于地震动的时空衰减规律和传播特征,采用邻近地震监测台站地震动时程对1 km×1 km尺度的网格点进行近实时插值计算,同时结合场地效应对震区地震动参数进行修正,并以2014年2月12日新疆于田M_S7.3地震为例,计算震区格网内各点的地震时程,同时以8 s为时间间隔绘制出地震动峰值等值线图并将其连续播放,得到了于田M_S7.3地震峰值地震动(PGV,PGA)的空间分布.结果表明,于田县东部至民丰县北部地区受场地条件影响,震区震害在软弱地基土层及浅地下水位等因素作用下对震区地震动具有明显的放大效应,预测的地震动特征与现场宏观调查结果是一致的.在当前强震台网分布不均匀的情形下,本文方法能较好地描述震区地震动特征,较客观地反映灾区的强地面运动特征.      

The aftershock dynamics of the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake

The aftershocks of the catastrophic Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of December 26, 2004 (M = 9.0) are analyzed in the general context of the theory of critical phenomena. The analysis relies on the idea that, according to this theory, critical transitions have two key properties. The first is that the intensity of the fluctuations in a dynamical system monotonically increases with the approach of the bifurcation point, so that at a certain time instant, a sufficiently strong internal pulse initiates the catastrophe. This transition can be treated as spontaneous. The second property is that the reactance of the dynamical system drastically increases on the approach of the bifurcation. Even a weak external perturbation in the near-threshold interval can result in a catastrophe. In this case, it is reasonable to refer to the critical transition as an induced transition. The aftershocks of the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake are likely to demonstrate the typical features of induced seismicity. First, the strongest aftershock (M = 7.2) occurred 3 h 20 min after the main shock. It could have probably been induced by the round-trip seismic echo. Second, it was found that the spectral density of the aftershock sequence significantly increases at about ～0.3 mHz, which is close to the frequency of the spheroidal mode ₀S₂. This suggests that the spheroidal oscillations of the Earth, which are excited by the main seismic shock, modulate the aftershock activity. Both hypotheses are supported by the analysis of the aftershocks of the Tohoku earthquake of March 11, 2011 (M = 9.0).     

Preliminary study on aftershock decay rate of the 2013 M s7.0 Lushan earthquake

We obtained a catalog of early aftershocks of the 2013 Lushan earthquake by examining waveform from a nearby station MDS which is 30.2 km far away from the epicenter, and then we analyzed the relation between aftershock rate and time. We used time-window ratio method to identify aftershocks from continuous waveform data and compare the result with the catalog provided by China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC). As expected, a significant amount of earthquakes is missing in CENC catalog in the 24 h after the main shock. Moreover, we observed a steady seismicity rate of aftershocks nearly in the first 10,000 s before an obvious power-law decay of aftershock activity. We consider this distinct early stage which does not fit the Omori law with a constant p (p ~ 1) value as early aftershock deficiency (EAD), as proposed by previous studies. Our study suggests that the main shock rupture process is different from aftershocks’ processes, and EAD can vary in different cases as compared to earthquakes of strike-slip mechanism in California.     

2010年新西兰MW7.0主震与2011年MW6.1余震近场强地面运动特征比较分析

2010年9月3日16时35分46秒新西兰南岛Greendale附近发生了M_W7.0地震, 震源深度约10.0 km. 2011年2月21日新西兰南岛又发生了M_W6.1地震, 为2010年M_W7.0主震后最大的一次余震, 震源深度约5.0 km, 发震断层为Christchurch南约9 km一条近东西走向逆冲的隐伏断层, 该地震造成Christchurch城内多处建筑物严重损毁. 本文分析了2010年新西兰地震事件M_W7.0主震与M_W6.1余震强地面运动的特征. 新西兰M_W6.1余震近场强地面运动整体高于M_W7.0主震. 将主震和余震的强震观测记录分别与新一代衰减关系(NGA)进行对比, 发现余震强震观测数据整体高于其震级对应的NGA. 分别选取距离主震和余震震中最近且强震观测记录最高的两个台站(GDLC台站和HVSC台站)作为参照台站, 建立动态复合震源模型(DCSM)及有限断层随机振动模型(SFFM)进行强地面运动的模拟计算, 分析两种模型的模拟结果并对比二者的优势及局限, 以便在未来工作中更好地通过模型计算强地面运动特征, 实现区域化特征快速、 实时分析及局部重点、 细致分析相结合的目标.      

2013年甘肃岷县-漳县MS6.6地震余震 序列目录完备性研究 基于对单台记录地震事件震中与震级的估计

中强地震余震序列地震目录编目是否完备、 震源参数是否准确,直接影响余震序列特征分析、 震后趋势快速判断和强余震预测等研究结果的科学性和可靠性. 2013年7月22日甘肃岷县-漳县M_S6.6地震余震序列目录中存在较多单台记录地震事件,地震观测报告仅给出其震级,而未给出震中位置. 由于余震波形间的相互交叠干扰,使得余震最大振幅的测量误差较大,造成地震观测报告给出的单台事件震级误差较大. 精确估计单台记录地震事件的震中和震级,能够补充完善现有地震目录,提高地震目录的完备性. 本文对单台记录地震事件震中和震级的估计不仅限于单个台站,而是通过分析区域台网中多个台站的波形记录实现. 首先以余震序列中震级较大、 波形记录信噪比较高的地震波形作为模板,使用波形互相关震相检测技术,检测单台记录的地震事件在多个台站的震相到时. 如果能在4个以上台站检测到震相,则利用测震台网常用的HYPOSAT方法估计其震中位置,并利用多个台站记录波形与模板地震的振幅比估计其震级. 之后计算主震发生后不同时间的最小完备性震级,并通过线性拟合得到最小完备性震级随时间变化的表达式,以分析此地震余震序列的目录完备性. 经过计算共得到253个单台记录地震事件的震级和其中177个事件的震中位置,其震中空间分布范围与余震序列中其它地震分布范围基本一致. 震级复测以及与人工拾取震相到时误差对比表明,该方法所得震相检测和震级估计结果具有较好的可靠性. 主震及最大余震发生后的短时间内,有较多数量单台事件的目录所给出的震级偏低,分析认为可能受主震与较大余震后续震相以及余震间相互干扰所致. 主震发生0.02—0.3天内,其余震序列最小完备性震级随时间的对数呈线性下降,在0.3天后最小完备性震级稳定在M_L1.1左右.      

Directional damage due to near-fault and site effects in the M6.4 Changureh–Avaj earthquake of 22 June 2002

The Changureh–Avaj earthquake (M = 6.4) occurred 220 km northwest of Tehran on June 22, 2002. According to the official report, 226 people were killed, 1300 injured and 33,000 houses were seriously damaged or collapsed. Two villages located in the near-fault region with a population more than 200 people were completely destroyed. The damage survey was conducted within 30 km of the epicenter. During damage investigation, an observable pattern of damage in toppled masonry and concrete block fences was recognized. The data of damaged fences were documented and analyzed to study the effect of direction and distance from the epicenter. From the 109 fences, 85 fences were built within 15° of either north or east, providing an opportunity to study the effect of orientation. The results of analysis revealed that the east–west oriented fences toppled 2.6 times more than those oriented north–south. More than 70% of toppled fences were oriented in east–west direction, with more falling towards the north than to the south. This preferred direction of damage for toppled fences was observed in all four quadrants about the epicenter and at distance up to 15 km. In the northern quadrants almost all toppled fences were oriented east–west. Two possibilities, namely, near-fault effect and 2D or 3D site response, are examined to find an explanation for the observed damage pattern at the sites. Since the preferred direction of damage inferred from toppled fences within 15 km of epicenter was found to be parallel to the direction of rupture propagation, the near-fault forwarded rupture directivity was investigated as the most possible reason for the observed phenomenon at the sites. However, there were no records of strong motions available in near-fault zone. Thus, the near-fault ground motions were theoretically simulated by using developed local source parameters and heterogeneous slip model. Next, the principal axes were calculated by using eigenvector analysis of simulated horizontal motions. The preferred direction of damage in over 90% of the sites is well predicted by the directional dependence of near-fault ground motion. Nevertheless, the preferred direction of damage in Avaj station, where the main shock was recorded, demonstrates totally different result from the one predicted by the source. The shear-wave polarization is investigated as an alternative reason at the sites. The polarization of motion is found to be the greatest at frequencies with peaks in maximized and H/V spectra, suggesting that directional motion is associated with local site and geologic conditions. The dominant direction of motion due to source mechanism and local site conditions was identified and compared with the preferred direction of damage observed at the sites. It is found that the near-fault source effects can strongly control the motion directionality and even dictate its dominant direction to the one caused by local geologic or site conditions. Finally, the outcome provides field evidence of directional damage due to near-fault effects and local site conditions. This may aid in predicting the directions of damaging earthquake motions, and serve as an important factor in the design of critical facilities.     

On the Application of Mwp in the Near Field and the March 11, 2011 Tohoku Earthquake

Tsunami Warning Centers issue rapid and accurate tsunami warnings to coastal populations by estimating the location and size of the causative earthquake as soon as possible after rupture initiation. Both US Tsunami Warning Centers have therefore been using Mwp to issue Tsunami Warnings 5–10 min after Earthquake origin time since 2002. However, because Mwp (Tsuboi et al., Bulletin of the Seismological society of America 85:606–613, 1995) is based on the far-field approximation to the P-wave displacement due to a double couple point source, we should only very carefully apply Mwp to data obtained in the near field, at distances of less than a few wavelengths from the fault. On the other hand, the surface waves from Great Earthquakes, including those that occur just offshore of populated areas, such as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, clip seismographs located near the fault. Because the first arriving P-waves from such large events are often on scale, Mwp should provide useful information, even for these Great Earthquakes. We therefore calculate Mwp from 18 unclipped STS-1 broadband P-wave seismograms, recorded at 2–15° distance from the Tohoku epicenter to determine if Mwp can usefully estimate Mw for this earthquake, using data obtained close to the epicenter. In this case there should be a good chance to get reliable Mwp values for stations at epicentral distances of 9–10°, since the source duration for the Tohoku earthquake is less than 200 s and the time window used to estimate Mwp is 120 s in duration. Our analysis indicates that Mwp does indeed give reliable results (Mw ~ 9.1) beginning at about 11° distance from the epicenter. The values of Mwp from seismic waveforms obtained at 11–15° epicentral distance from the Mw 9.1 off the east coast of Tohuku earthquake of March 11, 2011 fell within the range 9.1–9.3, and were available within 4–5 min after origin time. Even the Mwp values of 7.7–8.4, obtained at less than 5° epicentral distance, exceed the PTWC’s threshold of Mw 7.6 for issuing a regional tsunami warning to coastal populations within 1,000 km of the epicenter, and of Mw 6.9 for issuing a local tsunami warning to the coastal populations of Hawaii.     

甘肃岷县漳县6.6级地震强震动观测记录与初步分析

2013年7月22日甘肃省定西市岷县漳县交界(东经104.2°,北纬34.5°)发生M6.6地震。甘肃强震动台网在该地区覆盖良好,获得了丰富的主震加速度记录。本文收集整理了此次地震中各强震动台站获得的加速度记录资料并进行了基本处理;经统计分析绘出了峰值加速度分布图。     

Implications of the 2011 M9.0 Tohoku Japan earthquake for the treatment of site effects in large earthquakes

Site response in Japan is characterized using thousands of surface and borehole recordings from events of moment magnitude $(\mathbf{M}) > 5.5$ collected by the KiK-net network, including the 2011 M9.0 Tohoku earthquake. Site amplification is defined by the ratio of motions at the surface to those at depth (within the borehole), corrected for the depth effect due to destructive interference using a technique based on cross-spectral ratios between surface and down-hole motions. Site effects were particularly strong at high frequencies, despite the expectation that high-frequency response may be damped by nonlinear effects. In part, the large amplitudes at high frequencies are due to the prevalence of shallow soil conditions in Japan. We searched for typical symptoms for soil nonlinearity, such as a decrease in the predominant frequency and/or amplification, using spectral ratios of weak to strong ground motions. Localized nonlinearity occurred at some recording sites, but was not pervasive. We developed a general empirical model to express site amplification for the KiK-net sites as a function of common site variables, such as the average shear-wave velocity in the uppermost 30 m ( $\text{ V}_\mathrm{S30})$ and the horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) spectral ratio. We use the model to estimate site-corrected ground-motions for the Tohoku mainshock for a reference site condition; these motions are in reasonable agreement with the predictions of some of the published ground motion prediction equations for subduction zones.     

2017年精河6.6级地震余震序列重新定位和发震构造

采用双差定位方法,利用中国地震台网的数据对2017年8月9日精河6.6级地震的余震序列进行了重新定位。截至2017年8月14日16时,共获得209个余震的重新定位结果。结果显示,余震主要呈近EW向或NWW向分布,余震区长约50km,宽约17km。余震分布在主震的西侧,推断此次地震单侧破裂。余震震源深度为1～25km,其中,震级较大余震深度为8～17km。精河地震序列的余震活动随时间呈起伏状衰减,震后2天内比较活跃,此后出现较快衰减。随时间推移,余震区呈现中西部衰减慢、东部衰减快的特点。此次地震震中距2011年精河5.0级地震震中21km,相比2011年精河地震,其震源更深,震级更大,但震源机制解相近,均为逆冲型。结合区域构造背景分析认为,库松木契克山前断裂为此次地震发震构造的可能性较大。     

S-wave velocity structures of sediments estimated from array microtremor records and site responses in the near-fault region of the 1999 Chi-Chi,Taiwan earthquake

The 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake, M_W = 7.6, caused severe damage in the near-fault region of the earthquake. In order to evaluate site effects in the near-field strong motions we estimate S-wave velocity structures of sediments at four sites using array records of microtremors. We also recalculated S-wave velocity structures at other four sites previously reported. To show the validity of the estimated S-wave velocity structures we separate empirical site responses from aftershock records using the generalized inversion method and show the agreement between empirical and theoretical site responses. We also show an observed fact that suggests soil nonlinearity during the Chi-Chi earthquake by comparing horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVRs) for main shock records with HVRs for aftershock records. Then we calculate one-dimensional equivalent-linear site responses using the estimated S-wave velocity structures and the main shock records observed on the surface. It is found that site amplification due to thick (about 6 km) sediments is one of the important factors for explaining the long-period velocity pulses of about 5 to 10 sec observed at sites in the footwall during the Chi-Chi earthquake. It is also found that the theoretical site responses of shallow soft sediments at sites that sustained severe damage in the hanging wall shows significant amplification around 1 sec. As the amplitude of velocity pulses with period around 1 sec is most critical in causing damage to ordinary buildings of moderate heights, our results suggest that the 1-sec period velocity pulses, amplified by the site response of shallow sediments should contribute to the severe damage during the Chi-Chi earthquake.     

Strong ground motion simulation of the 2003 Bam, Iran, earthquake using the empirical Green’s function method

The 2003 Bam, Iran, earthquake caused catastrophic damage to the city of Bam and neighboring villages. Given its magnitude (M _w ) of 6.5, the damage was remarkably large. Large-amplitude ground motions were recorded at the Bam accelerograph station in the center of Bam city by the Building and Housing Research Center (BHRC) of Iran. We simulated the Bam earthquake acceleration records at three BHRC strong-motion stations—Bam, Abaraq, and Mohammad-Abad—by the empirical Green’s function method. Three aftershocks were used as empirical Green’s functions. The frequency range of the empirical Green’s function simulations was 0.5–10 Hz. The size of the strong motion generation area of the mainshock was estimated to be 11 km in length by 7 km in width. To estimate the parameters of the strong motion generation area, we used 1D and 2D velocity structures across the fault and a combined source model. The empirical Green’s function method using a combination of aftershocks produced a source model that reproduced ground motions with the best fit to the observed waveforms. This may be attributed to the existence of two distinct rupture mechanisms in the strong motion generation area. We found that the rupture starting point for which the simulated waveforms best fit the observed ones was near the center of the strong motion generation area, which reproduced near-source ground motions in a broadband frequency range. The estimated strong motion generation area could explain the observed damaging ground motion at the Bam station. This suggests that estimating the source characteristics of the Bam earthquake is very important in understanding the causes of the earthquake damage.