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.     

Stress drop assessment of the August 8, 2017, Jiuzhaigou earthquake sequence and its tectonic implications*

By using a broadband Lg attenuation model developed for the Tibetan Plateau, we isolate source terms by removing attenuation and site effects from the observed Lg-wave displacement spectra of the M7.0 earthquake that occurred on August 8, 2017, in Jiuzhaigou, China, and its aftershock sequence. Thus, the source parameters, including the scalar seismic moment, corner frequency and stress drop, of these events can be further estimated. The estimated stress drops vary from 47.1 kPa to 7149.6 kPa, with a median value of 59.4 kPa and most values falling between 50 kPa and 75 kPa. The estimated stress drops show significant spatial variations. Lower stress drops were mainly found close to the mainshock and on the seismogenic fault plane with large coseismic slip. In contrast, the highest stress drop was 7.1 MPa for the mainshock, and relatively large stress drops were also found for aftershocks away from the major seismogenic fault and at depths deeper than the zone with large coseismic slip. By using a statistical method, we found self-similarity among some of the aftershocks with a nearly constant stress drop. In contrast, the stress drop increased with the seismic moment for other aftershocks. The amount of stress released during earthquakes is a fundamental characteristic of the earthquake rupture process. As such, the stress drop represents a key parameter for improving our understanding of earthquake source physics.     

Preliminary report of the September 5, 2022 MS 6.8 Luding earthquake,Sichuan, China

The 2022 M_S 6.8 Luding earthquake is the strongest earthquake in Sichuan Province, Western China, since the 2017 M_S 7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquake. It occurred on the Moxi fault in the southeastern segment of the Xianshuihe fault, a tectonically active and mountainous region with severe secondary earthquake disasters. To better understand the seismogenic mechanism and provide scientific support for future hazard mitigation, we summarize the preliminary results of the Luding earthquake, including seismotectonic background, seismicity and mainshock source characteristics and aftershock properties, and direct and secondary damage associated with the mainshock. The peak ground displacements in the NS and EW directions observed by the nearest GNSS station SCCM are ～35 mm and ～55 mm, respectively, resulting in the maximum coseismic dislocation of 20 mm along the NWW direction, which is consistent with the sinistral slip on the Xianshuihe fault. Back-projection of teleseismic P waves suggest that the mainshock rupture propagated toward south-southeast. The seismic intensity of the mainshock estimated from the back-projection results indicates a Mercalli scale of VIII or above near the ruptured area, consistent with the results from instrumental measurements and field surveys. Numerous aftershocks were reported, with the largest being M_S 4.5. Aftershock locations (up to September 18, 2022) exhibit 3 clusters spanning an area of 100 km long and 30 km wide. The magnitude and rate of aftershocks decreased as expected, and the depths became shallower with time. The mainshock and two aftershocks show left-lateral strike-slip focal mechanisms. For the aftershock sequence, the b-value from the Gutenberg-Richter frequency-magnitude relationship, h-value, and p-value for Omori’s law for aftershock decay are 0.81, 1.4, and 1.21, respectively, indicating that this is a typical mainshock-aftershock sequence. The low b-value implies high background stress in the hypocenter region. Analysis from remote sensing satellite images and UAV data shows that the distribution of earthquake-triggered landslides was consistent with the aftershock area. Numerous small-size landslides with limited volumes were revealed, which damaged or buried the roads and severely hindered the rescue process.     

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.     

新源、和静交界ML6.8级地震序列应力降和震源机制研究

Based on the digital waveform data recorded by Xinjiang Digital Seismic Network for the Xinyuan-Hejing M_L6.8 earthquake sequences of June 30,2012,this paper analyzes the stress drops of earthquake sequences and the correlation coefficients of focal mechanisms significant for strong aftershocks.Firstly,the source parameters of the Xinyuan-Hejing M_L6.8 earthquake sequences are obtained by applying the spectrum analysis and the Brunes source model.Then,the correlation coefficients of spectral amplitudes are calculated using the low-frequency spectral amplitude recorded by the same station for the different events.Finally,based on the results of the correlation coefficients of spectral amplitudes,the events with similar focal mechanisms are grouped using the clustering method.The results show that:(1)The stress drop values show a steady trend in the aftershock sequence calm period and the stress drop values show a rise-fall in strong aftershocks.(2)The moving average correlation coefficient of amplitude spectrum begins to spread after the main shock.It shows that the correlation decreases between the main shock and the aftershocks in mechanisms.(3)The results of focal mechanism groups show that the earthquake sequences are mainly strike slips.The stress distribution of the main pressure axis is nearly NS,which is the same as the structural stress field.(4)The magnitude and mechanism show that there is an agreement before the strong aftershock,which shows that the regional stress field is enhanced.     

张北地震余震Lg尾波Q的初步研究

利用两台架设在北京台的海底地震仪样机记的1998年1月10日6．2M张北地震的余震，选其中信噪比较高的记录利用单台叠加频谱比法得到Lg尾波Q及频率依赖因子，结果显示，所有地震的Lg尾波Q值都比较接近，并且由两台仪器记录的同一地震得到的Q值及具有较高的一致性，从中可以得出两点结论：（1）单台叠加频谱比法是求Q值的较稳定的方法，（2）两台仪器的性能比较稳定，可靠性高。     

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).     

High-precision relocation of the aftershock sequence of the January 8, 2022, MS6.9 Menyuan earthquake

The 2022 Menyuan M_S6.9 earthquake, which occurred on January 8, is the most destructive earthquake to occur near the Lenglongling (LLL) fault since the 2016 Menyuan M_S6.4 earthquake. We relocated the mainshock and aftershocks with phase arrival time observations for three days after the mainshock from the Qinghai Seismic Network using the double-difference method. The total length and width of the aftershock sequence are approximately 32 km and 5 km, respectively, and the aftershocks are mainly concentrated at a depth of 7–12 km. The relocated sequence can be divided into 18 km west and 13 km east segments with a boundary approximately 5 km east of the mainshock, where aftershocks are sparse. The east and west fault structures revealed by aftershock locations differ significantly. The west fault strikes EW and inclines to the south at a 71º–90º angle, whereas the east fault strikes 133º and has a smaller dip angle. Elastic strain accumulates at conjunctions of faults with different slip rates where it is prone to large earthquakes. Based on surface traces of faults, the distribution of relocated earthquake sequence and surface ruptures, the mainshock was determined to have occurred at the conjunction of the Tuolaishan (TLS) fault and LLL fault, and the west and east segments of the aftershock sequence were on the TLS fault and LLL fault, respectively. Aftershocks migrate in the early and late stages of the earthquake sequence. In the first 1.5 h after the mainshock, aftershocks expand westward from the mainshock. In the late stage, seismicity on the northeast side of the east fault is higher than that in other regions. The migration rate of the west segment of the aftershock sequence is approximately 4.5 km/decade and the afterslip may exist in the source region.     

The August 27, 2008, M w = 6.3 Kultuk earthquake (South Baikal): The stress-strain state of the source area from the aftershock data

We consider the results of reconstructing the stress-strain state of the Earth’s crust in South Baikal from the focal mechanism data for the Kultuk earthquake of August 27, 2008 (M _w = 6.3) and its aftershocks. The source parameters of the main shock were determined by calculating the seismic moment tensor. The focal mechanism solutions of 32 aftershocks (M _w ≥ 2.3) were obtained through the deployment of a local seismic network at South Baikal. It is found that the main shock and first aftershocks (August–September) gave rise to the activation of latitudinal fragments of the segmented near-edge fault, and the sources of the consequent aftershocks were dominated by the NW-striking planes related to the small intrabasin structures. The calculations of seismotectonic deformations based on the data on the focal mechanisms of the earthquakes show that the area of activation is dominated by the transtension regime (with deformation in the form of extension with shear). The epicentral and hypocentral fields of the aftershocks and the mechanisms of their sources reflect the complex tectonic structure of the source zone of the Kultuk earthquake, which exhibits a clear subvertical zonality of the local seismically active volume and a wedge-shaped area of crustal destruction.     

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.     

Oscillatory regime of aftershocks of the 1984 Ddzhirgatal earthquake: Implications for the internal dynamics of an unstable geological system

On the basis of seismological and geological evidence, the aftereffect region of the strong Dzhirgatal earthquake is localized as a real physical object. The time dependence of the number of aftershocks of this earthquake is best described by a simple hyperbolic law (p = 1, or the Omori law), which is well consistent with the ideas of self-similarity of the material fracture and the development of the seismotectonic process. Features characteristic of the evolution of self-similar systems are recognizable in the dynamics of the aftershock flow and parameters of seismotectonic deformation (STD) calculated from focal mechanisms of aftershocks. The evidence for this is the Feigenbaum inverse cascade in predominant frequencies of variations in the numbers of aftershocks and “catastrophes” in the form of an increase in the variability of STD parameters at the time moments when the corresponding predominant periods abruptly change. In this way, the term “catastrophe,” speculative with respect to the geophysical medium, acquires real meaning as a set of observable changes in the dynamics of STD parameters and the flow of aftershocks that occur over a fairly short time compared to the entire duration of the aftershock series.     

Constraining the focal mechanism of the Lushan earthquake with observations of the Earth’s free oscillations

The amplitudes of the Earth's free oscillations have a close relationship to earthquake focal mechanisms. Focal mechanisms of large earthquakes can be well analyzed and constrained with observations of long period free oscillations. Although the 2013 Lushan earthquake was only moderately sized, observable spherical normal modes were excited and clearly observed by a superconductive gravimeter and a broadband seismometer. We compare observed free oscillations with synthetic normal modes corresponding to four different focal mechanisms for the Lushan earthquake. The results show that source parameters can be analyzed and constrained by spherical normal modes in a 2.3–5 mHz frequency band. The scalar seismic moment M0 has a major influence on the amplitudes of free oscillations; additionally, the strike, dip, rake and depth of the hypocenter have minor influences. We found that the synthetic modes corresponding to the focal mechanism determined by the Global Centroid Moment Tensor show agreement to the observed modes, suggesting that earthquake magnitudes predicted in this way can readily reflect the total energy released by the earthquake. The scalar seismic moment obtained by far-field body wave inversion is significantly underestimated. Focal mechanism solutions can be improved by joint inversion of far- and near-field data.     

On the Ultra Long Propagation of Felt Ground Motion Due to the <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">w</Emphasis></Subscript> 8.3 Deep-Focus Sea-of-Okhotsk Earthquake of May 24, 2013

This study uses macroseismic data and wave equations to solve the problem of ultra long propagation of felt ground motion (over 9000 km from the epicenter) due to the Sea-of-Okhotsk earthquake. We show that the principal mechanism of this phenomenon could be excitation of a previously unknown standing radial wave as a mode of the Earth’s free oscillations, ₀S₀, due to the superposition of an incident and a reflected spherical P wave in the epicentral area of the Sea-of-Okhotsk earthquake. The standing wave generates slowly attenuating P waves that travel over the earth’s surface that act as carrying waves; when superposed on these, direct body waves acquire the ability to travel over great distances. We show previously unknown parameters of the radial mode ₀S₀ for the initial phase of earth deformation due to the large deep-focus earthquake. We used data on the Sea-of-Okhotsk and Bolivian earthquakes to show that large deep-focus earthquakes can excite free oscillations of the Earth that are not only recorded by instrumental means, but are also felt by people, with the amplification of the macroseismic effect being directly related to the phenomenon of resonance for multistory buildings.     

Site effects by generalized inversion technique using strong motion recordings of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

The generalized inversion of S-wave amplitude spectra from the free-field strong motion recordings of the China National Strong Motion Observation Network System (NSMONS) are used to evaluate the site effects in the Wenchuan area. In this regard, a total of 602 recordings from 96 aftershocks of the Wenchuan earthquake with magnitudes of M3.7-M6.5 were selected as a dataset. These recordings were obtained from 28 stations at a hypocenter distance ranging from 30 km to 150 km. The inversion results have been verified as reliable by comparing the site response at station 62WUD using the Generalized Inversion Technique (GIT) and the Standard Spectral Ratio method (SSR). For all 28 stations, the site predominant frequency F _p and the average site amplification in different frequency bands of 1.0–5.0 Hz, 5.0–10.0 Hz and 1.0–10.0 Hz have been calculated based on the inversion results. Compared with the results from the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) method, it shows that the HVSR method can reasonably estimate the site predominant frequency but underestimates the site amplification. The linear fitting between the average site amplification for each frequency band and the V _s20 (the average uppermost-20 m shear wave velocity) shows good correlation. A distance measurement called the asperity distance D _Aspt is proposed to reasonably characterize the source-to-site distance for large earthquakes. Finally, the inversed site response is used to identify the soil nonlinearity in the main shock and aftershocks of Wenchuan earthquake. In ten of the 28 stations analyzed in the main shock, the soil behaved nonlinearly, where the ground motion level is apparently beyond a threshold of PGA > 300 cm/s² or PGV > 20 cm/s, and only one station coded 51SFB has evidence of soil nonlinear behavior in the aftershocks.     

Models of density and mechanical Q-factor distributions according to new data on the nutations and free oscillations of the Earth: 1. Ambiguity in the inverse problem

Ambiguity in the inverse problem of retrieval of the mechanical parameters of the Earth’s shell and core from the set of data on the velocities V _p and V _S , of longitudinal and transverse seismic body waves, the frequencies f _i and quality factors Q _i , of free oscillations, and the amplitudes and phases of forced nutation is considered. The numerical experiments show that the inverse problem of simultaneous retrieval of the density profile ρ in the mantle-liquid core system and the mechanical quality factor Q _μ of the mantle (if the total mass M and the total mean moment of inertia I of the Earth, and V _p and V _S are constant at all depths) has most unstable solutions. An example of depth distributions of ρ and Q _μ which are alternative to the well-known PREM model is given. In these distributions, the values of M and I and the velocities V _p and V _S at all depths for the period of oscillations T = 1 s exactly coincide with their counterparts yielded by PREM model (T = 1 s); however, the maximum deviations of the ρ and Q _μ profiles from those in the PREM model are about 3% and 40%, respectively; the mass and the moment of inertia of the liquid core are smaller than those for the PREM model by 0.75% and 0.63%, respectively. In this model, the root mean square (rms) deviations of all the measured values of f _i and Q _i from their values predicted by theory are half to third the corresponding values in the PREM model; the values of Δ for natural frequencies of the fundamental tone and overtones of radial oscillations, the fundamental tones of torsional oscillations, and the fundamental tones of spheroidal oscillations, which are measured with the highest relative accuracy, are smaller by a factor of 30, 6.6, and 2 than those in the PREM model, respectively. Such a large ambiguity in the solution of the inverse problem indicates that the current models of the depth distribution of density have relatively low accuracy, and the models of the depth distribution of the mechanical Q in the mantle are extremely unreliable. It is shown that the ambiguity in the models of depth distribution of density considerably decreases after the new data on the amplitudes and phases of the forced nutation of the Earth are taken into account. Using the same data, one may also refine by several times the recent estimates of the creep function for the lower mantle within a wide interval of periods ranging from a second to a day.     

The 20 April 2013 Lushan,Sichuan, mainshock,and its aftershock sequence: tectonic implications

Using the double-difference relocation algorithm, we relocated the 20 April 2013 Lushan, Sichuan, earthquake (M _S 7.0), and its 4,567 aftershocks recorded during the period between 20 April and May 3, 2013. Our results showed that most aftershocks are relocated between 10 and 20 km depths, but some large aftershocks were relocated around 30 km depth and small events extended upward near the surface. Vertical cross sections illustrate a shovel-shaped fault plane with a variable dip angle from the southwest to northeast along the fault. Furthermore, the dip angle of the fault plane is smaller around the mainshock than that in the surrounding areas along the fault. These results suggest that it may be easy to generate the strong earthquake in the place having a small dip angle of the fault, which is somewhat similar to the genesis of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The Lushan mainshock is underlain by the seismically anomalous layers with low-V_P, low-V_S, and high-Poisson’s ratio anomalies, possibly suggesting that the fluid-filled fractured rock matrices might significantly reduce the effective normal stress on the fault plane to bring the brittle failure. The seismic gap between Lushan and Wenchuan aftershocks is suspected to be vulnerable to future seismic risks at greater depths, if any.     

The 2008 Kultuk earthquake with M w = 6.3 in the south of Baikal: Spatial-temporal analysis of seismic activation

The results of investigating the data of stationary and field observations in the epicentral zone of the Kultuk earthquake of August 27, 2008 with M _w = 6.3 localized south of Baikal are presented. The seismic activation amounting to 1790 aftershocks with K _p ?? 4 (M _w ?? 0.9) affected a part of the general fault bounding the southwestern coast of the lake and shallower intrabasin structures. It was established through the cluster analysis that the main shock was located at the periphery of the cloud of the concentrated seismicity component, and three main clusters reflecting a complex character of rupture in the earthquake source were identified in the zone of aftershocks. Owing to a high accuracy of aftershock hypocenters determinations (ERZ ?? 1.2 km), the local character of the seismisity-generating zones was revealed. Based on the method of mapping seismic regime parameters, it was established that zones of reduced fractionality are recognizable in the central part of the source area; in this case, the entire periphery, except for the southeastern direction (where the main shock epicenter is located), is characterized by a high fractionality, which also points to the complex character of the rupture in the source. On the whole, the aftershock sequence under consideration showed the activation of the southwestern flank of the Southern Baikal region, which remained passive for more than one century, and demonstrated destructive features of the Earth??s crust.     

Nonlinear Soil Behavior at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant During the Niigata Chuetsu-Oki Earthquake (July, 16, 2007)

Records of the Niigata Chuetsu-Oki earthquake (July, 16, 2007, M _w?=?6.6, depth ~17?km) and its aftershocks from seismic vertical arrays deployed at the territory of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant (~15?km from the fault) are used to study the soil behavior down to ~250?m during strong ground motion. Nonlinear models of soil behavior during the main shock and six aftershocks are constructed, and stresses and strains induced by the strong motion in the soil layers at various depths are estimated. The data are processed using the method developed by Pavlenko and Irikura (Bull Seismol Soc Am 96(6): 2131–2145, 2003) and previously applied for studying the soil behavior in near-fault zones during the 1995 Kobe and 2000 Tottori earthquakes. A rather good agreement between the recorded and simulated acceleration time histories testifies to the validity of the obtained vertical distributions of stresses and strains in soil layers. In the upper, softer layers (~45?m) at the territory of the plant, the shear moduli were reduced by ~30–35% during the main shock and by ~1.5–3% during the aftershocks. The constructed models of soil behavior can be used in scenario earthquake shaking maps of Japan where, based on source modeling parameters, the level of strong motion can be evaluated for the territory of the power plant in future earthquakes with various magnitudes and fault planes. Using methods of stochastic finite-fault modeling of ground motions from the Chuetsu-Oki earthquake, we estimated input motion to the soil layers during the main shock and found that it differs from the imposed motion (recorded by the deepest sensor of the vertical array) by slightly decreased (by a factor of ~1.2) low-frequency (f?<?10?Hz) spectral components.     

On a possible origin of the anomalous effects that were observed during the May 24, 2013 earthquake in the Sea of Okhotsk

The deep-focus Sea of Okhotsk earthquake that occurred on May 24, 2013 (h = 630 km, M _w = 8.3) was accompanied by anomalous effects that were unknown previously. A combined analysis of published data concerning the source rupture evolution and some features of the deep structure provided an explanation of some anomalous effects, such as the large number of aftershocks and the low level of ground shaking in the epicentral area. However, GPS observations revealed high coseismic vertical displacements in the area. The seafloor uplift in the Sea of Okhotsk and the adjacent coasts was 3–12 mm, peaking at the approximate center of the sea, while Kamchatka and the North Kuril Islands subsided by 3–18 mm, peaking at the Apacha station 190 km east of the earthquake epicenter. These maximum estimates are 1.2–1.8 times the analogous values (10 mm) for the Chile mega-earthquake of May 20, 1960 (M _w ~ 9.5). It is known that the large distances at which ground shaking is felt during deep-focus earthquakes are due to the fact that the body waves travel through the high-Q lower mantle. However, this does not explain the paradox of the present earthquake in the Sea of Okhotsk, viz., a constant intensity of shaking (two grades) in the range of epicentral distances between 1300 and 9500 km. The explanation requires consideration of the earth’s free oscillations excited by the earthquake.     

The density and Q-factor models based on the new data on the nutations and overtones of the free oscillations of the earth: 1. The analysis of the new GSN data for the Sumatra,Tohoku, and Okhotsk earthquakes

We discuss the problem of the ambiguity of gravity inversion, i.e., finding the depth distribution of density and the depth and frequency dependences of the Q-factor from the entire set of the present-day seismic and astrometric data on the travel times of seismic waves, the periods and attenuation factors of the free oscillations of the Earth, as well as the amplitudes and phases of the forced nutations. In the first part of the paper, we present the new and more accurate determinations of the periods and Q-factors for the fundamental tones and overtones of the spheroidal and toroidal oscillations of the Earth, which have periods longer than 3 min. These determinations are based on analyzing the signals from the Sumatra, Tohoku, and Okhotsk earthquakes of magnitude 9, which were recorded by the stations of the Global Seismographic Network (GSN) in Obninsk and Kazakhstan. It is shown that, although the Okhotsk earthquake had a lower magnitude than the other quakes analyzed (since its seismic source was extremely deep (about 600 km)), the amplitudes of the overtones excited by this event are significantly higher than the amplitudes of the overtones caused by the Sumatra and Tohoku events of magnitude 9. Moreover, the amplitudes of the overtones from the Okhotsk earthquake exceed the amplitudes of the overtones of the free oscillations caused by the other seismic events of magnitude 9 that occurred in the second half of the 20th century. Due to this, the data on the Okhotsk Sea earthquake are of utmost importance for the solution of the inverse problems of reconstructing the vertical profiles of Q-factor in the ultra-low frequency (ULF) range and for reconstructing the vertical distribution of density. Based on the new empirical data, we obtained new and more accurate estimates for the periods and attenuation factors of the free oscillations of the Earth.