Single-station estimates of the seismic moment of the 1960 Chilean and 1964 Alaskan earthquakes,using the mantle magnitudeM m

Measurements are taken of the mantle magnitudeM _m , developed and introduced in previous papers, in the case of the 1960 Chilean and 1964 Alaskan earthquakes, by far the largest events ever recorded instrumentally. We show that theM _m algorithm recovers the seismic moment of these gigantic earthquakes with an accuracy (typically 0.2 to 0.3 units of magnitude, or a factor of 1.5 to 2 on the seismic moment) comparable to that achieved on modern, digital, datasets. In particular, this study proves that the mantle magnitudeM _m does not saturate for large events, as do standard magnitude scales, but rather keeps growing with seismic moment, even for the very largest earthquakes. We further prove that the algorithm can be applied in unfavorable experimental conditions, such as instruments with poor response at mantle periods, seismograms clipped due to limited recording dynamics, or even on microbarograph records of air coupled Rayleigh waves.In addition, we show that it is feasible to use acoustic-gravity air waves generated by those very largest earthquakes, to obtain an estimate of the seismic moment of the event along the general philosophy of the magnitude concept: a single-station measurement ignoring the details of the earthquake's focal mechanism and exact depth.     

朝鲜史料记载的中国地震

整理和讨论了朝鲜王朝时期(1392 ～1910年)主要历史文献《朝鲜王朝实录》、《承政院日记》和《日省录》中有关中国地震的史料.新增1483年12月30日(明成化十九年十二月初一)北京地震和1810年黑龙江省宁古塔(宁安)地震.提出清康熙二十四年乙丑春(1685年)北京顺义地震的佐证.     

Swarms of similar long-period earthquakes in the mantle beneath Mauna Loa Volcano

We present analyses of two swarms of long-period (LP) earthquakes at > 30 km depth that accompanied the geodetically observed 2002–2005 Mauna Loa intrusion. The first LP earthquake swarm in 2002 consisted of 31 events that were precursory and preceded the start of Mauna Loa inflation; the second LP swarm of two thousand events occurred from 2004–2005. The rate of LP earthquakes slowed significantly coincident with the occurrence of the December 26, 2004 M_w 9.3 Sumatra earthquake, suggesting that the seismic waves from this great earthquake may have had a dynamic triggering effect on the behavior of Mauna Loa's deep magma system. Using waveform cross correlation and double difference relocation, we find that a large number of earthquakes in each swarm are weakly similar and can be classified into two families. The relocated hypocenters for each family collapse to compact point source regions almost directly beneath the Mauna Loa intrusion. We suggest that the observed waveform characteristics are compatible with each family being associated with the resonance of a single fluid filled vertical crack of fixed geometry, with differences in waveforms between events being produced by slight variations in the trigger mechanism. If these LP earthquakes are part of the primary magma system that fed the 2002–2005 intrusion, as indicated by the spatial and temporal associations between mantle seismicity and surface deformation, then our results raise the possibility that this magma system may be quite focused at these depths as opposed to being a diffuse network. It is likely that only a few locations of Mauna Loa's deep magma system met the geometric and fluid dynamic conditions for generating LP earthquakes that were large enough to be recorded at the surface, and that much of the deep magma transfer associated with the 2002–2005 intrusion occurred aseismically.     

M m: Extension to Love waves of the concept of a variable-period mantle magnitude

We extend to Love waves the concept of the mantle magnitudeM _mintroduced recently for Rayleigh waves. Spectral amplitudesX() of Love waves in the 50–300 s period range are measured on broad-band records from major events. A distance correctionC _D, regionalized to reflect the influence of different tectonic paths, and a source correctionC _S, compensating for the variation of excitation with period are effected; the exact geometry and depth of the event are however ignored. The resulting expression

The depth of the deepest historical earthquakes

We useP andS times listed in the International Seismological Summary to relocate 23 historical earthquakes (1927–1963) reported as occurring at or below 670 km. In all cases, our relocated hypocenters are shallower than the starting depths; furthermore, all events converge to 691 km or less, with a precision estimated at ±10 km. This study upholds the results of Stark and Frohlich, who had usedpP–P times of post-WWSSN earthquakes to constrain reliable hypocentral depths to no greater than 684 km. In particular, we reject Rothé's claim that a 1963 event in the vicinity of New Guinea occurred at a depth of more than 780 km.     

Visualization of whole mantle propagation of seismic shear energy using normal mode summation

Correct representation of seismic waveforms propagating through the mantle from a 600 km deep earthquake is presented using graphic interpolation between synthetic seismograms computed across a grid of mantle depths and distances. All torsional normal modes with periods above 12 s are summed to create 72,846 seismograms at depths between the surface and the core-mantle boundary. The resulting time snapshots show the manner by which seismic shear energy propagates around the core away from the source.     

历史地震损失重建研究

历史地震损失重建是地震损失预测的一种方法,也是用于区域地震风险分析模型验证的一种手段。在介绍了历史地震损失重建一般方法的基础上,对方法中等效全损住宅比例估计方法以及住宅结构地震易损性指数的估计方法进行了重点分析,给出了这两个关键参数的可选择的多种估计方法。     

Investigation of historical earthquakes in the northeastern Fujian area

Taking the northeastern Fujian area as an example, we provide some new technological ideas and contents for the historical earthquake investigation of significant engineering construction sites. ① Make sure the integrity of earthquake materials with reference to the regional histories of culture and disasters; ② Evaluate the influence of historical earthquakes on the basis of actual records, review and identify the epicenter location and magnitude of destructive earthquakes. The research by the new technological ideas will endue the investigation of historical earthquakes with new meanings in the cultural phylogeny and credible time domain, so as to make the results of historical earthquake research more scientific. The aim of the paper is to improve the level of historical earthquake investigation for a better service to the engineering construction.     

中国历史地震烈度表研究

在比较分析以往烈度表的基础上,着重增加了社会反响标志;对Ⅹ-Ⅻ度的房屋建筑物和地表现象标志进行了调整与补充,完善了作为12阶烈度表相应的《中国历史地震烈度表》.文中对烈度表的各项标志作了简要说明,并列举了国内外10次历史地震事件的评定实例.本文提出的历史地震烈度表,保持了以往烈度表的适用性与一致性.     

山西洪洞、临汾历史大震区现今地震的重新定位

利用临汾地区无线传输地震台网资料，对1303年洪洞（M＝8）、1695年临汾（M＝73／4）两次特大地震所在区域1987年－1999年发生的1670次中、小地震进行了重新定位。结果表明，重新定位后震源深度的测定情况比原有结果有很大改善，定位精度明显提高。两次历史大震所在区域中现今地震的密集区，与两次大震各自的高烈度区长轴方向、形状和大小相吻合，反映了历史大震震源断层对现今小震活动的约束作用。小震震源深度的分布情况表明，两次历史大震的震源断层可能都比较浅。重新定位结果为利用现今小震的群体特征研究历史大震的震源断层提供了良好的基础资料。     

On the generation and decay of the long-period coda energy of large earthquakes

Seismic coda wave is the tail portion of the earthquake record after main arrivals. Studies on the coda usually focus on high-frequency data within several hours after regional events and attribute them to the scattering effect of the heterogeneities inside the earth. Here, we use records of seven large earthquakes at globally distributed seismic stations to examine the decay of long-period (100 s to 300 s) coda in the time window of 10,000 s to 140,000 s after the origin time and fit it with a statistical model. The geometric spreading effect in the estimated initial energy and a location-independent equivalent attenuation coefficient indicate that the long-period coda energy is less affected by the heterogeneity-induced scattering effect than that of shorter-period coda. The coda energy can reach the earth's inner core and can be explained by a 1D earth model, making it more effective for constraining the global attenuation model. It also has the potential to determine the magnitudes of large earthquakes and to explore the interior of planetary bodies.     

The seismic activity in Syria and Palestine during the middle of the 8th century; an amalgamation of historical earthquakes

Some historical earthquakes are distinct owing to the geographical distance of the places affected. It is less clear, however, when more than one earthquake is amalgamated into a single event and their combined effects are attributed to a major event. In order to avoid gross overestimation of the size of historical earthquakes the separation and identification of the constituent earthquakes is an important consideration. As an example we show how the tendency of early and modern writers to amalgamate or duplicate earthquakes in Syria and Palestine can lead to the creation of major earthquakes, with serious consequences for the assessment of the seismic hazard in the region.     

历史强震烈度点数量的统计特征及其对历史地震参数的影响

以1995 年出版的《中国历史强震目录(公元前23 世纪～ 公元1911 年)》为基础,首先统计了中国历史强震烈度点数量的总体分布情况,然后对历史强震烈度点数量在时间、空间和强度上的分布进行了分析,结果表明中国历史强震的烈度点资料普遍偏少。在时间和强度上,公元1500 年以前,受条件所限很多历史大震没有记载或者有些记载没能流传至今,而流传下来的历史地震也仅有少数烈度点;公元元年以前,史料记载过于简单且有缺漏,导致估定的最大震级记录不超过7 级;公元1500 年以后才开始出现8 级以上大震记录。在空间上,中国东部地区地震记载点明显较西部地区更为翔实。本文对单烈度记载点历史强震情况进行了重点分析,并将既有仪器记录又有宏观考察的现代地震按照历史地震参数获取方法进行处理,以讨论烈度点稀缺对确定历史地震参数的影响。     

Calibration of magnitude scales for earthquakes of the Mediterranean

In order to provide the tools for uniform size determination for Mediterranean earthquakes over the last 50-year period of instrumental seismology, we have regressed the magnitude determinations for 220 earthquakes of the European-Mediterranean region over the 1977–1991 period, reported by three international centres, 11 national and regional networks and 101 individual stations and observatories, using seismic moments from the Harvard CMTs. We calibrate M(M₀) regression curves for the magnitude scales commonly used for Mediterranean earthquakes (M_L, M_WA, m_b, M_S, M_LH, M_LV, M_D, M); we also calibrate static corrections or specific regressions for individual observatories and we verify the reliability of the reports of different organizations and observatories. Our analysis shows that the teleseismic magnitudes (m_b, M_S) computed by international centers (ISC, NEIC) provide good measures of earthquake size, with low standard deviations (0.17–0.23), allowing one to regress stable regional calibrations with respect to the seismic moment and to correct systematic biases such as the hypocentral depth for M_S and the radiation pattern for m_b; while m_b is commonly reputed to be an inadequate measure of earthquake size, we find that the ISC m_b is still today the most precise measure to use to regress M_W and M₀ for earthquakes of the European-Mediterranean region; few individual observatories report teleseismic magnitudes requiring specific dynamic calibrations (BJI, MOS). Regional surface-wave magnitudes (M_LV, M_LH) reported in Eastern Europe generally provide reliable measures of earthquake size, with standard deviations often in the 0.25–0.35 range; the introduction of a small (±0.1–0.2) static station correction is sometimes required. While the Richter magnitude M_L is the measure of earthquake size most commonly reported in the press whenever an earthquake strikes, we find that M_L has not been computed in the European-Mediterranean in the last 15 years; the reported local magnitudes M_WA and M_L do not conform to the Richter formula and are of poor quality and little use, with few exceptions requiring ad hoc calibrations similar to the M_S regression (EMSC, ATH). The duration magnitude M_D used by most seismic networks confirms that its use requires accurate station calibrations and should be restricted only to events with low seismic moments.     

Dissecting large earthquakes in Japan: Role of arc magma and fluids

We synthesized information from recent high-resolution tomographic studies of large crustal earthquakes which occurred in the Japanese Islands during 1995–2008. Prominent anomalies of low-velocity and high Poisson's ratio are revealed in the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the mainshock hypocenters, which may reflect arc magma and fluids that are produced by a combination of subducting slab dehydration and corner flow in the mantle wedge. Distribution of 164 crustal earthquakes ( M 5.7–8.0) that occurred in Japan during 1885–2008 also shows a correlation with the distribution of low-velocity zones in the crust and uppermost mantle. A qualitative model is proposed to explain the geophysical observations recorded so far in Japan. We consider that the nucleation of a large earthquake is not entirely a mechanical process, but is closely related to the subduction dynamics and physical and chemical properties of materials in the crust and upper mantle; in particular, the arc magma and fluids.     

Application of stress release models to historical earthquakes from North China

Univariate and multivariate stress release models are fitted to historical earthquake data from North China. It is shown that a better fit is obtained by treating separately the Eastern part of the region, including the North China Plain and Bohai Sea, and the Western part of the region, including the Ordos Plateau and its Eastern boundary. Further improvement is obtained by fitting the large events (M7.6) and smaller events in the Western region by different stress release models. The comparisons are made by computing the likelihoods of the fitted models and discounting the number of parameters used by Akaike's AIC criterion. The models are used to develop long-term risk scenarios for the East and West regions.     

Calculated and observed seismic behaviour of exposed upper mantle

In order to determine the seismic properties of rocks representing the continental crust/upper mantle transition, a structural and petrographical study of peridotites of the Ivrea-Verbano zone (N. Italy) has been undertaken. The seismic behaviour (Vp, Vs, birefringence, orientation of the fast shear-wave polarisation plane) has been calculated from the modal composition of rock samples, together with the crystallographic preferred orientation and the single crystal elastic constants, using the methods of Mainprice (1990). It is shown that the intrinsic anisotropy of peridotites is mainly due to the lattice preferred orientation (LPO) of olivine and to the competing effects due to the LPO of orthopyroxene. If present, well-oriented hydrous phases such as phlogopite, leads to both P- and S-waves velocities becoming drastically reduced, but the anisotropy and the S-wave splitting (mainly on the foliation plane) is increased. An attempt has been made to apply this petrologic and microstructural approach to understand the seismic properties of ultramafic rocks with the aid of a mobile seismic network set up in the Ivrea-Verbano zone. Five recording units with 3-component geophones were installed on the most representative lithologies of the Ivrea-Verbano zone: kinzigites, gabbros, stronalites, and on metapelites of the adjacent outcrop of the Serie dei Laghi. During five months the seismic network recorded 49 events that were mainly regional earthquakes. The preliminary analysis of the first arrival revealed a high-velocity anomaly near the Finero ultramafic massif. Rough calculations indicated that this anomaly could be due to a shallow-depth, peridotitic body about six kilometres thick. S-wave polarisation analysis was carried out on the horizontal components of the seismograms of four regional earthquakes that showed a first arrival propagating almost vertically at the recording sites. Four earthquakes were chosen in order to reconstruct the orientation of the polarisation plane of the shear phases. The preliminary results of this analysis have shown a qualitatively good agreement between the orientation of the polarisation plane of the fast shear-wave and the strike of the foliation at the station near Finero, located on kinzigites of the Ivrea-Verbano zone, although the relationships between the local structural setting and the polarisation orientations at the other recording sites is not yet so clear.     

Upper mantle low anisotropy channels below the Pacific Plate

A new 3D anisotropic model has been obtained at a global scale by using a massive dataset of seismic surface waves. Though seismic heterogeneities are usually interpreted in terms of heterogeneous temperature field, a large part of lateral variations are also induced by seismic anisotropy of upper mantle minerals. New insight into convection processes can be gained by taking seismic anisotropy into account in the inversion procedure. The model is best resolved in the Pacific Plate, the largest and the most active tectonic plate. Superimposed on the large-scale radial (ξ parameter) and azimuthal anisotropy (of V_SV velocity) within and below the lithosphere, correlated with present or past Pacific Plate motions, are smaller-scale (<1000 km) lateral variations of anisotropy not predicted by plate tectonics. Channels of low anisotropy down to a depth of 200 km (hereafter referred to as LAC) are observed and are the best resolved anomalies: one east-west channel between Easter Island and the Tonga-Kermadec subduction zones (observed on both radial and azimuthal anisotropies) and a second one (only observed on azimuthal anisotropy) extending from the south-west Pacific up to south-east Hawaii, and passing through the Polynesia hotspot group for plate older than about 40 Ma. These features provide strong constraints on the decoupling between the plate and asthenosphere. They are presumably related to cracking within the Pacific Plate and/or to secondary convection below the rigid lithosphere, predicted by numerical and analog experiments. The existence and location of these LACs might be related to the current active volcanoes and hotspots (possibly plumes) in the Central Pacific. LACs, which are dividing the Pacific Plate into smaller units, might indicate a future reorganization of plates with ridge migrations in the Pacific Ocean.     

历史强震震中精度统计特征及其对地震危险性研究的影响

以《中国历史强震目录(公元前23世纪—公元1911年)》为基础,将目录中给出的震中精度参数在分段时间和分段震级上进行统计分析,并给出各类精度地震的地理分布.研究结果表明,58.4％的历史强震震中精度都在3类及以上,其震中不确定范围大于25km;一般来说,年代越久远的历史地震,其震中精度越差,而且公元1500年以后的历史强震低精度地震所占比例仍然不小;Ms6.0以上的历史强震,3类、4类和5类精度地震占了60.1％;不同精度历史强震的地理分布各有特点,云南省1类、2类精度地震最多,而新疆和西藏的历史强震绝大部分都是低精度地震事件.以震中精度表述的历史强震震中位置不确定性会对潜在震源区划分、近场区地震活动性研究以及地震构造环境评价等工作造成影响,因此在地震危险性研究与地震地质工作中,都需对低精度历史地震重新考证或适当取舍.     

Moment tensor inversion for focal mechanism of the Beibuwan earthquakes

IntroductionOnDecember31,1994andJanuary10,1995,twoearthquakesoccurredconsecutivelyinBeibuwanarea,China.TheirmagnitudewereMs=6.0andMs=6.1respectively.ThehypocentralparametersoftheseearthquakesarelistedinTable1.Thetimeintervalofthetwoewthquakesis10dandtheirepicentrallocationsareneartoeachotherTheyarethestrongestewthquakesinBeibuwanregiononrecord.Since1980,just12earthquakeshadoccurredinthe50kmrangearoundtheepicentresofthesetwoearthquakes(Wu,etal,1996).Thelargestearthquakeamongthe12earthquake…