High-angle reverse faulting associated with the 1946 Nankaido earthquake

Analysis of vertical crustal deformation data in the southwestern part of Shikoku, southwest Japan, suggests that the Nankaido earthquake of 1946 (M_w = 8.1), which is a principal interplate thrust earthquake, was accompanied by subsidiary faulting on a splay fault adjacent to the coast of Shikoku. Discarding crustal movement resulting from the main thrusting of the Nankaido earthquake, local leveling data are explained by slip on a simple rectangular thrust fault located just offshore of Shikoku. Although it is difficult to constrain the fault location, a possible result is a high-angle thrust dipping landward at an angle of about 70°, with a dislocation of about 1.5 m, and source dimensions of 30 × 13 km along strike and dip. respectively. This result indicates that the fault may be one of the steeply dipping subsidiary faults branching from the main low-angle thrust, as was the case in the Alaska earthquake of 1964. Although several lines of evidence suggest that this faulting occurred as slow aseismic slip, its discrimination from the main seismic event is extremely difficult. This kind of high-angle thrusting just offshore of the coast would play an important role for the formation of the marine terraces during the late Quaternary period.     

Source complexity of the 4 March 2010 Jiashian,Taiwan, Earthquake determined by joint inversion of teleseismic and near field data

The Jiashian earthquake (M_L 6.4) occurred on 4 March 2010. It was the largest inland event in southern Taiwan of 2010. The mainshock location was unexpected since it occurred in an area with relatively low background seismicity. In addition, reports of earthquake focal mechanisms do not fit with any known active fault geometry. In order to understand the origin of this earthquake, especially its rupture process, we perform a joint source inversion by using teleseismic body wave, GPS coseismic displacements and near field ground motion data. In this study, we considered a northwest–southeast trending fault with a northeast dip retrieved from GPS coseismic data and aftershocks distribution. To analyze the detailed slip distribution in space and time, we used near field 3D Green’s functions provided by spectral-element method and a full time–space inversion technique. We find a complex rupture process with several slip patches distributed inside two main asperities. The slip map reveals a mean slip of 12.9 cm for a maximum slip of 27.3 cm leading to a M_w 6.47 for this event. The rupture initiates in the deepest portion of the fault at 20 km depth, and propagated upward up to 2 km depth to form the two asperities. The source time function of this event revealed two pulses corresponding to the two asperities, for a total duration time of about 16 s. Most aftershocks occurred near the upper boundary of the deepest asperity while no aftershocks are located close to the shallowest one. We infer that the locations of these slip patches are related to the surrounding fault systems that may have restricted the rupture propagation during the earthquake.     

2008年汶川地震破裂的滑移向量

估计同震滑移向量对于认识和理解破裂方式和破裂过程具有重要意义。2008年汶川大地震在青藏高原东缘龙门山推覆构造带的中央断裂和前山断裂上各形成了一条长250 km和72 km的地表破裂带。地震发生后至今,已经发表了大量有关同震位错沿破裂带分布的论文和报告,但绝大部分都仅仅是破裂的走向位错和垂直位错,极少有同震滑移向量的报道。这不仅是因为野外难以直接测量到水平缩短量(或拉张量),而且还因为这些走滑位错实际上是视走滑位错,部分或全部来自水平缩短或拉张。因此,仅仅根据视走滑同震位错和垂直同震位错估计的同震总滑移量肯定包含了相当大的误差。尝试利用据不同走向参考线测量到的一组(两个以上)视走滑位错来计算水平滑移向量的这一新方法,获得了中央破裂带上的7个水平同震滑移向量,并结合垂直位错量进一步计算了走滑、倾滑和水平缩短三个同震滑移分量以及断层倾角和破裂面上的同震滑移向量,综合出露破裂面的擦痕所指示的滑移向量,并对比根据矩张量解获得的震源深度的滑移向量,得出以下认识:(1)破裂南段的地表滑移向量的方位角明显小于震源深度滑移向量的方位角,表明在破裂从震源向地表传播过程中破裂面上的滑移向量发生了逆时针旋转;(2)滑移方位角向北东方向逐渐增大,表明地平面上水平滑移向量表现出顺时针旋转的趋势,而且在破裂向北东方向传播过程中近地表的走滑分量逐渐减小而倾滑分量逐渐增大;(3)几乎在每一个观测点倾滑分量都大于走滑分量,表明汶川地震的破裂方式在任何地点都是以逆冲运动为主;(4)破裂面倾角在10.4°～64.7°,平均值为41°,与天然破裂露头和探槽揭示的结果基本一致;(5)滑移向量沿破裂带的分布显示,走滑分量中段大而两端小,倾滑分量则相反,中段小两端大。     

The 1980, 1997 and 1998 Azores earthquakes and some seismo-tectonic implications

We have studied the focal mechanisms of the 1980, 1997 and 1998 earthquakes in the Azores region from body-wave inversion of digital GDSN (Global Digital Seismograph Network) and broadband data. For the 1980 and 1998 shocks, we have obtained strike–slip faulting, with the rupture process made up of two sub-events in both shocks, with total scalar seismic moments of 1.9 × 10¹⁹ Nm (M_w = 6.8) and 1.4 × 10¹⁸ Nm (M_w = 6.0), respectively. For the 1997 shock, we have obtained a normal faulting mechanism, with the rupture process made up of three sub-events, with a total scalar seismic moment of 7.7 × 10¹⁷ Nm (M_w = 5.9). A common characteristic of these three earthquakes was the shallow focal depth, less than 10 km, in agreement with the oceanic-type crust. From the directivity function of Rayleigh (LR) waves, we have identified the NW–SE plane as the rupture plane for the 1980 and 1998 earthquakes with the rupture propagating to the SE. Slow rupture velocity, about of 1.5 km/s, has been estimated from directivity function for the 1980 and 1998 earthquakes. From spectral analysis and body-wave inversion, fault dimensions, stress drop and average slip have been estimated. Focal mechanisms of the three earthquakes we have studied, together with focal mechanisms obtained by other authors, have been used in order to obtain a seismotectonic model for the Azores region. We have found different types of behaviour present along the region. It can be divided into two zones: Zone I, from 30°W to 27°W; Zone II, from 27°W to 23°W, with a change in the seismicity and stress direction from Zone I. In Zone I, the total seismic moment tensor obtained corresponded to left-lateral strike–slip faulting with horizontal pressure and tension axes in the E–W and N–S directions, respectively. In Zone II, the total seismic moment tensor corresponded to normal faulting, with a horizontal tension axis trending NE–SW, normal to the Terceira Ridge. The stress pattern for the whole region corresponds to horizontal extension with an average seismic slip rate of 4.4 mm/yr.     

The rupture process during the 1999 Düzce, Turkey, earthquake from joint inversion of teleseismic and strong-motion data

Teleseismic and strong-motion data are inverted to determine the rupture process during the November 1999 Düzce earthquake in NW Turkey. The fault geometry, rise time and rupture velocity are determined from the aftershock distribution and preliminary inversions of the teleseismic data. Joint inversion of the teleseismic and strong-motion data is then carried out for the slip distribution. We obtain the strike 264°, dip 64°, rake −172°, seismic moment 5.0×10¹⁹ N m (M_w 7.1), and average stress drop 7 MPa. This earthquake was characterized by bilateral fault rupture and asymmetric slip distribution. Two asperities (areas of large slip) are identified, the eastern one being 1.5 times larger than the western one. The derived slip distribution is consistent with the aftershock distribution, surface rupture and damage. The point of rupture initiation in this Düzce earthquake coincided with the eastern tip of the aftershock distribution of the August 1999 Izmit earthquake.     

Static and dynamic fault parameters of the Saitama earthquake of July 1, 1968

The source mechanism of the Saitama earthquake (36.07°N,139.40°E, M_s = 5.4) of July 1, 1968, is studied on the basis of P-wave first motion, aftershock, long-period surface-wave data and low-magnification long-period seismograms recorded in the nearfield. A precise location of the aftershocks is made using P and S—P time data obtained by a micro-earthquake observatory network. The synthetic near-field seismograms based on the Haskell model are directly compared with the observed near-field seismograms for wave form and amplitude to determine the dynamic fault parameters. The results obtained are as follows: source geometry, reverse dip slip with considerable right-lateral strike-slip component; dip direction, N6°E; dip angle 30°; fault dimension, 10 × 6 km²; rupture velocity, 3.4 km/sec in the direction S30°E; average dislocation, 92 cm; average dislocation velocity, 92 cm/sec; seismic moment, 1.9 · 10²⁵ dyn-cm; stress drop, 100 bar. The effective stress is about the same as the stress drop. For major earthquakes in the Japanese Islands, the dislocation velocity, .D, is found to be proportional to the stress drop, σ. This relation can be expressed by .D - (β/μ)σ, where β is the shear velocity and μ is the rigidity. This result has an importance in engineering seismology because the stress drop scales the seismic motion in the vicinity of an earthquake fault.     

Characteristics of the 1912 co-seismic rupture along the North Anatolian Fault Zone (Turkey): implications for the expected Marmara earthquake

Evidence of right‐lateral offsets associated with the 1912 earthquake (M_w 7.4) along the North Anatolian Fault (Gaziköy–Saros segment) allow us to survey (using DGPS) the co‐seismic and cumulative slip distribution. The damage distribution and surface breaks related with the earthquake show an elongated zone of maximum intensity (X MSK) parallel to the fault rupture on land but this may extend offshore to the north‐east and south‐west. Detailed mapping of the fault using topographic maps and aerial photographs indicates the existence of pull‐apart basins and pressure ridges. At several localities, the average 1912 offset along strike is 3.5–4 m and cumulative slip is 2–6 times that of individual movement. The fault rupture geometry and slip distribution suggest the existence of three subsegments with a combined total length of 110–120 km, a fault length and maximum slip similar to those of the 1999 Izmit earthquake. The amount of slip at the north‐easternmost section and in the coastal region of the Sea of Marmara reaches an average 4 m, thereby implying the offshore extension of the 1912 rupture. The results suggest that the 1912 event generated up to 150 km of surface faulting, which would imply a M_w 7.2–7.4 earthquake and which, added with rupture lengths of the 1999 earthquakes, help to constrain the remaining seismic gap in the Sea of Marmara.     

Rupture progression along discontinuous oblique fault sets: implications for the Karadere rupture segment of the 1999 Izmit earthquake, and future rupture in the Sea of Marmara

Large earthquakes in strike-slip regimes commonly rupture fault segments that are oblique to each other in both strike and dip. This was the case during the 1999 Izmit earthquake, which mainly ruptured E–W-striking right-lateral faults but also ruptured the N60°E-striking Karadere fault at the eastern end of the main rupture. It will also likely be so for any future large fault rupture in the adjacent Sea of Marmara. Our aim here is to characterize the effects of regional stress direction, stress triggering due to rupture, and mechanical slip interaction on the composite rupture process. We examine the failure tendency and slip mechanism on secondary faults that are oblique in strike and dip to a vertical strike-slip fault or “master” fault. For a regional stress field well-oriented for slip on a vertical right-lateral strike-slip fault, we determine that oblique normal faulting is most favored on dipping faults with two different strikes, both of which are oriented clockwise from the strike-slip fault. The orientation closer in strike to the master fault is predicted to slip with right-lateral oblique normal slip, the other one with left-lateral oblique normal slip. The most favored secondary fault orientations depend on the effective coefficient of friction on the faults and the ratio of the vertical stress to the maximum horizontal stress. If the regional stress instead causes left-lateral slip on the vertical master fault, the most favored secondary faults would be oriented counterclockwise from the master fault. For secondary faults striking ±30° oblique to the master fault, right-lateral slip on the master fault brings both these secondary fault orientations closer to the Coulomb condition for shear failure with oblique right-lateral slip. For a secondary fault striking 30° counterclockwise, the predicted stress change and the component of reverse slip both increase for shallower-angle dips of the secondary fault. For a secondary fault striking 30° clockwise, the predicted stress change decreases but the predicted component of normal slip increases for shallower-angle dips of the secondary fault. When both the vertical master fault and the dipping secondary fault are allowed to slip, mechanical interaction produces sharp gradients or discontinuities in slip across their intersection lines. This can effectively constrain rupture to limited portions of larger faults, depending on the locations of fault intersections. Across the fault intersection line, predicted rakes can vary by >40° and the sense of lateral slip can reverse. Application of these results provides a potential explanation for why only a limited portion of the Karadere fault ruptured during the Izmit earthquake. Our results also suggest that the geometries of fault intersection within the Sea of Marmara favor composite rupture of multiple oblique fault segments.     

Rupture length and velocity for earthquakes in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge from directivity effect in body and surface waves

The dimensions and rupture velocities of four earthquakes, two in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and two in Iceland with strike–slip mechanisms and magnitudes (M_w) between 6.2 and 6.8 were studied using the directivity effects of Rayleigh and body waves. For Rayleigh waves we used the directivity function for different pairs of stations and for body waves the waveforms of P and SH waves corresponding to a simple extended line source. We have found that three have very shallow depths about 3 km and one 8 km, fault lengths between 12 km and 21 km, and a low rupture velocity of about 1.5 km/s to 2.0 km/s which supports the idea of the presence of slow earthquakes in transform faults.     

Complex geometry and segmentation of the surface rupture associated with the 14 November 2001 great Kunlun earthquake, northern Tibet, China

The 14 November 2001 Kunlun, China, earthquake with a moment magnitude (M_w) 7.8 occurred along the Kusai Lake–Kunlun Pass fault of the Kunlun fault system. We document the spatial distribution and geometry of surface rupture zone produced by this earthquake, based on high-resolution satellite (Landsat ETM, ASTER, SPOT and IKONOS) images combined with field measurements. Our results show that the surface rupture zone can be divided into five segments according to the geometry of surface rupture, including the Sun Lake, Buka Daban–Hongshui River, Kusai Lake, Hubei Peak and Kunlun Pass segments from west to east. These segments, each 55 to 130 km long, are separated by step-overs. The Sun Lake segment extends about 65 km with a strike of N45° 75°W (between 90°05′E 90°50′E) along the previously unrecognized West Sun Lake fault. A gap of about 30 km long exists between the Sun Lake and Buka Daban Peak where no obvious surface ruptures can be observed either from the satellite images or field observations. The Buka Daban–Hongshui River, Kusai Lake, Hubei Peak and Kunlun Pass segments run about 365 km striking N75° 85°W along the southern slope of the Kunlun Mountains (between 91°07′E 94°58′E). This segmentation of the surface rupture is well correlated with the pattern of slip distribution measured in the field. Detailed mapping suggest that these five first-order segments can be further separated into over 20 second-order segments with a length of 10–30 km, linked by smaller scale step-overs or bends.Our result also shows that the total coseismic surface rupture length produced by the 2001 Kunlun earthquake is about 430 km (excluding the 30-km-long gap), which is the longest coseismic surface rupture for an intracontinental earthquake ever recorded.Finally, we suggest a multiple bilateral rupture propagation model that shows the rupture process of the 2001 M_w 7.8 earthquake is complex. It consists of westward and eastward rupture propagations and interaction of these bilateral rupture processes.     

First-order rupture features of the 2011 MW 9.0 Tohoku (Japan) earthquake from surface waves

This study analyzed the rupture directivity of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake by using 100-s Rayleigh-wave travel-times, influenced by the finite source, to derive the fault parameters of the earthquake. The results demonstrated that the earthquake exhibited a slow rupture propagation with a rupture velocity of approximately 1.5–2.0 km/s and asymmetric bilateral faulting. The two rupture directions were N60°E and N127°E, with rupture lengths of approximately 276 km and 231 km, respectively. The rupture toward N60°E had a source duration of approximately 183 s, longer than that toward N127°E (approximately 156 s). Overall, the entire source duration of the earthquake faulting lasted approximately 183 s. Regarding historical seismicity in eastern Japan, the 2011 Tohoku earthquake not only ruptured a locked area in which large earthquakes have rarely occurred, but also ruptured the source regions of several historical earthquakes. With the exception of its slow rupture velocity and generation of a tsunami, the rupture features of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake were inconsistent with those of typical tsunami earthquakes.     

Rupture mechanism of the 1993 Killari earthquake, India: constraints from aftershocks and static stress change

The Killari earthquake of September 29, 1993 (Mw=6.2) in peninsular India triggered several aftershocks that were recorded by a network of 21 stations. We computed the change in regional static stress caused by coseismic slip on the earthquake rupture and correlated it with the aftershocks with a view to constrain some of the rupture parameters of this earthquake. We evaluated the six available estimates of fault plane solutions for this earthquake and concluded that reverse slip on a 42° dipping, N112° trending fault, which extends up to the surface from a depth of 7 km, produces maximum correlation between the increased static stress and aftershock distribution. Our analysis suggests that the majority of coseismic slip occurred on the part of the rupture that lies in the depth range of 3–6.5 km.     

2022年1月8日青海门源MS 6.9地震地表破裂考察的初步结果及对冷龙岭断裂活动行为和区域强震危险性的启示

2022年1月8日青海门源M_S 6.9地震发生在青藏高原东北缘的祁连山断块内部,仪器震中位于海原活动断裂系西段的冷龙岭断裂带上,是该断裂系自1920年海原8.5级大地震后再次发生M>6.5的强震。考察结果的初步总结表明,此次门源地震产生了呈左阶斜列分布、总长度近23 km的南北两条破裂,在两者之间存在长约3.2 km、宽近2 km的地表破裂空区。南支破裂(F₁)出现在托来山断裂的东段,走向91°,长约2.4 km,以兼具向南逆冲的左旋走滑变形为主,最大走滑位移近0.4 m。北支主破裂(F₂)出现在冷龙岭断裂的西段,总长度近20 km,以左旋走滑变形为主,呈整体微凸向北东的弧形展布,包含了走向分别为102°、109°和118°的西、中、东三段,最大走滑位移出现在中段,为3.0±0.2 m。此外,在北支主破裂中—东段的北侧新发现一条累计长度约7.6 km、以右旋正断为主的北支次级破裂(F₃),累计最大走滑量约0.8 m,最大正断位移约1.5 m。综合分析认为,整个同震破裂以左旋走滑变形为主,具有双侧破裂特点,宏观震中位于北支主破裂的中段,其地表走滑位移很大可能与震源破裂深度浅有关,其中的右旋正断次级破裂可能是南侧主动盘向东运移过程中拖曳北侧块体发生差异运动所引起的特殊变形现象。印度与欧亚板块近南北向强烈碰撞挤压导致南祁连断块沿海原左旋走滑断裂系向东挤出,从而引发该断裂系中的托来山断裂与冷龙岭断裂同时发生破裂,成为导致此次强震的主要动力机制。在此大陆动力学背景下,以海原左旋走滑断裂系为主边界的祁连山断块及其周边的未来强震危险性需得到进一步重视。      

Surface rupture of the Cariaco July 09, 1997 earthquake on the El Pilar fault, northeastern Venezuela

This paper discusses the surface rupture of the Cariaco July 09, 1997 Ms 6.8 earthquake in northeastern Venezuela – located at 10.545°N and 63.515°W and about 10 km deep. The field reconnaissance of the ground breaks confirms that this event took place on the ENE–WSW trending onshore portion of the dextral El Pilar fault (between the Gulfs of Cariaco and Paria), which is part of the major wrenching system within the Caribbean–South America plate boundary zone. Dextral slip along this fault was further supported by the structural style of this rupture (en echelon right-lateral R shears connected by mole tracks at restraining stepovers) and by larger geometric complexities (pop-ups at Las Manoas and Guarapiche), as well as by the focal mechanism solutions determined for the event by several authors. This 1997 surface ruptre comprised two distinct sections, from west to east: (a) a main very conspicuous, continuous, 30-km-long, rather straight, 075°N-trending alignment of en echelon surface breaks, with a rather constant, purely dextral coseismic slip of about 25  cm, but reaching a maximum value of 40 cm slightly northwest of Pantoño; and (b) a secondary discontinuous, 10-km-long, boomerang-shaped rupture, with a maximum coseismic slip of 20 cm at Guarapiche. The onshore extent of the surface rupture totalled 36 km, but may continue westward underwater, as suggested by the very shallow aftershock seismicity. This aftershock activity also clearly defined the steep north dip of the fault plane along the western rupture, suggesting tectonic inheritance on this major fault.From many locals' accounts, the rupture seems to have propagated from Pantoño to the west (highly asymmetric bidirectionality). This suggests that earthquake nucleation happened at or near the Casanay–Guarapiche restraining bend and rupture quickly propagated westward, allowing only a small fraction to progress eastwards beyond the bend. Additionally, the large fraction of after-slip (or creep) released is to be related to such restraining bend, which seems to have partly locked slip during rupture.     

Aftershocks of the june 20, 1978, Greece earthquake: A multimode faulting sequence

A 10-station portable seismograph network was deployed in northern Greece to study aftershocks of the magnitude (m_b) 6.4 earthquake of June 20, 1978. The main shock occurred (in a graben) about 25 km northeast of the city of Thessaloniki and caused an east-west zone of surface rupturing 14 km long that splayed to 7 km wide at the west end. The hypocenters for 116 aftershocks in the magnitude range from 2.5 to 4.5 were determined. The epicenters for these events cover an area 30 km (east-west) by 18 km (north-south), and focal depths ranges from 4 to 12 km. Most of the aftershocks in the east half of the aftershock zone are north of the surface rupture and north of the graben. Those in the west half are located within the boundaries of the graben. Composite focalmechanism solutions for selected aftershocks indicate reactivation of geologically mapped normal faults in the area. Also, strike-slip and dip-slip faults that splay off the western end of the zone of surface ruptures may have been activated.The epicenters for four large (M 4.8) foreshocks and the main shock were relocated using the method of joint epicenter determination. Collectively, those five epicenters form an arcuate pattern convex southward, that is north of and 5 km distant from the surface rupturing. The 5-km separation, along with a focal depth of 8 km (average aftershock depth) or 16 km (NEIS main-shock depth), implies that the fault plane dips northward 58° or 73°, respectively. A preferred nodal-plane dip of 36° was determined by B.C. Papazachos and his colleagues in 1979 from a focal-mechanism solution for the main shock. If this dip is valid for the causal fault and that fault projects to the zone of surface rupturing, a decrease of dip with depth is required.     

Active normal faulting during the 1997 seismic sequence in Colfiorito,Umbria: Did slip propagate to the surface?

In order to determine whether slip during an earthquake on the 26th September 1997 propagated to the surface, structural data have been collected along a bedrock fault scarp in Umbria, Italy. These collected data are used to investigate the relationship between the throw associated with a debated surface rupture (observed as a pale unweathered stripe at the base of the bedrock fault scarp) and the strike, dip and slip-vector. Previous studies have suggested that the surface rupture was produced either by primary surface slip or secondary compaction of hangingwall sediments. Some authors favour the latter because sparse surface fault dip measurements do not match nodal plane dips at depth. It is demonstrated herein that the strike, dip and height of the surface rupture, represented by a pale unweathered stripe at the base of the bedrock scarp, shows a systematic relationship with respect to the geometry and kinematics of faulting in the bedrock. The strike and dip co-vary and the throw is greatest where the strike is oblique to the slip-vector azimuth where the highest dip values are recorded. This implies that the throw values vary to accommodate spatial variation in the strike and dip of the fault across fault plane corrugations, a feature that is predicted by theory describing conservation of strain along faults, but not by compaction. Furthermore, published earthquake locations and reported fault dips are consistent with the analysed surface scarps when natural variation for surface dips and uncertainty for nodal plane dips at depth are taken into account. This implies that the fresh stripe is indeed a primary coseismic surface rupture whose slip is connected to the seismogenic fault at depth. We discuss how this knowledge of the locations and geometry of the active faults can be used as an input for seismic hazard assessment.     

2001年昆仑山口西8.1级地震地表破裂带

2001年11月14日昆仑山口西8.1级地震是近50年来在我国大陆发生的震级最大、地表破裂最长的地震事件.地震地表破裂带全长426km,宽数米至数百米,总体走向90°～110°,具有明显的破裂分段特征,自西向东由5条次级破裂段组成.各破裂段又由若干更次级左阶或右阶斜列的破裂组成,具有自相似的分形结构特征.地震破裂带以左旋走滑为主,倾滑量很小.宏观震中区位于库赛湖东北93.0°～93.5°E一带的昆仑山南麓断层谷地内.最大地表同震左旋水平位移6.4m,最大垂直位移为4m.地表水平位移沿地震破裂带走向出现6个峰值,各峰值之间存在相对独立的衰减序列,这表明此地震具有多点破裂特征.     

Fine structure of seismotectonics in western Shillong massif,north east India

The epicentral tract of the great Assam earthquake of 1897 of magnitude 8·7 was monitored for about 6 months using an array of portable seismographs. The observed seismicity pattern shows several diversely-oriented linear trends, some of which either encompass or parallel known geological faults. A vast majority of the recorded micro-earthquakes had estimated focal depths between 8–14 km. The maximum estimated depth was 45 km. On the basis of a seismic velocity model for the region reported recently and these depth estimates we suggest that the rupture zone of the great 1897 earthquake had a depth of 11–12 km under the western half of the Shillong massif. Four composite fault plane solutions define the nature of dislocation in three of the seismic zones. Three of them show oblique thrusting while one shows pure dip slip reverse faulting. The fault plane solutions fit into a regional pattern of a belt of earthquakes extending in NW-SE direction across the north eastern corner of the Bengal basin. The maximum principle stress axis is approximately NS for all the solutions in conformity with the inferred direction of the Indian-EuroAsian plate convergence in the eastern Himalaya.     

Estimation of causative fault parameters of the Rudbar earthquake of June 20, 1990 from near field SH-wave data

We analyze the strong motion accelerograms recorded for the large (M_S=7.7, M_W=7.3, m_b=6.4) Rudbar earthquake of June 20, 1990. The earthquake had a complex source process. We have identified the imprints of rupture of three localized asperities on the major causative fault on the accelerograms. These asperities are interpreted to correspond to (i) the main shock that initiated the rupture process and was located in the domino block between the Kabateh and Zard Goli faults, (ii) a foreshock that occurred about 10 s earlier in the Kabateh fault and (iii) a later shock, on the western end of the Baklor fault, which terminated the bilateral rupture process at the western end. We estimate the strike, dip and slip of these causative sub-event rupture planes using the SH spectral amplitudes, based on a point source representation of sub-events and a non-linear least square formulation for inversion of the amplitude data. The results of our inversion of the near field data are comparable to other studies based on teleseismic data.     

A study of the 2 December 2002 (M5.5) Vartholomio (western Peloponnese, Greece) earthquake and of its largest aftershocks

Broadband data from the Greek National Seismological Network are used to study the moderate size (M5.5) earthquake, which occurred on 2 December 2002 near the town of Vartholomio, in western Peloponnese (Greece). Time domain moment tensor inversion applied to retrieve the focal mechanism of the mainshock and of three of the larger aftershocks of the sequence, revealed almost pure strike-slip faulting along NW–SE or NE–SW trending nodal planes. The relative source time functions for the mainshock, obtained from an empirical Green's function analysis, do not reveal any clear directivity to any of the stations. A careful observer might suggest directivity towards NW, if any. Optimum values are 0.4 s for the rise time and 2.7 km/s for the rupture velocity. The spatial and temporal distribution of fault slip showed that the major part of the resolved slip occurred beneath the mainshock's epicenter, 20 km underneath the western coast of Peloponnese. This probably accounts for the considerable damage observed to the nearby towns. The resolution between the two nodal planes does not permit an identification of the fault plane; however the statistics on the slip distribution model, the preliminary analysis of aftershock locations and macroseismic data favour the NW–SE trending plane as the fault plane, which is connected with sinistral strike-slip motions. These are the first implications for sinistral strike-slip motions in this area and more data are needed in the future to get more reliable resolution of the motions.