Attenuation of P- and S-waves in the Chamoli Region, Himalaya, India

The attenuation properties of the crust in the Chamoli region of Himalaya have been examined by estimating the frequency-dependent relationships of quality factors for P waves (Q_α) and for S waves (Q_β) in the frequency range 1.5–24 Hz. The extended coda normalization method has been applied on the waveforms of 25 aftershocks of the 1999 Chamoli earthquake (M 6.4) recorded at five stations. The average value of Q_α is found to be varied from 68 at 1.5 Hz to 588 at 24 Hz while it varies from 126 at 1.5 Hz to 868 at 24 Hz for Q_β. The estimated frequency-dependent relations for quality factors are Q_α = (44 ± 1)f^(0.82±.04) and Q_β = (87 ± 3)f^(0.71±.03). The rate of increase of Q(f) for P and S waves in the Chamoli region is comparable with the other regions of the world. The ratio Q_β/Q_α is greater than one in the region which along with the frequency dependence of quality factors indicates that scattering is an important factor contributing to the attenuation of body waves in the region. A comparison of attenuation relation for S wave estimated here (Q_β = 87f^0.71) with that of coda waves (Q_c = 30f^1.21) obtained by Mandal et al. (2001) for the same region shows that Q_c > Q_β for higher frequencies (>8 Hz) in the region. This indicates a possible high frequency coda enrichment which suggests that the scattering attenuation significantly influences the attenuation of S waves at frequencies >8 Hz. This observation may be further investigated using multiple scattering models. The attenuation relations for quality factors obtained here may be used for the estimation of source parameters and near-source simulation of earthquake ground motion of the earthquakes, which in turn are required for the assessment of seismic hazard in the region.     

Study of Sediment Nonlinearity Using Explosion Data in the Mississippi Embayment

Strong and weak motion data from the Mississippi Embayment Seismic Excitation Experiment (ESEE) were analyzed for signatures of nonlinear site responses. This experiment was performed jointly by the University of Memphis and U. S. Geological Survey in October 2002, by detonating two explosions of 2500 and 5000 lbs. Intrinsic and scattering Q estimates (Q_I and Q_S) from the coda of the strong motion data were found to be very low compared to previously determined Q values of P- and Rayleigh waves of weak motion data from the same explosions. The Q_I estimates from P-wave late coda of the strong motion data are less by more than 100 at 3 Hz and by more than 200 at 10 Hz, compared to the P-wave Q values determined from the weak motion data by Langston et al (2005). Also, Q_I determined from the late coda of strong motion Rayleigh-wave data is less by more than 200 at 0.5 Hz and by more than 50 at 3.0 Hz, compared to Q values determined from Rayleigh-wave weak motion data. A resonance peak spectral amplitude of the early part of a strong motion seismogram is shifted to lower frequencies compared to that from a later part of the same seismogram. Spectral amplitude ratios between transverse and vertical components of the strong motion data are degraded between frequencies 2 and 10 Hz for P waves, and less than 4 Hz for Rayleigh waves compared to the weak motion transverse to vertical spectral ratio. All these are signatures of nonlinear site responses during strong ground motion. This study proves the non-transportability of weak motion attenuation results to estimate ground motion from a future large earthquake that may take place in areas like the New Madrid Seismic zone.     

On the recording characteristics of the original Wiechert seismographs at Göttingen (Germany)

The mechanical, automatically recording seismological instruments developed by Emil Wiechert in Göttingen at the beginning of the 20th century are still in use today. I comparethe recording characteristics of these seismographswith a modern, electrodynamic MARK L4-3D instrument. The frequency-dependent transfer functions are determined and used to restitute the`true' ground displacement. The displacement waveforms at the different instruments are well correlated at frequencies between 0.05 and 4.0 Hz.Amplitudes differ by a factor of less than two. This is sufficientfor the determination of seismological magnitudes which are defined on a logarithmicbasis. The timing accuracy is less favourable due to theslow recording speed on the smoked paper. However, relativetime differences within one second may be resolved, allowing the use of variousmodern seismological interpretation techniques.     

Constant Q and a Fractal, Stratified Earth

— Frequency-dependent measurements of the quality factor Q typically show a constant behaviour for low frequencies and a positive power-law dependence for higher frequencies. In particular, the constant Q pattern is usually explained using intrinsic attenuation models due to anelasticity with either a single or multiple superposed relaxation mechanisms — each with a particular resonance peak.¶However, in this study, I show using wave localisation theory that a constant Q may also be due to apparent attenuation due to scattering losses. Namely, this phenomenon occurs if the earth displays fractal characteristics. Moreover, if fractal characteristics exist over a limited range of scales only, even an absorption band can be created—in accordance with observations. This indicates that it may be very difficult to distinguish between intrinsic and scattering attenuation on the basis of frequency-dependent measurements of the quality factor only.     

Towards a microzonation of the Greater Beirut area: an instrumental approach combining earthquake and ambient vibration recordings

Lebanon is situated on the 1000 km long Levant transform fault that separates the Arabic from the African tectonic plates. In Lebanon, the Levant fault splits up into a set of ramifications that had, in the past, generated major destructive earthquakes causing a lot of destruction and thousands of casualties. The most devastating one was the 551 A.D. offshore earthquake that destroyed Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. This paper presents a site effect study in Beirut, aimed at proposing a framework for future microzonation works in the city. It includes two complementary parts. A 6-month, temporary seismological experiment was first conducted to estimate the site response at 10 sites sampling the main geological units of Beirut on the basis of local and regional earthquake recordings. This spatially sparse information was then complemented by a large number (615) of microtremor measurements covering the Beirut municipality and part of its suburbs with a 400 m dense grid. The recordings were analysed with the standard site-to-reference and horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio methods for earthquake recordings, and the horizontal-to-vertical ratio for ambient noise recordings. Significant ground motion amplification effects (up to a factor of 8) are found in a few areas corresponding to recent deposits. The consistency between results from earthquake and microtremor recordings allows proposing a map of the resonance frequencies within the city and its suburbs, with frequencies ranging from 0.5 to 5 Hz for the deepest deposits, and 5–10 Hz for shallow areas. Finally, the results are discussed and a way to combine the results obtained from the temporary stations to the great number of recordings coming from the permanent Lebanese network is proposed.     

云南地区散射衰减、吸收衰减及尾波衰减的综合研究

利用云南省地震局遥测台网记录的地震波形资料,采用多流逝时间窗分析方法,得到了云南地区不同台站的散射衰减和吸收衰减,并通过单次散射模型得到了不同台站的尾波衰减.研究结果显示,云南地区的散射衰减、吸收衰减、总衰减和尾波衰减空间分布以金沙江—红河断裂带为界,均表现出西部低,东部高的特征.云南地区地震波衰减以吸收为主,2~4 Hz、4~8 Hz、8~16 Hz三个频带各台站的吸收衰减Q^－1_i均大于散射衰减Q^－1_c,1~2 Hz除个别台站的吸收衰减明显小于散射衰减,其它台站均大于或接近散射衰减.尾波衰减Q^－1_c在1~2 Hz稍大于吸收衰减而小于总衰减,在2~4 Hz、4~8 Hz、8~16 Hz与总衰减接近,个别台站大于总衰减Q^－1_t.云南地区散射衰减与频率的关系为Q^－1_s=0.0138f^－1.61,吸收衰减与频率的关系为Q^－1_i=0.0119f^－0.86,总衰减与频率的关系为Q^－1_t=0.0247f^－1.1,尾波衰减与频率的关系为Q^－1_c=0.0129f^－0.71.与世界其它地区相比,云南地区的散射衰减处于中等偏低的水平,吸收衰减处于中等偏高的水平.     

Near-source attenuation of high-frequency body waves beneath the New Madrid Seismic Zone

Attenuation characteristics in the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) are estimated from 157 local seismograph recordings out of 46 earthquakes of 2.6?≤?M?≤?4.1 with hypocentral distances up to 60 km and focal depths down to 25 km. Digital waveform seismograms were obtained from local earthquakes in the NMSZ recorded by the Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) at the University of Memphis. Using the coda normalization method, we tried to determine Q values and geometrical spreading exponents at 13 center frequencies. The scatter of the data and trade-off between the geometrical spreading and the quality factor did not allow us to simultaneously derive both these parameters from inversion. Assuming 1/R ^1.0 as the geometrical spreading function in the NMSZ, the Q _P and Q _S estimates increase with increasing frequency from 354 and 426 at 4 Hz to 729 and 1091 at 24 Hz, respectively. Fitting a power law equation to the Q estimates, we found the attenuation models for the P waves and S waves in the frequency range of 4 to 24 Hz as Q _P?=?(115.80?±?1.36) f ^{(0.495?±?0.129)} and Q _S?=?(161.34?±?1.73) f ^{(0.613?±?0.067)}, respectively. We did not consider Q estimates from the coda normalization method for frequencies less than 4 Hz in the regression analysis since the decay of coda amplitude was not observed at most bandpass filtered seismograms for these frequencies. Q _S/Q _P?>?1, for 4?≤?f?≤?24 Hz as well as strong intrinsic attenuation, suggest that the crust beneath the NMSZ is partially fluid-saturated. Further, high scattering attenuation indicates the presence of a high level of small-scale heterogeneities inside the crust in this region.     

1985年云南禄劝地震余震尾波 Q 值的某些研究

建立在用来解释地方震和区域地震的尾波散射模型的基础上,用云南短周期区域台网12个台站的 VGK 地震仪记录的68个禄劝地震的余震序列尾波观测资料,分六个时间段估算了尾波 Q 值.发现在所观测的频率范围内(0.40——1.65Hz),Q 值与频率有关,估算的 Q 值在80——240之间,频率相关值=0.45.对表示散射强度的波源因子 B(fp)的估算结果多数在10-23——10-24量级,低 Q 值地区表现出激发强度高.值得注意的是禄劝地震前后,离震中区较近的台站所测得的 Q 值发生了明显变化,有的变化达2.0倍以上.Q 值随时间的区域变化,这在地震预报中也许有重要的实际意义.此外,测定了余震震源参数.对震源参数间的定量关系的讨论结果给出:IgE=1.59ML+11.335;E=(2.1010-5M0;在3.0ML5Pa,一个显著的特征是应力降与地震震级不存在明显的线性关系.     

Forced oscillation measurements of seismic wave attenuation and stiffness moduli dispersion in glycerine-saturated Berea sandstone

Fluid pressure diffusion occurring on the microscopic scale is believed to be a significant source of intrinsic attenuation of mechanical waves propagating through fully saturated porous rocks. The so-called squirt flow arises from compressibility heterogeneities in the microstructure of the rocks. To study squirt flow experimentally at seismic frequencies the forced oscillation method is the most adequate, but such studies are still scarce. Here we present the results of forced hydrostatic and axial oscillation experiments on dry and glycerine-saturated Berea sandstone, from which we determine the dynamic stiffness moduli and attenuation at micro-seismic and seismic frequencies (0.004–30 Hz). We observe frequency-dependent attenuation and the associated moduli dispersion in response to the drained–undrained transition (∼0.1 Hz) and squirt flow (>3 Hz), which are in fairly good agreement with the results of the corresponding analytical solutions. The comparison with very similar experiments performed also on Berea sandstone in addition shows that squirt flow can potentially be a source of wave attenuation across a wide range of frequencies because of its sensitivity to small variations in the rock microstructure, especially in the aspect ratio of micro-cracks or grain contacts.     

Comparison of Sesimic Body Wave and Coda Wave Measures of Q

—Measurements of seismic attenuation (Q ^?1) can vary considerably when made from different parts of seismograms or using different techniques, particularly at high frequencies. These discrepancies may be methodological, or may reflect earth processes. To investigate this problem, we compare body wave with coda Q ^?1 results utilizing three common techniques i) parametric fit to spectral decay, ii) coda normalization of S waves, and iii) coda amplitude decay with lapse time. Q ^?1 is measured from both body and coda waves beneath two mountain ranges and one platform, from recordings made at seismic arrays in the Caucasus and Kopet Dagh over paths ≤ 4° long. If Q is assumed frequency independent, spectral decay fits show Q _s and Q _coda near 700–800 for both mountain paths and near 2100–2200 for platform paths. Similar values are determined with the coda normalization technique. However, frequency-dependent parameterizations fit the data significantly better, with Q _s ?(1 Hz) and Q _coda?(1 Hz) near 200–300 for mountain paths and near 500–600 for platform paths. Lapse decay measurements are close to the frequency-dependent values, showing that both spectral and lapse decay methods can give similar results when Q has comparable parameterizations. Above 6 Hz, coda measurements suggest some enrichment relative to body waves, perhaps due to scattering, but intrinsic absorption appears to dominate at lower frequencies. All approaches show sharp path differences between the Eurasian platform and adjacent mountains, and all are capable of resolving spatial variations in Q.     

利用数字化地震波形资料研究山西中南部地区的非弹性衰减系数、震源参数和场地响应

利用遗传算法反演山西中南部地区14个地震震源谱的低频水平、拐角频率和7个台站的场地响应。结果表明,Q(f)与频率的关系是:Q(f)=299.4f0.563;7个基岩台中岢岚、东山、阳城台在3 Hz~6 Hz附近有6~8倍的放大、离石台在2 Hz~10 Hz有2~3倍的放大。标量地震矩M。与ML震级线性相关较好,震源半径在230 m~508 m之间;拐角频率和地震矩之间的关系表现为拐角频率随地震矩的减小而增大;应力降和地震矩之间存在着应力降随地震矩的增大而增大的关系。     

西昌地区地方震尾波衰减Q值

基于单次散射模型的尾波动功率谱分析法,利用西昌遥测台网地震波实时处理系统记录的２４个地震数字化波形资料,计算了西昌地区地球介质对应于１３个不同的ＱＣ值,在１．０－２０．０Ｈｚ频率范围内,以幂函数ＱＣ＝ＱＣｆ＾ｎ拟合ＱＣ值随的变化关系,其中Ｑ０值在４３．０－８２．４之间,ｎ值在０．２４－０．９４之间,平均值分别为６６．２和０．５３。     

Implementation of viscoelastic mud-induced energy attenuation in the third-generation wave model,SWAN

The interaction of waves with fluid mud can dissipate the wave energy significantly over few wavelengths. In this study, the third-generation wave model, SWAN, was advanced to include attenuation of wave energy due to interaction with a viscoelastic fluid mud layer. The performances of implemented viscoelastic models were verified against an analytical solution and viscous formulations for simple one-dimensional propagation cases. Stationary and non-stationary test cases in the Surinam coast and the Atchafalaya Shelf showed that the inclusion of the mud-wave interaction term in the third-generation wave model enhances the model performance in real applications. A high value of mud viscosity (of the order of 0.1 m²/s) was required in both field cases to remedy model overestimation at high frequency ranges of the wave spectrum. The use of frequency-dependent mud viscosity value improved the performance of model, especially in the frequency range of 0.2–0.35 Hz in the wave spectrum. In addition, the mud-wave interaction might affect the high frequency part of the spectrum, and this part of the wave spectrum is also affected by energy transfer from wind to waves, even for the fetch lengths of the order of 10 km. It is shown that exclusion of the wind input term in such cases might result in different values for parameters of mud layer when inverse modeling procedure was employed. Unlike viscous models for wave-mud interaction, the inverse modeling results to a set of mud parameters with the same performance when the viscoelastic model is used. It provides an opportunity to select realistic mud parameters which are in more agreement with in situ measurements.     

Stochastic finite-fault simulation of ground motion from the August 11, 2012, <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">w</Emphasis></Subscript> 6.4 Ahar earthquake,northwestern Iran

In this study, the 11 August 2012 M _w 6.4 Ahar earthquake is investigated using the ground motion simulation based on the stochastic finite-fault model. The earthquake occurred in northwestern Iran and causing extensive damage in the city of Ahar and surrounding areas. A network consisting of 58 acceleration stations recorded the earthquake within 8–217 km of the epicenter. Strong ground motion records from six significant well-recorded stations close to the epicenter have been simulated. These stations are installed in areas which experienced significant structural damage and humanity loss during the earthquake. The simulation is carried out using the dynamic corner frequency model of rupture propagation by extended fault simulation program (EXSIM). For this purpose, the propagation features of shear-wave including \( {Q}_s \) value, kappa value \( {k}_0 \), and soil amplification coefficients at each site are required. The kappa values are obtained from the slope of smoothed amplitude of Fourier spectra of acceleration at higher frequencies. The determined kappa values for vertical and horizontal components are 0.02 and 0.05 s, respectively. Furthermore, an anelastic attenuation parameter is derived from energy decay of a seismic wave by using continuous wavelet transform (CWT) for each station. The average frequency-dependent relation estimated for the region is \( Q=\left(122\pm 38\right){f}^{\left(1.40\pm 0.16\right)}. \) Moreover, the horizontal to vertical spectral ratio \( H/V \) is applied to estimate the site effects at stations. Spectral analysis of the data indicates that the best match between the observed and simulated spectra occurs for an average stress drop of 70 bars. Finally, the simulated and observed results are compared with pseudo acceleration spectra and peak ground motions. The comparison of time series spectra shows good agreement between the observed and the simulated waveforms at frequencies of engineering interest.     

Estimation of mean free path of S-waves under Beijing area by means of both intensity and decay of codas

The single back scattering model proposed by Aki is convenient due to its simplicity. This paper shows that the multiple scattering model which is an improvement upon Aki’s model also gives a very simple and successful approach to estimate the heterogeneities under a certain area. Both the intensity and the decay of codas were used to findQ-factor related to scattering. It is noted that although both the single scattering model and the multiple scattering model give quite close results, the results from the latter are more reasonable and self-consistent. This paper also suggests that whichever simplified model is used, the term of logarithm in its equation is not negligible. As an example, seismograms of local earthquakes recorded at the Beijing Regional Seismological Network were used and the averaged mean free path of S-wave under the Beijing area was obtained at frequencies around 1 Hz, is(165±104)km.     

Attenuation of coda waves and Q_c value beneath the Chengdu telemetered seismic network

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The contribution of scattering to near-surface attenuation

The rapid decrease of the acceleration spectral amplitude at high frequencies has widely been modeled by the spectral decay factor kappa (κ). Usually, the path-corrected component of κ, often called κ₀, is believed to be a local and frequency-independent site characteristic, in turn representing attenuation related to waves propagating vertically through the very shallow layers beneath the study site. Despite the known relevance of κ₀ in a wide range of seismological applications, most methods for its calculation do not fully consider the influence of the scattering component. To account for the scattering component, we present a summary of statistical observations of the seismic wavefield at sites of the Swiss seismic networks. The intrinsic properties of the wavefield show a clear dependency on the local shallow subsoil conditions with differences in the structural heterogeneity of the shallow subsoil layers producing different scattering regimes. Such deviations from the ballistic behavior (i.e., direct waves that sample only distinct directions) are indicative for local structural heterogeneities and the associated level of scatter. Albeit the attenuation term related to scattering depends nonlinearly on the intrinsic term, the results indicate that the commonly used explanation for the high-frequency decay spectrum might not be appropriate but involving the amount of scattering might allow better constrained estimates of κ₀.     

Estimation of Q p and Q s of Kinnaur Himalaya

The attenuation characteristics of the Kinnaur area of the North West Himalayas were studied using local earthquakes that occurred during 2008–2009. Most of the analyzed events are from the vicinity of the Panjal Thrust (PT) and South Tibetan Detachment Thrust, which are well-defined tectonic discontinuities in the Himalayas. The frequency-dependent attenuation of P and S waves was estimated using the extended coda normalization method. Data from 64 local earthquakes recorded at 10 broadband stations were used. The coda normalization of the spectral amplitudes of P and S waves was done at central frequencies of 1.5, 3, 6, 9, and 12 Hz. Q _p increases from about 58 at 1.5 Hz to 706 at 12 Hz, and Q _s increases from 105 at 1.5 Hz to 1,207 at 12 Hz. The results show that the quality factors for both P and S waves (Q _p and Q _s) increase as a function of frequency according to the relation Q?=?Q _o f ⁿ , where Q _o is the corresponding Q value at 1 Hz frequency and “n” is the frequency relation parameter. We obtained Q _p?=?(47?±?2)f ^(1.04±0.04) and Q _s?=?(86?±?4)f ^(0.96±0.03) by fitting power law dependency model for the estimated values of the entire study region. The Q ₀ and n values show that the region is seismically very active and the crust is highly heterogeneous. There was no systematic variation of values of Q _p and Q _s at different frequencies from one tectonic unit to another. As a consequence, average values of these parameters were obtained for each frequency for the entire region, and these were used for interpretation and for comparison with worldwide data. Q _p values lie within the range of values observed for some tectonically active regions of the world, whereas Q _s values were the lowest among the values compared for different parts of the world. Q _s/Q _p values were >1 for the entire range of frequencies studied. All these factors indicate that the crust is highly heterogeneous in the study region. The high Q _s/Q _p values also indicate that the region is partially saturated with fluids.     

Frequency dependence of long-period t*

Multi-phase long-period t* measurements are among the key evidences for the frequency-dependent mantle attenuation factor, Q. However, similarly to Q, poorly constrained variations of Earth’s structure may cause spurious frequency-dependent effects in the observed t*. By using an attenuation-coefficient approach which incorporates measurements of geometric spreading (GS), such effects can be isolated and removed. The results show that the well-known increase of body P-wave t* from ~0.2 s at short periods to ~1–2 s at long periods may be caused by a small and positive bias in the underlying GS, which is measured by a dimensionless parameter γ*?≈?0.06. Similarly to the nearly constant t* at teleseismic distances, this GS bias is practically range-independent and interpreted as caused by velocity heterogeneity within the crust and uppermost mantle. This bias is accumulated within a relatively thin upper part of the lithosphere and may be closely related to the crustal body-wave GS parameter γ?~?4–60 mHz reported earlier. After a correction for γ, P-wave t _P * becomes equal ~0.18 s at all frequencies. By using conventional dispersion relations, this value also accounts for ~40 % of the dispersion-related delay in long-period travel times. For inner-core attenuation, the attenuation coefficient shows a distinctly different increase with frequency, which is remarkably similar to that of fluid-saturated porous rock. As a general conclusion, after the GS is accounted for, no absorption-band type or frequency-dependent upper-mantle Q is required for explaining the available t* and velocity dispersion observations. The meaning of this Q is also clarified as the frequency-dependent part of the attenuation coefficient. At the same time, physically justified theories of elastic-wave attenuation within the Earth are still needed. These conclusions agree with recent re-interpretations of several surface, body and coda-wave attenuation datasets within a broad range of frequencies.     

Seismic Wave Attenuation in the Greater Cairo Region, Egypt

In the present study, a digital waveform dataset of 216 local earthquakes recorded by the Egyptian National Seismic Network (ENSN) was used to estimate the attenuation of seismic wave energy in the greater Cairo region. The quality factor and the frequency dependence for Coda waves and S-waves were estimated and clarified. The Coda waves (Q _c) and S-waves (Q _d) quality factor were estimated by applying the single scattering model and Coda Normalization method, respectively, to bandpass-filtered seismograms of frequency bands centering at 1.5, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24?Hz. Lapse time dependence was also studied for the area, with the Coda waves analyzed through four lapse time windows (10, 20, 30 and 40?s). The average quality factor as function of frequency is found to be Q _c?=?35?±?9f ^0.9±0.02 and Q _d?=?10?±?2f ^0.9±0.02 for Coda and S-waves, respectively. This behavior is usually correlated with the degree of tectonic complexity and the presence of heterogeneities at several scales. The variation of Q _c with frequency and lapse time shows that the lithosphere becomes more homogeneous with depth. In fact, by using the Coda Normalization method we obtained low Q _d values as expected for a heterogeneous and active zone. The intrinsic quality factor (Q _i ^?1 ) was separated from the scattering quality factor (Q _s ^?1 ) by applying the Multiple Lapse Time Domain Window Analysis (MLTWA) method under the assumption of multiple isotropic scattering with uniform distribution of scatters. The obtained results suggest that the contribution of the intrinsic attenuation (Q _i ^?1 ) prevails on the scattering attenuation (Q _s ^?1 ) at frequencies higher than 3?Hz.