A numerical method to determine physical source parameters from free oscillation data

A method to determine physical source parameter using free oscillation data is presented. It is assumed that the geometry of the source is known, e.g. from P -wave data. The source is assumed to propagate in the horizontal direction, while unknown parameters to be determined are the azimuth and velocity of propagation, the distance over which the seismic source propagated and the source intensity as a function of propagation distance.
The method consists in the systematic search for the set of source parameters rendering phase corrections which maximize the spectral peak amplitudes within the excitation criterion scheme.
If there is no precursive motion, the average dislocation time function can be determined from the spectrum of the seismic moment and the space source intensity. The source intensity as a function of instantaneous source location is found independently of the P -wave origin time and source dislocation time function. The method does not require to correct the data for attenuation.