A discussion on the amplitude ratios of PP and P waves for earthquakes with different focal mechanisms

Using the WKBJ approximation method we calculate the synthetic teleseismograms of P and PP waves to match the observed ones of six large Chinese earthquakes with known focal mechanisms: Tibet earthquake of July 14, 1973; Haicheng earthquake of February 4, 1975; Songpan earthquakes of August 16, 1976, August 21, 1976 and August 23, 1976 and Nignhe earthquake of November 15, 1976. The focal mechanism of the Tibet earthquake is discussed to examine the technique used in the calculation. We note that the amplitude ratios of PP and P waves (A _PP/A _P) have different characteristics for dip—slip events and strike—slip events within certain epicentral distances. We calculate the synthetic teleseismograms of P and PP waves for the strike—slip and dip—slip events with fault angles of 330°, 240° and 0°, focal depths of 8 km, 17 km and 24 km, at the assumed station with an azimuth of 310° and epicentral distances from 40°; to 80°. The diagrams of maximum amplitude ratios of PP and P waves (A _PP/A _P) versus distances are given. The possibility to use the (A _PP/A _P) values to give an approximate estimation for the focal mechanism type is discussed. This work may be useful for determining the focal mechanism type for those earthquakes which have only few records such as the Chinese earthquakes from the 1930s to 1960s. The Chinese version of this paper appeared in the Chinese edition ofActa Seismologica Sinica,13, 150–160, 1991.