Discrimination of earthquakes and explosions by the rayleigh-wave spectral ratio

1970 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1653-1668
Author(s):  
John S. Derr
Keyword(s):  
Rayleigh Wave ◽  
Spectral Ratio ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
Clear Separation ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Magnitude Range ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Source Mechanisms

Abstract Limited data from a long-period vertical seismometer and the prototype of a new mercury tiltmeter at the station, Harvard, Massachusetts, tend to confirm that the Rayleigh-wave spectral ratio of short- to long-period energy provides a useful discriminant for underground explosions in the Western United States at distances of from 28° to 38° in the magnitude range of 3.5 < Ms < 5.6. This corresponds to discrimination in the range of 5.0 < mb < 6.3. The same spectral ratio, however, does not discriminate the large Milrow event in the Aleutians from earthquakes in the same region, possibly because of differences in earthquake source mechanisms in different regions and because this explosion released significant tectonic strain. The Rayleigh spectral ratio complements the Mg — mb discriminant by providing a clear separation of earthquakes and explosions in some geographical regions where earthquakes are of low stress drop and generally strike-slip in mechanism.

Characteristics of long-period microtremors and their applicability in exploration of deep sedimentary layers

1994 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 1831-1841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Yamanaka ◽  
Masayuki Takemura ◽  
Hiroshi Ishida ◽  
Masanori Niwa
Keyword(s):  
Rayleigh Waves ◽  
Ground Motions ◽  
Spectral Ratio ◽  
Northwestern Part ◽  
Trial And Error ◽  
Sediment Thickness ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Subsurface Structures ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Good Agreement

Abstract Applicability of long-period microtremors in inferring subsurface structure is examined using measurements of microtremors in the northwestern part of the Kanto Plain in Japan. Short-term continuous measurements of long-period microtremors at both sediment and basement sites were taken. A spectral peak at a period of 4 to 5 sec is stable with time, while peaks at periods less than 2 sec are time variant, suggesting a variation of microtremor sources. However, it was found that the spectral ratio between vertical and horizontal microtremors (ellipticity) at each site is stable with time. Good agreement was found between ellipticities of microtremors at the sediment site and those computed for Rayleigh waves in which the structure of the sediments beneath the site was taken into account. We also found that the ellipticities of Rayleigh waves in earthquake ground motions were consistent with those of the microtremors. These comparisons provide strong evidence that long-period microtremors in the area studied consist mainly of Rayleigh waves. The ellipticity of microtremors was investigated by observing microtremors at temporary observation sites in the Kanto Plain where the sediment thickness varied from 0 to 1 km. The subsurface structures were deduced by trial-and-error fitting of observed ellipticities with theoretical ellipticities that were calculated assuming Rayleigh waves. These results show that ellipticity of long-period microtremors is effective for deducing structure from microtremor data at a single site.

An automated Rayleigh-wave detection algorithm

1997 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-163
Author(s):  
Eric P. Chael
Keyword(s):  
Rayleigh Wave ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Detection Algorithm ◽  
Arrival Times ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Wave Detection ◽  
Linearly Polarized ◽  
Automated Data Processing ◽  
Component Wave ◽  
Elliptically Polarized

Abstract The desire to operate denser networks in order to monitor seismic activity at lower thresholds leads to greater emphasis on automated data processing. An algorithm for detecting and characterizing long-period Rayleigh-wave arrivals has been developed and tested. The routine continuously monitors all directions of approach to a station, in a manner similar to beamforming. The detector is based on cross-powers between the Hilbert-transformed vertical and rotated horizontal signals, so it is sensitive to both the power and polarization properties of the three-component wave field. Elliptically polarized Rayleigh arrivals are enhanced, while linearly polarized Love waves and body phases are suppressed. A test using one month of data from station ANMO demonstrated that this technique can, with high reliability, detect Rayleigh arrivals that are visible on the records. The measured arrival times and azimuths are accurate enough to permit automated association of the detections to events in a bulletin.

Evidence of tectonic release from underground nuclear explosions in long-period P waves

1983 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 593-613
Author(s):  
Terry C. Wallace ◽  
Donald V. Helmberger ◽  
Gladys R. Engen
Keyword(s):  
Upper Mantle ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Body Waves ◽  
Release Time ◽  
P Waves ◽  
Underground Nuclear Explosions ◽  
Nuclear Explosions ◽  
Long Period

abstract In this paper, we study the long-period body waves at regional and upper mantle distances from large underground nuclear explosions at Pahute Mesa, Nevada Test Site. A comparison of the seismic records from neighboring explosions shows that the more recent events have much simpler waveforms than those of the earlier events. In fact, many of the early events produced waveforms which are very similar to those produced by shallow, moderate-size, strike-slip earthquakes; the phase sP is particularly obvious. The waveforms of these explosions can be modeled by assuming that the explosion is accompanied by tectonic release represented by a double couple. A clear example of this phenomenon is provided by a comparison of GREELEY (1966) and KASSERI (1975). These events are of similar yields and were detonated within 2 km of each other. The GREELEY records can be matched by simply adding synthetic waveforms appropriate for a shallow strike-slip earthquake to the KASSERI observations. The tectonic release for GREELEY has a moment of 5 ՠ1024 dyne-cm and is striking approximately 340°. The identification of the sP phase at upper mantle distances indicates that the source depth is 4 km or less. The tectonic release time function has a short duration (less than 1 sec). A comparison of these results with well-studied strike-slip earthquakes on the west coast and eastern Nevada indicate that, if tectonic release is triggered fault motion, then the tectonic release is relatively high stress drop, on the order of several hundred bars. It is possible to reduce these stress drops by a factor of 2 if the tectonic release is a driven fault; i.e., rupturing with the P velocity. The region in which the stress is released for a megaton event has a radius of about 4 km. Pahute Mesa events which are detonated within this radius of a previous explosion have a substantially reduced tectonic release.

scholarly journals Is the Eastern Denali fault still active?

Geology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minhee Choi ◽  
David W. Eaton ◽  
Eva Enkelmann
Keyword(s):  
Bering Sea ◽  
Active Fault ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Historical Seismicity ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Denali Fault ◽  
Regional Deformation ◽  
Source Mechanisms ◽  
Structural Boundary ◽  
The Bering Sea

The Denali fault, a transcurrent fault system that extends from northwestern Canada across Alaska toward the Bering Sea, is partitioned into segments that exhibit variable levels of historical seismicity. A pair of earthquakes (M 6.2 and 6.3) on 1 May 2017, in proximity to the Eastern Denali fault (EDF), exhibited source mechanisms and stress conditions inconsistent with expectations for strike-slip fault activation. Precise relocation of ~1500 aftershocks revealed distinct fault strands that are oblique to the EDF. Calculated patterns of Coulomb stress show that the first earthquake likely triggered the second one. The EDF parallels the Fairweather transform, which separates the obliquely colliding Yakutat microplate from North America. In our model, inboard transfer of stress is deforming and shortening the mountainous region between the EDF and the Fairweather transform. This is supported by historical seismicity concentrated southwest of the EDF, suggesting that it now represents a structural boundary that controls regional deformation but is no longer an active fault.

scholarly journals Characteristics of local earthquake seismograms of varying dislocation sources in a stratified upper crust and modeling for P and S velocity structure: comparison with observations in the Koyna-Warna region, India

2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
V. G. Krishna
Keyword(s):  
Velocity Structure ◽  
Source Parameters ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Synthetic Seismograms ◽  
Structure Comparison ◽  
Earthquake Sources ◽  
Crustal Velocity ◽  
Source Mechanisms ◽  
Local Earthquake

<p>Vertical component record sections of local earthquake seismograms from a state-of-the-art Koyna-Warna digital seismograph network are assembled in the reduced time versus epicentral distance frame, similar to those obtained in seismic refraction profiling. The record sections obtained for an average source depth display the processed seismograms from nearly equal source depths with similar source mechanisms and recorded in a narrow azimuth range, illuminating the upper crustal P and S velocity structure in the region. Further, the seismogram characteristics of the local earthquake sources are found to vary significantly for different source mechanisms and the amplitude variations exceed those due to velocity model stratification. In the present study a large number of reflectivity synthetic seismograms are obtained in near offset ranges for a stratified upper crustal model having sharp discontinuities with 7%-10% velocity contrasts. The synthetics are obtained for different source regimes (e.g., strike-slip, normal, reverse) and different sets of source parameters (strike, dip, and rake) within each regime. Seismogram sections with dominantly strike-slip mechanism are found to be clearly favorable in revealing the velocity stratification for both P and S waves. In contrast the seismogram sections for earthquakes of other source mechanisms seem to display the upper crustal P phases poorly with low amplitudes even in presence of sharp discontinuities of high velocity contrasts. The observed seismogram sections illustrated here for the earthquake sources with strike-slip and normal mechanisms from the Koyna-Warna seismic region substantiate these findings. Travel times and reflectivity synthetic seismograms are used for 1-D modeling of the observed virtual source local earthquake seismogram sections and inferring the upper crustal velocity structure in the Koyna-Warna region. Significantly, the inferred upper crustal velocity model in the region reproduces the synthetic seismograms comparable to the observed sections for earthquake sources with differing mechanisms in the Koyna and Warna regions.</p>

scholarly journals Long-period mechanism of the 8 November 1980 Eureka, California, earthquake

1982 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 439-456
Author(s):  
Thorne Lay ◽  
Jeffrey W. Given ◽  
Hiroo Kanamori
Keyword(s):  
Point Source ◽  
Seismic Moment ◽  
Moment Tensor ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Waves ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Amplitude Data ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Scalar Moment

Abstract The seismic moment and source orientation of the 8 November 1980 Eureka, California, earthquake (Ms = 7.2) are determined using long-period surface and body wave data obtained from the SRO, ASRO, and IDA networks. The favorable azimuthal distribution of the recording stations allows a well-constrained mechanism to be determined by a simultaneous moment tensor inversion of the Love and Rayleigh wave observations. The shallow depth of the event precludes determination of the full moment tensor, but constraining Mzx = Mzy = 0 and using a point source at 16-km depth gives a major double couple for period T = 256 sec with scalar moment M0 = 1.1 · 1027 dyne-cm and a left-lateral vertical strike-slip orientation trending N48.2°E. The choice of fault planes is made on the basis of the aftershock distribution. This solution is insensitive to the depth of the point source for depths less than 33 km. Using the moment tensor solution as a starting model, the Rayleigh and Love wave amplitude data alone are inverted in order to fine-tune the solution. This results in a slightly larger scalar moment of 1.28 · 1027 dyne-cm, but insignificant (&lt;5°) changes in strike and dip. The rake is not well enough resolved to indicate significant variation from the pure strike-slip solution. Additional amplitude inversions of the surface waves at periods ranging from 75 to 512 sec yield a moment estimate of 1.3 ± 0.2 · 1027 dyne-cm, and a similar strike-slip fault orientation. The long-period P and SH waves recorded at SRO and ASRO stations are utilized to determine the seismic moment for 15- to 30-sec periods. A deconvolution algorithm developed by Kikuchi and Kanamori (1982) is used to determine the time function for the first 180 sec of the P and SH signals. The SH data are more stable and indicate a complex bilateral rupture with at least four subevents. The dominant first subevent has a moment of 6.4 · 1026 dyne-cm. Summing the moment of this and the next three subevents, all of which occur in the first 80 sec of rupture, yields a moment of 1.3 · 1027 dyne-cm. Thus, when the multiple source character of the body waves is taken into account, the seismic moment for the Eureka event throughout the period range 15 to 500 sec is 1.3 ± 0.2 · 1027 dyne-cm.

Sp phases from the transition zone between the upper and lower mantle

1980 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-508
Author(s):  
Sonja Faber ◽  
Gerhard MÜller
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Transition Zone ◽  
Lower Mantle ◽  
The United States ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Nodal Plane ◽  
Transition Zones ◽  
Velocity Models ◽  
Long Period

abstract Precursors to S and SKS were observed in long-period SRO and WWSSN seismograms of the Romanian earthquake of March 4, 1977, recorded in the United States at distances from 68° to 93°. According to the fault-plane solution, the stations were close to a nodal plane and SV radiation was optimum in their direction. Particle-motion diagrams, constructed from the digital data of the SRO station ANMO (distance 89.1°), show the P-wave character of the precursors. Several interpretations are discussed; the most plausible is that the precursors are Sp phases generated by conversion from S to P below the station. The travel-time differences between S or SKS and Sp are about 60 sec and indicate conversion in the transition zone between the upper and lower mantle. Sp conversions were also observed at long-period WWSSN stations in the western United States for 2 Tonga-Fiji deep-focus earthquakes (distances from 82° to 96°). Special emphasis is given in this paper to the calculation of theoretical seismograms, both for Sp precursors and the P-wave coda, including high-order multiples such as sP4 which may arrive simultaneously with Sp. The Sp calculations show: (1) the conversions produced by S, ScS, and SKS at interfaces or transition zones between the upper and lower mantle form a complicated interference pattern, and (2) conversion at transition zones is less effective than at first-order discontinuities only if their thickness is greater than about half a wavelength of S waves. As a consequence, details of the velocity structure between the upper and lower mantle can only be determined within these limits from long-period Sp observations. Our observations are compatible with velocity models having pronounced transition zones at depths of 400 and 670 km as have been proposed for the western United States, and they exclude much smoother structures. Our study suggests that long-period Sp precursors from pure thrust or normal-fault earthquakes, observed at distances from 70° to 95° close to a nodal plane and at azimuths roughly perpendicular to its strike, offer a simple means for qualitative mapping of the sharpness of the transition zones between the upper and lower mantle.

Continuous measurements of microtremors on sediments and basement in Los Angeles, California

1993 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 1595-1609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Yamanaka ◽  
Marijan Dravinski ◽  
Hiroshi Kagami
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Continuous Measurement ◽  
Strong Motion ◽  
Spectral Ratio ◽  
Earthquake Ground Motion ◽  
Spectral Amplitude ◽  
Spectral Ratios ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Deep Sediments

Abstract Continuous measurement of microtremors at two sites on basement rock and sediments was carried out in Los Angeles, California, in order to understand the fundamental characteristics of microtremors. A predominant peak with a period of about 6.5 sec was found in the microtremor spectra in both media. The spectral amplitude of the peaks varied gradually with time in a similar manner at the two sites. Their time-variant characteristics are in agreement with change in oceanic swell height observed at an oceanic buoy in the southwest of Los Angeles. This suggests that they originate from an oceanic disturbance. On the other hand, a clear daily variation of spectral amplitudes at a period of 0.3 sec indicates that short-period microtremors are caused by cultural noises. It was found that the spectral ratio of long-period microtremors between the basement and the sediments was repeatable, although the spectral amplitudes at the two sites were time-variant. The spectral ratio of the long-period microtremors was similar to that derived from strong motion records. This suggests the applicability of spectral ratios of microtremors to assess the effects of deep sediments on long-period earthquake ground motion.

Estimation of horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (ellipticity) of Rayleigh waves from multistation active-seismic records

Geophysics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. EN81-EN92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binbin Mi ◽  
Yue Hu ◽  
Jianghai Xia ◽  
Laura Valentina Socco
Keyword(s):  
Rayleigh Wave ◽  
Rayleigh Waves ◽  
Spectral Ratio ◽  
Lateral Velocity ◽  
Mode Separation ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Single Station ◽  
Seismic Records ◽  
Hvsr Technique ◽  
Multicomponent Data

The horizontal-to-vertical spectral-ratio (HVSR) analysis of ambient noise recordings is a popular reconnaissance tool used worldwide for seismic microzonation and earthquake site characterization. We have expanded this single-station passive HVSR technique to active multicomponent data. We focus on the calculation of the HVSR of Rayleigh waves from active-seismic records. We separate different modes of Rayleigh waves in seismic dispersion spectra and then estimate the HVSR for the fundamental mode. The mode separation is implemented in the frequency-phase velocity ([Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text]) domain through the high-resolution linear Radon transformation. The estimated Rayleigh-wave HVSR curve after mode separation is consistent with the theoretical HVSR curve, which is computed by solving the Rayleigh-wave eigenproblem in the laterally homogeneous layered medium. We find that the HVSR peak and trough frequencies are very sensitive to velocity contrast and interface depth and that HVSR curves contain information on lateral velocity variations. Using synthetic and field data, we determine the validity of estimating active Rayleigh-wave HVSR after mode separation. Our approach can be a viable and more accurate alternative to the empirical HVSR analysis method and brings a novel approach for the analysis of active multicomponent seismic data.

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