The Sharpsburg, Kentucky, earthquake of 27 July 1980

1982 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 1219-1239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert B. Herrmann ◽  
Charles A. Langston ◽  
James E. Zollweg
Keyword(s):  
Surface Wave ◽  
Focal Mechanism ◽  
Seismic Moment ◽  
Wave Solution ◽  
Focal Depth ◽  
The United States ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Nodal Plane ◽  
Epicentral Zone ◽  
Short Period

abstract The Sharpsburg, Kentucky, earthquake was the second largest earthquake to have occurred in the United States, east of the Continental Divide, in the past 20 yr, having a seismic moment of 4.1 × 1023 dyne-cm. A surface-wave focal mechanism study defines a nodal plane striking N30°E, dipping 50°SE, and a nearly vertical nodal plane striking N60°W. P-wave first motion data indicate right-lateral motion on the nodal plane striking N30°E, with the pressure axes oriented east-west. These angles can be varied by ±10° without affecting the fit to the surface-wave data. The surface-wave solution is reinforced by a modeling of long-period seismograms at regional distances. The P, pP, and sP polarities and amplitudes from the short-period vertical component array stack at NORSAR are used together with six unambiguous short-period P-wave first motions recorded in North America to test whether it is possible to constrain focal mechanism solutions with such data. These solutions are compatible with the surface-wave solution. Waveform modeling of the NORSAR data suggests a source pulse duration of 1.0 sec and constrains the depth to 12.0 km. To match mb estimates from NORSAR and Canadian stations, t*, for teleseismic P, must be 0.7 and 0.5, respectively, when the synthetics are scaled using the surface-wave seismic moment. In spite of extensive coverage of the epicentral zone, fewer than 70 aftershocks were recorded. The largest aftershock and an mbLg = 2.2. Aftershock locations suggest that the nodal plane striking N30°E is the fault plane. An aftershock area of 30 to 50 km2 implies a stress drop of 2.8 to 6 bars and a dislocation of 2.0 to 3.4 cm. Because of the variety of studies performed, this earthquake is presently the best-studied eastern North American seismic event with well-constrained estimates of focal depth, focal mechanism and seismic moment, and indications of the duration of the source time function and upper mantle P-wave t*.

scholarly journals The comparative analysis of 2018 Alaska earthquakes from surface wave records

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-84
Author(s):  
Anastasiya Fomochkina ◽  
Boris Bukchin
Keyword(s):  
Surface Wave ◽  
Focal Mechanism ◽  
Seismic Moment ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Seismic Source ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Wave Spectra ◽  
Earthquake Intensity ◽  
Second Moments ◽  
First Arrival

We consider the source of an earthquake in an approximation of instant point shift dislocation. Such a source is given by its depth, the focal mechanism determined by three angles (strike, dip, and slip), and the seismic moment characterizing the earthquake intensity. We determine the source depth and focal mechanism by a systematic exploration of 4D parametric space, and seismic moment - by solving the problem of minimization of the misfit between observed and calculated surface wave spectra for every combination of all other parameters. As is well known, the focal mechanism cannot be uniquely determined from the surface wave’s amplitude spectra only. We used P-wave first arrival polarities to select the optimal solution. Ana-lyzing the surface wave spectra at shorter periods, we describe the source in an approximation of the stress glut second moments. Using these moments we determine integral estimates of the geometry, the duration of the seismic source, and rupture propagation. The results of the application of this technique for two Alaska earthquakes that occurred in 2018 (with Mw7.9 in January and with Mw7.1 in November) are presented. The possibility of the fault plane identification, which based on the obtained estimates of the focal mechanisms and second mo-ments, is analyzed for both events. Bilateral model of the source is constructed.

Surface-wave magnitudes of Eurasian earthquakes and explosions

1975 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 693-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otto W. Nuttli ◽  
So Gu Kim
Keyword(s):  
Surface Wave ◽  
Focal Mechanism ◽  
Rayleigh Waves ◽  
Body Wave ◽  
Focal Depth ◽  
Vertical Component ◽  
P Waves ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Continental Interior

abstract Body-wave magnitudes, mb, and surface-wave magnitudes, MS, were determined for approximately 100 Eurasian events which occurred during the interval August through December 1971. Body-wave magnitudes were determined from 1-sec P waves recorded by WWSSN short-period, vertical-component seismographs at epicentral distances greater than 25°. Surface-wave magnitudes were determined from 20-sec Rayleigh waves recorded by long-period, vertical-component WWSSN and VLPE seismographs. The earthquakes had mb values ranging from 3.6 to 5.7. Of 96 presumed earthquakes studied, 6 lie in or near the explosion portion of an mb:MS plot. The explosion mb:MS curve was obtained from seven Eurasian events which had mb values ranging from 5.0 to 6.2 and MS values from 3.2 to 5.1. All six anomalous earthquakes were located in the interior of Asia, in Tibet, and in Szechwan and Sinkiang provinces of China. In general, oceanmargin earthquakes were found to have more earthquake-like mb:MS values than those occurring in the continental interior. Neither focal depth nor focal mechanism can explain the anomalous events.

Spectral and magnitude characteristics of anomalous Eurasian earthquakes

1977 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 463-478
Author(s):  
So Gu Kim ◽  
Otto W. Nuttli
Keyword(s):  
Focal Mechanism ◽  
Rayleigh Waves ◽  
Main Shock ◽  
Focal Depth ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Wave Spectra ◽  
P Waves ◽  
Aftershock Sequences ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Amplitude Spectra

Abstract A number of main shock-aftershock sequences in the Eurasian interior contain some aftershocks whose mb:MS values are close to those of underground explosions. This paper is concerned with a study of the amplitude spectra of the P waves and Rayleigh waves for earthquakes of those main shock-aftershock sequences. It is found that for any given sequence studied, there is little if any variation in focal depth or focal mechanism. This rules out variations in these quantities as being the cause of anomalous mb:MS values. A study of the P-wave spectra establishes that one or both of the corner periods of anomalous earthquakes are smaller than those of non-anomalous earthquakes of the same moment. Thus the cause of anomalous mb:MS values of the earthquakes studied is a relative enrichment of the short-period portion of the spectrum of the anomalous events, which cannot be attributed to focal depth or focal mechanism.

Inversion of regional surface-wave spectra for source parameters of aftershocks from the Loma Prieta earthquake

1991 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 1726-1736
Author(s):  
Susan L. Beck ◽  
Howard J. Patton
Keyword(s):  
Surface Wave ◽  
Surface Waves ◽  
Focal Mechanism ◽  
Source Parameters ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Focal Mechanisms ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Wave Spectra ◽  
Short Period ◽  
First Motion

Abstract Surface waves recorded at regional distances are used to study the source parameters for three of the larger aftershocks of the 18 October 1989, Loma Prieta, California, earthquake. The short-period P-wave first-motion focal mechanisms indicate a complex aftershock sequence with a wide variety of mechanisms. Many of these events are too small for teleseismic body-wave analysis; therefore, the regional surface-waves provide important long-period information on the source parameters. Intermediate-period Rayleigh- and Love-wave spectra are inverted for the seismic moment tensor elements at a fixed depth and repeated for different depths to find the source depth that gives the best fit to the observed spectra. For the aftershock on 19 October at 10:14:35 (md = 4.2), we find a strike-slip focal mechanism with right lateral motion on a NW-trending vertical fault consistent with the mapped trace of the local faults. For the aftershock on 18 October at 10:22:04 (md = 4.4), the surface waves indicate a pure reverse fault with the nodal planes striking WNW. For the aftershock on 19 October at 09:53:50 (md = 4.4), the surface waves indicate a strike-slip focal mechanism with a NW-trending vertical nodal plane consistent with the local strike of the San Andreas fault. Differences between the surface-wave focal mechanisms and the short-period P-wave first-motion mechanisms are observed for the aftershocks analyzed. This discrepancy may reflect the real variations due to differences in the band width of the two observations. However, the differences may also be due to (1) errors in the first-motion mechanism due to incorrect near-source velocity structure and (2) errors in the surface-wave mechanisms due to inadequate propagation path corrections.

The North Gower, Ontario, Earthquake of 11 October 1983: Focal Mechanism and Aftershocks

1987 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 65-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rutger Wahlstreöm
Keyword(s):  
Focal Mechanism ◽  
Fault Plane ◽  
Focal Depth ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Focal Mechanism Solution ◽  
Nodal Plane ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Stress Regime ◽  
Motion Data ◽  
The North

Abstract An earthquake near Ottawa (45.20°N, 75.75°W, focal depth 12 km) of unusually large size for the region's seisrhicity (mb(Lg) = 4.1) provided good P-wave first-motion data for a focal-mechanism solution. The maximum intensity was V(MM) and the area of perceptibility in Canada about 80,000 km2. The first and largest recorded aftershock occurred nine minutes after the main shock with magnitude mb(Lg) = 1.7. Two further small aftershocks ware recorded by a field network. The mechanism is thrust faulting with a predominantly horizontal pressure axis trending 154°. Thrust mechanisms have been found for other earthquakes in southeastern Canada and the northeastern U.S., but orientations of their stress axes are different, and so the North Gower earthquake may reflect a local and not a regional stress field. The nodal planes have strike 71°, dip 75°, and strike 221°, dip 17°. The spatial distribution of aftershocks suggests the gently-dipping nodal plane could be the fault plane. There is uncertainty about the seismotectonics of the region, and the orientation of neither nodal plane correlates with known geological features. More earthquake fault-plane solutions are required to interpret the seismotectonics and the stress regime.

Effects of centroid location on determination of earthquake mechanisms using long-period surface waves

1990 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 1205-1231
Author(s):  
Jiajun Zhang ◽  
Thorne Lay
Keyword(s):  
Surface Wave ◽  
Rayleigh Waves ◽  
Body Wave ◽  
Moment Tensor ◽  
Source Location ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Nodal Plane ◽  
Wave Source ◽  
Long Period

Abstract Determination of shallow earthquake source mechanisms by inversion of long-period (150 to 300 sec) Rayleigh waves requires epicentral locations with greater accuracy than that provided by routine source locations of the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) and International Seismological Centre (ISC). The effects of epicentral mislocation on such inversions are examined using synthetic calculations as well as actual data for three large Mexican earthquakes. For Rayleigh waves of 150-sec period, an epicentral mislocation of 30 km introduces observed source spectra phase errors of 0.6 radian for stations at opposing azimuths along the source mislocation vector. This is larger than the 0.5-radian azimuthal variation of the phase spectra at the same period for a thrust fault with 15° dip and 24-km depth. The typical landward mislocation of routinely determined epicenters of shallow subduction zone earthquakes causes source moment tensor inversions of long-period Rayleigh waves to predict larger fault dip than indicated by teleseismic P-wave first-motion data. For dip-slip earthquakes, inversions of long-period Rayleigh waves that use an erroneous source location in the down-dip or along-strike directions of a nodal plane, overestimate the strike, dip, and slip of that nodal plane. Inversions of strike-slip earthquakes that utilize an erroneous location along the strike of a nodal plane overestimate the slip of that nodal plane, causing the second nodal plane to dip incorrectly in the direction opposite to the mislocation vector. The effects of epicentral mislocation for earthquakes with 45° dip-slip fault mechanisms are more severe than for events with other fault mechanisms. Existing earth model propagation corrections do not appear to be sufficiently accurate to routinely determine the optimal surface-wave source location without constraints from body-wave information, unless extensive direct path (R1) data are available or empirical path calibrations are performed. However, independent surface-wave and body-wave solutions can be remarkably consistent when the effects of epicentral mislocation are accounted for. This will allow simultaneous unconstrained body-wave and surface-wave inversions to be performed despite the well known difficulties of extracting the complete moment tensor of shallow sources from fundamental modes.

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.

Source mechanism of the Truckee, California, earthquake of September 12 1966

1970 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 1199-1208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Ben Tsai ◽  
Keiiti Aki
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Moment ◽  
Additional Data ◽  
Focal Depth ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Travel Time Data ◽  
Amplitude Spectra ◽  
Plane Solution ◽  
Minimum Estimate

abstract With additional data on P wave polarities, the existing fault plane solution for the Truckee, California, earthquake of September 12 1966 (Ryall, Van Wormer and Jones, 1968) is revised to have the following strike and dip angles for its nodal planes: Strike Dip Plane A N 44°E 80°SE Plane B N 134°E 90° Nodal plane A is shown to agree very well with the aftershock zone determined by Greensfelder (1968). The observed Rayleigh and Love wave amplitude spectra from four WWSSN stations in the eastern United States are consistent with the revised solution, but not with the original one by Ryall et al. From these data, the focal depth and seismic moment of the earthquake are determined as 10 km and 0.83 × 1025 dyne-cm, respectively. The focal depth so obtained is the same as that determined from the near station travel time data by Ryall et al. The seismic moment is used to give a minimum estimate of about 30 cm for the average dislocation of the fault.

Source mechanism of two 1994 intermediate-depth-focus earthquakes in Guerrero, Mexico

1999 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 1004-1018
Author(s):  
Luis Quintanar ◽  
J. Yamamoto ◽  
Z. Jiménez
Keyword(s):  
Focal Mechanism ◽  
Seismic Moment ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Focal Mechanism Solution ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Small Contribution ◽  
Normal Faulting ◽  
Intermediate Depth ◽  
Double Couple ◽  
First Motion

Abstract In May and December 1994, two medium-size, intermediate-depth-focus earthquakes occurred in Guerrero, Mexico, eastward of the rupture area of the great Michoacan earthquake of September 19, 1985. Even though these are not major earthquakes (∼6.4 Mw), they were widely felt through central and southern Mexico, with minor damage at Zihuatanejo and Acapulco, located along the Pacific coast, and Mexico City. Both earthquakes, separated by ∼100 km, have similar focal depths and magnitudes, however, their focal mechanisms, based upon the polarities of first arrivals, show some differences. The May earthquake shows a clear normal faulting mechanism (φ = 307°, δ = 55°, λ = −108°), whereas the December earthquake mechanism solution suggests an initial thrust faulting (φ = 313°, δ = 62°, λ = 98°) process. Although previous analysis, including local and teleseismic stations, reported a normal faulting for the December earthquake, we find that modeling using the CMT focal mechanism solution fails to reproduce the first 5 sec of the observed P-wave signal at the nearest broadband station (Δ = 168 km) and the S-wave polarity at two strong ground-motion local stations (Δ = 32, 53 km); in fact, the best fit for these stations is obtained using the thrust focal mechanism calculated from the first-motion method. Seismic moment value and rupture duration time deduced from the teleseismic spectral analysis are: 2.0 × 1018 N-m and 6.9 sec for the May event; 2.8 × 1018 N-m and 7.1 sec for the December earthquake. From the inferred seismic moment, an average Δσ of ∼15 bars for both earthquakes is obtained. Inversion of teleseismic P-wave data indicates a better fit using the CMT focal mechanism solution (normal faulting) than the first-motion mechanism for both earthquakes, although the adjustment's differences are small for the May event; for this earthquake, the rupture consisted of two sources separated by ∼7 sec, starting at a depth of ∼40 km and then propagating downdip, reaching a depth of ∼60 km. The December earthquake however, released, all its energy at a depth of 50 km in two main sources separated by ∼10 sec. The non-double-couple components values are −0.004 and −0.01 for the May and December events, respectively, indicating that the December shock has a small contribution of non-double-couple radiation that could be the result of a changing mechanism. This result agrees with the hypothesis that a slab subducting at a shallower angle (our case) is associated with the existence of random subfaults with different fault orientations. From a tectonic point of view, the complexity of the December earthquake could be the result of the observed complexity of the stress distribution around 101°W and the existence of compressional events beneath the normal faulting earthquakes near the coastline. This feature permits the flexural stresses associated to the slab bending upward to become subhorizontal at the Guerrero region. We conclude that the May earthquake corresponds to a pure normal faulting, whereas the December shock is a complex event with a variable fault geometry.

The 4.6 mb,Lg Northeastern Kentucky Earthquake of September 7, 1988

1993 ◽  
Vol 64 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 187-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Street ◽  
K. Taylor ◽  
D. Jones ◽  
J. Harris ◽  
G. Steiner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Wave ◽  
Seismic Moment ◽  
Wave Amplitude ◽  
Linear Trend ◽  
Source Parameters ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Source Depth ◽  
Nodal Plane ◽  
Amplitude Spectra ◽  
Conjugate Fault

Abstract Source parameters for the September 7, 1988 northeastern Kentucky earthquake have been estimated from the analysis of surface-wave amplitude spectra. The source that best fits the observed data had a seismic moment of 2.0 × 1022 dyne-cm, a mechanism with strike = 198° ± 10°, dip = 51° ± 11°, and slip = −178° ± 17°, (T) trend = 160°, plunge = 25°, (P) trend = 55°, plunge = 28°, and source depth of 4 to 7 km. Thirty-two aftershocks were recorded during 2 weeks of monitoring following the mainshock; 23 of the aftershocks were locatable and fall on a roughly NW-SE linear trend. This trend is subparallel with the NW-SE nodal plane of the mainshock. Our analysis shows the 1988 event to be different from the July 27, 1980 mb,Lg = 5.3 earthquake located 11 km to the northwest. First, the 1988 event is considerably shallower (4 to 7 km) than the 1980 event (14 to 22 km). Second, data from the 1988 event suggest the motion is on a conjugate fault and is in contrast with the 1980 event, which had right-lateral strike-slip on a southeast-dipping plane.

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