The ISC MS dataset for shallow earthquakes since 1904

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
International Seismological Centre
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Earthquakes

Seismic moment catalog of large shallow earthquakes, 1900 to 1989

1992 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 1306-1349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier F. Pacheco ◽  
Lynn R. Sykes
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Moment ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
B Value ◽  
Reference List ◽  
Transform Faults ◽  
Shallow Earthquakes ◽  
Seismicity Rates ◽  
Chile Earthquake ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Earthquake Process

Abstract We compile a worldwide catalog of shallow (depth < 70 km) and large (Ms ≥ 7) earthquakes recorded between 1900 and 1989. The catalog is shown to be complete and uniform at the 20-sec surface-wave magnitude Ms ≥ 7.0. We base our catalog on those of Abe (1981, 1984) and Abe and Noguchi (1983a, b) for events with Ms ≥ 7.0. Those catalogs, however, are not homogeneous in seismicity rates for the entire 90-year period. We assume that global rates of seismicity are constant on a time scale of decades and most inhomogeneities arise from changes in instrumentation and/or reporting. We correct the magnitudes to produce a homogeneous catalog. The catalog is accompanied by a reference list for all the events with seismic moment determined at periods longer than 20 sec. Using these seismic moments for great and giant earthquakes and a moment-magnitude relationship for smaller events, we produce a seismic moment catalog for large earthquakes from 1900 to 1989. The catalog is used to study the distribution of moment released worldwide. Although we assumed a constant rate of seismicity on a global basis, the rate of moment release has not been constant for the 90-year period because the latter is dominated by the few largest earthquakes. We find that the seismic moment released at subduction zones during this century constitutes 90% of all the moment released by large, shallow earthquakes on a global basis. The seismic moment released in the largest event that occurred during this century, the 1960 southern Chile earthquake, represents about 30 to 45% of the total moment released from 1900 through 1989. A frequency-size distribution of earthquakes with seismic moment yields an average slope (b value) that changes from 1.04 for magnitudes between 7.0 and 7.5 to b = 1.51 for magnitudes between 7.6 and 8.0. This change in the b value is attributed to different scaling relationships between bounded (large) and unbounded (small) earthquakes. Thus, the earthquake process does have a characteristic length scale that is set by the downdip width over which rupture in earthquakes can occur. That width is typically greater for thrust events at subduction zones than for earthquakes along transform faults and other tectonic environments.

scholarly journals Amplitudes of surface waves and magnitudes of shallow earthquakes*

1945 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-12
Author(s):  
B. Gutenberg
Keyword(s):  
Absorption Coefficient ◽  
Surface Waves ◽  
Epicentral Distance ◽  
Pacific Basin ◽  
Depth Of Focus ◽  
Intermediate Depth ◽  
Station Corrections ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Shallow Earthquakes

Summary. A study of amplitudes of surface waves having periods of about 20 seconds is employed to improve the calculation of magnitudes of distant shallow earthquakes. Table 3 gives station corrections; table 4, revised figures for the effect of epicentral distance. It is found that for epicentral distances between about 20° and 175° the average observed amplitudes correspond closely to those calculated with an absorption coefficient k = 0.0003 per km. For paths completely outside or inside the Pacific Basin, k = 0.0002± per km., while for paths tangent to its boundary the amplitudes of surface waves with periods of about 20 seconds may be reduced by two-thirds or more (in extreme cases by almost nine-tenths) through reflection or refraction of energy; such seismograms of shallow shocks may be taken as indicating intermediate depth of focus.

scholarly journals Amplitudes of P, PP, and S and magnitude of shallow earthquakes*

1945 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-69
Author(s):  
B. Gutenberg
Keyword(s):  
Absorption Coefficient ◽  
Shallow Earthquake ◽  
Transverse Waves ◽  
Longitudinal Waves ◽  
Longitudinal And Transverse Waves ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Shallow Earthquakes

Summary It is found that the absorption coefficient for longitudinal and transverse waves in the mantle of the earth as well as for longitudinal waves through the core is 0.00012 per km. In the average shallow earthquake about equal amounts of energy go into longitudinal and transverse waves. Equation (18), together with tables 2 and 4, permits the calculation of the magnitude of a shallow earthquake from the amplitudes of P, PP, or S.

Spatial and temporal clustering of deep and shallow earthquakes in the Fiji-Tonga-Kermadec region

1967 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 935-958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan L. Isacks ◽  
Lynn R. Sykes ◽  
Jack Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Wave Propagation ◽  
Linear Feature ◽  
Space And Time ◽  
Deep Earthquakes ◽  
Shallow Earthquakes ◽  
Aftershock Sequences ◽  
Double Couple ◽  
In Series ◽  
Deep Focus ◽  
Distribution Of Stress

abstract A study of the tendency of deep and shallow earthquakes in the Fiji-Tonga-Kermadec region to cluster in space and time revealed that (a) in general, deep earthquakes do not form either aftershock sequences of swarms of the types commonly observed in series of shallow shocks throughout the world; (b) a small percentage of the deep earthquakes cluster in the form of multiplets, i.e., small numbers of events closely grouped in space and time; and (c) during the 7-year interval studied, clustering of the shallow events in the Kermadec region was markedly greater than that of shallow events in the Tongan region; clustering of shallow events in the Tongan area was, in turn, greater than that of the deep shocks in the Fijian region. The data provide new constraints for hypotheses of focal mechanisms. Most deep multiplets were doublets, and in no case were more than 12 events observed per multiplet. Resolution of the analysis was sufficient to show that, in the case of at least one multiplet, separation between events was smaller than 2 km, but that in other cases it was larger than 5 km. Separations between events in time were sometimes smaller than 2 seconds, but in no case was the relation in time and space such that a later event of a multiplet could not have been dependent upon an earlier event, i.e., the time between events was greater than that required for seismic wave propagation between the two foci. A narrow linear feature about 60 km long is defined by a spatially progressive sequence of deep multiplets that were observed during 1965. These deep multiplets are also confined to a narrow range of depths between about 625 and 660 km. This feature seems to form a portion of the lower edge of the narrow inclined zone of deep earthquakes. Patterns of first motions radiated from earthquakes in the linear feature are generally similar to one another and are in agreement with a model of the source corresponding to a double-couple or shear dislocation. Variations among the radiation patterns, although minor, are distinct and indicate some heterogeneity in the detailed distribution of stress. The data of this study do not support the hypothesis of a volumetric phase change as the mechanism of the deep-focus earthquakes. Although there is no existing hypothesis that does predict completely the results determined here, the data appear to agree best with the mechanism proposed by Orowan. A significant source of data for this work is a new network of five seismograph stations now operating in Fiji and Tonga. This study, under the U.S. Upper Mantle Program, is part of a more comprehensive investigation of deep earthquakes in the region.

P-wave travel times from shallow earthquakes recorded in India and inferred upper mantle structure

1968 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 1879-1897
Author(s):  
K. L. Kaila ◽  
P. R. Reddy ◽  
Hari Narain
Keyword(s):  
Upper Mantle ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Mantle Structure ◽  
Travel Times ◽  
The North ◽  
Shallow Earthquakes ◽  
Upper Mantle Structure ◽  
Wave Travel ◽  
Excess Value ◽  
Velocity Changes

ABSTRACT P-wave travel times of 39 shallow earthquakes and three nuclear explosions with epicenters in the North in Himalayas, Tibet, China and USSR as recorded in Indian observatories have been analyzed statistically by the method of weighting observations. The travel times from Δ = 2° to 50° can be represented by four straight line segments indicating abrupt velocity changes around 19°, 22° and 33° respectively. The P-wave velocity at the top of the mantle has been found to be 8.31 ± 0.02 km/sec. Inferred upper mantle structure reveals three velocity discontinuities in the upper mantle at depths (below the crust) of 380 ± 20, 580 ± 50 and 1000 ± 120 km with velocities below the discontinuities as 9.47 ± 0.06, 10.15 ± 0.07 and 11.40 ± 0.08 km/sec respectively. The J-B residuals up to Δ = 19° are mostly negative varying from 1 to 10 seconds with a dependence on Δ values indicating a different upper mantle velocity in the Himalayan region as compared to that used by Jeffreys-Bullen in their tables (1940). Between 19° to 33° there is a reasonably good agreement between the J-B curve and the observation points. From Δ = 33° to 50° the J-B residuals are mostly positive with an average excess value of about 4 sec.

Complex Shear-Wave Anisotropy from Induced Earthquakes in West Texas

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (5) ◽  
pp. 2242-2251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regan Robinson ◽  
Aibing Li ◽  
Alexandros Savvaidis ◽  
Hongru Hu
Keyword(s):  
Shear Wave ◽  
Induced Seismicity ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Permian Basin ◽  
Induced Earthquakes ◽  
Large Delay ◽  
Delaware Basin ◽  
West Texas ◽  
Shallow Earthquakes

ABSTRACT We have analyzed shear-wave splitting (SWS) data from local earthquakes in the Permian basin in west Texas to understand crustal stress change and induced seismicity. Two SWS parameters, the fast polarization direction and the delay time, are computed using a semiautomatic algorithm. Most measurements are determined in the Delaware basin and the Snyder area. In both regions, SWS fast directions are mostly consistent with local SHmax at stations that are relatively far from the earthquake clusters. Varying fast directions at one station are related to different ray paths and are probably caused by heterogeneity. In the Snyder area, most northeast–southwest fast directions are from the events in the northern part of the cluster, whereas the northwest–southeast fast directions are mostly from the southern part. The northeast–southwest and northwest–southeast fast directions could be attributed to the northeast-trending normal faults and the northwest-trending strike-slip faults, respectively. SWS results in the Delaware basin have two unique features. First, most shallow earthquakes less than 4 km deep produce relatively large delay times. This observation implies that the upper crust of the Delaware basin is highly fractured, as indicated by the increasing number of induced earthquakes. Second, diverse fast directions are observed at the stations in the high-seismicity region, likely caused by the presence of multiple sets of cracks with different orientations. This situation is possible in the crust with high pore pressure, which is expected in the Delaware basin due to extensive wastewater injection and hydraulic fracturing. We propose that the diversity of SWS fast directions could be a typical phenomenon in regions with a high rate of induced seismicity.

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