High-frequency P wave spectra from explosions and earthquakes

Author(s):  
William R. Walter ◽  
Keith F. Priestley
Keyword(s):  
P Wave ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 1244-1248
Author(s):  
Eric P. Chael ◽  
Patrick J. Leahy ◽  
Jerry A. Carter ◽  
Noël Barstow ◽  
Paul W. Pomeroy

Abstract We have measured the decay rate of high-frequency (4- to 50-Hz) P waves in the northeastern United States. We analyzed signals from 28 explosions of a 1988 USGS/AFGL/GSC refraction survey recorded at distances between 30 and 400 km. Over this range, the decay rate steadily increases from Δ−2 at 10 Hz to Δ−4 at 45 Hz. If one assumes geometric spreading of Δ−1.3, then the remaining decay is consistent with a nearly frequency-independent Q of about 1000. The results provide a useful parameterization for predicting P-wave spectra at near-regional ranges.


1976 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 803-825
Author(s):  
William A. Peppin

abstract Some 140 P-wave spectra of explosions, earthquakes, and explosion-induced aftershocks, all within the Nevada Test Site, have been computed from wide-band seismic data at close-in (< 30 km) and near-regional (200 to 300 km) distances. Observed near-regional corner frequencies indicate that source corner frequencies of explosions differ little from those of earthquakes of similar magnitude for 3 < ML < 5. Plots of 0.8 to 1.0 Hz Pg spectral amplitude versus 12-sec Rayleigh-wave amplitude show a linear trend with unit slope over three orders of magnitude for explosions; earthquakes fail to be distinguished from explosions on such a plot. These spectra also indicate similar source spectra for explosions in different media (tuff, alluvium, rhyolite) which corroborates Cherry et al. (1973). Close-in spectra of three large explosions indicate that: (1) source corner frequencies of explosions scale with yield in a way significantly different from previously published scaling laws; (2) explosion source spectra in tuff are flat from 0.2 to 1.0 Hz (no overshoot); (3) the far-field source spectrum decays at least as fast as frequency cubed. Taken together, these data indicate that the following factors are not responsible for Peppin and McEvilly's (1974) near-regional discriminant: (a) source dimension, (b) source rise time, or (c) shape of the source spectrum.


1982 ◽  
Vol 72 (6A) ◽  
pp. 1957-1968
Author(s):  
Mansour Niazi

abstract Two sets of observations obtained during the 15 October 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake, MS 6.9, are presented. The data suggest different dynamic characteristics of the source when viewed in different frequency bands. The first data set consists of the observed residuals of the horizontal peak ground accelerations and particle velocity from predicted values within 50 km of the fault surface. The residuals are calculated from a nonlinear regression analysis of the data (Campbell, 1981) to the following empirical relationships, PGA = A 1 ( R + C 1 ) − d 1 , PGV = A 2 ( R + C 2 ) − d 2 in which R is the closest distance to the plane of rupture. The so-calculated residuals are correlated with a positive scalar factor signifying the focusing potential at each observation point. The focusing potential is determined on the basis of the geometrical relation of the station relative to the rupture front on the fault plane. The second data set consists of the acceleration directions derived from the windowed-time histories of the horizontal ground acceleration across the El Centro Differential Array (ECDA). The horizontal peak velocity residuals and the low-pass particle acceleration directions across ECDA require the fault rupture to propagate northwestward. The horizontal peak ground acceleration residuals and the high-frequency particle acceleration directions, however, are either inconclusive or suggest an opposite direction for rupture propagation. The inconsistency can best be explained to have resulted from the incoherence of the high-frequency radiation which contributes most effectively to the registration of PGA. A test for the sensitivity of the correlation procedure to the souce location is conducted by ascribing the observed strong ground shaking to a single asperity located 12 km northwest of the hypocenter. The resulting inconsistency between the peak acceleration and velocity observations in relation to the focusing potential is accentuated. The particle velocity of Delta Station, Mexico, in either case appears abnormally high and disagrees with other observations near the southeastern end of the fault trace. From the observation of a nearly continuous counterclockwise rotation of the plane of P-wave particle motion at ECDA, the average rupture velocity during the first several seconds of source activation is estimated to be 2.0 to 3.0 km/sec. A 3 km upper bound estimate of barrier dimensions is tentatively made on the basis of the observed quasiperiodic variation of the polarization angles.


1981 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 423-436
Author(s):  
Willian H. Bakun ◽  
Thomas V. McEvilly

abstract Wood-Anderson seismograms recorded at Mount Hamilton (MHC, 185 km, 327°), Santa Barbara (SBC, 180 km, 158°), and Tinemaha (TIN, 240 km, 56°) provide data for comparing P-wave spectra for two immediate (17-min) foreshocks, one early (55-hr) foreshock, two aftershocks, and two “isolated” Parkfield earthquakes. All are ML 5.0 shocks with epicenters within 7 km of the common epicenter of the 1934 and 1966 Parkfield main shocks. The set of events is well suited for testing the hypothesis that foreshocks are high-stress-drop sources. Calculated stress drops are controlled by source directivity at azimuths aligned with the fault break (at MHC and SBC). P-wave radiation from the three foreshocks is focused along one fault trace azimuth, suggesting that foreshock sources are characterized by pronounced unilateral rupture expansion. At TIN, broadside to the fault where directivity has minimum effect on calculated relative stress drop, the two immediate foreshocks are higher stress-drop sources. The early foreshock is a low-to-average stress-drop source, indicating the possibility that stress concentration is a rapidly occurring phenomenon in rupture nucleation. Alternatively, the stress field is highly variable on the scale of 2 to 3 km in the focal region of an impending earthquake with a rupture length of 20 to 30 km.


Author(s):  
Anastasiya Fomochkina ◽  
Boris Bukchin

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.


1976 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 1609-1622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoltan A. Der ◽  
Thomas W. McElfresh

abstract Average Q values were determined for ray paths to various LRSM stations from the SALMON nuclear explosion by taking ratios of observed P-wave spectra to the estimated source spectrum. Most Q values for P-wave paths throughout eastern North America are in the range 1600 to 2000 while those crossing over into the western United States are typically around 400 to 500. These differences in Q for intermediate distances can sufficiently explain the differences in the teleseismic event magnitudes observed, 0.3 to 0.4 magnitude units, in the western versus the eastern United States, if one assumes that the low Q layer under the western United States is located at depths less than 200 km.


2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Peter Gerstoft ◽  
Peter M. Shearer

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