scholarly journals GLOBAL RELATIONS BETWEEN SEISMIC FAULT PARAMETERS AND MOMENT MAGNITUDE OF EARTHQUAKES

2004 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 1482 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. C. Papazachos ◽  
E. M. Scordilis ◽  
D. G. Panagiotopoulos ◽  
C. B. Papazachos ◽  
G. F. Karakaisis

The most reliable of the globally available relative data have been used to derive empirical formulas which relate the subsurface fault length, L, the fault area, S, and fault width, w, with the moment magnitude, M. Separate such formulas have been derived for earthquakes generated by strike-slip faulting, by dip-slip faulting in continental regions and by dip-slip faulting in lithospheric subduction regions. The formula which relates the fault area with the magnitude is combined with the definition formulas of seismic moment and moment magnitude to derive also relations between the fault slip, u, and the moment magnitude for each of the three seismotectonic regimes. For a certain magnitude, the fault length is larger for strike-slip faults than for dip-slip faults, while the fault width is small for strike-slip faults, larger for dip-slip faults in continental regions and much larger for dip-slip faults in regions of lithospheric subduction. For a certain magnitude, fault slip is about the same for strike-slip faults and dip-slip faults in continental regions and smaller for dip-slip faults in regions of lithospheric subduction.

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 781-790
Author(s):  
M. Rizwan Akram ◽  
Ali Yesilyurt ◽  
A.Can. Zulfikar ◽  
F. Göktepe

Research on buried gas pipelines (BGPs) has taken an important consideration due to their failures in recent earthquakes. In permanent ground deformation (PGD) hazards, seismic faults are considered as one of the major causes of BGPs failure due to accumulation of impermissible tensile strains. In current research, four steel pipes such as X-42, X-52, X-60, and X-70 grades crossing through strike-slip, normal and reverse seismic faults have been investigated. Firstly, failure of BGPs due to change in soil-pipe parameters have been analyzed. Later, effects of seismic fault parameters such as change in dip angle and angle between pipe and fault plane are evaluated. Additionally, effects due to changing pipe class levels are also examined. The results of current study reveal that BGPs can resist until earthquake moment magnitude of 7.0 but fails above this limit under the assumed geotechnical properties of current study. In addition, strike-slip fault can trigger early damage in BGPs than normal and reverse faults. In the last stage, an early warning system is proposed based on the current procedure. 


1995 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Di Bona ◽  
M. Cocco ◽  
A. Rovelli ◽  
R. Berardi ◽  
E. Boschi

The strong motion accelerograms recorded during the 1990 Eastern Sicily earthquake have been analyzed to investigate source and attenuation parameters. Peak ground motions (peak acceleration, velocity and displacement) overestimate the values predicted by the empirical scaling law proposed for other Italian earthquakes, suggesting that local site response and propagation path effects play an important role in interpreting the observed time histories. The local magnitude, computed from the strong motion accelerograms by synthesizing the Wood-Anderson response, is ML = 5.9, that is sensibly larger than the local magnitude estimated at regional distances from broad-band seismograms (ML = 5.4). The standard omega-square source spectral model seems to be inadequate to describe the observed spectra over the entire frequency band from 0.2 to 20 Hz. The seismic moment estimated from the strong motion accelerogram recorded at the closest rock site (Sortino) is Mo = 0.8 x 1024 dyne.cm, that is roughly 4.5 times lower than the value estimated at regional distances (Mo = 3.7 x 1024 dyne.cm) from broad-band seismograms. The corner frequency estimated from the accelera- tion spectra i.5 J; = 1.3 Hz, that is close to the inverse of the dUl.ation of displacement pulses at the two closest recording sites. This value of corner tì.equency and the two values of seismic moment yield a Brune stress drop larger than 500 bars. However, a corner frequency value off; = 0.6 Hz and the seismic moment resulting from regional data allows the acceleration spectra to be reproduced on the entire available frequency band yielding to a Brune stress drop of 210 bars. The ambiguity on the corner frequency value associated to this earthquake is due to the limited frequency bandwidth available on the strong motion recordil1gs. Assuming the seismic moment estimated at regional distances from broad-band data, the moment magnitude for this earthquake is 5.7. The higher local magnitude (5.9) compared with the moment magnitude (5.7) is due to the weak regional attenuation. Beside this, site amplifications due to surface geology have produced the highest peak ground motions among those observed at the strong motion sites.


1982 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 439-456
Author(s):  
Thorne Lay ◽  
Jeffrey W. Given ◽  
Hiroo Kanamori

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 (<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.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Elizabeth de Joux Robertson

<p>The aim of this project is to enable accurate earthquake magnitudes (moment magnitude, MW) to be calculated routinely and in near real-time for New Zealand earthquakes. This would be done by inversion of waveform data to obtain seismic moment tensors. Seismic moment tensors also provide information on fault-type. I use a well-established seismic moment tensor inversion method, the Time-Domain [seismic] Moment Tensor Inversion algorithm (TDMT_INVC) and apply it to GeoNet broadband waveform data to generate moment tensor solutions for New Zealand earthquakes. Some modifications to this software were made. A velocity model can now be automatically used to calculate Green's functions without having a pseudolayer boundary at the source depth. Green's functions can be calculated for multiple depths in a single step, and data are detrended and a suitable data window is selected. The seismic moment tensor solution that has either the maximum variance reduction or the maximum double-couple component is automatically selected for each depth. Seismic moment tensors were calculated for 24 New Zealand earthquakes from 2000 to 2005. The Global CMT project has calculated CMT solutions for 22 of these, and the Global CMT project solutions are compared to the solutions obtained in this project to test the accuracy of the solutions obtained using the TDMT_INVC code. The moment magnitude values are close to the Global CMT values for all earthquakes. The focal mechanisms could only be determined for a few of the earthquakes studied. The value of the moment magnitude appears to be less sensitive to the velocity model and earthquake location (epicentre and depth) than the focal mechanism. Distinguishing legitimate seismic signal from background seismic noise is likely to be the biggest problem in routine inversions.</p>


Author(s):  
Christopher Marlow ◽  
Randel Cox ◽  
Christine Powell

Abstract The eastern Reelfoot rift margin (ERRM) poses a significant seismic hazard to the city of Memphis, Tennessee, and may be capable of generating moment magnitude 7 earthquakes. The goal of this study is to refine the fault structure and geometry of the ERRM, to improve understanding of the associated seismic hazard. We apply multiple filters (e.g., reduction-to-pole and horizontal-gradient) to aeromagnetic intensity data, to visualize the magnetic signature of ERRM basement rocks. To remove ambiguity in our fault interpretations from the magnetic data, we restrict our interpretations to magnetic gradients that correspond to geologic and geophysical evidence of faulting and rank faults on a confidence scheme. From near Covington, Tennessee, to Dyersburg, Tennessee, we interpret the ERRM to be segmented into nine intersecting faults that trend northeast, north-northeast, and north-northwest (two high confidence, four intermediate confidence, and three low confidence). We calculate the moment magnitude potential of each fault based on the estimated fault length. The minimum moment magnitude potential is 6.0, and the maximum is 7.0.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sattam Almadani

Abstract The main goal of this study is to quantify the rate of seismic deformation in the Gulf of Aqaba. The moment tensor summation technique based on the seismicity data, for all available historical and instrumental data (1900-2019), and reliable fault plane solutions was used to calculate the size and the shape of deformation. For the period from 1900 to 2019, the seismicity data was used to calculate the seismicity parameters (representing by the Gutenberg-Richter and moment-magnitude relations) and the spatial extent of the deformation zone. The fault parameters of forty-four earthquakes, having moment magnitudes range from 3.2 to 7.2, were used to construct the moment tensor summation and subsequently to calculate the rate of seismic deformation. The calculations showed that a predominant shear deformation acting in the Gulf of Aqaba is taken up by extension in a direction of N40.8 o E at a rate of 0.83±0.21 mm/yr. and compression in a direction of N131.6 o E at a rate of 0.32±0.05 mm/yr.; reflecting the Gulf of Aqaba is undergoing from shear deformation accommodated along a strike-slip fault. The obtained results exhibited that the present-day deformation in the Gulf of Aqaba is acting by the interaction of relative tectonic motions among African, Sinai and Arabia plates.


Author(s):  
John G. Anderson ◽  
Glenn P. Biasi ◽  
Stephen Angster ◽  
Steven G. Wesnousky

ABSTRACT We develop a self-consistent scaling model relating magnitude Mw to surface rupture length (LE), surface displacement DE, and rupture width WE, for strike-slip faults. Knowledge of the long-term fault-slip rate SF improves magnitude estimates. Data are collected for 55 ground-rupturing strike-slip earthquakes that have geological estimates of LE, DE, and SF, and geophysical estimates of WE. We begin with the model of Anderson et al. (2017), which uses a closed form equation for the seismic moment of a surface-rupturing strike-slip fault of arbitrary aspect ratio and given stress drop, ΔτC. Using WE estimates does not improve Mw estimates. However, measurements of DE plus the relationship between ΔτC and surface slip provide an alternate approach to study WE. A grid of plausible stress drop and width pairs were used to predict displacement and earthquake magnitude. A likelihood function was computed from within the uncertainty ranges of the corresponding observed Mw and DE values. After maximizing likelihoods over earthquakes in length bins, we found the most likely values of WE for constant stress drop; these depend on the rupture length. The best-fitting model has the surprising form WE∝logLE—a gentle increase in width with rupture length. Residuals from this model are convincingly correlated to the fault-slip rate and also show a weak correlation with the crustal thickness. The resulting model thus supports a constant stress drop for ruptures of all lengths, consistent with teleseismic observation. The approach can be extended to test other observable factors that might improve the predictability of magnitude from a mapped fault for seismic hazard analyses.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Elizabeth de Joux Robertson

<p>The aim of this project is to enable accurate earthquake magnitudes (moment magnitude, MW) to be calculated routinely and in near real-time for New Zealand earthquakes. This would be done by inversion of waveform data to obtain seismic moment tensors. Seismic moment tensors also provide information on fault-type. I use a well-established seismic moment tensor inversion method, the Time-Domain [seismic] Moment Tensor Inversion algorithm (TDMT_INVC) and apply it to GeoNet broadband waveform data to generate moment tensor solutions for New Zealand earthquakes. Some modifications to this software were made. A velocity model can now be automatically used to calculate Green's functions without having a pseudolayer boundary at the source depth. Green's functions can be calculated for multiple depths in a single step, and data are detrended and a suitable data window is selected. The seismic moment tensor solution that has either the maximum variance reduction or the maximum double-couple component is automatically selected for each depth. Seismic moment tensors were calculated for 24 New Zealand earthquakes from 2000 to 2005. The Global CMT project has calculated CMT solutions for 22 of these, and the Global CMT project solutions are compared to the solutions obtained in this project to test the accuracy of the solutions obtained using the TDMT_INVC code. The moment magnitude values are close to the Global CMT values for all earthquakes. The focal mechanisms could only be determined for a few of the earthquakes studied. The value of the moment magnitude appears to be less sensitive to the velocity model and earthquake location (epicentre and depth) than the focal mechanism. Distinguishing legitimate seismic signal from background seismic noise is likely to be the biggest problem in routine inversions.</p>


Geophysics ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. KS31-KS41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenjie Jiao ◽  
Michael Davidson ◽  
Arcangelo Sena ◽  
Bradley L. Bankhead ◽  
Yu Xia ◽  
...  

We investigated the method of estimating seismic moment and moment magnitude for microseismic events. We determined that the [Formula: see text] defined by Bowers and Hudson is the proper scalar moment to be used in microseismic studies for characterizing the size of an event and calculating its moment magnitude. For non-double-couple sources, the proportional relationship between body-wave amplitude and seismic moment in the Brune model breaks down. So under such situations, the Brune model is not an appropriate way to estimate the seismic moment and magnitude. Moreover, the S-wave alone is not sufficient for determining the total seismic moment. Instead, the P-wave must be analyzed. An example Barnett Shale data set was studied, and the results concluded that the magnitudes estimated with the Brune model could be off by as much as 1.92, with an absolute average of 0.35. The moment magnitudes based on the scalar moment [Formula: see text] also gave a significantly different event size distribution and b-value estimation. Finally, attenuation also played a role in estimating the moment magnitude. With a typical average attenuation factor of [Formula: see text], the average magnitude correction for our field data set was on the order of 0.15. However, it could reach 0.3 for events far away from the monitoring well.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document