Catalog of Preinstrumental Earthquakes in Central Mexico: Epicentral and Magnitude Estimations Based on Macroseismic Data

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (6) ◽  
pp. 3021-3036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo Suárez ◽  
Daniel Ruiz-Barón ◽  
Carlos Chico-Hernández ◽  
F. Ramón Zúñiga
Keyword(s):  
Source Parameters ◽  
Volcanic Belt ◽  
Historical Earthquakes ◽  
Seismic Intensity ◽  
Source Location ◽  
Macroseismic Data ◽  
Attenuation Relations ◽  
Magnitude Distribution ◽  
Subduction Earthquakes ◽  
Magnitude Range

ABSTRACT We present the first parametric catalog of historical earthquakes in Mexico from 1469 to 1912 composed of 323 historical earthquakes. The historical earthquakes were assigned to specific seismotectonic provinces, and attenuation relations of seismic intensity versus distance were calculated using instrumental earthquakes. The intensity data were inverted using a linear regression for the best-fitting magnitude and source location. From the 323 events identified in the historical record, magnitude and source location were determined for 40 earthquakes from 1568 to 1912. The historical subduction earthquakes are distributed uniformly along the coast. There is, however, a conspicuous absence of subduction earthquakes where the great 1985 Michoacán earthquakes took place. The data also show a large number of earthquakes Mw>7 in the presumed Guerrero gap in the past 320 yr. The source parameters of in-slab earthquakes were obtained for 10 earthquakes that took place in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The analysis of completeness of the historical and instrumental International Seismological Centre-Global Earthquake Model catalogs of subduction earthquakes Mw>7.0 show similar values of the slope of the Gutenberg–Richter relation between 1.62 and 1.95. The large b-values appear to reflect the apparently anomalous large number of earthquakes in the magnitude range Mw 7.4–7.7 and an absence of events Mw∼7. This magnitude distribution suggests that the seismicity in the Mexican subduction zone is dominated by characteristic earthquakes in the magnitude range Mw 7.4–7.7, with larger earthquakes Mw>8 showing longer recurrence times. The catalog of historical subduction earthquakes appears to be complete for Mw>7.5. The catalog of crustal earthquakes in the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt is complete since 1568 for events Mw>6.4. Completeness of the catalog of in-slab earthquakes was not estimated due to the short record for this type of event.

Using Aftershocks to Help Locate Historical Earthquakes

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 2695-2703 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Ebel
Keyword(s):  
Historical Earthquakes ◽  
Seismic Intensity ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Macroseismic Data ◽  
Aftershock Activity ◽  
Earthquake Locations ◽  
Local Soil ◽  
Macroseismic Intensities ◽  
Historical Accounts ◽  
Directivity Effects

Abstract For historical earthquakes, the spatial distributions of macroseismic intensity reports are commonly used to estimate the event locations. The methods to locate historical earthquakes assume that the highest seismic intensity shows the best estimate of the location of the earthquake. Uncertainties in the locations estimated from macroseismic data can be due to an uneven geographic distribution of sites with intensity reports, variations in intensities due to local soil conditions, ambiguous historical reports, and earthquake directivity effects. Additional constraint on the location of a historical earthquake can come from places where most aftershocks were felt, because these localities may have been closest to the fault on which the mainshock took place. Examples of estimated earthquake locations based on aftershocks are those of the 1727 MLg 5.6 earthquake in northeastern Massachusetts, the MLg 5.7 earthquake in Maine, and the 1755 MLg 6.2 earthquake offshore of Cape Ann, Massachusetts. In all of these cases, the earthquake locations based on the aftershock data are somewhat different from previous locations derived from the macroseismic intensities alone. Uncertainties with this method include identifying aftershocks in historical accounts and the possibility that smaller events that are reported following a strong earthquake are not on or near the mainshock rupture. Even so, evidence of possible aftershock activity may help constrain the location of that mainshock. Because aftershocks of strong earthquakes (M≥7) can last months to years, archival research for aftershocks must be carried out with a somewhat different mindset than that for a mainshock.

scholarly journals Moment tensor inversion of early instrumental data: application to the 1917 High Tiber Valley, Monterchi earthquake

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Bernardi ◽  
Maria Grazia Ciaccio ◽  
Barbara Palombo ◽  
Graziano Ferrari
Keyword(s):  
Focal Mechanism ◽  
Moment Tensor ◽  
Source Parameters ◽  
Normal Fault ◽  
Historical Earthquakes ◽  
Moment Magnitude ◽  
Macroseismic Data ◽  
Natural Period ◽  
Amplitude Spectra ◽  
Tiber Valley

<p>In this paper we present a new study on the High Tiber Valley earthquake occurred on April 26, 1917. Using the digitized data from mechanical seismograph records, we computed the source parameters like focal mechanism and moment magnitude from moment tensor (MT). The study of historical earthquakes from an instrumental perspective is crucial because of the complexity of problems associated with the study of seismograms of moderate to large earthquakes occurred from the late 19th century until the early 1960s. Since historical earthquake records show significant uncertainties in phase arrival times and have been recorded by seismograph generally with short natural period, we developed a code to compute the MT based on a forward modeling technique, which uses the amplitude spectra of the full waveform length and the first P-arrival polarities to constrain the P- and T-axes. The best solution is determined by the best fit between the observed and synthetic amplitude spectra and from the coherency between the observed and the theoretical first P-arrival polarities. The 1917 High Tiber Valley earthquake is one of the most important 20th century earthquake occurred in the Italian Peninsula for which the focal mechanism and moment magnitude from seismic records are not available. Additionally, we apply a multidisciplinary approach to characterize the source of this earthquake, combining instrumental, macroseismic, geological and tectonic data and investigations. The computed MT results in a north-south normal fault mechanism (strike: 147°, dip: 29°, slip: −94°), which is consistent with the strike estimated from the macroseismic data (157°). The moment magnitude calculated from the MT and that derived from the macroseismic data are M<span><sub>w</sub></span>=5.5±0.2 and M<span><sub>w</sub></span>=5.9±0.1, respectively.</p>

Attenuation of modified Mercalli intensity with distance in Mexico

1988 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 1875-1884
Author(s):  
Mario Chávez ◽  
Raul Castro
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Volcanic Belt ◽  
Historical Earthquakes ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Attenuation Relations ◽  
South Central ◽  
Mexican Volcanic Belt ◽  
Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt ◽  
Fitting In

Abstract Two relations are proposed to predict the attenuation of Modified Mercalli Intensity (I) with distance (D) for Mexican earthquakes, i.e. ln I = B 0 + B 1 ln ( D / D ' ) + B 2 ( D − D ' ) + B 3 ln M s ln I = B 0 + B 1 ( D / D ' ) + B 2 ln ( D − D ' ) + B 3 ln M s Ms is the earthquake surface-wave magnitude, D′ is a distance related to the maximum I mapped for an earthquake, I′ or to Ms. The coefficients Bi, i = 0, 1, 2, 3 were obtained by fitting in a least-square sense the information contained in the intensity maps of 32 events to the relations. Those events were classified in three groups according to their epicentral location, focal mechanism, and depth, i.e., events related to the subduction-zone intermediate-depth earthquakes in south-central Mexico and to shallow crustal events along the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. The I predicted by the proposed relations compare well with the I observed for historical earthquakes not included in the fitting. Results obtained from a parametrical study showed that the attenuation of I with D is different for each of the three types of earthquakes. For distances of less than about 200 km, the earthquakes associated with the subduction zone have a larger attenuation than the ones originating in the south-central region of Mexico; for greater distances (D &gt; 200 km), the opposite behavior is observed. The events located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt have a larger attenuation with distance than that of events in the other two regions. From these results, it seems advisable in Mexico to use several attenuation relations to estimate the seismic hazard at a site, depending on the particular tectonic setting and the path of the events under consideration.

10 July 1894 Istanbul Earthquake: Comparing Damages and Ground Motion Simulations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nesrin Yenihayat ◽  
Eser Çaktı ◽  
Karin Şeşetyan
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motion ◽  
Fault Simulation ◽  
Source Parameters ◽  
Historical Earthquakes ◽  
Corner Frequency ◽  
Simulation Approach ◽  
Ground Motion Simulations ◽  
Finite Fault ◽  
Intensity Map ◽  
Observed Damage

&lt;p&gt;One of the major earthquakes that resulted in intense damages in Istanbul and its neighborhoods took place on 10 July 1894. The 1894 earthquake resulted in 474 losses of life and 482 injuries. Around 21,000 dwellings were damaged, which is a number that corresponds to 1/7 of the total dwellings of the city at that time. Without any doubt, the exact loss of life was higher. Because of the censorship, the exact loss numbers remained unknown. There is still no consensus about its magnitude, epicentral location, and rupture of length. Even though the hardness of studying with historical records due to their uncertainties and discrepancies, researchers should enlighten the source parameters of the historical earthquakes to minimize the effect of future disasters especially for the cities located close to the most active fault lines as Istanbul. The main target of this study is to enlighten possible source properties of the 1894 earthquake with the help of observed damage distribution and stochastic ground motion simulations. In this paper, stochastic based ground motion scenarios will be performed for the 10 July 1894 Istanbul earthquake, using a finite fault simulation approach with a dynamic corner frequency and the results will be compared with our intensity map obtained from observed damage distributions. To do this, in the first step, obtained damage information from various sources has been presented, evaluated, and interpreted. Secondly, we prepared an intensity map associated with the 1894 earthquake based on macro-seismic information, and damage analysis and classification. For generating ground motions with a stochastic finite fault simulation approach, the EXSIM 2012 software has been used. Using EXSIM, several scenarios are modeled with different source, path, and site parameters. Initial source properties have been obtained from findings of our previous study on the simulation of the 26 September 2019 Silivri (Istanbul) earthquake with Mw 5.8. With the comparison of spatial distributions of the ground motion intensity parameters to the obtained damage and intensity maps, we estimate the optimum location and source parameters of the 1894 Earthquake.&lt;/p&gt;

A Monte Carlo approach to seismic hazard analysis

1999 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 854-866 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Ebel ◽  
Alan L. Kafka
Keyword(s):  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Ground Motion ◽  
Epicentral Distance ◽  
Ground Motions ◽  
Source Parameters ◽  
Parametric Models ◽  
Earthquake Catalog ◽  
Attenuation Relations ◽  
Ground Motion Attenuation

Abstract We have developed a Monte Carlo methodology for the estimation of seismic hazard at a site or across an area. This method uses a multitudinous resampling of an earthquake catalog, perhaps supplemented by parametric models, to construct synthetic earthquake catalogs and then to find earthquake ground motions from which the hazard values are found. Large earthquakes extrapolated from a Gutenberg-Richter recurrence relation and characteristic earthquakes can be included in the analysis. For the ground motion attenuation with distance, the method can use either a set of observed ground motion observations from which estimates are randomly selected, a table of ground motion values as a function of epicentral distance and magnitude, or a parametric ground motion attenuation relation. The method has been tested for sites in New England using an earthquake catalog for the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada, and it yields reasonable ground motions at standard seismic hazard values. This is true both when published ground motion attenuation relations and when a dataset of observed peak acceleration observations are used to compute the ground motion attenuation with distance. The hazard values depend to some extent on the duration of the synthetic catalog and the specific ground motion attenuation used, and the uncertainty in the ground motions increases with decreasing hazard probability. The program gives peak accelerations that are comparable to those of the 1996 U.S. national seismic hazard maps. The method can be adapted to compute seismic hazard for cases where there are temporal or spatial variations in earthquake occurrence rates or source parameters.

scholarly journals Path and site effects deduced from transfrontier internet macroseismic data of two recent M4 earthquakes in NW Europe

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koen Van Noten ◽  
Thomas Lecocq ◽  
Christophe Sira ◽  
Klaus-G. Hinzen ◽  
Thierry Camelbeeck
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Waves ◽  
Sedimentary Cover ◽  
Grid Cell ◽  
Individual Response ◽  
Macroseismic Data ◽  
Grid Cells ◽  
Attenuation Relations ◽  
Circular Distribution ◽  
Intensity Attenuation ◽  
Zip Code

Abstract. The online collection of earthquake testimonies in Europe is strongly fragmented across numerous seismological agencies. This paper demonstrates how collecting and merging “Did You Feel It?” (DYFI) institutional macroseismic data strongly improves the quality of real-time intensity maps. Instead of using ZIP code Community Internet Intensity Maps we geocode individual response addresses for location improvement, assign intensities to grouped answers within 100 km2 grid cells, and generate intensity attenuation relations from the grid cell intensities. Grid cell intensity maps are less subjective and illustrate a more homogeneous intensity distribution than the ZIP code intensity maps. Using grid cells for ground motion analysis offers an advanced method for exchanging transfrontier equal-area intensity data without sharing any personal’s information. The applicability of the method is demonstrated on the DYFI responses of two well-felt earthquakes: the 8 September 2011 ML 4.3 (MW 3.7) Goch (Germany) and the 22 May 2015 ML 4.2 (MW 3.7) Ramsgate (UK) earthquakes. Both events resulted in non-circular distribution of intensities which is not explained by geometrical amplitude attenuation alone but illustrates an important low-pass filtering due the sedimentary cover above the Anglo-Brabant Massif and in the Lower Rhine Graben. Our study illustrates the effect of increasing bedrock depth on intensity attenuation and the importance of the WNW-ESE Caledonian structural axis of the Anglo-Brabant Massif on seismic wave propagation: seismic waves are less attenuated – high Q – along the strike of the massif but are stronger attenuated – low Q – perpendicular to this structure, especially when they cross rheologically different seismotectonic units that are separated by crustal-rooted faults.

Non-parametric spectral modelling of source parameters, path attenuation and site effects from broad-band waveforms of the Alborz earthquakes (2005–2017)

2019 ◽  
Vol 219 (3) ◽  
pp. 1514-1531
Author(s):  
Somayeh Ahmadzadeh ◽  
G Javan Doloei ◽  
Stefano Parolai ◽  
Adrien Oth
Keyword(s):  
Source Parameters ◽  
Broad Band ◽  
Site Amplification ◽  
Earthquake Source ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Magnitude Range ◽  
Earthquake Source Parameters ◽  
Generalized Inversion Technique ◽  
Non Parametric

SUMMARY S-wave spectral amplitudes from 312 crustal earthquakes recorded at the Iranian National Broadband Seismic Network in the Alborz region between 2005 and 2017 are analysed in order to evaluate earthquake source parameters, path attenuation and site amplification functions using the non-parametric generalized inversion technique (GIT). We exploit a total number of 1117 seismograms with ML 3–5.6 in the frequency range 0.3–20 Hz. The evaluated non-parametric attenuation functions decay uniformly with distance for the entire frequency range and the estimated S-wave quality factor shows low Q values with relatively strong frequency dependence. We assume the omega-square source model to retrieve earthquake source parameters from the inverted source spectra. The obtained stress drops range from 0.02 to 16 MPa with a mean value of 1.1 MPa. Stress drop and radiated energy show fairly self-similar scaling with seismic moment over the available magnitude range; however, the magnitude range of this study is too narrow to draw a definite conclusion on source scaling characteristics. The obtained moment magnitude Mw and the local magnitude ML are linearly correlated and approximately equivalent in the range of Mw 3–4. For larger events, Mw generally underestimates ML by about 0.1–0.5 magnitude units. The estimated site amplification functions for horizontal component (GIT H) are nearly flat with no obvious pre-dominant frequency peaks for most stations, as expected for the sites of permanent broad-band seismic stations located on rock, though a few stations show amplification peaks from 1 to 8 Hz, with a maximum amplification of about a factor of 7 with respect to the reference site. The evaluated site responses for the vertical components present remarkable amplification or deamplification, leading to differences of the H/V amplitude levels in comparison with the GIT H amplification curves. The results of this study provide a valuable basis for predicting appropriate ground motions in a context of seismic hazard assessment.

The analysis of historical seismograms: an important tool for seismic hazard assessment. Case histories from French and Italian earthquakes

2011 ◽  
Vol 182 (4) ◽  
pp. 367-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Alessandro Pino
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Hazard Assessment ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Source Parameters ◽  
Seismic Hazard Assessment ◽  
Historical Earthquakes ◽  
Waveform Analysis ◽  
Source Characteristics ◽  
Seismic Waveform ◽  
Earthquake Source Parameters

AbstractSeismic hazard assessment relies on the knowledge of the source characteristics of past earthquakes. Unfortunately, seismic waveform analysis, representing the most powerful tool for the investigation of earthquake source parameters, is only possible for events occurred in the last 100–120 years, i.e., since seismographs with known response function were developed. Nevertheless, during this time significant earthquakes have been recorded by such instruments and today, also thanks to technological progress, these data can be recovered and analysed by means of modern techniques.In this paper, aiming at giving a general sketch of possible analyses and attainable results in historical seismogram studies, I briefly describe the major difficulties in processing the original waveforms and present a review of the results that I obtained from previous seismogram analysis of selected significant historical earthquakes occurred during the first decades of the XXth century, including (A) the December 28, 1908, Messina straits (southern Italy), (B) the June 11, 1909, Lambesc (southern France) – both of which are the strongest ever recorded instrumentally in their respective countries –and (C) the July 13, 1930, Irpinia (southern Italy) events. For these earthquakes, the major achievements are represented by the assessment of the seismic moment (A, B, C), the geometry and kinematics of faulting (B, C), the fault length and an approximate slip distribution (A, C). The source characteristics of the studied events have also been interpreted in the frame of the tectonic environment active in the respective region of interest. In spite of the difficulties inherent to the investigation of old seismic data, these results demonstrate the invaluable and irreplaceable role of historical seismogram analysis in defining the local seismogenic potential and, ultimately, for assessing the seismic hazard. The retrieved information is crucial in areas where important civil engineering works are planned, as in the case of the single-span bridge to be built across the Messina straits and the ITER nuclear fusion power plant to be built in Cadarache, close to the location of the Lambesc event, and in regions characterized by high seismic risk, such as southern Apennines.

scholarly journals PRIMORYE EARTHQUAKE on April 12, 2014, KP=11.9 (Far Eastern Russia)

2020 ◽  
pp. 298-306
Author(s):  
D. Safonov ◽  
N. Shestakov ◽  
N. Kovalenko
Keyword(s):  
Federal District ◽  
Seismic Intensity ◽  
Macroseismic Data ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Small Magnitude ◽  
Fault Type ◽  
Shallow Seismic ◽  
Far Eastern Russia ◽  
Shock Location ◽  
Far Eastern

The article presents instrumental and macroseismic data of the earthquake that occurred on April 12, 2014 in the Primorye Region of the Far Eastern Federal District of the Russian Federation. Primorye refers to areas with a weak of shallow seismic activity. This relatively small magnitude M=4.5 earthquake is a rare occurrence in this region. It caused a significant macroseismic effect over an unexpectedly large area. The highest seismic intensity as large as 5 degrees was observed in the settlements nearest to the epicenter – Mezhgorye, Krylovka and Maryanovka. 36 minutes after the main event, an aftershock was recorded with an epicenter 6.5 km southeast of the main shock location, felt by the inhabitants of the settlement of Krylovka. According to the data obtained, the focal mechanism of the earthquake might be treated as the strikeslip fault type with the nodal planes of the sublatitudinal and sublongitudinal extension. In view of tectonics, the earthquake and its aftershock epicenters might be related to a nameless NW striking fault located near Mezhgorye Settlement and linking the Krylovsky and Chernorechensky faults.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document