Comparison of seismic waves generated by different types of source

1963 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 965-978 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Willis
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Waves ◽  
Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Frequency Content ◽  
Nevada Test Site ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Waves ◽  
Source Duration ◽  
Lower Frequencies

Abstract A comparison of the seismic waves generated by a nuclear explosion and an earthquake is discussed. The epicenter of the earthquake was located within the Nevada Test Site. Both events were recorded at the same station with the same type of equipment. The earthquake waves contained slightly lower frequency than the waves generated by the nuclear shot. The early P phases of the shot had larger amplitudes while the phases after Pg for the earthquake were larger. Seismic waves from collapses were generally found to be composed of lower frequencies than the waves from the original shot. Aftershocks of the Hebgen Lake earthquake were found to generate seismic waves whose frequency content was related to the magnitude of the aftershock. Spectral differences in quarry shot recordings that correlate with source duration times are also discussed.

Geodetic determination of strain at the Nevada Test Site following the Handley event

1974 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-129
Author(s):  
J. C. Savage ◽  
W. T. Kinoshita ◽  
W. H. Prescott
Keyword(s):  
Large Amplitude ◽  
Seismic Waves ◽  
Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Nevada Test Site ◽  
Ground Zero ◽  
Overall Response ◽  
Final Configuration ◽  
East West

abstract Repeated surveys of a trilateration network (aperture greater than 20 km) centered on ground zero for the HANDLEY event, a nuclear explosion at the Nevada Test Site with yield in excess of 1 megaton, suggest that the explosion induced an east-west extension of the network by more than 50 mm. In the year following the detonation, this deformation reversed such that the final configuration represented a small east-west contraction from the pre-HANDLEY state. In the subsequent 2-year period, only minor deformation was detected. Thus, the overall response of Pahute Mesa may be described as stable. The explosion-induced deformation is thought to be partly due to slip on faults driven by the large-amplitude seismic waves from the explosion. The mechanism of the postshot relaxation is not understood.

Aftershocks of the Benham nuclear explosion

1969 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 2271-2281
Author(s):  
R. M. Hamilton ◽  
J. H. Healy
Keyword(s):  
Fault Plane ◽  
Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Nevada Test Site ◽  
Ground Zero ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Fault Movement ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Earthquake Distribution

abstract The Benham nuclear explosion, a 1.1 megaton test 1.4 km beneath Pahute Mesa at the Nevada Test Site, initiated a sequence of earthquakes lasting several months. The epicenters of these shocks were located within 13 km of ground zero in several linear zones that parallel the regional fault trends. Focal depths range from near surface to 6 km. The earthquakes are not located in the zone of the major ground breakage. The earthquake distribution and fault plane solutions together indicate that both right-lateral strike-slip fault movement and dip-slip fault movement occurred. The explosion apparently caused the release of natural tectonic strain.

STUDIES ON SEISMIC WAVES: III. PROPAGATION OF ELASTIC WAVES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF A FREE BOUNDARY

Geophysics ◽  
1947 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Y. Fu
Keyword(s):  
Surface Waves ◽  
Elastic Waves ◽  
Seismic Waves ◽  
Classical Method ◽  
Epicentral Distance ◽  
Harmonic Waves ◽  
Inhomogeneous Waves ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Propagation Of Elastic Waves ◽  
The Waves

Continuous and spherical harmonic waves are generated at an internal point of the medium. By use of the classical method of Sommerfeld, the different modes of propagation near a free surface after the arrival of the waves are examined. From the approximate evaluations of the integrals, it is found that in addition to the ordinary types of body and surface waves, there are also inhomogeneous waves and surface waves which are not of the Rayleigh type. The amplitude factors of these latter waves vary inversely as the square instead of as the square root of the epicentral distance. Altogether, there are not less than five different types of waves and they are obtained from integrations in the neighborhood of the singularities of the integrals.

Distribution, focal mechanisms, and frequency of earthquakes in the Fairview Peak area, Nevada, near the time of the BENHAM explosion

1972 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1223-1240 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. E. Smith ◽  
J. M. Coakley ◽  
R. M. Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Fault Plane ◽  
Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Underground Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Nevada Test Site ◽  
Vertical Orientation ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Pressure Axis ◽  
Tension Axis ◽  
The One

Abstract Six portable seismographs were operated for 30 days in a network centered 25 km south of the epicenter of the 1954 Fairview Peak earthquake. The recording period lasted from 15 days before to 15 days after detonation of the one-megaton BENHAM underground nuclear explosion 250 km to the southeast of the Nevada Test Site on December 19, 1968. Approximately 950 earthquakes were detected within about 30 km of the network. No evidence was found that the explosion affected the rate of earthquake occurrence. Locations were computed for 152 earthquakes. The epicentral pattern shows north and northeast trends about 1 to 3 km wide. Focal depths range from 5 to 14 km. The main zones of activity seem to have a near-vertical orientation. Composite fault-plane solutions suggest that faulting within zones is not consistent with a single focal mechanism. Instead, a variety of mechanisms is indicated, consisting primarily of north-striking right-lateral oblique-slip, and northeast-striking dip-slip movements. In both cases, the pressure axis is near vertical and the tension axis is near horizontal, striking about S60°E.

The effect of Yucca Fault on seismic wave propagation

1971 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 697-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter W. Hays ◽  
John R. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Wave Propagation ◽  
Seismic Wave ◽  
Seismic Waves ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Seismic Wave Propagation ◽  
Nevada Test Site ◽  
Basement Rocks ◽  
Geological Discontinuity ◽  
Frequency Components

abstract Yucca Fault is a major structural feature of Yucca Flat, a well-known geological province of the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The trace of the Fault extends north-south over a distance of about 32 km. The fault plane is nearly vertical and offsets Quaternary alluvium, Tertiary volcanic tuffs and pre-Cenozoic basement rocks (quartzites, shales and dolomites) with relative down displacement of several hundred feet on the east side of the fault. Data recorded from the CUP underground nuclear detonation in Yucca Flat typify the effect of the fault on near-zone (i.e., inside 10 km) seismic wave propagation. The effect of the fault is frequency dependent. It affects the frequency components (3.0, 5.0, 10.0 Hz) of the seismic waves which have characteristic wavelengths in the order of the geological discontinuity. Little or no effect is observed for low-frequency components (0.5, 1.0 Hz) which have wave-lengths exceeding the dimensions of the geological discontinuity. The effect of the fault does not represent a safety problem.

Microearthquake activity in Eastern Nevada and death valley California before and after the nuclear explosion Benham

1969 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 2177-2184
Author(s):  
Peter Molnar ◽  
Klaus Jacob ◽  
Lynn R. Sykes
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Death Valley ◽  
Tectonic Activity ◽  
Earthquake Activity ◽  
Underground Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Nevada Test Site ◽  
Pronounced Increase ◽  
Before And After

abstract Six portable, high-gain, high-frequency seismographs were operated in Nevada and California for several weeks before and after the underground nuclear explosion Benham to assess the possibility that earthquakes at distances of tens of kilometers or more may be triggered by large underground explosions. A pronounced increase in earthquake activity in the vicinity of the shot point was observed immediately after the detonation and continued for more than a month after the explosion. No significant change in activity within 25 km of any of our instruments northeast of the Nevada Test Site was observed, and the activity in Death Valley recorded after the explosion did not indicate an important increase. These data imply that this particular explosion did not significantly affect the seismicity of the region studied. Throughout the period of observation the seismic activity northeast of the Nevada Test Site was low; an average of about one event per day was detected within about 25 km of each station. This suggests that the current tectonic activity of this part of Nevada is lower than that of western Nevada and of most other tectonically active regions where microearthquake studies have been made.

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