Aftershocks of the February 21, 1973 Point Mugu, California earthquake

1976 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 1931-1952
Author(s):  
Donald J. Stierman ◽  
William L. Ellsworth
Keyword(s):  
Fault Zone ◽  
Main Shock ◽  
Fault Plane ◽  
Body Wave ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Wave Radiation ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Complex Deformation ◽  
Transverse Ranges

abstract The ML 6.0 Point Mugu, California earthquake of February 21, 1973 and its aftershocks occurred within the complex fault system that bounds the southern front of the Transverse Ranges province of southern California. P-wave fault plane solutions for 51 events include reverse, strike slip and normal faulting mechanisms, indicating complex deformation within the 10-km broad fault zone. Hypocenters of 141 aftershocks fail to delineate any single fault plane clearly associated with the main shock rupture. Most aftershocks cluster in a region 5 km in diameter centered 5 km from the main shock hypocenter and well beyond the extent of fault rupture estimated from analysis of body-wave radiation. Strain release within the imbricate fault zone was controlled by slip on preexisting planes of weakness under the influence of a NE-SW compressive stress.

scholarly journals Present-day stress state in northwestern Syria

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 299-316
Author(s):  
Mohamad Khir Abdul-Wahed ◽  
Mohammed ALISSA
Keyword(s):  
Fault Plane ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Active Faults ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Stress Pattern ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Stress Regime

Northwestern Syria is a key area in the eastern Mediterranean to study the active tectonics and stress pattern across the Arabia-Eurasia convergent plate boundary. This study aims to outline the present-day stress regime in this region of Syria using the fault plane solutions of the largest events recorded by the Syrian National Seismological Network from 1995 to 2011. A dataset of fault-plane solutions was obtained for 48 events having at least 5 P-wave polarities. The tectonic regime for most of these events is extensional and produces normal mechanisms in agreement with the local configurations of the seismogenic faults in the region. Strike-slip mechanisms are more scarce and restricted to certain areas, such as the northern extension of the Dead Sea fault system. The results of the current study reveal the spatial variations of SHmax orientation across the northwestern Syria region. This spatial variation of the present-day stress field highlights the role of main geometrically complex shear zones in the present-day stress pattern of northwestern Syria. However, these results show, regardless of the relatively small magnitudes of the studied events, they provide a picture of the local stress deviations that have currently been taking place along the local active faults.

scholarly journals Velocity contrast across the San Andreas fault in central California: Small-scale variations from P-wave nodal plane distortion

1977 ◽  
Vol 67 (6) ◽  
pp. 1565-1576
Author(s):  
Karen C. McNally ◽  
Thomas V. McEvilly
Keyword(s):  
Fault Zone ◽  
Fault Plane ◽  
San Andreas Fault ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Wave Radiation ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Radiation Patterns ◽  
Central California ◽  
San Andreas

abstract Systematic variations in P-wave radiation patterns, evident in a data set of 400 central California earthquakes, have been analyzed for variations in velocity contrast across the San Andreas fault zone. Vertical strike-slip faulting characterizes the region, with radiation patterns well constrained by the dense local seismographic station network. A discontinuity in crustal velocity occurs across the San Andreas fault. The distribution of systematically inconsistent first motions indicates that first arrivals observed along the fault plane within the northeastern block have followed refracted paths through the higher velocity crustal rocks to the southwest, retaining P-wave polarities characteristic of the quadrant of origin, and thus appearing reversed. A simple geometrical interpretation, with P waves refracted at the fault plane near the focus, yields the velocity contrast across the fault zone; the distribution of hypocenters allows its mapping in time and space. The velocity contrast so determined ranges up to 15 per cent, for a depth range of 1 to 10 km. The observed pattern of contrast values is coherent, with the greatest contrast related apparently in space, and possibly in time, to the larger earthquakes occurring on the fault. We suggest the phenomenon reflects changes in stress state at the fault and, by virtue of its ease of measurement, offers a new and valuable technique in earthquake studies.

Microearthquake seismicity and tectonics of Coastal Northern California

1970 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1669-1699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Seeber ◽  
Muawia Barazangi ◽  
Ali Nowroozi
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Fault Plane ◽  
San Andreas Fault ◽  
High Gain ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Northern California ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Sharp Bend ◽  
San Andreas

Abstract This paper demonstrates that high-gain, high-frequency portable seismographs operated for short intervals can provide unique data on the details of the current tectonic activity in a very small area. Five high-frequency, high-gain seismographs were operated at 25 sites along the coast of northern California during the summer of 1968. Eighty per cent of 160 microearthquakes located in the Cape Mendocino area occurred at depths between 15 and 35 km in a well-defined, horizontal seismic layer. These depths are significantly greater than those reported for other areas along the San Andreas fault system in California. Many of the earthquakes of the Cape Mendocino area occurred in sequences that have approximately the same magnitude versus length of faulting characteristics as other California earthquakes. Consistent first-motion directions are recorded from microearthquakes located within suitably chosen subdivisions of the active area. Composite fault plane solutions indicate that right-lateral movement prevails on strike-slip faults that radiate from Cape Mendocino northwest toward the Gorda basin. This is evidence that the Gorda basin is undergoing internal deformation. Inland, east of Cape Mendocino, a significant component of thrust faulting prevails for all the composite fault plane solutions. Thrusting is predominant in the fault plane solution of the June 26 1968 earthquake located along the Gorda escarpement. In general, the pattern of slip is consistent with a north-south crustal shortening. The Gorda escarpment, the Mattole River Valley, and the 1906 fault break northwest of Shelter Cove define a sharp bend that forms a possible connection between the Mendocino escarpment and the San Andreas fault. The distribution of hypocenters, relative travel times of P waves, and focal mechanisms strongly indicate that the above three features are surface expressions of an important structural boundary. The sharp bend in this boundary, which is concave toward the southwest, would tend to lock the dextral slip along the San Andreas fault and thus cause the regional north-south compression observed at Cape Mendocino. The above conclusions support the hypothesis that dextral strike-slip motion along the San Andreas fault is currently being taken up by slip along the Mendocino escarpment as well as by slip along northwest trending faults in the Gorda basin.

Control of rupture by fault geometry during the 1966 parkfield earthquake

1981 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan G. Lindh ◽  
David M. Boore
Keyword(s):  
Main Shock ◽  
Fault Plane ◽  
San Andreas Fault ◽  
Strong Motion ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Fault Geometry ◽  
Dynamic Rupture ◽  
San Andreas ◽  
Hill Station ◽  
Parkfield Earthquake

abstract A reanalysis of the available data for the 1966 Parkfield, California, earthquake (ML=512) suggests that although the ground breakage and aftershocks extended about 40 km along the San Andreas Fault, the initial dynamic rupture was only 20 to 25 km in length. The foreshocks and the point of initiation of the main event locate at a small bend in the mapped trace of the fault. Detailed analysis of the P-wave first motions from these events at the Gold Hill station, 20 km southeast, indicates that the bend in the fault extends to depth and apparently represents a physical discontinuity on the fault plane. Other evidence suggests that this discontinuity plays an important part in the recurrence of similar magnitude 5 to 6 earthquakes at Parkfield. Analysis of the strong-motion records suggests that the rupture stopped at another discontinuity in the fault plane, an en-echelon offset near Gold Hill that lies at the boundary on the San Andreas Fault between the zone of aseismic slip and the locked zone on which the great 1857 earthquake occurred. Foreshocks to the 1857 earthquake occurred in this area (Sieh, 1978), and the epicenter of the main shock may have coincided with the offset zone. If it did, a detailed study of the geological and geophysical character of the region might be rewarding in terms of understanding how and why great earthquakes initiate where they do.

Rampart seismic zone of central Alaska

1983 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 813-829
Author(s):  
P. Yi-Fa Huang ◽  
N. N. Biswas
Keyword(s):  
Main Shock ◽  
Fault Plane ◽  
B Value ◽  
Aftershock Sequence ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Lithospheric Plate ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Seismic Zone ◽  
The West ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions

abstract This paper describes the characteristics of the Rampart seismic zone by means of the aftershock sequence of the Rampart earthquake (ML = 6.8) which occurred in central Alaska on 29 October 1968. The magnitudes of the aftershocks ranged from about 1.6 to 4.4 which yielded a b value of 0.96 ± 0.09. The locations of the aftershocks outline a NNE-SSW trending aftershock zone about 50 km long which coincides with the offset of the Kaltag fault from the Victoria Creek fault. The rupture zone dips steeply (≈80°) to the west and extends from the surface to a depth of about 10 km. Fault plane solutions for a group of selected aftershocks, which occurred over a period of 22 days after the main shock, show simultaneous occurrences of strike-slip and normal faults. A comparison of the trends in seismicity between the neighboring areas shows that the Rampart seismic zone lies outside the area of underthrusting of the lithospheric plate in southcentral and central Alaska. The seismic zone outlined by the aftershock sequence appears to represent the formation of an intraplate fracture caused by regional northwest compression.

scholarly journals A functional tool to explore the reliability of micro-earthquake focal mechanism solution for seismotectonic purposes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido Maria Adinolfi ◽  
Raffaella De Matteis ◽  
Rita De Nardis ◽  
Aldo Zollo
Keyword(s):  
Focal Mechanism ◽  
Fault Plane ◽  
Focal Mechanisms ◽  
Seismic Network ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Focal Mechanism Solution ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Stress Regime ◽  
Focal Mechanism Solutions ◽  
Earthquake Focal Mechanism

Abstract. Improving the knowledge of seismogenic faults requires the integration of geological, seismological, and geophysical information. Among several analyses, the definition of earthquake focal mechanisms plays an essential role in providing information about the geometry of individual faults and the stress regime acting in a region. Fault plane solutions can be retrieved by several techniques operating in specific magnitude ranges, both in the time and frequency domain and using different data. For earthquakes of low magnitude, the limited number of available data and their uncertainties can compromise the stability of fault plane solutions. In this work, we propose a useful methodology to evaluate how well a seismic network used to monitor natural and/or induced micro-seismicity estimates focal mechanisms as function of magnitude, location, and kinematics of seismic source and consequently their reliability in defining seismotectonic models. To study the consistency of focal mechanism solutions, we use a Bayesian approach that jointly inverts the P/S long-period spectral-level ratios and the P polarities to infer the fault-plane solutions. We applied this methodology, by computing synthetic data, to the local seismic network operated in the Campania-Lucania Apennines (Southern Italy) to monitor the complex normal fault system activated during the Ms 6.9, 1980 earthquake. We demonstrate that the method we propose can have a double purpose. It can be a valid tool to design or to test the performance of local seismic networks and more generally it can be used to assign an absolute uncertainty to focal mechanism solutions fundamental for seismotectonic studies.

scholarly journals A functional tool to explore the reliability of micro-earthquake focal mechanism solutions for seismotectonic purposes

Solid Earth ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-83
Author(s):  
Guido Maria Adinolfi ◽  
Raffaella De Matteis ◽  
Rita de Nardis ◽  
Aldo Zollo
Keyword(s):  
Focal Mechanism ◽  
Fault Plane ◽  
Normal Fault ◽  
Focal Mechanisms ◽  
Seismic Network ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
Stress Regime ◽  
Focal Mechanism Solutions ◽  
Earthquake Focal Mechanism

Abstract. Improving the knowledge of seismogenic faults requires the integration of geological, seismological, and geophysical information. Among several analyses, the definition of earthquake focal mechanisms plays an essential role in providing information about the geometry of individual faults and the stress regime acting in a region. Fault plane solutions can be retrieved by several techniques operating in specific magnitude ranges, both in the time and frequency domain and using different data. For earthquakes of low magnitude, the limited number of available data and their uncertainties can compromise the stability of fault plane solutions. In this work, we propose a useful methodology to evaluate how well a seismic network, used to monitor natural and/or induced micro-seismicity, estimates focal mechanisms as a function of magnitude, location, and kinematics of seismic source and consequently their reliability in defining seismotectonic models. To study the consistency of focal mechanism solutions, we use a Bayesian approach that jointly inverts the P/S long-period spectral-level ratios and the P polarities to infer the fault plane solutions. We applied this methodology, by computing synthetic data, to the local seismic network operating in the Campania–Lucania Apennines (southern Italy) aimed to monitor the complex normal fault system activated during the Ms 6.9, 1980 earthquake. We demonstrate that the method we propose is effective and can be adapted for other case studies with a double purpose. It can be a valid tool to design or to test the performance of local seismic networks, and more generally it can be used to assign an absolute uncertainty to focal mechanism solutions fundamental for seismotectonic studies.

Fault zone trapped seismic waves

1990 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 1245-1271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y.-G. Li ◽  
P. C. Leary
Keyword(s):  
Fault Zone ◽  
Seismic Waves ◽  
Fault Plane ◽  
Body Wave ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
Trapped Waves ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
San Andreas ◽  
Borehole Seismic

Abstract Two instances of fault zone trapped seismic waves have been observed. At an active normal fault in crystalline rock near Oroville in northern California, trapped waves were excited with a surface source and recorded at five near-fault borehole depths with an oriented three-component borehole seismic sonde. At Parkfield, California, a borehole seismometer at Middle Mountain recorded at least two instances of the fundamental and first higher mode seismic waves of the San Andreas fault zone. At Oroville recorded particle motions indicate the presence of both Love and Rayleigh normal modes. The Love-wave dispersion relation derived for an idealized wave guide with velocity structure determined by body-wave travel-time inversion yields seismograms of the fundamental mode that are consistent with the observed Love-wave amplitude and frequency. Applying a similar velocity model to the Parkfield observations, we obtain a good fit to the trapped wavefield amplitude, frequency, dispersion, and mode time separation for an asymmetric San Andreas fault zone structure—a high-velocity half-space to the southwest, a low-velocity fault zone, a transition zone containing the borehole seismometer, and an intermediate velocity half-space to the northeast. In the Parkfield borehole seismic data set, the locations (depth and offset normal to fault plane) of natural seismic events which do or do not excite trapped waves are roughly consistent with our model of the low velocity zone. We conclude that it is feasible to obtain near-surface borehole records of fault zone trapped waves. Because trapped modes are excited only by events close to the fault zone proper—thereby fixing these events in space relative to the fault—a wider investigation of possible trapped mode waveforms recorded by a borehole seismic network could lead to a much refined body-wave/tomographic velocity model of the fault and to a weighting of events as a function of offset from the fault plane. It is an open question whether near-surface sensors exist in a stable enough seismic environment to use trapped modes as an earth monitoring device.

The Broach earthquake of March 23, 1970

1972 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-61
Author(s):  
Harsh K. Gupta ◽  
Indra Mohan ◽  
Hari Narain
Keyword(s):  
Main Shock ◽  
Fault Plane ◽  
Geological Structure ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
B Values ◽  
Macroseismic Effects ◽  
Godavari Valley ◽  
First Motion ◽  
Largest Aftershock

Abstract The recent seismicity of the Broach region has been studied and correlated with the regional geological structure. The macroseismic effects are briefly described. Analysis of the first motion of P-wave data indicates the plane striking N 92°E to be the fault plane as supported by field observations also. The present seismic activity is found to be similar to the recent Godavari Valley earthquake sequence of April 1970 and different from the earthquakes in the Koyna region on the basis of b values, foreshock-aftershock pattern, and the ratio of the largest aftershock to the main shock magnitude.

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