On the relocation of earthquake clusters. A case history: The Arkansas earthquake swarm

1989 ◽  
Vol 79 (6) ◽  
pp. 1846-1862
Author(s):  
José Pujol ◽  
Jer-Ming Chiu ◽  
Arch Johnston ◽  
Byau-Heng Chin
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Activity ◽  
Earthquake Swarm ◽  
Singular Values ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Seismic Velocities ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Epicentral Area ◽  
Low Velocity Zone ◽  
Station Corrections ◽  
Velocity Zone

Abstract A portable digital network (the PANDA array) of 40 three-component stations with an aperture of about 35 km was deployed for 4 months in the Arkansas swarm area in 1987. Only 12 swarm events occurred during the deployment, in contrast to the intense seismic activity that characterized this region in 1982 to 1984. These events were relocated using a joint hypocentral determination technique (JHD). The JHD method used here allows for the simultaneous determination of P- and S-wave station corrections while providing information on the uniqueness of the solution based on the singular values of a matrix related to the station corrections. P-wave station corrections, determined when all nonzero singular values were used in the computations (or with the two smallest nonzero singular values deleted), show a circular pattern of positive values surrounded by negative values. The epicentral area is localized slightly displaced from the center of the pattern. Since positive and negative corrections correspond to velocities that are lower and higher, respectively, than the average, our results indicate that the swarm area is characterized by seismic velocities lower than those of its surroundings. Independent information on this region is afforded by reflection seismic lines recorded in the swarm area and its vicinity, which show that the hypocenters are located in a region where strong reflectors completely lose their coherence, indicating that this volume is anomalous when compared to surrounding crust. Additional support for a low-velocity zone comes from the results of a 3-D velocity inversion of the same PANDA data. A selected subset of data recorded digitally by the USGS in 1982 was also relocated. Comparison with the results from the PANDA data shows that the seismic activity did not migrate over a 5-yr period and that it is concentrated within a small volume between about 3 km and 6 km depth. While the results of this study do not determine the ultimate cause of the Arkansas swarm, the discovery of a pronounced localized low velocity zone is consistent with a previously proposed magmatic intrusion or a zone of highly fractured, fluid-filled crust.

scholarly journals The April 29, 1965, Puget Sound earthquake and the crustal and upper mantle structure of western Washington

1977 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 693-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles A. Langston ◽  
David E. Blum
Keyword(s):  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Source Parameters ◽  
Puget Sound ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Crust And Upper Mantle ◽  
Low Velocity Zone ◽  
Crustal Model ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Velocity Zone

abstract Simultaneous modeling of source parameters and local layered earth structure for the April 29, 1965, Puget Sound earthquake was done using both ray and layer matrix formulations for point dislocations imbedded in layered media. The source parameters obtained are: dip 70° to the east, strike 344°, rake −75°, 63 km depth, average moment of 1.4 ± 0.6 × 1026 dyne-cm, and a triangular time function with a rise time of 0.5 sec and falloff of 2.5 sec. An upper mantle and crustal model for southern Puget Sound was determined from inferred reflections from interfaces above the source. The main features of the model include a distinct 15-km-thick low-velocity zone with a 2.5-km/sec P-wave-velocity contrast lower boundary situated at approximately 56-km depth. Ray calculations which allow for sources in dipping structure indicate that the inferred high contrast value can trade off significantly with interface dip provided the structure dips eastward. The effective crustal model is less than 15 km thick with a substantial sediment section near the surface. A stacking technique using the instantaneous amplitude of the analytic signal is developed for interpreting short-period teleseismic observations. The inferred reflection from the base of the low-velocity zone is recovered from short-period P and S waves. An apparent attenuation is also observed for pP from comparisons between the short- and long-period data sets. This correlates with the local surface structure of Puget Sound and yields an effective Q of approximately 65 for the crust and upper mantle.

A seismic refraction survey along the southern Rocky Mountain Trench, Canada

1975 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. T. Bennett ◽  
R. M. Clowes ◽  
R. M. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Low Velocity Zone ◽  
Fault Structure ◽  
Record Section ◽  
Southern Rocky Mountain ◽  
Velocity Zone

abstract An unreversed seismic refraction profile has been recorded in the southern Rocky Mountain Trench from 50°N to 53°N. Using blasts from two open-pit coal mines, 44 recordings were obtained over a distance of 540 km. These were combined into a record section in which instrument and shot variations were included to show amplitude variations along the profile. Interpretation involved Weichert-Herglotz integration of p-delta curves to obtain a velocity-depth structure and the calculation of synthetic seismograms for comparison with the record section. Refractors with apparent P-wave velocities of 6.5 to 6.6 km/sec and 8.22±0.04 km/sec are interpreted as the surface of the Precambrian basement and the Mohorovičić discontinuity, respectively. A prominent travel-time delay associated with the 6.5 km/sec branch is interpreted in two possible ways. One explanation is the existence of a crustal low-velocity zone beginning 3 km beneath the basement, depth of 6.5 km, and having a depth extent of 9 to 15 km with associated velocities of 5.5 to 6.1 km/sec, respectively. The second interpretation proposes a high-angle crustal fault near Radium. The resultant model has an up-fault structure with depth to basement of 6.5 km and depth to the M-discontinuity of 51 km and a down-fault structure with corresponding values of 12.1 and 58 km. On the basis of gravity and magnetic trends, the fault strikes northeasterly. In either interpretation, a velocity gradient is present in the lower crustal section and the thickness of the crust is in excess of 50 km. Analysis of larger amplitude arrivals shortly after the Pn phase is consistent with the interpretation of a low-velocity zone, 8 km beneath the M-discontinuity and approximately 7 km thick.

An integrated 3D velocity inversion—joint hypocentral determination relocation analysis of events in the Northridge area

1996 ◽  
Vol 86 (1B) ◽  
pp. S138-S155
Author(s):  
Jose Pujol
Keyword(s):  
Weighted Average ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
Actual Data ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Lateral Velocity ◽  
Epicentral Area ◽  
Velocity Inversion ◽  
Station Corrections ◽  
3D Velocity Model ◽  
Velocity Zone

Abstract A subset of 3371 events recorded in the Northridge area by the Southern California Seismic Network during January to April 1994 was relocated with the joint hypocentral determination (JHD) technique. This analysis showed two unexpected results: (a) the JHD locations are shifted about 3.9 km on average in a northwest direction with respect to the locations determined using a single-event location (SEL) program, and (b) the station corrections vary between −0.55 and 1.26 sec, a rather large range. In addition, the JHD locations are less scattered than the SEL locations. For each station, the weighted average of the arrival time residuals obtained when the events are located with the SEL program (which does not apply distance or error weighting) are generally smaller than the corresponding JHD corrections. The locations determined with SEL and using the weighted average residuals as station corrections do not differ much from the SEL locations, but on average the RMS residuals become as small as those corresponding to the JHD locations. As the magnitude of the station corrections indicates the presence of large lateral velocity variations, a 3D velocity model for the area was determined using the arrival times of 1012 events recorded by at least 17 stations. The initial velocity model was that used routinely by the Southern California Earthquake Center. The first two layers (5.5- and 10.5-km thick) were subdivided into 100 blocks each (12 × 12 km). These layers show a pronounced low-velocity anomaly (24% and 16%, respectively) immediately to the northwest of the epicentral area. This low-velocity zone coincides with the west Ventura Basin. Another pronounced low-velocity zone to the southeast of the epicentral area reflects the presence of the Los Angeles Basin. The locations obtained with the 3D velocity model are consistently to the southeast of the JHD locations, 2.4 km on average. To establish the effect of these pronounced lateral velocity variations on the SEL and JHD locations, synthetic travel times were analyzed. The synthetic times were generated for event locations determined by JHD (shifted by various amounts) and the 3D velocity model and were subsequently treated as the actual data. The most important result of this analysis is that the JHD locations are affected by a quasi-systematic shift in a northwest direction (up to about 2.7 km on average, depending on the initial shift) but that the relative locations are well preserved. Therefore, both the velocity inversion of the actual data and the analysis of the synthetic data indicate that the JHD locations determined for the actual data are quasi-systematically mislocated. To account for this mislocation, an overall shift of 2.5 km to the southeast was applied to all the JHD locations. One of the most important implications of the shifted locations is the possibility that the northeasterly dipping Santa Susana fault, to the northwest of the epicentral area, was seismically active during the aftershock sequence. This feature is more diffuse in other published locations.

Joint hypocentral determination and the detection of low-velocity anomalies. An example from the Phlegraean Fields earthquakes

1990 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Pujol ◽  
Richard Aster
Keyword(s):  
Earthquake Swarm ◽  
P Wave ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Epicentral Area ◽  
Velocity Inversion ◽  
Phlegraean Fields ◽  
Velocity Anomalies

Abstract Arrival time data from the Phlegraean Fields (Italy) earthquake swarm recorded by the University of Wisconsin array in 1983 to 1984 were reanalyzed using a joint hypocentral determination (JHD) technique. The P- and S-wave station corrections computed as part of the JHD analysis show a circular pattern of central positive values surrounded by negative values whose magnitudes increase with distance from the center of the pattern. This center roughly coincides with the point of the maximum uplift (almost 2 m) associated with the swarm. Corrections range from −0.85 to 0.10 sec for P-wave arrivals and from −1.09 to 0.70 sec for S-wave arrivals. We interpret these patterns of corrections as caused by a localized low-velocity anomaly in the epicentral area, which agrees with the results of a previous 3-D velocity inversion of the same data set. The relocated (JHD) epicenters show less scatter than the epicenters obtained in the velocity inversion, and move more of the seismic activity to the vicinity of the only presently active fumarolic feature. The capability of the JHD technique to detect low-velocity anomalies and at the same time to give reliable locations, particularly epicenters, was verified using synthetic data generated for a 3-D velocity model roughly resembling the model obtained by velocity inversion.

scholarly journals Magmatic and tectonic segmentation of the intermediate-spreading Costa Rica Rift—a fine balance between magma supply rate, faulting and hydrothermal circulation

2020 ◽  
Vol 222 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-152
Author(s):  
A H Robinson ◽  
L Zhang ◽  
R W Hobbs ◽  
C Peirce ◽  
V C H Tong
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Circulation System ◽  
Fluid Circulation ◽  
Ridge Axis ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Low Velocity Zone ◽  
Velocity Anomaly ◽  
Magma Supply ◽  
Velocity Zone

SUMMARY 3-D tomographic modelling of wide-angle seismic data, recorded at the intermediate-spreading Costa Rica Rift, has revealed a P-wave seismic velocity anomaly low located beneath a small overlapping spreading centre that forms a non-transform discontinuity at the ridge axis. This low velocity zone displays a maximum velocity anomaly relative to the ‘background’ ridge axis crustal structure of ∼0.5 km s−1, has lateral dimensions of ∼10 × 5 km, and extends to depths ≥2.5 km below the seabed, placing it within layer 2 of the oceanic crust. We interpret these observations as representing increased fracturing under enhanced tectonic stress associated with the opening of the overlapping spreading centre, that results in higher upper crustal bulk porosity and permeability. Evidence for ongoing magmatic accretion at the Costa Rica Rift ridge axis takes the form of an axial magma lens beneath the western ridge segment, and observations of hydrothermal plume activity and microearthquakes support the presence of an active fluid circulation system. We propose that fracture pathways associated with the low velocity zone may provide the system through which hydrothermal fluids circulate. These fluids cause rapid cooling of the adjacent ridge axis and any magma accumulations which may be present. The Costa Rica Rift exists at a tipping point between episodic phases of magmatic and tectonically enhanced spreading. The characteristics inherited from each spreading mode have been preserved in the crustal morphology off-axis for the past 7 Myr. Using potential field data, we contextualize our seismic observations of the axial ridge structure at the whole segment scale, and find that the proposed balance between magmatic and tectonically dominated spreading processes observed off-axis may also be apparent along-axis, and that the current larger-scale magma supply system at the Costa Rica Rift may be relatively weak. Based on all available geophysical observations, we suggest a model for the inter-relationships between magmatism, faulting and fluid circulation at the Costa Rica Rift across a range of scales, which may also be influenced by large lithosphere scale structural and/or thermal heterogeneity.

Partial melting and the low-velocity zone

1970 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don L. Anderson ◽  
Hartmut Spetzler
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Low Velocity Zone ◽  
Velocity Zone

Nature of the low velocity zone in Cascadia from receiver function waveform inversion

2012 ◽  
Vol 337-338 ◽  
pp. 25-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralf T.J. Hansen ◽  
Michael G. Bostock ◽  
Nikolas I. Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Receiver Function ◽  
Waveform Inversion ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Low Velocity Zone ◽  
Velocity Zone

scholarly journals Fault Zone Guided Wave generation on the locked, late interseismic Alpine Fault, New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
JD Eccles ◽  
AK Gulley ◽  
PE Malin ◽  
CM Boese ◽  
John Townend ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fault Zone ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Guided Wave ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Catchment Scale ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Low Velocity Zone ◽  
Alpine Fault ◽  
Velocity Zone

© 2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Fault Zone Guided Waves (FZGWs) have been observed for the first time within New Zealand's transpressional continental plate boundary, the Alpine Fault, which is late in its typical seismic cycle. Ongoing study of these phases provides the opportunity to monitor interseismic conditions in the fault zone. Distinctive dispersive seismic codas (~7-35Hz) have been recorded on shallow borehole seismometers installed within 20m of the principal slip zone. Near the central Alpine Fault, known for low background seismicity, FZGW-generating microseismic events are located beyond the catchment-scale partitioning of the fault indicating lateral connectivity of the low-velocity zone immediately below the near-surface segmentation. Initial modeling of the low-velocity zone indicates a waveguide width of 60-200m with a 10-40% reduction in S wave velocity, similar to that inferred for the fault core of other mature plate boundary faults such as the San Andreas and North Anatolian Faults.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document