Systematic difference in the ISC body-wave magnitude-seismic moment relationship between intermediate and deep earthquakes

1992 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 819-835
Author(s):  
Keiko Kuge

Abstract There exists a systematic difference in the ISC body-wave magnitude (mbISC) - seismic moment (M0) relationship between intermediate and deep earthquakes around Japan. For earthquakes with the same M0, the mbISC for intermediate events is larger than that for deep events by 0.2 to 0.3 units. The mbISC discrepancy is attributed to the depth-distance correction in the procedure for determining the mbISC; a larger depth-distance correction (≈ 0.2) is made for the intermediate events than the deep events, irrespective of station distance. The discrepancy disappears if no depth-distance correction is made. I observe no depth-dependent relationship between the M0 and the JMA magnitudes (MJMA), which make a different depth-distance correction. No significant depth-dependent mbISC discrepancy appears in other regions; for example, around Tonga, I observe larger ISC P-wave amplitudes from deep events than intermediate events, which could cancel the effect of the depth-distance correction. The depth-dependent mbISC - M0 relationship around Japan is observed irrespective of whether the magnitudes are determined using the amplitude data at far or near stations, or whether stations are used in the dipping direction of the slab or not. The mbISC discrepancy for the same M0 cannot arise from local structures, radiation patterns, and station coverages. This is not attributable to the dataset of the M0 itself because no significant depth-dependent relationship between M0 and MJMA is observed.

1993 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 1855-1870
Author(s):  
Masayuki Kikuchi ◽  
Mizuho Ishida

Abstract Body wave data recorded at a small network of broadband seismograph stations are analyzed to investigate local events with focal depths deeper than about 50 km. For these events the initial portion of P-wave displacement represents well the source time function with a scaler correction for the seismic moment. The magnitudes of the analyzed earthquakes range from MW = 3.1 to 6.5. It is shown that the seismic moment M0 and the pulse width τ are well correlated as M0/τ3 = constant, indicating that the stress drop is largely constant. This dynamic similarity seems to be valid for a vast range of earthquake sizes: MW = 1 ∼ 8. It is also shown that source complexity such as a multiple shock nature is not a characteristic of only large earthquakes but is often observed even for small earthquakes.


1977 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-158
Author(s):  
John R. Murphy

abstract A variety of near-regional, regional, and teleseismic ground-motion data have been used to evaluate proposed models of the nuclear seismic source function for underground detonations in tuff/rhyolite emplacement media. It has been found that both the near-regional broad-band seismic data and the teleseismic body-wave magnitude data are consistent with the modified source model proposed by Mueller and Murphy (1971) but not with the simple cube-root of the yield-scaling source model. In particular, the observed linearity and slopes of the body-wave magnitude-yield curves as well as the observed variation of P-wave period with yield have been found to be fully compatible with the modified source model. On the other hand, it has been concluded that the observed long-period surface-wave data are inconsistent with a simple, spherically symmetric source model. The results of a preliminary analysis have suggested that this discrepancy may be related to the spall closure phenomenon.


1979 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 893-909
Author(s):  
Otto W. Nuttli ◽  
G. A. Bollinger ◽  
Donald W. Griffiths

abstract This paper is concerned with estimating body-wave magnitude, mb, from the intensity distribution of an earthquake. Initially, it is assumed that modified Mercalli (MM) intensity values are directly related to the (A/T)z values of 1-Hz, Lg-wave ground motion. By comparison with the intensity values of a reference earthquake, magnitudes are calculated for 41 western and central United States earthquakes. Magnitudes of these earthquakes also are determined independently, in the conventional manner, using teleseismic P-wave amplitudes. Comparison of the two sets of magnitude values indicates that the assumed relation between 1-Hz, Lg-wave (A/T)z values and MM intensity does not hold exactly over the mb range of 4.0 to 6.2. An empirical equation is derived to adjust the mb values obtained from intensity data so that they agree with the teleseismic P-wave magnitudes. The method then is applied to estimate mb of some historical earthquakes which occurred prior to 1962. These include the set for which Kanamori and Jennings (1978) estimated ML from strong-motion accelerograms. Some noteworthy United States earthquakes also are considered. These include: the 1811 New Madrid earthquake for which mb is estimated to be 7.3; the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina earthquake, for which mb is estimated to be 6.6 to 6.9; the 1897 Giles County, Virginia earthquake, for which mb is estimated to be 5.8; the 1906 San Francisco, California earthquake, for which mb is estimated to be 6.8 to 7.1. The intensity-attenuation method cannot be used for estimating mb of all historical earthquakes because the intensity data are not always adequate. In some cases, however, the total felt area or the area enclosed by the Modified Mercalli IV isoseism can be determined. It was found that empirical equations relating mb to these areas, which were derived for central and northeastern United States earthquakes, also apply for events in the southeast. These empirical methods are used to estimate mb values for a set of historical Virginia earthquakes.


1999 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayako Nakamura ◽  
Shigeki Horiuchi ◽  
Akira Hasegawa

Abstract We have developed a method that simultaneously determines focal mechanism solutions of many small earthquakes and source-region station corrections for short-period body-wave amplitudes by inverting amplitude data of P, SH, and SV waves, together with P-wave polarity data. The observed seismic waveform includes the effects of site amplification and attenuation along its ray path in addition to the radiation pattern of earthquake source. The amplitude of seismograms at frequencies higher than a few Hertz is extremely sensitive to heterogeneous structure near the ground surface. Consequently, we need to know in detail the effects of site amplification and attenuation in order to estimate focal mechanisms by using short-period waveforms. However, at present, we do not know the detailed crustal structure with a resolution necessary for this estimation. In the present study, we assume that P- and S-wave attenuation factors along ray paths from hypocenters to each station can be expressed as a function of hypocentral distance, backazimuth, and incident angle. Based on this assumption, we determined focal mechanism solutions of many earthquakes and the coefficients in the function for each station simultaneously, by using P-, SH-, and SV-wave amplitudes and P-wave polarities. We applied the present method to 170 aftershocks of the 1996 Onikobe earthquake (M 5.9), which occurred in the central part of northeastern Japan. We obtained focal mechanism solutions of many microearthquakes whose mechanism solutions could not be determined by using P-wave polarity data alone. P axes of almost all the obtained focal mechanism solutions are horizontal and oriented in the east-west direction. T axes are, on average, near vertical at the shallowest depth. As the depth approaches 5 km, the T axes become horizontal and then gradually become near vertical again.


1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-61
Author(s):  
Mehdi Rezapour ◽  
Robert G. Pearce

Abstract We investigate bias in surface-wave magnitude using the complete ISC and NEIC datasets from 1978 to 1993. We conclude that although there are some small differences between the ISC and NEIC magnitudes, there is no major difference between these agencies for this presentation of the global dataset. The frequency-distance plot for reported surface-wave amplitude observations exhibits detailed structure of the body-wave amplitude-distance curve at all distances; the influence of the surface-wave amplitude decay with distance is much less apparent. This censoring via the body waves represents a large deficit in the number of potentially usable surface-wave amplitude observations, particularly in the P-wave shadow zone between Δ = 100° and 120°. We have obtained two new modified Ms formulas based upon analysis of all ISC data between 1978 and 1993. In the first, the conventional logarithmic dependence of the distance correction is retained, and we obtain M s e = log ( A / T ) max + 1.155 log ( Δ ) + 4.269 . In the second, we make allowance for the theoretically known contribution of dispersion and geometrical spreading, to obtain M s t = log ( A / T ) max + 1 3 log ( Δ ) + 1 2 log ( sin Δ ) + 0.0046 Δ + 5.370. Comparison of these formulas with other work confirms the inadequacy of the distance-dependence term in the Gutenberg and Prague formulas, and we show that our first formula, as well as that of Herak and Herak, gives less bias at all epicentral distances to within the scatter of the observed dataset. Our second formula provides an improved overall distance correction, especially beyond Δ = 145°. We show evidence that Airy-phase distance decay predominates at shorter distances (Δ≦30°), but for greater distances, we are unable to resolve whether this or non-Airy-phase decay predominates. Assuming 20-sec surface waves with U = 3.6 km/sec, we obtain a globally averaged apparent Q−1 of 0.00192 ± 0.00026 (Q ≈ 500). We argue that our second formula not only improves the distance correction for surface-wave magnitudes but also promotes the analysis of unexplained amplitude anomalies by formally allowing for those contributions that are theoretically predictable. We conclude that there remains systematic bias in station magnitudes and that this includes the effects of source depth, different path contributions, and differences in seismometer response. For intermediate magnitudes, Mts shows less scatter against log M0 than does Ms calculated using the Prague formula.


1982 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 221-236
Author(s):  
Frederick J. Mauk ◽  
Doug Christensen ◽  
Steve Henry

abstract An earthquake having an average body-wave magnitude of 5.1 occurred on Sunday, 27 July 1980 near Sharpsburg, Kentucky. The earthquake was widely felt throughout the Eastern United States and had a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of VII in the epicentral region. The total felt area was approximately 673,000 km2. The well-constrained focal mechanism based on 128 P-wave first motions combined with other geological and seismological evidence indicates a fault plane striking N42°E, dipping 50°E with a slip vector 184° of the strike. This is a right-lateral strike-slip event with a small component of thrust. Isoseismal data strongly suggest a northeast-directed rupture. The strike is parallel to the trend of the West Hickman Creek fault zone but 30 km to the east of any known faults.


2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (1) ◽  
pp. 270-288
Author(s):  
Nooshin Saloor ◽  
Emile A Okal

SUMMARY We explore the possible theoretical origin of the distance–depth correction q(Δ, h) introduced 75 yr ago by B. Gutenberg for the computation of the body-wave magnitude mb, and still in use today. We synthesize a large data set of seismograms using a modern model of P-wave velocity and attenuation, and process them through the exact algorithm mandated under present-day seismological practice, to build our own version, qSO, of the correction, and compare it to the original ones, q45 and q56, proposed by B. Gutenberg and C.F. Richter. While we can reproduce some of the large scale variations in their corrections, we cannot understand their small scale details. We discuss a number of possible sources of bias in the data sets used at the time, and suggest the need for a complete revision of existing mb catalogues.


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.


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