scholarly journals Seismic Moment Tensor Solutions from GeoNet Data to Provide a Moment Magnitude Scale for New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Elizabeth de Joux Robertson

<p>The aim of this project is to enable accurate earthquake magnitudes (moment magnitude, MW) to be calculated routinely and in near real-time for New Zealand earthquakes. This would be done by inversion of waveform data to obtain seismic moment tensors. Seismic moment tensors also provide information on fault-type. I use a well-established seismic moment tensor inversion method, the Time-Domain [seismic] Moment Tensor Inversion algorithm (TDMT_INVC) and apply it to GeoNet broadband waveform data to generate moment tensor solutions for New Zealand earthquakes. Some modifications to this software were made. A velocity model can now be automatically used to calculate Green's functions without having a pseudolayer boundary at the source depth. Green's functions can be calculated for multiple depths in a single step, and data are detrended and a suitable data window is selected. The seismic moment tensor solution that has either the maximum variance reduction or the maximum double-couple component is automatically selected for each depth. Seismic moment tensors were calculated for 24 New Zealand earthquakes from 2000 to 2005. The Global CMT project has calculated CMT solutions for 22 of these, and the Global CMT project solutions are compared to the solutions obtained in this project to test the accuracy of the solutions obtained using the TDMT_INVC code. The moment magnitude values are close to the Global CMT values for all earthquakes. The focal mechanisms could only be determined for a few of the earthquakes studied. The value of the moment magnitude appears to be less sensitive to the velocity model and earthquake location (epicentre and depth) than the focal mechanism. Distinguishing legitimate seismic signal from background seismic noise is likely to be the biggest problem in routine inversions.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Elizabeth de Joux Robertson

<p>The aim of this project is to enable accurate earthquake magnitudes (moment magnitude, MW) to be calculated routinely and in near real-time for New Zealand earthquakes. This would be done by inversion of waveform data to obtain seismic moment tensors. Seismic moment tensors also provide information on fault-type. I use a well-established seismic moment tensor inversion method, the Time-Domain [seismic] Moment Tensor Inversion algorithm (TDMT_INVC) and apply it to GeoNet broadband waveform data to generate moment tensor solutions for New Zealand earthquakes. Some modifications to this software were made. A velocity model can now be automatically used to calculate Green's functions without having a pseudolayer boundary at the source depth. Green's functions can be calculated for multiple depths in a single step, and data are detrended and a suitable data window is selected. The seismic moment tensor solution that has either the maximum variance reduction or the maximum double-couple component is automatically selected for each depth. Seismic moment tensors were calculated for 24 New Zealand earthquakes from 2000 to 2005. The Global CMT project has calculated CMT solutions for 22 of these, and the Global CMT project solutions are compared to the solutions obtained in this project to test the accuracy of the solutions obtained using the TDMT_INVC code. The moment magnitude values are close to the Global CMT values for all earthquakes. The focal mechanisms could only be determined for a few of the earthquakes studied. The value of the moment magnitude appears to be less sensitive to the velocity model and earthquake location (epicentre and depth) than the focal mechanism. Distinguishing legitimate seismic signal from background seismic noise is likely to be the biggest problem in routine inversions.</p>


2016 ◽  
Vol 87 (4) ◽  
pp. 964-976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Kwiatek ◽  
Patricia Martínez‐Garzón ◽  
Marco Bohnhoff

2021 ◽  
Vol 92 (6) ◽  
pp. 3460-3470
Author(s):  
Zoya Zarifi ◽  
Fredrik Hansteen ◽  
Florian Schopper

Abstract A microseismic event with Mw∼0.8 was recorded at the Grane oilfield, offshore Norway, in June 2015. This event is believed to be associated with a failure of the wellbore liner in well 25/11-G-8 A. The failure mechanism has been difficult to explain from drilling parameters and operational logs alone. In this study, we analyzed the detected microseismic event to shed light on the possible cause of this event. We inverted for the seismic moment tensor, analyzed the S/P amplitude ratio and radiation pattern of seismic waves, and then correlated the microseismic data with the drilling reports. The inverted seismic moment indicates a shear-tensile (dislocation) event with a strong positive isotropic component (67% of total energy) accompanied by a positive compensated linear vector dipole (CLVD) and a reverse double-couple (DC) component. Drilling logs show a strong correlation between high pump pressure and the occurrence of several microseismic events during the drilling of the well. The strongest microseismic event (Mw∼0.8) occurred during peak pump pressure of 277 bar. The application of high pump pressure was associated with an attempt to release the liner hanger running tool (RT) in the well, which had been obstructed. Improper setting of the liner hanger could have caused the forces from the RT release to be transferred to the liner and might have resulted in ripping and parting of the pipe. The possible direct impact of the ripped liner with the formation or the likely sudden hydraulic pressure exposure to the formation caused by the liner ripping may explain the estimated isotropic component in the moment tensor inversion in the well. This impact can promote slip along the pre-existing fractures (the DC component). The presence of gas in the formation or the funneled fluid to the formation caused by the liner ripping may explain the CLVD component.


First Break ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 75-82
Author(s):  
Lindsay Smith-Boughner ◽  
Irina Nizkous ◽  
Ian Leslie ◽  
Sebastian Braganza ◽  
Ian Pinnock ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 220 (1) ◽  
pp. 218-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Wang ◽  
Zhongwen Zhan

SUMMARY Earthquake focal mechanisms put primary control on the distribution of ground motion, and also bear on the stress state of the crust. Most routine focal mechanism catalogues still use 1-D velocity models in inversions, which may introduce large uncertainties in regions with strong lateral velocity heterogeneities. In this study, we develop an automated waveform-based inversion approach to determine the moment tensors of small-to-medium-sized earthquakes using 3-D velocity models. We apply our approach in the Los Angeles region to produce a new moment tensor catalogue with a completeness of ML ≥ 3.5. The inversions using the Southern California Earthquake Center Community Velocity Model (3D CVM-S4.26) significantly reduces the moment tensor uncertainties, mainly owing to the accuracy of the 3-D velocity model in predicting both the phases and the amplitudes of the observed seismograms. By comparing the full moment tensor solutions obtained using 1-D and 3-D velocity models, we show that the percentages of non-double-couple components decrease dramatically with the usage of 3-D velocity model, suggesting that large fractions of non-double-couple components from 1-D inversions are artifacts caused by unmodelled 3-D velocity structures. The new catalogue also features more accurate focal depths and moment magnitudes. Our highly accurate, efficient and automatic inversion approach can be expanded in other regions, and can be easily implemented in near real-time system.


2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-179
Author(s):  
S Donner ◽  
M Mustać ◽  
B Hejrani ◽  
H Tkalčić ◽  
H Igel

SUMMARY Seismic moment tensors are an important tool and input variable for many studies in the geosciences. The theory behind the determination of moment tensors is well established. They are routinely and (semi-) automatically calculated on a global scale. However, on regional and local scales, there are still several difficulties hampering the reliable retrieval of the full seismic moment tensor. In an earlier study, we showed that the waveform inversion for seismic moment tensors can benefit significantly when incorporating rotational ground motion in addition to the commonly used translational ground motion. In this study, we test, what is the best processing strategy with respect to the resolvability of the seismic moment tensor components: inverting three-component data with Green’s functions (GFs) based on a 3-D structural model, six-component data with GFs based on a 1-D model, or unleashing the full force of six-component data and GFs based on a 3-D model? As a reference case, we use the inversion based on three-component data and 1-D structure, which has been the most common practice in waveform inversion for moment tensors so far. Building on the same Bayesian approach as in our previous study, we invert synthetic waveforms for two test cases from the Korean Peninsula: one is the 2013 nuclear test of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the other is an Mw  5.4 tectonic event of 2016 in the Republic of Korea using waveform data recorded on stations in Korea, China and Japan. For the Korean Peninsula, a very detailed 3-D velocity model is available. We show that for the tectonic event both, the 3-D structural model and the rotational ground motion, contribute strongly to the improved resolution of the seismic moment tensor. The higher the frequencies used for inversion, the higher is the influence of rotational ground motions. This is an important effect to consider when inverting waveforms from smaller magnitude events. The explosive source benefits more from the 3-D structural model than from the rotational ground motion. Nevertheless, the rotational ground motion can help to better constraint the isotropic part of the source in the higher frequency range.


2019 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia A. Ruppert ◽  
Avinash Nayak ◽  
Clifford Thurber ◽  
Cole Richards

Abstract The 30 November 2018 magnitude 7.1 Anchorage earthquake occurred as a result of normal faulting within the lithosphere of subducted Yakutat slab. It was followed by a vigorous aftershock sequence with over 10,000 aftershocks reported through the end of July 2019. The Alaska Earthquake Center produced a reviewed aftershock catalog with a magnitude of completeness of 1.3. This well‐recorded dataset provides a rare opportunity to study the relationship between the aftershocks and fault rupture of a major intraslab event. We use tomoDD algorithm to relocate 2038 M≥2 aftershocks with a regional 3D velocity model. The relocated aftershocks extend over a 20 km long zone between 47 and 57 km depth and are primarily confined to a high VP/VS region. Aftershocks form two clusters, a diffuse southern cluster and a steeply west‐dipping northern cluster with a gap in between where maximum slip has been inferred. We compute moment tensors for the Mw&gt;4 aftershocks using a cut‐and‐paste method and careful selection of regional broadband stations. The moment tensor solutions do not exhibit significant variability or systematic differences between the northern and southern clusters and, on average, agree well with the mainshock fault‐plane parameters. We propose that the mainshock rupture initiated in the Yakutat lower crust or uppermost mantle and propagated both upward into the crust to near its top and downward into the mantle. The majority of the aftershocks are confined to the seismically active Yakutat crust and located both on and in the hanging wall of the mainshock fault rupture.


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