A regularized approach for estimation of a composite focal mechanism from a set of microearthquakes

We have developed a novel regularized approach to estimate a composite focal mechanism for microseismic events that share a similar source mechanism. The method operates by minimizing the weighted misfits of the SH/P amplitude ratios (in absolute sense and logarithmic scale) and P-wave polarities, using a regularization parameter determined from the trade-off curve for these values. This approach overcomes the low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and single-event azimuthal gaps that may otherwise limit the effectiveness of sparse surface arrays. Compared with focal mechanisms derived from P-wave polarity or amplitude-based methods, our regularized approach reduces the multiplicity of solutions and avoids the use of signed amplitude ratios, which may be ambiguous for data with low S/N. We apply our method to a set of 13 microseismic events recorded during hydraulic-fracture stimulation of the Marcellus Shale in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, USA, yielding a strike-slip focal mechanism accompanied by a minor normal component. Our solution is similar to previously reported focal mechanisms in this area. Jackknife analysis, which tests stability of the inversion based on random sampling of the observation, indicates 95% confidence intervals of 1° and 2°, respectively, for the plunge and azimuth of the P and T axes. By analyzing the event subsets, outliers are identified and the assumption of a single dominant focal mechanism is validated. Numerical modeling demonstrates that our approach is robust in the presence of variations of up to 0°–10° and 0°–35°, respectively, for the plunge and azimuth of P and T axes of the focal mechanisms of these events. Sensitivity analysis using synthetic data also indicates that the algorithm is tolerant to mispicks as well as errors in polarity and amplitude ratio. In the presence of some dissimilar focal mechanisms, the dominant focal mechanism can be reliably estimated if at least 70% of the events have similar source mechanisms.

The Darrington seismic zone in northwestern Washington

Earthquakes occurring between 1971 and 1988 are evidence for a small zone of crustal seismicity under the western North Cascades near Darrington, Washington. Better-quality hypocenters imply the activity occurs on a fault or fault zone striking N80°W ± 20°, dipping nearly south at 40° ± 15°, with a length along strike of at least 10 km and possibly 20 km or more. We term this feature the Darrington Seismic Zone (DSZ). Focal depths range between 3 and 15 km. A single-event and a composite focal mechanism show nearly pure thrust faulting with one nodal plane in agreement with the hypocenter pattern. P axes strike N20°W to N25°W, in accord with a regional stress direction due to relative motion of the Pacific and North American Plates. No mapped fault can be identified as the surface expression of the zone. The area of the DSZ is adequate to generate a magnitude 5+ earthquake should it rupture in a single event, and an ML 5.6±earthquake on 29 April 1945 in the Cascades ESE of Seattle demonstrates that crustal earthquakes having such magnitudes are possible beneath the western North Cascades. The DSZ is the first crustal seismogenic structure to be identified beneath the North Cascades.

A microseismicity study of the Queen Charlotte Islands region

Nineteen land and three ocean-bottom seismographs were operated in the Queen Charlotte Islands region for periods of up to 9 weeks and 5 days, respectively, during the summer of 1983. Three hundred and seventeen seismic events were detected. One hundred and nine earthquakes ranging in size from magnitude −0.5 to 5.1 were well recorded at three or more stations and could be accurately located. Of these, 84 lie on or close to the Queen Charlotte Fault, most within the rupture zone of the great 1949 earthquake (MS = 8.1). The seismic gap, between the rupture zones of the 1949 event and the 1970 earthquake (MS = 7.4) that occurred just south of the Queen Charlotte Islands, exhibited little activity. Eighteen earthquakes, the largest with ML = 3.8, were located east of the fault on northern Graham Island or in adjacent Hecate Strait. Focal depths were generally less than 20 km, and none could be associated with known faults. Composite focal mechanism solutions were obtained for four suites of earthquakes along the Queen Charlotte Fault and for a group east of the fault zone on northern Graham Island. In all cases the solutions indicate thrust mechanisms with the predominant orientation of pressure axes northeast–southwest. The presence of thrust faulting close to the Queen Charlotte Fault suggests that the microseismicity is not occurring on the main transcurrent fault but on subsidiary faults that are moving due to the regional stress regime. Thrust faulting on northern Graham Island can best be interpreted as reflecting the stress field from a locked Pacific and North American boundary.

Aftershocks of the 13 December 1982 North Yemen earthquake: Conjugate normal faulting in an extensional setting

The North Yemen epicentral locale in the southwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula is 200 to 300 km landward from the active rifting of the Red Sea and Sea of Aden. The magnitude 6.0 (MS and mb) main shock of 13 December 1982 locally caused considerable death, injury, and damage and was followed by an extensive aftershock sequence. A 12-day study employing a 10-station portable seismograph network was conducted between 29 December 1982 and 9 January 1983. Hypocentral locations were determined for 230 shocks selected from the thousands of recorded events (duration magnitudes between 1.8 and 4.6). These aftershocks define a source volume that is roughly 20 × 20 × 10 km. From that volume, about half (∼110) of only the best-constrained hypocenters with depths greater than 3 km were selected for detailed analysis. The 110 aftershock data set was divided into subsets according to geographic position (northern and southern) and temporal sequencing (a distinct aftershock sequence late in the monitoring period). A series of composite focal mechanisms show the aftershocks are dip-slip faulting (normal) on planes with north-northwest to northwest strikes and with dips that are variable in amount (∼30° to ∼80°) and direction (southwest and northeast). The strike and extensional nature of these composite focal mechanism solutions are in good agreement with the main shock focal mechanisms, the surficial and bedrock geology of the epicentral area, and the linear surface cracks observed in the field there following the December main shock. We interpret the spatial distribution of our results to describe conjugate faulting episodes associated with north-northwest striking faults.

The Denver Earthquake Sequence of March–April 1981

The Denver earthquake sequence of March–April 1981 was monitored by a network of four permanent and eight portable seismographs. In addition to the main shock (mb = 4.3) on 2 April, six microaftershocks (M < 2) during the subsequent two-week period were recorded and located. Five of those six events had epicenters within the most active area of the 1967–1968 Rocky Mountain Arsenal (RMA) sequence. A composite focal mechanism solution for the main shock and the six aftershocks showed a combination of reverse and strike-slip faulting (14% inconsistency in the 29 P-wave polarities) that is different from the predominantly normal faulting reported for the 1967–1968 RMA sequence. These different focal mechanisms, plus variable water-level response at the RMA well during the earthquake sequence in the 1960’s, may suggest the presence of a multiple fracture system in the source volume.

Digital processing of regional network data

abstract Much more than hypocenter location can be done with digital time histories obtained from regional seismic networks. Examples are given of how these data can be routinely processed to provide readily accessible intermediate results for subsequent studies, among which are velocity inversion using teleseismic P residuals, composite focal mechanism studies, and spectral analysis. The processing must be designed to be as routine and as complete as possible. Only with these two objectives achieved can the seismic networks be as productive as they should be.