Seismic Source Processes of 25 Earthquakes (Mw>5) in the Gulf of California

ABSTRACT The Gulf of California (GoC) is a complex tectonic boundary that has been instrumented in the past several decades to record broadband seismograms. This volume of data has allowed us to study several source parameters systematically. Before, only a few source parameters of earthquakes greater than magnitude five had been studied in the GoC area. We re-examined the focal mechanisms of several earthquakes in the southern GoC that occurred over the last 20 yr using local–regional distance broadband seismograms. These focal mechanisms were then used as input data to retrieve the time–space history of the rupture for each earthquake. This work contributes to the study of 25 rupture-process models computed with the method proposed by Yagi et al. (1999). To investigate more about the nature of the seismicity in the GoC, we also calculated the non-double-couple component of moment tensors for 45 earthquakes. Previous studies (e.g., Ortega et al., 2013, 2016) have shown that non-double-couple components from moment tensors in this region are associated with complex faulting, suggesting that oblique faults or several parallel faults are interacting simultaneously. Our results show that, at least for moderate earthquakes (5 < M < 6), rupture processes in the GoC show a complex interaction between fault systems. It is revealed on the important contribution of non-double-couple component obtained in the full moment tensor analysis.

A Seismological and Geophysical Database of Kos Island: 10 Years of Digital Records

A ten-year complete seismological database is evaluated in the present work. These data are provided for events with magnitude ML ≥ 1.0, which have occurred in Eastern Greece and, more specifically, in Kos Island. Several selection criteria are applied and, hence, a catalog of the seismological records is compiled. Detailed big data (seismological, tide gauge, geodetic stations, accelerometers, etc.) of this region are used and processed in this work. The database consists of approximately 35,000 three-component broadband seismograms from 1198 digitally recorded events. It covers the last ten years of measurements, including records from the 20 July 2017, ML 6.2, Kos Island, Greece event. The seismological communities can either use this database to conduct new research or improve already existing seismic hazard studies in the region.

Seismic shaking scenarios for city of Zagreb, Croatia

<p>In order to assess the seismic shaking levels, following the strong Zagreb March 22nd 2020 earthquake, we compute broadband seismograms using a hybrid technique. In a hybrid technique, low frequency (LF, f < 1 Hz) and high frequency (HF, f = 1–10 Hz) seismograms are obtained separately and then merged into a single time series. The LF part of seismogram is computed using a deterministic approach while for the HF part, we adopt the semi-stochastic method following the work of Graves and Pitarka (2010). For the purposes of the simulation, we also assemble the 3D velocity and density model of the crust for the city of Zagreb and its surrounding region. The model consists of a detailed description of the main geologic structures that are observed in the upper crust and is embedded within a greater regional EPCrust crustal model (Molinari and Morelli, 2011). To test and evaluate its performance, we apply the hybrid technique to the Zagreb March 22nd 2020 Mw = 5.3 event and four smaller (3.0 < Mw < 5.0) events. We compare the measured seismograms with the synthetic data and validate our results by assessing the goodness of fit for the peak ground velocity values and the shaking duration. Furthermore, since the 1880 Mw = 6.2 historic earthquake significantly contributes to the hazard assessment for the wider Zagreb area, we compute synthetic seismograms for this event at two different hypocenter locations. We calculate broadband waveforms on a dense grid of points and from these we plot the shakemaps to determine if the main expected ground-motion features are well-represented by our approach. Lastly, due to the events that occured in the Petrinja epicentral area at the end of 2020, we decided to extend our 3D model to cover the area of interest. We will present the preliminary results of the simulation for the December 29th 2020 Mw = 6.4 strong earthquake, as well as our plans for further research.</p>

Reply to comment by Vallée et al. on “Earthquake-induced prompt gravity signals identified in dense array data in Japan”

Density perturbations accompanying seismic waves are expected to generate prompt gravity perturbations preceding the arrival of P-waves. Vallée et al. (Science 358:1164–1168, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao0746) reported the detection of such pre-P-wave signals in broadband seismograms during the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake. Kimura et al. (Earth Planets Space 71:27, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-019-1006-x) considered that their detection involved some uncertain points, including a concern regarding their signal processing procedure. Specifically, to remove the instrumental response, Vallée et al. (2017) applied acausal deconvolution to the seismograms truncated at the P-wave arrivals. Generally, acausal deconvolution produces artifacts at the edge of the time window. However, they did not present quantitative assessment whether the detected signals were artifacts due to the signal processing. To avoid this concern, Kimura et al. (2019) employed another procedure that eliminated acausal processes, resulting in the detection of a pre-P-wave signal with a statistical significance of 7σ in stacked broadband seismograms. Subsequently, Vallée et al. (Earth Planets Space 71:51, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-019-1030-x) commented that the procedure employed by Kimura et al. (2019) for the signal detection was inappropriate because it dismissed the low-frequency components of data. Although we admit the loss of low-frequency components in the data in Kimura et al. (2019), Vallée et al. (2019) have not yet provided a full account of the validity of their own procedure. Here, we assessed the validity of the procedure employed by Vallée et al. (2017) by quantitatively evaluating the magnitude of the acausal artifacts. First, we investigated how the input acceleration waveform, having an ideal signal-like shape, was distorted by their procedure. Their acausal deconvolution indeed generated a large-amplitude terminal artifact; however, it was removed by the causal band-pass filtering performed after the deconvolution and consequently became negligible. Next, we constrained the maximum amplitude of the artifact due to the noise in a seismogram and showed that it was sufficiently small compared to the reported signal amplitudes. These results suggest that the signal waveforms seen after their procedure were not artifacts but were representing the input acceleration with sufficient accuracy. Namely, their procedure well functions as a detection method for pre-P-wave signals. In the context of this validation, we replied to the comments of Vallée et al. (2019).

Source parameters estimation from broadband regional seismograms for earthquakes in the Aegean region and the Gorda plate

Seismic moment tensors are estimated for earthquakes offshore Northern California and Greece using inversion of regionally recorded broadband seismograms. This study includes inversion results for the strongest events that occurred inside the Gorda plate and near the Mendocino triple junction from 1991 to 2005. The regional results are in good agreement with obtained teleseismic results. We finally applied the moment tensor inversion methodology and validation mainly to moderate sized earthquakes, with magnitude greater than M~4.0, in the Aegean area. The focal mechanisms of HI earthquakes that occurred during the time period between June 2003 and March 2007 were estimated using this procedure.