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Inversion of Source Parameters for Moderate Earthquakes Using Short-Period Teleseismic P Waves

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Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a new method for estimating the source parameters of moderate earthquakes (M w ~5.0) by modeling short-period teleseismic waveforms. This method uses a grid-search algorithm to minimize misfits between observed data and synthetic seismograms in depth, magnitude, and mechanism domain in a relative high-frequency range of 0.8–2.0 Hz, similar to the traditional cut-and-paste method used in regional modeling (Zhu and Helmberger, Bull Sesimol Soc Am 86:1634–1641, 1996). In this frequency range, a significant challenge is determining the initial P-wave polarity because of a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Therefore we first determine source properties for a master earthquake with a relative strong SNR. Both the travel time and amplitude corrections are developed relative to the reference 1D model along each path used in inverting the master event. We then applied these corrections to other earthquakes clustered in the same area to constrain the initial P polarities. Thus the focal mechanisms can be determined reasonably well. We inverted focal mechanisms for a small set of events beneath Qeshm Island in southern Iran and demonstrate the importance of radiation pattern at short periods.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the editor and two anonymous reviewers. Their suggestions and comments made significant improvements to the manuscript. This work is supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) through grant No. 2013CB733203.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Geodesy and Earth’s Dynamics, Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430077, Hubei, China

    Risheng Chu & Sidao Ni

  2. Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA

    Risheng Chu & Don V. Helmberger

  3. Quantum Technology Sciences, Incorporated, 1980 North Atlantic Ave, Cocoa Beach, FL, 32931, USA

    Arben Pitarka

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  1. Risheng Chu
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  2. Sidao Ni
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  3. Arben Pitarka
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  4. Don V. Helmberger
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Correspondence to Risheng Chu.

Electronic supplementary material

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24_2013_719_MOESM1_ESM.jpg

Figure S1. CAPt inversion of event 2219 at frequency 0.03–0.5 Hz. A time window of 20 s with 4 s before picked arrival times is allowed to shift by ±0.5 s. See Fig. 2 for more detailsSupplementary material 1 (JPEG 2689 kb)

24_2013_719_MOESM2_ESM.jpg

Figure S2. CAPt inversion of event 1535 at frequency of 0.02–0.1 Hz. A time window of 40 s with 10 s before picked arrival times is allowed to shift ±5.0 s. See Fig. 2 for more detailsSupplementary material 2 (JPEG 559 kb)

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Chu, R., Ni, S., Pitarka, A. et al. Inversion of Source Parameters for Moderate Earthquakes Using Short-Period Teleseismic P Waves. Pure Appl. Geophys. 171, 1329–1341 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-013-0719-1

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