Seismic Source Scaling and Discrimination in Diverse Tectonic Environments
Abstract
The objectives of this study are to improve low-magnitude (concentrating on M2.5-5) regional seismic discrimination by performing a thorough investigation of earthquake source scaling using diverse, high-quality datasets from varied tectonic regions. Local-to-regional high-frequency discrimination requires an estimate of how Q earthquakes scale with size. Walter and Taylor (2001) developed the Magnitude and Distance Amplitude Corrections (MDAC) method to empirically account for these effects through regional calibration. The accuracy of these corrections has a direct impact on our ability to identify clandestine explosions in the broad regional areas characterized by low seismicity. Unfortunately our knowledge at small magnitudes (i.e., mb < -4.0) is poorly resolved, and source scaling remains a subject of on-going debate in the earthquake seismology community. Recently there have been a number of empirical studies suggesting scaling of micro-earthquakes is non-self-similar, yet there are an equal number of compelling studies that would suggest otherwise. It is not clear whether different studies obtain different results because they analyse different earthquakes, or because they use different methods. We investigate earthquake sources and scaling from different tectonic settings, comparing direct and coda wave analysis methods that both make use of Empirical Green's Function (EGF) earthquakes to remove path effects. We develop improved versions of the two methods, and then apply them to a range of data sets.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA505431
Entities
People
- Gisela M. Viegas
- Kevin Mayeda
- R. Gök
- Rachel E. Abercrombie
- William R. Walter
Organizations
- Boston University