Abstract
We treat the problem of the non-uniqueness of the moment tensor inversion for shallow earthquakes from long period surface wave data. We give an existence condition for double couples radiating the same long period surface waves as the deviatoric moment tensor obtained by such inversion. We describe the family of such double couples and show that they may provide better estimates of double couple mechanisms than the traditional “best double-couple” solution. We demonstrate the results of application to four large shallow earthquakes with different source signatures.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bukchin BG (2006) Specific features of surface wave radiation pattern by a shallow source. Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth 42(N8):712–717
Dziewonski AM, Anderson DL (1981) Preliminary reference earth model. Phys Earth Planet Inter 25:297–356
Henry C, Das S (2002) The Mw 8.2 February 17, 1996 Biak, Indonesia earthquake: rupture history, aftershocks and fault plane properties. J Geophys Res 107(B11):2312. doi:10.1029/2001JB000796
Henry C, Das S, Woodhouse JH (2000) The great March 25, 1998, Antarctic plate earthquake: moment tensor and rupture history. J Geophys Res 105:16097–16119
Henry C, Woodhouse JH, Das S (2002) Stability of earthquake moment tensor inversions: effect of the double-couple constraint. Tectonophysics 356:115–124
Kanamori H, Given JW (1981) Use of long-period surface waves for rapid determination of earthquake source parameters. Phys Earth Planet Inter 27:8–31
Kanamori H, Given JW (1982) Use of long-period surface waves for rapid determination of earthquake source parameters. Preliminary determination of source mechanisms of large earthquakes (M s ≥ 6.5) in 1980. Phys Earth Planet Inter 30:260–268
Kuge K, Zhang J, Kikuchi M (1996) The 12 July 1993 Hokkaido-Nansei-Oki, Japan, Earthquake: effects of source complexity on surface-wave radiation. Bull Seismol Soc Am 86(2):505–518
Mochizuki E (1989) On double couple solutions derived from moment tensors. Phys Earth Planet Inter 54:1–3
Ricard Y, Nataf H-C, Montagner J-P (1996) The 3SMAC model. Confrontation with seismic data. J Geophys Res 101:8457–8472
Robinson DP, Henry C, Das S, Woodhouse JH (2001) Simultaneous rupture along two conjugate planes of the Wharton Basin earthquake. Science 292:1145–1148
Strelitz RA (1989) Choosing the “best” double couple from a moment-tensor inversion. Geophys J Int 99:811–815
Takeuchi H, Saito M (1972) Seismic surface waves. In: Bolt BA (ed) Seismology: surface waves and earth oscillations (Methods in computational physics, vol. 11). Academic: New York
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Alexander Mostinskiy died on 30 June 2009 in Moscow.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bukchin, B., Clévédé, E. & Mostinskiy, A. Uncertainty of moment tensor determination from surface wave analysis for shallow earthquakes. J Seismol 14, 601–614 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-009-9185-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-009-9185-8