Kimiyuki Asano

Source process and near-source ground motions of the 2005 West Off Fukuoka Prefecture earthquake

A large shallow crustal earthquake occurred at the western off-shore of Fukuoka Prefecture, northern Kyushu, Japan, at 10:53 on March 20, 2005 (JST). Source rupture processes of the mainshock and the largest aftershock on April 20, 2005, are estimated by the kinematic waveform inversion of strong motion seismograms. The rupture of the mainshock started with relatively small slip, and the largest slip was observed at the southeast of the hypocenter. The inverted source models showed that both of the ruptures of the mainshock and the largest aftershock mainly propagated to southeast from the hypocenters, and the rupture area of those events did not overlap each other. Three-dimensional ground motion simulation by the finite difference method considering three-dimensional bedrock structure was also conducted to see the spatial variation of the near-source ground motion of the mainshock. The result of the simulation shows that expected groud motions are relatively large in and arround Genkai Island, Shikanoshima Island, and the center of Fukuoka City compared to the other area because of the rupture heterogeneity and the deep basin structure in Fukuoka City.

Source model for strong ground motion generation in the frequency range 0.1–10 Hz during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake

The source model of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, which is composed of four strong motion generation areas (SMGAs), is estimated based on the broadband strong ground motion simulations in the frequency range 0.1–10 Hz using the empirical Green’s function method. Two strong motion generation areas are identified in the Miyagi-oki region west of the hypocenter. Another two strong motion generation areas are located in the Fukushima-oki region southwest of the hypocenter. The strong ground motions in the frequency range 0.1–10 Hz along the Pacific coast are mainly controlled by these SMGAs. All the strong motion generation areas exist in the deeper portion of the source fault plane. The stress drops of the four SMGAs range from 6.6 to 27.8 MPa, which are similar to estimations for past M 7-class events occurring in this region. Compared with the slip models and aftershock distributions of past interplate earthquakes in the Miyagi-oki and Fukushima-oki regions since the 1930s, the SMGAs of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake spatially correspond to the asperities of M 7-class events in 1930s. In terms of broadband strong ground motions, the 2011 Tohoku earthquake is not only a tsunamigenic event with a huge coseismic slip near the trench but is also a complex event simultaneously rupturing pre-existing asperities.

Estimation of Source Rupture Process and Strong Ground Motion Simulation of the 2002 Denali, Alaska, Earthquake

A M W 7.9 inland crustal earthquake occurred in the Denali fault system, Alaska, on 3 November 2002 at 22:12 (UTC). In this study, we estimated the source process of the 2002 Denali earthquake by a multiple time-window linear kinematic waveform inversion using strong motion and Global Positioning System (gps)-measured static displacement data. The obtained source model could explain both the observed strong motion waveforms and gps-measured static displacements. Large slips on the fault plane are observed at approximately 80–90 km and 150–200 km east from the hypocenter. These features are consistent with the observed surface rupture distribution and the other inversion results obtained using teleseismic body waves. We also observed some portions of the whole fault with a local rupture propagation velocity of more than 4.0 km/sec that exceeded the shear-wave velocity of the source region. The relation between the rupture area and seismic moment of this earthquake seems to follow the bilinear L -model scaling rather than the self-similar source scaling model. The combined area of asperities is somewhat smaller than that expected from the empirical scaling relationship with seismic moments developed by compiling inverted source models. Finally, we conducted a forward ground motion simulation using the finite difference method to estimate the influence of the heterogeneous source process obtained here on the spatial distribution of strong ground motions. The calculated ground motions are relatively large above and around the large slip areas and also in the region east of the fault area because of the forward directivity effect of unilateral rupture propagation.

The Earthquake‐Source Inversion Validation (SIV) Project

Finite-fault earthquake source inversions infer the (time-dependent) displacement on the rupture surface from geophysical data. The resulting earthquake source models document the complexity of the rupture process. However, multiple source models for the same earthquake, obtained by different research teams, often exhibit remarkable dissimilarities. To address the uncertainties in earthquake-source inversion methods and to understand strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches used, the Source Inversion Validation (SIV) project conducts a set of forward-modeling exercises and inversion benchmarks. In this article, we describe the SIV strategy, the initial benchmarks, and current SIV results. Furthermore, we apply statistical tools for quantitative waveform comparison and for investigating source-model (dis)similarities that enable us to rank the solutions, and to identify particularly promising source inversion approaches. All SIV exercises (with related data and descriptions) and statistical comparison tools are available via an online collaboration platform, and we encourage source modelers to use the SIV benchmarks for developing and testing new methods. We envision that the SIV efforts will lead to new developments for tackling the earthquake-source imaging problem.

Source Rupture Process of the 2004 Chuetsu, Mid-Niigata Prefecture, Japan, Earthquake Inferred from Waveform Inversion with Dense Strong-Motion Data

Abstract The kinematic source rupture process of the 2004 Chuetsu, mid-Niigata prefecture, Japan, earthquake, is estimated from strong-motion data by the linear waveform inversion method. In order to develop appropriate Green’s functions, one-dimensional velocity structure models for each station are constructed by modeling the aftershock waveforms. The estimated top of the bedrock is deeper at the western side of the fault and relatively shallow at the eastern side. This tendency coincides with other investigations of seismic tomography and microtremor array observations. The obtained source model shows large slips in the vicinity of the hypocenter. The reverse slipping rupture originated from the deeper part of the fault and propagated toward the up-dip and southwest directions. The near-surface slip is small. Two tests are demonstrated to check the stability of the obtained source model. The first test examines the effects of the number of available stations on the solution, and the second test examines how the difference in the target waveform type affects the solution. The number of stations affects the variation of slip amount, and more than 12 stations appear to be sufficient to obtain a stable solution in this case. The difference in the target wave type in the data set does not significantly affect the solution if the number of stations is sufficient and the Green’s functions are well calibrated. The model obtained using calibrated velocity structure models shows clear image of high-slip area compared to the model obtained using a single velocity structure model.

Source characteristics of shallow intraslab earthquakes derived from strong-motion simulations

Source modeling of recent shallow intraslab earthquakes is studied using strong-motion data. The total area of strong-motion generation areas obtained is smaller than the prediction from the empirical relationship for inland crustal earthquakes by Somerville and co-workers. Moreover, the ratio between the combined area of strong-motion generation areas obtained in this study and the area predicted by the empirical relationship, tends to decrease with focal depth. The stress drops on strong motion generation areas (or asperities) of shallow intraslab earthquakes increase with focal depth.

Source Scaling of Inland Crustal Earthquake Sequences in Japan Using the S-Wave Coda Spectral Ratio Method

We estimate corner frequencies and stress drops for 298 events ranging from Mw 3.2–7.0 in 17 inland crustal earthquake sequences in Japan to investigate the source scaling and variation in stress drops. We obtain the source spectral ratio from observed records by the S-wave coda spectral ratio method. The advantage of using the S-wave coda is in obtaining much more stable source spectral ratios than using direct S-waves. We carefully examine the common shape of the decay of coda envelopes between event pair records. The corner frequency and stress drop are estimated by modeling the observed source spectral ratio with the omega-square source spectral model. We investigate the dependences of stress drops on some tectonic effects such as regionality, focal mechanism, and source depth. The principal findings are as follows: (1) a break in self-similar source scaling is found in our dataset. Events larger than Mw 4.5 show larger stress drops than those of smaller events. (2) Stress drops of aftershocks are mostly smaller than those of mainshocks in each sequence. (3) There are no systematic differences between stress drops of events occurring inside and outside the Niigata-Kobe Tectonic Zone in Japan. (4) Clear dependence of the faulting type on stress drops cannot be seen. (5) Stress drops of aftershocks depend on their source depth. (6) The crack size obtained from the corner frequency corresponds to the total rupture area of heterogeneous slip models for large events.

Estimation of the source model for the foreshock of the 2004 off the Kii peninsula earthquakes and strong ground motion simulation of the hypothetical Tonankai earthquake using the empirical Green's function method

We estimated the source model for the foreshock of the 2004 off the Kii peninsula earthquakes by empirical Green’s function modeling. The size and the rise time of the strong motion generation area (SMGA) were estimated to be 30 × 15 km, and 0.9 sec, respectively. The stress drop of the SMGA was calculated to be 8.3 MPa. This model could reproduce long-period ground motions following the direct S-wave observed in the Osaka basin well. Using the derived source parameters, we simulated strong motions of the hypothetical Tonankai earthquake. Distribution of the seismic intensity derived here is similar to that obtained by the previous report. We could predict long-period ground motions which last for a long duration at the basin sites.

Source rupture process of the 2011 Fukushima-ken Hamadori earthquake: how did the two subparallel faults rupture?

The 2011 Fukushima-ken Hamadori earthquake (MW 6.6) occurred about a month after the 2011 Great Tohoku earthquake (MW 9.0), and it is thought to have been induced by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. After the 2011 Hamadori earthquake, two subparallel faults (the Itozawa and Yunodake faults) were identified by field surveys. The hypocenter was located nearby the Itozawa fault, and it is probable that the Itozawa fault ruptured before the Yunodake fault rupture. Here, we estimated the source rupture process of the 2011 Hamadori earthquake using a model with two subparallel faults based on strong motion data. The rupture starting point and rupture delay time of the Yunodake fault were determined based on Akaike’s Bayesian Information Criterion (ABIC). The results show that the Yunodake fault started to rupture from the northern deep point 4.5 s after the Itozawa fault started to rupture. The estimated slip distribution in the shallow part is consistent with the surface slip distribution identified by field surveys. Time-dependent Coulomb failure function changes (ΔCFF) were calculated using the stress change from the Itozawa fault rupture in order to evaluate the effect of the rupture on the Yunodake fault. The ΔCFF is positive at the rupture starting point of the Yunodake fault 4.5 s after the Itozawa fault started to rupture; therefore, it is concluded that during the 2011 Hamadori earthquake, the Yunodake fault rupture was triggered by the Itozawa fault rupture.

Estimation of local site effects in Ojiya city using aftershock records of the 2004 Mid Niigata Prefecture earthquake and microtremors

Aftershock observations of the 2004 Mid Niigata Prefecture earthquake were conducted in the central part of Ojiya city, the Niigata prefecture, central Japan, to investigate local site effects. We installed eight accelerographs in the vicinity of the K-NET and JMA stations in the area. The stations of the aftershock observations are situated under different geological conditions including one installed in a mountainous area on Tertiary layers to serve as a reference site. We examined the ground-motion characteristics of the records for a Mj 6.1 aftershock focusing on local site effects. The amplification, at a period of less than 1 sec, is the largest in the vicinity of the K-NET station. The amplification at periods longer than 2 sec is larger in the western part of the city than those in the east. We estimated the S-wave velocity structure in the sediments above the basement with an S-wave velocity of 3.4 km/sec from the inversion of phase velocities measured by the array observations of vertical microtremors. We discuss the amplification factors using the S-wave velocity profile and show that shallow soils over the layer with an S-wave velocity of 0.49 km/sec are responsible for the amplification at periods shorter than 0.4 sec. Deeper sedimentary layers are needed to explain amplification at periods of 1 sec.