Lars Ottemöller

Routine Data Processing in Earthquake Seismology

Routine data processing in earthquake seismology , Routine data processing in earthquake seismology , کتابخانه مرکزی دانشگاه علوم پزشکی تهران

Moment Magnitude Determination for Local and Regional Earthquakes Based on Source Spectra

We investigated the use of an automated routine to determine moment magnitudes from the displacement spectra of local and regional earthquakes. Two algorithms, a genetic algorithm and a converging grid search, were developed and tested with earthquake data from Mexico, Norway, and Deception Island (Antarctica). It was found that compared with manual analysis, the algorithms give reliable automatic moment magnitude ( M w) estimates in the range -1 < M < 8. The converging grid search appeared to be more cost-effective than the genetic algorithm. M w at local and regional distances seems superior to amplitude-based magnitudes that saturate for large earthquakes. The application of the automated algorithm in near real time may help to obtain a nonsaturated magnitude estimate in the case of a large earthquake immediately after the earthquake has occurred. Also, the method can be useful for processing large amounts of data. Manuscript received 27 (July 2001).

The crustal structure of Norway from inversion of teleseismic receiver functions

Teleseismic body waves from seismic broadband and short periodstations were used to investigate the crustal structure of Norwaythrough inversion of the receiver functions. The Moho depths ofthe Baltic Shield are quite well known from previous studiesincluding seismic experiments and spectral ratio technique.However, the results on the details of the crustal structure areinconsistent. This study provided more detailed crustalstructure information at 16 locations than previously known andgenerally confirmed Moho depth results obtained in earlier studies. Significant differences are seen at a few sites. The Moho for the various sites was found at depths between28 and 44 km. In summary, the crustal thicknessincreases from the West Coast of Norway, away from thecontinental margin, towards the centre of the Baltic Shield andfrom Southwest to the Northeast. This corresponds to theincreasing age of the crust. The P velocities in the crust atmost sites show a gradual increase from about 6.0 to 7.1 km/s, withoutclear layering.

Magnitude scales for very local earthquakes. Application for Deception Island Volcano (Antarctica)

Abstract Different magnitude scales are calculated for a set of volcano-tectonic earthquakes recorded in Deception Island Volcano (Antarctica). The data set includes earthquakes recorded during an intense seismic series that occurred in January–February 1999, with hypocentral distances that range between 0.5 and 15 km. This data set is enlarged to include some regional earthquakes with hypocentral distances up to 200 km. The local magnitude scale, M L , fixed at a hypocentral distance of 17 km, is used as the reference for the other magnitude scales studied in the present work. M L is determined on a standard Wood–Anderson simulated trace assuming a gain of 2080. Maximum peak-to-peak amplitudes are measured on the vertical components of a short-period sensor. The M w scale is calculated, in the vertical component, both for P and S waves. The attenuation correction of the ground motion displacement spectra is introduced using data from coda waves studied in the area. The comparison between M L values and M w estimations indicates severe discrepancies between both values. A magnitude–duration scale is calibrated from the comparison between coda durations of the recorded events and their assigned local magnitude scales. In order to investigate the causes of the discrepancy between the M L and M w values we analyze two possible error sources: a wrong coda Q value, or the effects of the near-surface attenuation that initially are not taken into account in the correction of the ground displacement spectra. The analysis reveals that the main cause of this discrepancy is the effect of the near-surface attenuation. The near-surface attenuation is also the cause of the determination of an anomalous spectral decay slope, after the corner frequency, and the determination of this corner frequency value. This near-surface attenuation, represented by κ , is estimated over the data set, obtaining an average value of 0.025. With this κ value, the M w scale is recalculated using an automatic algorithm. The new M w values are more consistent with the M L values, obtaining a relationship of M w =0.78 M L −0.02.

QLg tomography in Colombia

The crustal attenuation of Lg waves in Colombia was estimated and analyzed using local seismological data from the National Seismological Network of Colombia (RSNC). The selected dataset comprises 510 crustal earthquakes with a total of 2928 ray paths. This large dataset allowed us to invert for a regional average of QLg, tomographic images for Colombia, and simultaneously, source size for each event and site term at the seismological stations. The computed regional average for QLg in the frequency band 0.5–5.0 Hz was found to agree with the previously reported values in neighboring regions. In order to resolve the lateral variation in the attenuation of Lg waves in the crust, independent tomographic inversions for 26 frequencies between 0.5 and 5.0 Hz were conducted. The resulting maps confirm that heterogeneities in the crust exist and that they are related to the large-scale tectonic features in the country. The highest attenuation in the region is linked to the presence of active volcanic arcs, where the crust is weakened by partial melting. Relatively high attenuation is also found in zones where the crust is composed of accreted oceanic rocks and in regions with near-surface low-velocity sedimentary layers.

A Local Magnitude Scale ML for the United Kingdom

We have developed a new local magnitude scale ML for the United Kingdom (UK) to replace the Hutton and Boore (1987) scale developed for southern California, which has been used in the UK until now. The new UK scale is developed from 1482 observations of 85 earthquakes on 50 stations located across the British Isles and Ireland. Most of the observations are from epicentral distances of less than 600 km and only few from greater distances up to 900 km. The distance range of the scale is, therefore, 0–600 km. The amplitude observations were used to invert for the parameters defining distance dependence in the ML scale and station corrections. Synthetic tests showed that the inversion was robust. The new ML scale for the UK is given by ML=logA+0.95logR+0.00183R−1.76, in which A is horizontal‐component ground displacement amplitude in nanometers. The amplitudes are measured on traces that are filtered to simulate the Wood–Anderson seismograph. R is the hypocentral distance (in km). The UK scale is intermediate between scales determined for California and those of other intraplate areas such as Norway or the northeastern United States. The absolute station corrections found are all less than 0.5. The scale derived for the UK helps to reduce the overall variance of the mean magnitude estimates by 30%. Much of this improvement is due to the use of station corrections. Applying the UK scale to the database of recorded earthquakes results in a reduction of magnitude for earthquakes above ML 2 and a slight increase in magnitude for earthquakes below ML 2. The biggest change to the ML computation is likely to be for small earthquakes with few amplitude readings, where the use of station corrections makes a significant difference.

Ambient noise levels and detection threshold in Norway

Ambient seismic noise is caused by a number of sources in specific frequency bands. The quantification of ambient noise makes it possible to evaluate station and network performance. We evaluate noise levels in Norway from the 2013 data set of the Norwegian National Seismic Network as well as two temporary deployments. Apart from the station performance, we studied the geographical and temporal variations, and developed a local noise model for Norway. The microseism peaks related to the ocean are significant in Norway. We, therefore, investigated the relationship between oceanic weather conditions and noise levels. We find a correlation of low-frequency noise (0.125–0.25 Hz) with wave heights up to 900 km offshore. High (2–10 Hz) and intermediate (0.5–5 Hz) frequency noise correlates only up to 450 km offshore with wave heights. From a geographic perspective, stations in southern Norway show lower noise levels for low frequencies due to a larger distance to the dominant noise sources in the North Atlantic. Finally, we studied the influence of high-frequency noise levels on earthquake detectability and found that a noise level increase of 10 dB decreases the detectability by 0.5 magnitude units. This method provides a practical way to consider noise variations in detection maps.

Local magnitude scale for earthquakes in Turkey

Based on the earthquake event data accumulated by the Turkish National Seismic Network between 2007 and 2013, the local magnitude (Richter, Ml) scale is calibrated for Turkey and the close neighborhood. A total of 137 earthquakes (Mw > 3.5) are used for the Ml inversion for the whole country. Three Ml scales, whole country, East, and West Turkey, are developed, and the scales also include the station correction terms. Since the scales for the two parts of the country are very similar, it is concluded that a single Ml scale is suitable for the whole country. Available data indicate the new scale to suffer from saturation beyond magnitude 6.5. For this data set, the horizontal amplitudes are on average larger than vertical amplitudes by a factor of 1.8. The recommendation made is to measure Ml amplitudes on the vertical channels and then add the logarithm scale factor to have a measure of maximum amplitude on the horizontal. The new Ml is compared to Mw from EMSC, and there is almost a 1:1 relationship, indicating that the new scale gives reliable magnitudes for Turkey.

Seismicity, Deformation, and Metamorphism in the Western Hellenic Subduction Zone: New Constraints From Tomography

The Western Hellenic Subduction Zone is characterized by a transition from oceanic to continental subduction. In the southern oceanic portion of the system, abundant seismicity reaches depths of 100 km to 190 km, while the northern continental portion rarely exhibits deep earthquakes. Our study investigates how this oceanic-continental transition affects fluid release and related seismicity along strike. We present results from local earthquake tomography and double-difference relocation in conjunction with published images based on scattered teleseismic waves. Our tomographic images recover both subducting oceanic and continental crusts as low-velocity layers on top of high-velocity mantle. Although the northern and southern trenches are offset along the Kephalonia Transform Fault, continental and oceanic subducting crusts appear to align at depth. This suggests a smooth transition between slab retreat in the south and slab convergence in the north. Relocated hypocenters outline a single-planed Wadati-Benioff Zone with significant along-strike variability in the south. Seismicity terminates abruptly north of the Kephalonia Transform Fault, likely reflecting the transition from oceanic to continental subducted crust. Near 90 km depth, the low-velocity signature of the subducting crust fades out and the Wadati-Benioff Zone thins and steepens, marking the outline of the basalt-eclogite transition. Subarc melting of the mantle is only observed in the southernmost sector of the oceanic subduction, below the volcanic part of the arc. Beneath the nonvolcanic part, the overriding crust appears to have undergone large-scale silica enrichment. This enrichment is observed as an anomalously low Vp/Vs ratio and requires massive transport of dehydration-derived fluids updip through the subducting crust.

Spectral determination of source parameters in the Marmara Region

Ever since the 1999 Kocaeli earthquake, in which the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute (KOERI) was not able to correctly reflect the magnitude size in its preliminary report because of the saturation effect, a rapid and accurate determination of the earthquake becomes a very important issue. Therefore, in the framework of this study, an automatic determination of the moment magnitude was performed by using the displacement spectra of selected earthquakes in the Marmara Region. For this purpose, 39 three-component broadband stations from KOERI seismic network which recorded 174 earthquakes with magnitudes 2.5 ≤ M ≤ 5.0 in between 2006–2009 were used. Due to the importance of quality factor in determination of the moment magnitude with spectral analysis method, the quality factor was calculated for the whole region in the beginning. Source spectrum which was obtained by converting the velocity records to displacement spectra and moment magnitudes of earthquakes were determined by fitting this spectrum to classical Brune model. For this aim, an automatic procedure was utilized which based on minimizing the differences between observed and synthetic source spectra identified by the S waves. Besides moment magnitude and location parameters, some source parameters such as seismic moment, spectral level, corner frequency and stress drop were also calculated. Application of the method proves that determining the seismic moment from the source spectra is applicable not only for earthquakes with small magnitude but also moderate earthquakes as well.