ALBERT

Description: On September 16, 2015, the M W =8.2 Illapel megathrust earthquake ruptured the Central Chilean margin. Combining inversions of displacement measurements and seismic waveforms with high frequency (HF) teleseismic backprojection we derive a comprehensive description of the rupture, which also predicts deep-ocean tsunami waveheights. We further determine moment tensors and obtain accurate depth estimates for the aftershock sequence. The earthquake nucleated near the coast but then propagated to the north and updip, attaining a peak slip of 5–6 m. In contrast, HF seismic radiation is mostly emitted downdip of the region of intense slip, and arrests earlier than the long period rupture, indicating smooth slip along the shallow plate interface in the final phase. A superficially similar earthquake in 1943 with a similar aftershock zone had a much shorter source time function, which matches the duration of HF seismic radiation in the recent event, indicating that the 1943 event lacked the shallow slip.

Description: In this study, we analyze acoustic emission (AE) data recorded at the Morsleben salt mine, Germany, to assess the catalog completeness, which plays an important role in any seismicity analysis. We introduce the new concept of a magnitude completeness interval consisting of a maximum magnitude of completeness ( M c(max) ) in addition to the well-known minimum magnitude of completeness. This is required to describe the completeness of the catalog, both for the smallest events (for which the detection performance may be low) and for the largest ones (which may be missed because of sensors saturation). We suggest a method to compute the maximum magnitude of completeness and calculate it for a spatial grid based on (1) the prior estimation of saturation magnitude at each sensor, (2) the correction of the detection probability function at each sensor, including a drop in the detection performance when it saturates, and (3) the combination of detection probabilities of all sensors to obtain the network detection performance. The method is tested using about 130,000 AE events recorded in a period of five weeks, with sources confined within a small depth interval, and an example of the spatial distribution of M c(max) is derived. The comparison between the spatial distribution of M c(max) and of the maximum possible magnitude ( M max ), which is here derived using a recently introduced Bayesian approach, indicates that M max exceeds M c(max) in some parts of the mine. This suggests that some large and important events may be missed in the catalog, which could lead to a bias in the hazard evaluation.

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉The design of an array configuration is an important task in array seismology during experiment planning. Often the array response function (ARF), which depends on the relative position of array stations and frequency content of the incoming signals, is used as the array design criterion. In practice, additional constraints and parameters have to be taken into account, for example, land ownership, site-specific noise levels or characteristics of the seismic sources under investigation. In this study, a flexible array design framework is introduced that implements a customizable scenario modelling and optimization scheme by making use of synthetic seismograms. Using synthetic seismograms to evaluate array performance makes it possible to consider additional constraints. We suggest to use synthetic array beamforming as an array design criterion instead of the ARF. The objective function of the optimization scheme is defined according to the monitoring goals, and may consist of a number of subfunctions. The array design framework is exemplified by designing a seven-station small-scale array to monitor earthquake swarm activity in Northwest Bohemia/Vogtland in central Europe. Two subfunctions are introduced to verify the accuracy of horizontal slowness estimation; one to suppress aliasing effects due to possible secondary lobes of synthetic array beamforming calculated in horizontal slowness space and the other to reduce the event’s mislocation caused by miscalculation of the horizontal slowness vector. Subsequently, a weighting technique is applied to combine the subfunctions into one single scalar objective function to use in the optimization process.〈/span〉

Description: Tectonic earthquake swarms challenge our understanding of earthquake processes since it is difficult to link observations to the underlying physical mechanisms and to assess the hazard they pose. Transient forcing is thought to initiate and drive the spatio-temporal release of energy during swarms. The nature of the transient forcing may vary across sequences and range from aseismic creeping or transient slip to diffusion of pore pressure pulses to fluid redistribution and migration within the seismogenic crust. Distinguishing between such forcing mechanisms may be critical to reduce epistemic uncertainties in the assessment of hazard due to seismic swarms, because it can provide information on the frequency–magnitude distribution of the earthquakes (often deviating from the assumed Gutenberg–Richter relation) and on the expected source parameters influencing the ground motion (for example the stress drop). Here we study the ongoing Pollino range (Southern Italy) seismic swarm, a long-lasting seismic sequence with more than five thousand events recorded and located since October 2010. The two largest shocks (magnitude M w = 4.2 and M w = 5.1) are among the largest earthquakes ever recorded in an area which represents a seismic gap in the Italian historical earthquake catalogue. We investigate the geometrical, mechanical and statistical characteristics of the largest earthquakes and of the entire swarm. We calculate the focal mechanisms of the M l 〉 3 events in the sequence and the transfer of Coulomb stress on nearby known faults and analyse the statistics of the earthquake catalogue. We find that only 25 per cent of the earthquakes in the sequence can be explained as aftershocks, and the remaining 75 per cent may be attributed to a transient forcing. The b -values change in time throughout the sequence, with low b -values correlated with the period of highest rate of activity and with the occurrence of the largest shock. In the light of recent studies on the palaeoseismic and historical activity in the Pollino area, we identify two scenarios consistent with the observations and our analysis: This and past seismic swarms may have been ‘passive’ features, with small fault patches failing on largely locked faults, or may have been accompanied by an ‘active’, largely aseismic, release of a large portion of the accumulated tectonic strain. Those scenarios have very different implications for the seismic hazard of the area.

Description: The very shallow part of subduction megathrusts occasionally hosts tsunami earthquakes, with unusually slow rupture propagation. The aftershock sequence of the 2010 M w  8.8 Maule earthquake, offshore Chile, provides us with the opportunity to study systematic changes in source properties for smaller earthquakes within a single segment of a subduction zone. We invert amplitude spectra for double-couple moment tensors and centroid depths of 71 aftershocks of the Maule earthquake down to magnitudes M w  4.0. In addition, we also derive average source durations. We find that shallower earthquakes tend to have longer normalized source durations on average, similar to the pattern observed previously for larger magnitude events. This depth dependence is observable for thrust and normal earthquakes. The normalized source durations of normal-faulting earthquakes are at the lower end of those for thrust earthquakes, probably because of the higher stress drops of intraplate earthquakes compared to interplate earthquakes. We suggest from the similarity of the depth dependence of normal and thrust events and between smaller and larger magnitude earthquakes that the depth-dependent variation of rigidity, rather than frictional conditional stability at the plate interface, is primarily responsible for the observed pattern. Tsunami earthquakes probably require both low rigidity and conditionally stable frictional conditions; the presence of long-duration moderate-magnitude events is therefore a helpful but not sufficient indicator for areas at risk of tsunami earthquakes. Online Material: Table of earthquake inversion results for the 2010 M w  8.8 Maule, Chile, aftershock sequence.

Description: The 2014 April 1, M w 8.1 Iquique (Chile) earthquake struck in the Northern Chile seismic gap. With a rupture length of less than 200 km, it left unbroken large segments of the former gap. Early studies were able to model the main rupture features but results are ambiguous with respect to the role of aseismic slip and left open questions on the remaining hazard at the Northern Chile gap. A striking observation of the 2014 earthquake has been its extensive preparation phase, with more than 1300 events with magnitude above M L 3, occurring during the 15 months preceding the main shock. Increasing seismicity rates and observed peak magnitudes accompanied the last three weeks before the main shock. Thanks to the large data sets of regional recordings, we assess the precursor activity, compare foreshocks and aftershocks and model rupture preparation and rupture effects. To tackle inversion challenges for moderate events with an asymmetric network geometry, we use full waveforms techniques to locate events, map the seismicity rate and derive source parameters, obtaining moment tensors for more than 300 events (magnitudes M w 4.0–8.1) in the period 2013 January 1–2014 April 30. This unique data set of fore- and aftershocks is investigated to distinguish rupture process models and models of strain and stress rotation during an earthquake. Results indicate that the spatial distributions of foreshocks delineated the shallower part of the rupture areas of the main shock and its largest aftershock, well matching the spatial extension of the aftershocks cloud. Most moment tensors correspond to almost pure double couple thrust mechanisms, consistent with the slab orientation. Whereas no significant differences are observed among thrust mechanisms in different areas, nor among thrust foreshocks and aftershocks, the early aftershock sequence is characterized by the presence of normal fault mechanisms, striking parallel to the trench but dipping westward. These events likely occurred in the shallow wedge structure close to the slab interface and are consequence of the increased extensional stress in this region after the largest events. The overall stress inversion result suggests a minor stress rotation after the main shock, but a significant release of the deviatoric stress. The temporal change in the distribution of focal mechanisms can also be explained in terms of the spatial heterogeneity of the stress field: under such interpretation, the potential of a large megathrust earthquake breaking a larger segment offshore Northern Chile remains high.

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉The design of an array configuration is an important task in array seismology during experiment planning. Often the array response function (ARF), which depends on the relative position of array stations and frequency content of the incoming signals, is used as the array design criterion. In practice, additional constraints and parameters have to be taken into account, e.g. land ownership, site-specific noise levels or characteristics of the seismic sources under investigation. In this study a flexible array design framework is introduced which implements a customizable scenario modelling and optimization scheme by making use of synthetic seismograms. Using synthetic seismograms to evaluate array performance makes it possible to consider additional constraints. We suggest to use synthetic array beamforming as an array design criteria instead of ARF. The objective function of the optimization scheme is defined according to the monitoring goals, and may consist of a number of sub-functions. The array design framework is exemplified by designing a 7-station small scale array to monitor earthquake swarm activity in North-West Bohemia / Vogtland in central Europe. Two sub-functions are introduced to verify the accuracy of horizontal slowness estimation; one to suppress aliasing effects due to possible secondary lobes of synthetic array beamforming calculated in horizontal slowness space, and the other to reduce the event’s mislocation caused by miscalculation of the horizontal slowness vector. Subsequently, a weighting technique is applied to combine the sub-functions into one single scalar objective function to use in the optimization process.〈/span〉

Description: Our knowledge of the absolute S -wave velocities of the oceanic lithosphere is mainly based on global surface wave tomography, local active seismic or compliance measurements using oceanic infragravity waves. The results of tomography give a rather smooth picture of the actual S -wave velocity structure and local measurements have limitations regarding the range of elastic parameters or the geometry of the measurement. Here, we use the P -wave polarization (apparent P -wave incidence angle) of teleseismic events to investigate the S -wave velocity structure of the oceanic crust and the upper tens of kilometres of the mantle beneath single stations. In this study, we present an up to our knowledge new relation of the apparent P -wave incidence angle at the ocean bottom dependent on the half-space S -wave velocity. We analyse the angle in different period ranges at ocean bottom stations (OBSs) to derive apparent S -wave velocity profiles. These profiles are dependent on the S -wave velocity as well as on the thickness of the layers in the subsurface. Consequently, their interpretation results in a set of equally valid models. We analyse the apparent P -wave incidence angles of an OBS data set which was collected in the Eastern Mid Atlantic. We are able to determine reasonable S -wave-velocity-depth models by a three-step quantitative modelling after a manual data quality control, although layer resonance sometimes influences the estimated apparent S -wave velocities. The apparent S -wave velocity profiles are well explained by an oceanic PREM model in which the upper part is replaced by four layers consisting of a water column, a sediment, a crust and a layer representing the uppermost mantle. The obtained sediment has a thickness between 0.3 and 0.9 km with S -wave velocities between 0.7 and 1.4 km s –1 . The estimated total crustal thickness varies between 4 and 10 km with S -wave velocities between 3.5 and 4.3 km s –1 . We find a slight increase of the total crustal thickness from ~5 to ~8 km towards the South in the direction of a major plate boundary, the Gloria Fault. The observed crustal thickening can be related with the known dominant compression in the vicinity of the fault. Furthermore, the resulting mantle S -wave velocities decrease from values around 5.5 to 4.5 km s –1 towards the fault. This decrease is probably caused by serpentinization and indicates that the oceanic transform fault affects a broad region in the uppermost mantle. Conclusively, the presented method is useful for the estimation of the local S -wave velocity structure beneath ocean bottom seismic stations. It is easy to implement and consists of two main steps: (1) measurement of apparent P -wave incidence angles in different period ranges for real and synthetic data, and (2) comparison of the determined apparent S -wave velocities for real and synthetic data to estimate S -wave velocity-depth models.

Description: Two nuclear explosions were carried out by the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea in January and September 2016. Epicenters were located close to those of the 2006, 2009, and 2013 previous explosions. We perform a seismological analysis of the 2016 events combining the analysis of full waveforms at regional distances and seismic array beams at teleseismic distances. We estimate the most relevant source parameters, such as source depth, moment release, and full moment tensor (MT). The best MT solution can be decomposed into an isotropic source, directly related with the explosion and an additional deviatoric term, likely due to near-source interactions with topographic and/or underground facilities features. We additionally perform an accurate resolution test to assess source parameters uncertainties and trade-offs. This analysis sheds light on source parameters inconsistencies among studies on previous shallow explosive sources. The resolution of the true MT is hindered by strong source parameters trade-offs, so that a broad range of well-fitting MT solutions can be found, spanning from a dominant positive isotropic term to a dominant negative vertical compensated linear vector dipole. The true mechanism can be discriminated by additionally modeling first-motion polarities at seismic arrays at teleseismic distances. A comparative assessment of the 2016 explosion with earlier nuclear tests documents similar vertical waveforms but a significant increase of amplitude for the 2016 explosions, which proves that the 9 September 2016 was the largest nuclear explosion ever performed in North Korea with a magnitude M w  4.9 and a shallow depth of less than 2 km, although there are no proofs of a fusion explosion. Modeling transversal component waveforms suggests variable size and orientation of the double-couple components of the 2009, 2013, and 2016 sources.