Publication Date:
2004-04-01
Description:
In 1997, two moderate earthquakes (M (sub JMA) 6.5 on March 26 and M (sub JMA) 6.3 on May 13) occurred in northwestern Kagoshima prefecture, Japan. Using the records of aftershocks with focal depths from 5 to 10 km, recorded at a station located above the center of the aftershock zone, attenuation values for shear waves (Q (sub s) (super -1) ) were determined for the focal region. This region consists of the aftershock zones, including the rupture zones of the two mainshocks. A coda normalization method was applied for the measurement of Q (sub s) (super -1) and determined as a function of frequency in five frequency bands centered at 1.5, 3, 6, 12, and Hz. Before applying the method, a correction for the effect of the radiation pattern of shear waves on the spectral amplitude was made for frequency bands centered at 3 Hz and lower. Estimated Q (sub s) (super -1) 's have significantly larger values compared to other previous studies in the crust. From our results, Q (sub s) (super -1) can be approximately represented as a function of frequency f by Q (sub s) (super -1) (f) = (9.93X10 (super -2) )f (super -0.95) . In order to check the significance of the large values of Q (sub s) (super -1) in the focal region, we also determined the attenuation in the surrounding area, using shear waves that propagate through both the focal region and the surrounding region. Our results show that the estimated Q (sub s) (super -1) outside the focal region can be approximately represented as a function of frequency by Q (sub s) (super -1) (f) = (1.03X10 (super -2) )f (super -0.59) . This is similar to the crustal Q (sub s) (super -1) in the surrounding area obtained by Kato (1999), suggesting that the values of Q (sub s) (super -1) in the focal region are correctly estimated. Comparison of the values of Q (sub s) (super -1) demonstrates that attenuation of S waves in the focal region is several times larger than in the surrounding area.
Print ISSN:
0037-1106
Electronic ISSN:
1943-3573
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Physics
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