ALBERT

Description: While the kinematics of Anatolia plate and the North Anatolian Fault System (NAFS) has been studied extensively, the slip rate and locking depth along the NAFS are usually assumed constant in the analyses due to the lack of sufficient data. This is also partly due to the reasonably good fit of Euler small circle and partly due to the lack of spatial resolution of observations to determine slip rates independently from locking depths. On the other hand, recent geodetic studies show a contrast for locking depth between Marmara and other parts of the NAFS, implying a non-uniform locking depth across the NAFS. In this study, we analyse new GPS data and homogenously combine available data sets covering the eastern part of the NAFS to form the most complete data set. In particular, we incorporate the first results of Turkish Real-Time Kinematic GPS Network (CORS-TR) into our data set. A detailed analysis of three profiles within the NAFS reveals an increase of locking depth in the middle profile to 19.1 ± 3.4 km from 11.9 ± 3.5 km in the easternmost profile while the slip rate is nearly constant (20–22 mm yr –1 ), which implies a variation of strain rate of ~100 nanostrain yr –1 . Assuming a constant locking depth throughout whole NAFS gives an average locking depth of 14.3 ± 1.7 km. Our best estimates of slip rates in block modelling which takes the variation of locking depths into account are in the range between 22.5 and 22.8 mm yr –1 over eastern part of the NAFS.

Description: Seismic waves sensitive to the outermost part of the Earth's liquid core seem to be affected by a stably stratified layer at the core–mantle boundary. Such a layer could have an observable signature in both long-term and short-term variations of the magnetic field of the Earth, which are used to probe the flow at the top of the core. Indeed, with the recent SWARM mission, it seems reasonable to be able to identify waves propagating in the core with period of several months, which may play an important role in the large-scale dynamics. In this paper, we characterize the influence of a stratified layer at the top of the core on deep quasi-geostrophic (Rossby) waves. We compute numerically the quasi-geostrophic eigenmodes of a rapidly rotating spherical shell, with a stably stratified layer near the outer boundary. Two simple models of stratification are taken into account, which are scaled with commonly adopted values of the Brunt–Väisälä frequency in the Earth's core. In the absence of magnetic field, we find that both azimuthal wavelength and frequency of the eigenmodes control their penetration into the stratified layer: the higher the phase speed, the higher the permeability of the stratified layer to the wave motion. We also show that the theory developed by Takehiro & Lister for thermal convection extends to the whole family of Rossby waves in the core. Adding a magnetic field, the penetrative behaviour of the quasi-geostrophic modes (the so-called fast branch) is insensitive to the imposed magnetic field and only weakly sensitive to the precise shape of the stratification. Based on these results, the large-scale and high-frequency modes (1–2 month periods) may be detectable in the geomagnetic data measured at the Earth's surface, especially in the equatorial area where the modes can be trapped.

Description: The attenuation and velocity dispersion of sonic waves contain valuable information on the mechanical and hydraulic properties of the probed medium. An inherent complication arising in the interpretation of corresponding measurements is, however, that there are multiple physical mechanisms contributing to the energy dissipation and that the relative importance of the various contributions is difficult to unravel. To address this problem for the practically relevant case of terrestrial alluvial sediments, we analyse the attenuation and velocity dispersion characteristics of broad-band multifrequency sonic logs with dominant source frequencies ranging between 1 and 30 kHz. To adequately compensate for the effects of geometrical spreading, which is critical for reliable attenuation estimates, we simulate our experimental setup using a correspondingly targeted numerical solution of the poroelastic equations. After having applied the thus inferred corrections, the broad-band sonic log data set, in conjunction with a comprehensive suite of complementary logging data, allows for assessing the relative importance of a range of pertinent attenuation mechanisms. In doing so, we focus on the effects of wave-induced fluid flow over a wide range of scales. Our results indicate that the levels of attenuation due to the presence of mesoscopic heterogeneities in unconsolidated clastic sediments fully saturated with water are expected to be largely negligible. Conversely, Monte-Carlo-type inversions indicate that Biot's classical model permits to explain most of the considered data. Refinements with regard to the fitting of the observed attenuation and velocity dispersion characteristics are locally provided by accounting for energy dissipation at the microscopic scale, although the nature of the underlying physical mechanism remains speculative.

Description: Hydrocarbon reservoir pressure depletion leads to stress changes inside the reservoir and ground deformation which is registered at the surface as subsidence. As reservoirs are often overlain by layers of rocksalt (or other evaporites), which are materials that flow so as to relax stresses inside them, there is the potential for time-varying surface subsidence. This work focuses on understanding the macroscopic mechanisms that lead to rocksalt flow-induced ground displacements. A Finite Element Model is used for this purpose in which the rocksalt layer is represented by a viscoelastic Maxwell material. Two distinct mechanisms that lead to displacement are observed. These are active during different stages of the deformation and have different timescales associated with them. An important observation is that the timescale for deformation that is measured at the ground surface is not equal to the timescale for deformation of a viscoelastic material element, but can be many times larger than that. The sensitivity of the response to the thickness and location of the rocksalt layer is also presented. Conclusions are drawn which allow for the relative importance of the presence of the rocksalt layer to be assessed and for a framework for understanding time-dependent subsidence above producing hydrocarbon reservoirs to be developed. Finally the changes in stress distribution around a producing reservoir are also briefly discussed.

Description: We investigate spatiotemporal variations of the crustal stress field orientation along the rupture zones of the 1999 August Izmit M w 7.4 and November Düzce M w 7.1 earthquakes at the North Anatolian Fault zone (NAFZ) in NW Turkey. Our primary focus is to elaborate on the relation between the state of the crustal stress field and distinct seismotectonic features as well as variations of coseismic slip within the seismogenic layer of the crust. To achieve this, we compile an extensive data base of hypocentres and first-motion polarities including a newly derived local hypocentre catalogue extending from 2 yr prior (1997) to 2 yr after (2001) the Izmit and Düzce main shocks. This combined data set allows studying spatial and temporal variations of stress field orientation along distinct fault segments for the pre- and post-seimic phase of the two large earthquakes in detail. Furthermore, the occurrence of two M  〉 7 earthquakes in rapid succession gives the unique opportunity to analyse the 87-d-long ‘inter-seismic phase’ between them. We use the MOTSI (first MOTion polarity Stress Inversion) procedure directly inverting first-motion polarities to study the stress field evolution of nine distinct segments. In particular, this allows to determine the stress tensor also for the pre- and post-seismic phases when no stable single-event focal mechanisms can be determined. We observe significantly different stress field orientations along the combined 200-km-long rupture in accordance with lateral variations of coseismic slip and seismotectonic setting. Distinct vertical linear segments of the NAFZ show either pure-strike slip behaviour or transtensional and normal faulting if located near pull-apart basins. Pull-apart structures such as the Akyazi and Düzce basins show a predominant normal faulting behaviour along the NAFZ and reflect clearly different characteristic from neighbouring strike-slip segments. Substantial lateral stress field heterogeneity following the two main shocks is observed that declines with time towards the post-seismic period that rather reflects the regional right-lateral strike-slip stress field.

Description: The Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) is one of the world's most productive regions of rhyolitic volcanism and contains the highly active Okataina Volcanic Centre (OVC). Within the TVZ, intra-arc extension is expressed as normal faulting within a zone known as the Taupo Rift. The OVC is located within a complex part of the rift, where volcanism and deformation is considered influenced by rift structure and kinematics. There has been significant research on the structural, volcanic and geophysical properties of the rift and OVC, but less focus on deformation using geodetic data. The limited studies that have utilized geodetic data do not clearly resolve the distribution of deformation and strain rates within the rift and OVC. This is essential to ensure that deformation signals from volcanic processes at the OVC are correctly identified and distinguished from those related to regional tectonic or local hydrothermal processes within the rift. In this paper, we present a picture of contemporary deformation at the OVC and within the surrounding rift in detail, using existing and new GPS campaign and continuous GPS (cGPS) data collected between 1998 and 2011. The results show a highly heterogeneous deformation and strain rate field (both extension and shortening) through the study area, partitioned into different parts of the rift. Our results agree well with earlier geodetic studies, as well as identify new features, but some deformation patterns conflict with long-term geological observations. In the OVC, we observe a locally rotated horizontal velocity field, significant vertical deformation and variable strain rates across the caldera. In the Tarawera Rift, we identify elevated extension and shear rates, which may have significant implications for volcanism there. A shortening pattern is identified through the central rift, which is unexpected in an intra-arc rifting environment. We attempt to explain the source/s of shortening and extension and discuss their implications for geodetic monitoring efforts in the OVC.

Description: The Piton de la Fournaise basaltic volcano, on La Réunion Island in the western Indian Ocean, is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. This volcano is classically considered as the surface expression of an upwelling mantle plume and its activity is continuously monitored, providing detailed information on its superficial dynamics and on the edifice structure. Deeper crustal and upper mantle structure under La Réunion Island is surprisingly poorly constrained, motivating this study. We used receiver function techniques to determine a shear wave velocity profile through the crust and uppermost mantle beneath La Réunion, but also at other seismic stations located on the hotspot track, to investigate the plume and lithosphere interaction and its evolution through time. Receiver functions (RFs) were computed at permanent broad-band seismic stations from the GEOSCOPE network (on La Réunion and Rodrigues), at IRIS stations MRIV and DGAR installed on Mauritius and Diego Garcia islands, and at the GEOFON stations KAAM and HMDM on the Maldives. We performed non-linear inversions of RFs through modelling of P -to- S conversions at various crustal and upper mantle interfaces. Joint inversion of RF and surface wave dispersion data suggests a much deeper Mohorovičić discontinuity (Moho) beneath Mauritius (~21 km) compared to La Réunion (~12 km). A magmatic underplated body may be present under La Réunion as a thin layer (≤3 km thick), as suggested by a previous seismic refraction study, and as a much thicker layer beneath other stations located on the hotspot track, suggesting that underplating is an important process resulting from the plume–lithosphere interaction. We find evidence for a strikingly low velocity layer starting at about 33 km depth beneath La Réunion that we interpret as a zone of partial melt beneath the active volcano. We finally observe low velocities below 70 km beneath La Réunion and below 50 km beneath Mauritius that could represent the base of the oceanic lithosphere.

Description: We describe a multihomogeneity theory for source-parameter estimation of potential fields. Similar to what happens for random source models, where the monofractal scaling-law has been generalized into a multifractal law, we propose to generalize the homogeneity law into a multihomogeneity law. This allows a theoretically correct approach to study real-world potential fields, which are inhomogeneous and so do not show scale invariance, except in the asymptotic regions (very near to or very far from their sources). Since the scaling properties of inhomogeneous fields change with the scale of observation, we show that they may be better studied at a set of scales than at a single scale and that a multihomogeneous model is needed to explain its complex scaling behaviour. In order to perform this task, we first introduce fractional-degree homogeneous fields, to show that: (i) homogeneous potential fields may have fractional or integer degree; (ii) the source-distributions for a fractional-degree are not confined in a bounded region, similarly to some integer-degree models, such as the infinite line mass and (iii) differently from the integer-degree case, the fractional-degree source distributions are no longer uniform density functions. Using this enlarged set of homogeneous fields, real-world anomaly fields are studied at different scales, by a simple search, at any local window W , for the best homogeneous field of either integer or fractional-degree, this yielding a multiscale set of local homogeneity-degrees and depth estimations which we call multihomogeneous model. It is so defined a new technique of source parameter estimation (Multi-HOmogeneity Depth Estimation, MHODE), permitting retrieval of the source parameters of complex sources. We test the method with inhomogeneous fields of finite sources, such as faults or cylinders, and show its effectiveness also in a real-case example. These applications show the usefulness of the new concepts, multihomogeneity and fractional homogeneity-degree, to obtain valid estimates of the source parameters in a consistent theoretical framework, so overcoming the limitations imposed by global-homogeneity to widespread methods, such as Euler deconvolution.

Description: In this paper, two separate but related goals are tackled. The first one is to demonstrate that in some saturated rock textures the non-linear behaviour of induced polarization (IP) and the violation of Ohm's law not only are real phenomena, but they can also be satisfactorily predicted by a suitable physical-mathematical model, which is our second goal. This model is based on Fick's second law. As the model links the specific dependence of resistivity and chargeability of a laboratory sample to the injected current and this in turn to its pore size distribution, it is able to predict pore size distribution from laboratory measurements, in good agreement with mercury injection capillary pressure test results. This fact opens up the possibility for hydrogeophysical applications on a macro scale. Mathematical modelling shows that the chargeability acquired in the field under normal conditions, that is at low current, will always be very small and approximately proportional to the applied current. A suitable field test site for demonstrating the possible reliance of both resistivity and chargeability on current was selected and a specific measuring strategy was established. Two data sets were acquired using different injected current strengths, while keeping the charging time constant. Observed variations of resistivity and chargeability are in agreement with those predicted by the mathematical model. These field test data should however be considered preliminary. If confirmed by further evidence, these facts may lead to changing the procedure of acquiring field measurements in future, and perhaps may encourage the design and building of a new specific geo-resistivity meter. This paper also shows that the well-known Marshall and Madden's equations based on Fick's law cannot be solved without specific boundary conditions.

Description: The scattering of seismic waves travelling in the Earth is not only caused by random velocity heterogeneity but also by surface topography. Both factors are known to strongly affect ground-motion complexity even at relatively short distance from the source. In this study, we simulate ground motion with a 3-D finite-difference wave propagation solver in the 0–5 Hz frequency band using three topography models representative of the Swiss alpine region and realistic heterogeneous media characterized by the Von Karman correlation functions. Subsequently, we analyse and quantify the characteristics of the scattered wavefield in the near-source region. Our study shows that both topography and velocity heterogeneity scattering may excite large coda waves of comparable relative amplitude, especially at around 1 Hz, although large variability in space may occur. Using the single scattering model, we estimate average Q C values in the range 20–30 at 1 Hz, 36–54 at 1.5 Hz and 62–109 at 3 Hz for constant background velocity models with no intrinsic attenuation. In principle, envelopes of topography-scattered seismic waves can be qualitatively predicted by theoretical back-scattering models, while forward- or hybrid-scattering models better reproduce the effects of random velocity heterogeneity on the wavefield. This is because continuous multiple scattering caused by small-scale velocity perturbations leads to more gentle coda decay and envelope broadening, while topography abruptly scatters the wavefield once it impinges the free surface. The large impedance contrast also results in more efficient mode mixing. However, the introduction of realistic low-velocity layers near the free surface increases the complexity of ground motion dramatically and indicates that the role of topography in elastic waves scattering can be relevant especially in proximity of the source. Long-period surface waves can form most of the late coda, especially when intrinsic attenuation is taken into account. Our simulations indicate that both topography and velocity heterogeneity scattering may result in large ground-motion variability, characterized by standard deviation values in the range 0.2–0.5 also at short distance from the source. We conclude that both topography and velocity heterogeneity should be considered to correctly assess the ground-motion variability in earthquake scenario studies even at intermediate frequency.

Description: In this study, we have systematically investigated the influence of the parameters of the slip-weakening law and the size of nucleation asperity on dynamic rupture of a planar fault in full-space and half-space using the boundary integral equation method, in particular, the occurrence conditions for subshear (or sub-Rayleigh for strike-slip rupture) and supershear ruptures. Besides the well-known rupture styles of subshear (or sub-Rayleigh) and supershear, we defined a new kind of rupture style in this study, termed the ‘self-arresting rupture’, for which the rupture process can be autonomously arrested by itself without any outside interference (e.g. a high strength barrier). Based on the vast number of simulations, we obtained rupture phase diagrams for strike-slip and dip-slip ruptures vertically and obliquely embedded in half-space and full-space with different buried depths. The rupture phase diagram clearly illustrates the occurrence conditions of three kinds of rupture styles and the transitions between them. In full-space, the supershear transition is sensitive with the fault width. Owing to the influence of the free surface, the rupture in half-space becomes much more complicated comparing to the one in full-space. For a strike-slip fault with zero buried depth, all ruptures that occur within the parameter range for sub-Rayleigh ruptures in full-space case become supershear ruptures. This means that as long as a rupture is able to grow incessantly, it will always evolve into a supershear rupture. For dip-slip faults, however, ruptures will always propagate with subshear speed, although slip rate could be almost twice that of a strike-slip fault. Although the influence of the free surface is strong, it is limited to very shallow ruptures (i.e. buried depth 〈1 km). The rupture phase diagram discussed in this study could provide a new insight on earthquake rupture mechanics.

Description: Mainland Portugal, on the southwestern edge of the European continent, is located directly north of the boundary between the Eurasian and Nubian plates. It lies in a region of slow lithospheric deformation (〈5 mm yr –1 ), which has generated some of the largest earthquakes in Europe, both intraplate (mainland) and interplate (offshore). Some offshore earthquakes are nucleated on old and cold lithospheric mantle, at depths down to 60 km. The seismicity of mainland Portugal and its adjacent offshore has been repeatedly classified as diffuse. In this paper, we analyse the instrumental earthquake catalogue for western Iberia, which covers the period between 1961 and 2013. Between 2010 and 2012, the catalogue was enriched with data from dense broad-band deployments. We show that although the plate boundary south of Portugal is diffuse, in that deformation is accommodated along several distributed faults rather than along one long linear plate boundary, the seismicity itself is not diffuse. Rather, when located using high-quality data, earthquakes collapse into well-defined clusters and lineations. We identify and characterize the most outstanding clusters and lineations of epicentres and correlate them with geophysical and tectonic features (historical seismicity, topography, geologically mapped faults, Moho depth, free-air gravity, magnetic anomalies and geotectonic units). Both onshore and offshore, clusters and lineations of earthquakes are aligned preferentially NNE–SSW and WNW–ESE. Cumulative seismic moment and epicentre density decrease from south to north, with increasing distance from the plate boundary. Only few earthquake lineations coincide with geologically mapped faults. Clusters and lineations that do not match geologically mapped faults may correspond to previously unmapped faults (e.g. blind faults), rheological boundaries or distributed fracturing inside blocks that are more brittle and therefore break more easily than neighbour blocks. The seismicity map of western Iberia presented in this article opens important questions concerning the regional seismotectonics. This work shows that the study of low-magnitude earthquakes using dense seismic deployments is a powerful tool to study lithospheric deformation in slowly deforming regions, such as western Iberia, where high-magnitude earthquakes occur with long recurrence intervals.

Description: We present a new 3-D traveltime tomography code (TOMO3D) for the modelling of active-source seismic data that uses the arrival times of both refracted and reflected seismic phases to derive the velocity distribution and the geometry of reflecting boundaries in the subsurface. This code is based on its popular 2-D version TOMO2D from which it inherited the methods to solve the forward and inverse problems. The traveltime calculations are done using a hybrid ray-tracing technique combining the graph and bending methods. The LSQR algorithm is used to perform the iterative regularized inversion to improve the initial velocity and depth models. In order to cope with an increased computational demand due to the incorporation of the third dimension, the forward problem solver, which takes most of the run time (~90 per cent in the test presented here), has been parallelized with a combination of multi-processing and message passing interface standards. This parallelization distributes the ray-tracing and traveltime calculations among available computational resources. The code's performance is illustrated with a realistic synthetic example, including a checkerboard anomaly and two reflectors, which simulates the geometry of a subduction zone. The code is designed to invert for a single reflector at a time. A data-driven layer-stripping strategy is proposed for cases involving multiple reflectors, and it is tested for the successive inversion of the two reflectors. Layers are bound by consecutive reflectors, and an initial velocity model for each inversion step incorporates the results from previous steps. This strategy poses simpler inversion problems at each step, allowing the recovery of strong velocity discontinuities that would otherwise be smoothened.

Description: The accurate estimation of dispersion curves has been a key issue for ensuring high quality in geophysical surface wave exploration. Many studies have been carried out on the generation of a high-resolution dispersion image from array measurements. In this study, the sparse signal representation and reconstruction techniques are employed to obtain the high resolution Rayleigh-wave dispersion image from seismic wave data. First, a sparse representation of the seismic wave data is introduced, in which the signal is assumed to be sparse in terms of wave speed. Then, the sparse signal is reconstructed by optimization using l 1 -norm regularization, which gives the signal amplitude spectrum as a function of wave speed. A dispersion image in the f – v domain is generated by arranging the sparse spectra for all frequency slices in the frequency range. Finally, to show the efficiency of the proposed approach, the Surfbar-2 field test data, acquired by B. Luke and colleagues at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, are analysed. By comparing the real-field dispersion image with the results from other methods, the high mode-resolving ability of the proposed approach is demonstrated, particularly for a case with strongly coherent modes.

Description: Many applications of seismology require the calculation of wave speed and attenuation in rocks saturated with multiple fluids. Squirt flow is known to be an important effect in fully saturated rocks but the extension to the multifluid case is unclear. Neglecting capillary effects, we generalize previous work on squirt flow to the case where two fluids are present. We derive expressions for the effective fluid properties, but the results depend on the spatial distributions, and not only volume fractions, of the two fluids. Our results demonstrate that such multifluid squirt flow may be responsible for hysteresis effects in elastic properties during imbibition and drainage.

Description: Iterative substitution of the coupled Marchenko equations is a novel methodology to retrieve the Green's functions from a source or receiver array at an acquisition surface to an arbitrary location in an acoustic medium. The methodology requires as input the single-sided reflection response at the acquisition surface and an initial focusing function, being the time-reversed direct wavefield from the acquisition surface to a specified location in the subsurface. We express the iterative scheme that is applied by this methodology explicitly as the successive actions of various linear operators, acting on an initial focusing function. These operators involve multidimensional crosscorrelations with the reflection data and truncations in time. We offer physical interpretations of the multidimensional crosscorrelations by subtracting traveltimes along common ray paths at the stationary points of the underlying integrals. This provides a clear understanding of how individual events are retrieved by the scheme. Our interpretation also exposes some of the scheme's limitations in terms of what can be retrieved in case of a finite recording aperture. Green's function retrieval is only successful if the relevant stationary points are sampled. As a consequence, internal multiples can only be retrieved at a subsurface location with a particular ray parameter if this location is illuminated by the direct wavefield with this specific ray parameter. Several assumptions are required to solve the Marchenko equations. We show that these assumptions are not always satisfied in arbitrary heterogeneous media, which can result in incomplete Green's function retrieval and the emergence of artefacts. Despite these limitations, accurate Green's functions can often be retrieved by the iterative scheme, which is highly relevant for seismic imaging and inversion of internal multiple reflections.

Description: The pre- and current collision of the Juan Fernández Ridge with the central Chilean margin at 31°–33°S is characterized by large-scale crustal thinning and long-term subsidence of the submarine forearc caused by subduction erosion processes. Here, we study the structure of the central Chilean margin in the ridge–trench collision zone by using wide-angle and multichannel seismic data. The transition from the upper to middle continental slope is defined by a trenchward dipping normal scarp with variable offsets of 500–2000 m height. Beneath the scarp, the 2-D velocity–depth models show a prominent lateral velocity contrast of 〉1 s –1 that propagates deep into the continental crust defining a major lateral seismic discontinuity. The discontinuity is interpreted as the lithological contact between the subsided/collapsed outermost forearc (composed of eroded and highly fractured volcanic rocks) and the seaward part of the uplifted Coastal Cordillera (made of less fractured metamorphic/igneous rocks). Extensional faults are abundant in the collapsed outermost forearc, however, landward of the continental slope scarp, both extensional and compressional structures are observed along the uplifted continental shelf that forms part of the Coastal Cordillera. Particularly, at the landward flank of the Valparaíso Forearc Basin (32°–33.5°S), shallow crustal seismicity has been recorded in 2008–2009 forming a dense cluster of thrust events of M w 4–5. The estimated hypocentres spatially correlate with the location of the fault scarp, and they highlight the upper part of the seismic crustal discontinuity.

Description: Employing dynamic reciprocity can be an effective tool to simplify the calculation of elastic wavefields for borehole problems and to check the results. We analytically obtain the reciprocity relations for the elastodynamic fields generated by multipole sources in a fluid–solid configuration: if the multipole sources are located in the fluid, the particle displacement due to a dipole source is reciprocal to the particle acceleration due to a single force; the fluid pressure due to a dipole source is reciprocal to the particle acceleration due to a monopole source; the particle displacement due to a quadrupole source is reciprocal to the spatial partial derivative of the particle acceleration due to a single force; the fluid pressure due to a quadrupole source is reciprocal to the spatial partial derivative of the particle acceleration due to a monopole source. These relations are tested by numerical experiments for different borehole problems, including acoustic logging, single-well imaging and vertical seismic profiling. A reciprocity test can be used as a quick check of a finite-difference algorithm and the implementation of the sources, although it cannot detect errors due to improper discretization of the interfaces.

Description: Previous formalisms for determining the static perturbation of spherically symmetric self-gravitating elastic Earth models due to displacement dislocations deal with each infinitesimal element of the fault system in its epicentral reference frame. In this work, we overcome this restriction and present novel and compact formulas for obtaining the perturbation due to the whole fault system in an arbitrary and common reference frame. Furthermore, we show that, even in an arbitrary reference frame, it is still possible to discriminate the contributions associated with the polar, bipolar and quadrupolar patterns of the seismic source response, as well as their relation with the along strike, along dip and tensile components of the displacement dislocation. These results allow a better understanding of the relation between the static perturbation and the whole fault system, and find direct applications in geodetic problems, like the modelling of long-wavelength geoid or gravity data from GRACE and GOCE space missions and of the perturbation of the deviatoric inertia tensor of the Earth.

Description: We analyse daily cross-correlation computed from continuous records by permanent stations operating in vicinity of the Klyuchevskoy group of volcanoes (Kamchatka). Seismic waves generated by volcanic tremors are clearly seen on the cross-correlations between some pairs of stations as strong signals at frequencies between 0.2 and 2 Hz and with traveltimes typically shorter than those corresponding to interstation propagation. First, we develop a 2-D source-scanning algorithm based on summation of the envelops of cross-correlations to detect seismic tremors and to determine locations from which the strong seismic energy is continuously emitted. In an alternative approach, we explore the distinctive character of the cross-correlation waveforms corresponding to tremors emitted by different volcanoes and develop a phase-matching method for detecting volcanic tremors. Application of these methods allows us to detect and to distinguish tremors generated by the Klyuchevskoy and the Tolbachik, volcanoes and to monitor evolution of their intensity in time.

Description: In geophysical inversion, inferences of Earth's properties from sparse data involve a trade-off between model complexity and the spatial resolving power. A recent Markov chain Monte Carlo (McMC) technique formalized by Green, the so-called trans-dimensional samplers, allows us to sample between these trade-offs and to parsimoniously arbitrate between the varying complexity of candidate models. Here we present a novel framework using trans-dimensional sampling over tree structures. This new class of McMC sampler can be applied to 1-D, 2-D and 3-D Cartesian and spherical geometries. In addition, the basis functions used by the algorithm are flexible and can include more advanced parametrizations such as wavelets, both in Cartesian and Spherical geometries, to permit Bayesian multiscale analysis. This new framework offers greater flexibility, performance and efficiency for geophysical imaging problems than previous sampling algorithms. Thereby increasing the range of applications and in particular allowing extension to trans-dimensional imaging in 3-D. Examples are presented of its application to 2-D seismic and 3-D teleseismic tomography including estimation of uncertainty.

Description: The area of the 9.1-km-deep Continental Deep Drillhole (KTB) in Germany is used as a case study for a geothermal reservoir situated in folded and faulted metamorphic crystalline crust. The presented approach is based on the analysis of 3-D seismic reflection data combined with borehole data and hydrothermal numerical modelling. The KTB location exemplarily contains all elements that make seismic prospecting in crystalline environment often more difficult than in sedimentary units, basically complicated tectonics and fracturing and low-coherent strata. In a first step major rock units including two known nearly parallel fault zones are identified down to a depth of 12 km. These units form the basis of a gridded 3-D numerical model for investigating temperature and fluid flow. Conductive and advective heat transport takes place mainly in a metamorphic block composed of gneisses and metabasites that show considerable differences in thermal conductivity and heat production. Therefore, in a second step, the structure of this unit is investigated by seismic waveform modelling. The third step of interpretation consists of applying wavenumber filtering and log-Gabor-filtering for locating fractures. Since fracture networks are the major fluid pathways in the crystalline, we associate the fracture density distribution with distributions of relative porosity and permeability that can be calibrated by logging data and forward modelling of the temperature field. The resulting permeability distribution shows values between 10 –16 and 10 –19 m 2 and does not correlate with particular rock units. Once thermohydraulic rock properties are attributed to the numerical model, the differential equations for heat and fluid transport in porous media are solved numerically based on a finite difference approach. The hydraulic potential caused by topography and a heat flux of 54 mW m –2 were applied as boundary conditions at the top and bottom of the model. Fluid flow is generally slow and mainly occurring within the two fault zones. Thus, our model confirms the previous finding that diffusive heat transport is the dominant process at the KTB site. Fitting the observed temperature–depth profile requires a correction for palaeoclimate of about 4 K at 1 km depth. Modelled and observed temperature data fit well within 0.2 °C bounds. Whereas thermal conditions are suitable for geothermal energy production, hydraulic conditions are unfavourable without engineered stimulation.

Description: Sensitive instruments like strainmeters and tiltmeters are necessary for measuring slowly varying low amplitude Earth deformations. Nonetheless, laser and fibre interferometers are particularly suitable for interrogating such instruments due to their extreme precision and accuracy. In this paper, a practical design of a simple pendulum borehole tiltmeter based on laser fibre interferometric displacement sensors is presented. A prototype instrument has been constructed using welded borosilicate with a pendulum length of 0.85 m resulting in a main resonance frequency of 0.6 Hz. By implementing three coplanar extrinsic fibre Fabry-Perot interferometric probes and appropriate signal filtering, our instrument provides tilt measurements that are insensitive to parasitic deformations caused by temperature and pressure variations. This prototype has been installed in an underground facility (Rustrel, France) where results show accurate measurements of Earth strains derived from Earth and ocean tides, local hydrologic effects, as well as local and remote earthquakes. The large dynamic range and the high sensitivity of this tiltmeter render it an invaluable tool for numerous geophysical applications such as transient fault motion, volcanic strain and reservoir monitoring.

Description: Rupture properties, such as rupture direction, length, propagation speed and source duration, provide important insights into earthquake mechanisms. One approach to estimate these properties is to investigate the body-wave duration that depends upon the relative location of the station with respect to the rupture direction. Under the assumption that the propagation is unilateral, the duration can be expressed as a function of the dip and azimuth of the rupture. Examination of duration measurements with respect to both the take-off angle and the azimuth is crucial to obtain robust estimates of rupture parameters, especially for nearly vertical rupture propagation. Moreover, limited data coverage, such as using only teleseismic data, can bias the source duration estimate for dipping ruptures, and this bias can map into estimates of other source properties such as rupture extent and rupture speed. Based upon this framework, we introduce an inversion scheme that uses the duration measurements to obtain four parameters: the source duration, a measure of the rupture extent and speed, and dip and azimuth of the rupture propagation. The method is applied to two deep-focus events in the Sea of Okhotsk region, an M w 7.7 event that occurred on 2012 August 14 and an M w 8.3 event from 2013 May 24. The source durations are 26 ± 1 and 37 ± 1 s, and rupture speeds are 49 ± 4 per cent and 26 ± 3 per cent of shear wave speed for the M w 7.7 and 8.3 events, respectively. The azimuths of the two ruptures are parallel to the trench, but are in opposite directions. The dips of the M w 7.7 and 8.3 events are constrained to be 48° ± 8° downdip and 19° ± 8° updip, respectively. The fit to the data is significantly poorer for the M w 8.3 event than the M w 7.7 event, suggesting that the unilateral rupture may not be a good assumption. The analysis is expanded into a multi-episode model, and a secondary episode is determined for the M w 8.3 event in the southeast direction. The two-episode model gives a better fit to the data than the unilateral model and is compatible with the back-projection analysis, demonstrating that the rupture propagation of the M w 8.3 event is complex.

Description: We take account of the effect of Earth's surface topography in quasi-dynamic earthquake cycle simulations using a boundary integral equation method. While we have so far assumed a homogeneous elastic half-space medium with a flat free surface, Earth's actual surface topography is complicated. Here, we constructed new slip response functions in half-space with an arbitrarily shaped surface topography in which we used slip response functions in full-space by introducing imaginary free surface cells in addition to embedded fault ones. By comparing analytical slip response functions in the case of a flat surface overlying half-space with the new ones, we developed a computationally efficient method for setting the Earth's surface region, which was divided into cells with the appropriate sizes depending on the fault source cell depth to maintain the computational accuracy. With these new slip response functions, we simulated simple interplate earthquake cycles in the region close to the Japan Trench, off Miyagi, Tohoku, in northeast Japan, which has the amplitude of 7 km in depth. Compared with the case where the flat surface level was set at the trench depth, the slip response functions for the case where actual seafloor topography was used had smaller amplitudes. Hence, the actual topography produces smaller recurrence times for earthquake cycles than that for the flat surface case. These effects of the actual Earth's surface topography mainly come from changes in the distance between the surface and the fault compared with the flat surface case. Changes in the slip response function also represent changes in the fault stiffness of the system. Considering the actual topography of the Earth's surface to be convex upwards as opposed to the flat, the fault stiffness becomes larger compared to the case of the flat Earth's surface. This leads to a change in the frictional instability, and sometime leads to the change in the way of rupture.

Description: The fate of subducted slabs is enigmatic, yet intriguing. We analyse seismic arrivals at ~20–50 s after the direct P wave in an array in northeast China (NECESSArray) recordings of four deep earthquakes occurring beneath the west-central Pacific subduction zones (from the eastern Indonesia to Tonga region). We employ the array analysing techniques of fourth root vespagram and beam-forming analysis to constrain the slowness and backazimuth of later arrivals. Our analyses reveal that these arrivals have a slightly lower slowness value than the direct P wave and the backazimuth deviates slightly from the great circle direction. Along with calculation of 1-D synthetic seismograms, we conclude that the later arrival is corresponding to an energy of S -to- P converted at a scatterer below the sources. Total five scatterers are detected at depths varying from ~700 to 1110 km in the study region. The past subducted oceanic crust most likely accounts for the seismic scatterers trapped in the mid-mantle beneath the west-central subduction zones. Our observation in turn reflects that oceanic crust at least partly separated from subducted oceanic lithosphere and may be trapped substantially in the mid-mantle surrounding subduction zones, in particular in the western Pacific subduction zones.

Description: Geodetic observations of interseismic deformation in the Western United States provide constraints on microplate rotations, earthquake cycle processes, and slip partitioning across the Pacific–North America Plate boundary. These measurements may be interpreted using block models, in which the upper crust is divided into microplates bounded by faults that accumulate strain in a first-order approximation of earthquake cycle processes. The number and geometry of microplates are typically defined with boundaries representing a limited subset of the large number of potentially seismogenic faults. An alternative approach is to include a large number of potentially active faults bounding a dense array of microplates, and then algorithmically estimate the boundaries at which strain is localized. This approach is possible through the application of a total variation regularization (TVR) optimization algorithm, which simultaneously minimizes the L 2 norm of data residuals and the L 1 norm of the variation in the differential block motions. Applied to 3-D spherical block models, the TVR algorithm can be used to reduce the total variation between estimated rotation vectors, effectively grouping microplates that rotate together as larger blocks, and localizing fault slip on the boundaries of these larger block clusters. Here we develop a block model comprised of 137 microplates derived from published fault maps, and apply the TVR algorithm to identify the kinematically most important faults in the western United States. This approach reveals that of the 137 microplates considered, only 30 unique blocks are required to approximate deformation in the western United States at a residual level of 〈2 mm yr –1 .

Description: We examine spatio-temporal patterns of microseismicity recorded during one month in an underground mine by addressing three key questions: (1) where does the seismicity occur? (2) Why does it occur in these locations? and (3) what triggers it? To obtain accurate locations, we perform a multiplet analysis and use a modified version of the double-difference (DD) relocation method. This approach leads to highly accurate relative event locations and requires groups of multiplets only. Most of the 281 relocated events are close to the main shaft and tunnels; thus we postulate seismicity is facilitated by stresses associated with the potential for subsidence in addition to the hoop stresses acting on the two vertical shafts. Most events occurred during certain hours of the day and there is a 68 per cent correlation with reported rock removal; therefore, it is likely they were triggered by static and dynamic stress perturbations caused by the transportation of debris along tunnels instead of our initial guess that blasting was the principal causative mechanism. Given that seismicity is present around the main shaft but absent close to the second one, we conclude that for seismicity to occur both a favourable stress state and additional external perturbing forces must exist, thus leading to dynamic event triggering in an initially stable stress situation. This analysis provides more insight into anthropogenic processes that might trigger seismicity, thereby facilitating identification of hazardous and potential damage areas in mine settings.

Description: This paper presents the results from the Deflo-hydroacoustic experiment in the Southern Indian Ocean using three autonomous underwater hydrophones, complemented by two permanent hydroacoustic stations. The array monitored for 14 months, from November 2006 to December 2007, a 3000 x 3000 km wide area, encompassing large segments of the three Indian spreading ridges that meet at the Indian Triple Junction. A catalogue of 11 105 acoustic events is derived from the recorded data, of which 55 per cent are located from three hydrophones, 38 per cent from 4, 6 per cent from five and less than 1 per cent by six hydrophones. From a comparison with land-based seismic catalogues, the smallest detected earthquakes are m b 2.6 in size, the range of recorded magnitudes is about twice that of land-based networks and the number of detected events is 5–16 times larger. Seismicity patterns vary between the three spreading ridges, with activity mainly focused on transform faults along the fast spreading Southeast Indian Ridge and more evenly distributed along spreading segments and transforms on the slow spreading Central and ultra-slow spreading Southwest Indian ridges; the Central Indian Ridge is the most active of the three with an average of 1.9 events/100 km/month. Along the Sunda Trench, acoustic events mostly radiate from the inner wall of the trench and show a 200-km-long seismic gap between 2 °S and the Equator. The array also detected more than 3600 cryogenic events, with different seasonal trends observed for events from the Antarctic margin, compared to those from drifting icebergs at lower (up to 50°S) latitudes. Vocalizations of five species and subspecies of large baleen whales were also observed and exhibit clear seasonal variability. On the three autonomous hydrophones, whale vocalizations dominate sound levels in the 20–30 and 100 Hz frequency bands, whereas earthquakes and ice tremor are a dominant source of ambient sound at frequencies 〈20 Hz.

Description: Geodetic vertical velocities derived from data as short as 3 yr are often assumed to be representative of linear deformation over past decades to millennia. We use two decades of surface loading deformation predictions due to variations of atmospheric, oceanic and continental water mass to assess the effect on secular velocities estimated from short time-series. The interannual deformation is time-correlated at most locations over the globe, with the level of correlation depending mostly on the chosen continental water model. Using the most conservative loading model and 5-yr-long time-series, we found median vertical velocity errors of 0.5 mm yr –1 over the continents (0.3 mm yr –1 globally), exceeding 1 mm yr –1 in regions around the southern Tropic. Horizontal velocity errors were seven times smaller. Unless an accurate loading model is available, a decade of continuous data is required in these regions to mitigate the impact of the interannual loading deformation on secular velocities.

Description: We develop and validate a systematic approach to infer plate boundary strength and rheological parameters in models of mantle flow from surface velocity observations. Based on a realistic rheological model that includes yielding and strain rate weakening from dislocation creep, we formulate the inverse problem in a Bayesian inference framework. To study the distribution of parameters that are consistent with the observations, we compute the maximum a posteriori (MAP) point, Gaussian approximations of the parameter distribution around that MAP point, and employ Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling methods. The computation of the MAP point and the Gaussian approximation require first and second derivatives of an objective function subject to non-linear Stokes equations; these derivatives are computed efficiently using adjoint Stokes equations. We set up 2-D numerical experiments with many of the elements expected in a global geophysical inversion. This setup incorporates three subduction zones with slab and weak zone (interplate fault) geometry consistent with average seismic characteristics. With these experiments, we demonstrate that when the temperature field is known, we can recover the strength of plate boundaries, the yield stress and strain rate exponent in the upper mantle. When the number of uncertain parameters increases, there are trade-offs between the inferred parameters. These trade-offs depend on how well the observational data represents the surface velocities, and on the weakness of plate boundaries. As the plate boundary coupling drops below a threshold, the uncertainty of the inferred parameters increases due to insensitivity of plate motion to plate coupling. Comparing the trade-offs between inferred rheological parameters found from the Gaussian approximation of the parameter distribution and from MCMC sampling, we conclude that the Gaussian approximation—which is significantly cheaper to compute—is often a good approximation, in particular locally around the MAP point. Thus, the method can be applied to the global problem of inferring non-linear constitutive parameters and plate coupling factors for each subduction zone in a global geophysical inversion with known slab structure.

Description: Seismic reflections from the oceanic water column contain information about ocean temperature and salinity. Even though seismic waveform inversion is effective for studying oceanic structure, its application is limited in the absence of sufficient direct temperature/velocity measurements. Here, two methods are developed to invert pre-stack seismic waveform data for temperature and salinity when independent temperature/velocity data are sparse or unavailable, allowing estimation of water-column temperature/salinity from any marine seismic reflection data set. The first method combines a genetic algorithm (GA) with non-linear least squares inversion, and the second method is a parallel implementation of a GA. Both methods produce results to an accuracy between 0 and 0.1 °C in estimating temperature when applied to a field data set from the South China Sea. Although the second approach is superior, it is computationally demanding and requires large parallel computers. The first approach runs extremely fast on parallel computers and can even be run on much smaller machines to provide results in a reasonable runtime. While both methods are viable choices for estimating temperature and salinity, the choice of one over the other will largely depend upon the available computational resources and the time frame within which the inversion needs to be completed.

Description: A 3-D magnetotelluric (MT) inversion code using unstructured tetrahedral elements has been developed in order to correct the topographic effect by directly incorporating it into computational grids. The electromagnetic field and response functions get distorted at the observation sites of MT surveys because of the undulating surface topography, and without correcting this distortion, the subsurface structure can be misinterpreted. Of the two methods proposed to correct the topographic effect, the method incorporating topography explicitly in the inversion is applicable to a wider range of surveys. For forward problems, it has been shown that the finite element method using unstructured tetrahedral elements is useful for the incorporation of topography. Therefore, this paper shows the applicability of unstructured tetrahedral elements in MT inversion using the newly developed code. The inversion code is capable of using the impedance tensor, the vertical magnetic transfer function (VMTF), and the phase tensor as observational data, and it estimates the subsurface resistivity values and the distortion tensor of each observation site. The forward part of the code was verified using two test models, one incorporating topographic effect and one without, and the verifications showed that the results were almost the same as those of previous works. The developed inversion code was then applied to synthetic data from a MT survey, and was verified as being able to recover the resistivity structure as well as other inversion codes. Finally, to confirm its applicability to the data affected by topography, inversion was performed using the synthetic data of the model that included two overlapping mountains. In each of the cases using the impedance tensor, the VMTF and the phase tensor, by including the topography in the mesh, the subsurface resistivity was determined more proficiently than in the case using the flat-surface mesh. Although the locations of the anomalies were not accurately estimated by the inversion using distorted impedance tensors due to the slightly undervalued gain, these locations were correctly estimated by using undistorted impedance tensors or adding VMTFs in the data. Therefore, it can be concluded that the inversion using the unstructured tetrahedral element effectively prevents the misinterpretation of subsurface resistivity and recovers subsurface resistivity proficiently by representing the topography in the computational mesh.

Description: We present synthetic tests of 2-D adjoint tomography of surface wave traveltimes obtained by the ambient noise cross-correlation analysis across the Czech Republic. The data coverage may be considered perfect for tomography due to the density of the station distribution. Nevertheless, artefacts in the inferred velocity models arising from the data noise may be still observed when weak regularization (Gaussian smoothing of the misfit gradient) or too many iterations are considered. To examine the effect of the regularization and iteration number on the performance of the tomography in more detail we performed extensive synthetic tests. Instead of the typically used (although criticized) checkerboard test, we propose to carry out the tests with two different target models—simple smooth and complex realistic models. The first test reveals the sensitivity of the result on the data noise, while the second helps to analyse the resolving power of the data set. For various noise and Gaussian smoothing levels, we analysed the convergence towards (or divergence from) the target model with increasing number of iterations. Based on the tests we identified the optimal regularization, which we then employed in the inversion of 16 and 20 s Love-wave group traveltimes.

Description: Least-squares migration (LSM) is a linearized inversion technique for subsurface reflectivity estimation. Compared to conventional migration algorithms, it can improve spatial resolution significantly with a few iterative calculations. There are three key steps in LSM, (1) calculate data residuals between observed data and demigrated data using the inverted reflectivity model; (2) migrate data residuals to form reflectivity gradient and (3) update reflectivity model using optimization methods. In order to obtain an accurate and high-resolution inversion result, the good estimation of inverse Hessian matrix plays a crucial role. However, due to the large size of Hessian matrix, the inverse matrix calculation is always a tough task. The limited-memory BFGS (L-BFGS) method can evaluate the Hessian matrix indirectly using a limited amount of computer memory which only maintains a history of the past m gradients (often m 〈 10). We combine the L-BFGS method with least-squares pre-stack Kirchhoff depth migration. Then, we validate the introduced approach by the 2-D Marmousi synthetic data set and a 2-D marine data set. The results show that the introduced method can effectively obtain reflectivity model and has a faster convergence rate with two comparison gradient methods. It might be significant for general complex subsurface imaging.

Description: We present a method for high-resolution imaging of lithospheric structures based on full waveform inversion of teleseismic waveforms. We model the propagation of seismic waves using our recently developed direct solution method/spectral-element method hybrid technique, which allows us to simulate the propagation of short-period teleseismic waves through a regional 3-D model. We implement an iterative quasi-Newton method based upon the L-BFGS algorithm, where the gradient of the misfit function is computed using the adjoint-state method. Compared to gradient or conjugate-gradient methods, the L-BFGS algorithm has a much faster convergence rate. We illustrate the potential of this method on a synthetic test case that consists of a crustal model with a crustal discontinuity at 25 km depth and a sharp Moho jump. This model contains short- and long-wavelength heterogeneities along the lateral and vertical directions. The iterative inversion starts from a smooth 1-D model derived from the IASP91 reference Earth model. We invert both radial and vertical component waveforms, starting from long-period signals filtered at 10 s and gradually decreasing the cut-off period down to 1.25 s. This multiscale algorithm quickly converges towards a model that is very close to the true model, in contrast to inversions involving short-period waveforms only, which always get trapped into a local minimum of the cost function.

Description: Separating the contribution of different hematite coercivity grains to the magnetic fabric is a standing problem in rock magnetism because of the common occurrence of thermochemical alterations when measuring the anisotropy of thermal remanence. A technique that eliminates this bias is presented, which is useful when there is a need to separate the fabric of detrital from pigmentary hematite, for example. The method is based on stepwise thermal demagnetization of saturation isothermal remanent magnetizations (IRMs) applied orthogonally on three sister specimens, allowing calculation of the anisotropy tensor from the three components of each demagnetized IRM vector, avoiding the necessity of having to apply IRMs to thermochemically altered specimens. Vector subtraction allows determining the anisotropy tensor for specific unblocking-temperature ranges. The anisotropies of the pigmentary, specular and total hematite of the Mauch Chunk Formation red beds of Pennsylvania have been measured from an oriented block sample and results are compared to previous anisotropy measurements performed using the high-field anisotropy of isothermal remanence technique (hf-AIR), which measures total undifferentiated hematite. Experiments were conducted using non-saturating 1 T and fully saturating 5.5 T fields: both experimental sets seem capable of measuring the orientation of the specularite anisotropy principal axes, but 5.5 T are needed to capture the orientation of the higher coercivity pigmentary grains. The magnitudes of the principal axes, instead, are only faithfully measured using 5.5 T fields and yield somewhat higher anisotropies than those measured by hf-AIR. The fundamental requirement for this technique is homogeneous material among the three sister specimens, which is a significant limitation; homogeneity tests allow assessment of applicability of the method and reliability of the results.

Description: A new approach of seismoelectric imaging has been recently proposed to detect saturation fronts in which seismic waves are focused in the subsurface to scan its heterogeneous nature and determine saturation fronts. Such type of imaging requires however a complete modelling of the seismoelectric properties of porous media saturated by two immiscible fluid phases, one being usually electrically insulating (for instance water and oil). We combine an extension of Biot dynamic theory, valid for porous media containing two immiscible Newtonian fluids, with an extension of the electrokinetic theory based on the notion of effective volumetric charge densities dragged by the flow of each fluid phase. These effective charge densities can be related directly to the permeability and saturation of each fluid phase. The coupled partial differential equations are solved with the finite element method. We also derive analytically the transfer function connecting the macroscopic electrical field to the acceleration of the fast P wave (coseismic electrical field) and we study the influence of the water content on this coupling. We observe that the amplitude of the co-seismic electrical disturbance is very sensitive to the water content with an increase in amplitude with water saturation. We also investigate the seismoelectric conversions (interface effect) occurring at the water table. We show that the conversion response at the water table can be identifiable only when the saturation contrasts between the vadose and saturated zones are sharp enough. A relatively dry vadose zone represents the best condition to identify the water table through seismoelectric measurements. Indeed, in this case, the coseismic electrical disturbances are vanishingly small compared to the seismoelectric interface response.

Description: We analyse the physics and geometry of trade-offs between Earth structure and noise sources in interstation noise correlations. Our approach is based on the computation of off-diagonal Hessian elements that describe the extent to which variations in noise sources can compensate for variations in Earth structure without changing the misfit beyond the measurement uncertainty. Despite the fact that all ambient noise inverse problems are special in terms of their receiver configuration and data, some general statements concerning source-structure trade-offs can be made: (i) While source-structure trade-offs may be reduced to some extent by clever measurement design, there are inherent trade-offs that can generally not be avoided. These inherent trade-offs may lead to a mispositioning of structural heterogeneities when the noise source distribution is unknown. (ii) When attenuation is weak, source-structure trade-offs in ambient noise correlations are a global phenomenon, meaning that there is no noise source perturbation that does not trade-off with some Earth structure, and vice versa. (iii) The most significant source-structure trade-offs occur within two elliptically shaped regions connecting a potential noise source perturbation to each one of the receivers. (iv) Far from these elliptical regions, only small-scale structure can trade off against changes in the noise source. (v) While source-structure trade-offs mostly decay with increasing attenuation, they are nearly unaffected by attenuation when the noise source perturbation is located near the receiver-receiver line. This work is intended to contribute to the development of joint source-structure inversions of ambient noise correlations, and in particular to an understanding of the extent to which source-structure trade-offs may be reduced. It furthermore establishes the foundation of future resolution analyses that properly quantify trade-offs between noise sources and Earth structure.

Description: Reactive flow at depth (either related to underground activities, like enhancement of hydrocarbon recovery and CO 2 storage, or to natural flow like in hydrothermal zones) can alter fractures’ topography, which might in turn change their seismic responses. Depending on the flow and reaction rates, instability of the dissolution front can lead to a wormhole-like pronounced erosion pattern. In a fractal structure of rupture process, we question how the perturbation related to well-spaced long channels alters rupture propagation initiated on a weak plane and eventually the statistical feature of rupture appearance in frequency–magnitude distribution (FMD). Contrary to intuition, a spatially uniform dissolution is not the most remarkable case, since it affects all the events proportionally to their sizes leading to a downward translation of FMD: the slope of FMD ( b -value) remains unchanged. The parameter–space study shows that the increase of b -value (of 0.08) is statistically significant for optimum characteristics of the erosion pattern with spacing to length ratio of the order of ~1/40: large-magnitude events are more significantly affected leading to an imbalanced distribution in the magnitude bins of the FMD. The larger the spacing, the lower the channel's influence. Besides, a spatial analysis shows that the local seismicity anomaly concentrates in a limited zone around the channels: this opens perspective for detecting these eroded regions through high-resolution imaging surveys.

Description: Earth's free oscillations excited by a mega-thrust earthquake were observed by a continent-scale array of groundwater monitoring sites for the first time. After the occurrence of the 2011 Tohoku M w 9.0 earthquake, water level records at 43 out of 216 wells in the China mainland revealed long-period free oscillation signals. In the time domain, these free oscillations exhibit globe circling Rayleigh surface waves. In some single wells, even the globe-circling Rayleigh wave R7 was visible, which travels three times around the Earth after the first arrival and appears about 10 hr after the earthquake occurrence in the present case. The spectral analysis shows that the principal oscillatory fluctuations seen in the water level records correspond to the spheroidal modes 0 S l ( l  = 2–31 for frequencies between 0.3 and 5.0 mHz) of the Earth's free oscillation. Especially at quiet sites, the spheroidal modes at very low frequencies (〈1.5 mHz) can be identified with high signal-to-noise ratios. Using signal enhancement methods (product spectrum over 43 wells), even the gravest modes of these oscillations can be detected. The results suggest that groundwater level arrays can be considered as a low-cost complementary tool to study the Earth's free oscillations excited by great earthquakes. Additionally, the site-specific aquifer response may provide further insight into local hydrogeological conditions.

Description: We performed numerical simulations of the 2011 deep-seated Akatani landslide in central Japan to understand the dynamic evolution of friction of the landslide. By comparing the forces obtained from numerical simulation to those resolved from seismic waveform inversion, the coefficient of the friction during sliding was investigated in the range of 0.1–0.4. The simulation assuming standard Coulomb friction shows that the forces obtained by the seismic waveform inversion are well explained using a constant friction of μ = 0.3. A small difference between the residuals of Coulomb simulation and a velocity-dependent simulation suggests that the coefficient of friction over the volume is well constrained as 0.3 most of time during sliding. It suggests the sudden loss of shearing resistance at the onset of sliding, that is, sudden drop of the initial coefficient of friction in our model, which accelerates the deep-seated landslide. Our numerical simulation calibrated by seismic data provides the evolution of dynamic friction with a reasonable resolution in time, which is difficult to obtain from a conventional runout simulation, or seismic waveform inversion alone.

Description: We explore thermal convection of a fluid with a temperature-dependent viscosity in a basally heated 3-D spherical shell using linear stability analyses and numerical experiments, while considering the application of our results to terrestrial planets. The inner to outer radius ratio of the shell f assumed in the linear stability analyses is in the range of 0.11–0.88. The critical Rayleigh number R c for the onset of thermal convection decreases by two orders of magnitude as f increases from 0.11 to 0.88, when the viscosity depends sensitively on the temperature, as is the case for real mantle materials. Numerical simulations carried out in the range of f  = 0.11–0.55 show that a thermal boundary layer (TBL) develops both along the surface and bottom boundaries to induce cold and hot plumes, respectively, when f is 0.33 or larger. However, for smaller f values, a TBL develops only on the bottom boundary. Convection occurs in the stagnant-lid regime where the root mean square velocity on the surface boundary is less than 1 per cent of its maximum at depth, when the ratio of the viscosity at the surface boundary to that at the bottom boundary exceeds a threshold that depends on f . The threshold decreases from 10 6.5 at f  = 0.11 to 10 4 at f  = 0.55. If the viscosity at the base of the convecting mantle is 10 20 –10 21  Pa s, the Rayleigh number exceeds R c for Mars, Venus and the Earth, but does not for the Moon and Mercury; convection is unlikely to occur in the latter planets unless the mantle viscosity is much lower than 10 20  Pa s and/or the mantle contains a strong internal heat source.

Description: We introduce a technique to compute exact anelastic sensitivity kernels in the time domain using parsimonious disk storage. The method is based on a reordering of the time loop of time-domain forward/adjoint wave propagation solvers combined with the use of a memory buffer. It avoids instabilities that occur when time-reversing dissipative wave propagation simulations. The total number of required time steps is unchanged compared to usual acoustic or elastic approaches. The cost is reduced by a factor of 4/3 compared to the case in which anelasticity is partially accounted for by accommodating the effects of physical dispersion. We validate our technique by performing a test in which we compare the K α sensitivity kernel to the exact kernel obtained by saving the entire forward calculation. This benchmark confirms that our approach is also exact. We illustrate the importance of including full attenuation in the calculation of sensitivity kernels by showing significant differences with physical-dispersion-only kernels.

Description: Subducting oceanic lithosphere is an example of a thin sheet-like object whose characteristic lateral dimension greatly exceeds its thickness. Here we exploit this property to derive a new hybrid boundary-integral/thin sheet (BITS) representation of subduction that combines in a single equation all the forces acting on the sheet: gravity, internal resistance to bending and stretching, and the tractions exerted by the ambient mantle. For simplicity, we limit ourselves to 2-D. We solve the BITS equations using a discrete Lagrangian approach in which the sheet is represented by a set of vertices connected by edges. Instantaneous solutions for the sinking speed of a slab attached to a trailing flat sheet obey a scaling law of the form V / V Stokes  = fct(St), where V Stokes is a characteristic Stokes sinking speed and St is the sheet's flexural stiffness. Time-dependent solutions for the evolution of the sheet's shape and thickness show that these are controlled by the viscosity ratio between the sheet and its surroundings. An important advantage of the BITS approach is the possibility of generalizing the sheet's rheology, either to a viscosity that varies along the sheet or to a non-Newtonian shear-thinning rheology.

Description: Rock permeability is an important parameter for the formation evaluation. In this paper, a new method with streaming current is proposed to determine the sample permeability based on the electrokinetic effects, and is proved by the experimental measurements. Corresponding to this method, we have designed an experimental setup and a test system, then performed the streaming current (potential) and electro-osmosis pressure experiments with 23 sandstone samples at 0.05 mol l –1 NaCl solution. The streaming current (potential) coefficient and electro-osmosis pressure coefficient are obtained, respectively, with the experimental data at low frequencies with AC lock-in technique. The electrokinetic permeabilities are further calculated with these coefficients. The results are consistent well with the gas permeability measured with Darcy's law, which verifies the current method for estimating rock permeability. Our measurements are also analysed and compared with previous measurements. The results indicate that our method can reflect the essence of electrokinetic effects better and simplify the electrokinetic measurements as well. In addition, we discuss the influences of experimental artefacts (core holder and confining pressure installation) on the electrokinetic data. The results show that the trough phenomenon, appeared in frequency curves of streaming current (potential) coefficients, is induced by the resonance of the core-holder/vibrator system. This is important for the design of electrokinetic setup and the analysis of low-frequency response of the electrokinetic coupling coefficients.

Description: Real Earth media are not perfectly elastic. Instead, they attenuate propagating mechanical waves. This anelastic phenomenon in wave propagation can be modeled by a viscoelastic mechanical model consisting of several standard linear solids. Using this viscoelastic model, we approximate a constant Q over a frequency band of interest. We use a four-element viscoelastic model with a trade-off between accuracy and computational costs to incorporate Q into 2-D time-domain first-order velocity–stress wave equations. To improve the computational efficiency, we limit the Q in the model to a list of discrete values between 2 and 1000. The related stress and strain relaxation times that characterize the viscoelastic model are pre-calculated and stored in a database for use by the finite-difference calculation. A viscoelastic finite-difference scheme that is second order in time and fourth order in space is developed based on the MacCormack algorithm. The new method is validated by comparing the numerical result with analytical solutions that are calculated using the generalized reflection/transmission coefficient method. The synthetic seismograms exhibit greater than 95 per cent consistency in a two-layer viscoelastic model. The dispersion generated from the simulation is consistent with the Kolsky–Futterman dispersion relationship.

Description: Seismology plays an important role in characterizing potential underground nuclear tests. Using broad-band digital seismic data from Northeast China, South Korea and Japan, we investigated the properties of the recent seismic event occurred in North Korea on 2016 January 6. Using a relative location method and choosing the previous 2006 explosion as the master event, the 2016 event was located within the North Korean nuclear test site, with its epicentre at latitude 41.3003°N and longitude 129.0678°E, approximately 900 m north and 500 m west of the previous event on 2013 February 12. Based on the error ellipse, the relocation uncertainty was approximately 70 m. Using the P / S spectral ratios, including Pg/Lg, Pn/Lg and Pn/Sn, as the discriminants, we identify the 2016 event as an explosion rather than an earthquake. The body-wave magnitude calculated from regional wave Lg is m b (Lg) equal to 4.7 ± 0.2. Adopting an empirical magnitude–yield relation, and assuming that the explosion is fully coupled and detonated at a normally scaled depth, we find that the seismic yield is about 4 kt, with the uncertainties allowing a range from 2 to 8 kt.

Description: After 83 yr, the great normal-faulting earthquake of 1933 March 2, which took place off the Japan Trench and produced a devastating tsunami on the Sanriku coast and damaging waves in Hawaii, remains the largest recorded normal-faulting earthquake. This study uses advanced methods to investigate this event using far-field seismological and tsunami data and complements a sister study by Uchida et al. which used exclusively arrival times at Japanese stations. Our relocation of the main shock (39.22°N, 144.45°E, with a poorly constrained depth of less than 40 km) places it in the outer trench slope, below a seafloor depth of ~6500 m, in a region of horst-and-graben structure, with fault scarps approximately parallel to the axis of the Japan Trench. Relocated aftershocks show a band of genuine shallow aftershocks parallel to the Japan Trench under the outer trench slope and a region of post-mainshock events landward of the trench axis that occur over roughly the same latitude range and are thought to be the result of stress transfer to the interplate thrust boundary following the normal-faulting rupture. Based on a combination of P -wave first motions and inversion of surface wave spectral amplitudes, we propose a normal-faulting focal mechanism ( = 200°, = 61° and = 271°) and a seismic moment M 0 = (7 ± 1) x 10 28 dyn cm ( M w = 8.5). A wide variety of data, including the distribution of isoseismals, the large magnitudes (up to 8.9) proposed by early investigators before the standardization of magnitude scales, estimates of energy-to-moment ratios and the tentative identification of a T wave at Pasadena (and possibly Riverside), clearly indicate that this seismic source was exceptionally rich in high-frequency wave energy, suggesting a large apparent stress and a sharp rise time, and consistent with the behaviour of many smaller shallow normal-faulting earthquakes. Hydrodynamic simulations based on a range of possible sources consistent with the above findings, including a compound rupture on two opposite-facing normal-faulting segments, are in satisfactory agreement with tsunami observations in Hawaii, where run-up reached 3 m, causing significant damage. This study emphasizes the need to include off-trench normal-faulting earthquake sources in global assessments of tsunami hazards emanating from the subduction of old and cold plates, whose total length of trenches exceed 20 000 km, even though only a handful of great such events are known with confidence in the instrumental record.

Description: To refine the 3-D seismic velocity model in the greater Parkfield, California region, a new data set including regular earthquakes, shots, quarry blasts and low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) was assembled. Hundreds of traces of each LFE family at two temporary arrays were stacked with time–frequency domain phase weighted stacking method to improve signal-to-noise ratio. We extend our model resolution to lower crustal depth with LFE data. Our result images not only previously identified features but also low velocity zones (LVZs) in the area around the LFEs and the lower crust beneath the southern Rinconada Fault. The former LVZ is consistent with high fluid pressure that can account for several aspects of LFE behaviour. The latter LVZ is consistent with a high conductivity zone in magnetotelluric studies. A new Vs model was developed with S picks that were obtained with a new autopicker. At shallow depth, the low Vs areas underlie the strongest shaking areas in the 2004 Parkfield earthquake. We relocate LFE families and analyse the location uncertainties with the NonLinLoc and tomoDD codes. The two methods yield similar results.

Description: The aftershock distribution of the 1933 Sanriku-oki outer trench earthquake is estimated by using modern relocation methods and a newly developed velocity structure to examine the spatial extent of the source-fault and the possibility of a triggered interplate seismicity. In this study, we first examined the regional data quality of the 1933 earthquake based on smoked-paper records and then relocated the earthquakes by using the 3-D velocity structure and double-difference method. The improvements of hypocentre locations using these methods were confirmed by the examination of recent earthquakes that are accurately located based on ocean bottom seismometer data. The results show that the 1933 aftershocks occurred under both the outer- and inner-trench-slope regions. In the outer-trench-slope region, aftershocks are distributed in a ~280-km-long area and their depths are shallower than 50 km. Although we could not constrain the fault geometry from the hypocentre distribution, the depth distribution suggests the whole lithosphere is probably not under deviatoric tension at the time of the 1933 earthquake. The occurrence of aftershocks under the inner trench slope was also confirmed by an investigation of waveform frequency difference between outer and inner trench earthquakes as recorded at Mizusawa. The earthquakes under the inner trench slope were shallow (depth less double equals30 km) and the waveforms show a low-frequency character similar to the waveforms of recent, precisely located earthquakes in the same area. They are also located where recent activity of interplate thrust earthquakes is high. These suggest that the 1933 outer-trench-slope main shock triggered interplate earthquakes, which is an unusual case in the order of occurrence in contrast with the more common pairing of a large initial interplate shock with subsequent outer-slope earthquakes. The off-trench earthquakes are distributed about 80 km width in the trench perpendicular direction. This wide width cannot be explained from a single high-angle fault confined at a shallow depth (depth less double equals50 km). The upward motion of the 1933 tsunami waveform records observed at Sanriku coast also cannot be explained from a single high-angle west-dipping normal fault. If we consider additional fault, involvement of high-angle, east-dipping normal faults can better explain the tsunami first motion and triggering of the aftershock in a wide area under the outer trench slope. Therefore multiple off-trench normal faults may have activated during the 1933 earthquake. We also relocated recent (2001–2012) seismicity by the same method. The results show that the present seismicity in the outer-trench-slope region can be divided into several groups along the trench. Comparison of the 1933 rupture dimensions based on our aftershock relocations with the morphologies of fault scarps in the outer trench slope suggest that the rupture was limited to the region where fault scarps are largely trench parallel and cross cut the seafloor spreading fabric. These findings imply that bending geometry and structural segmentation of the incoming plate largely controls the spatial extent of the 1933 seismogenic faulting. In this shallow rupture model for this largest outer trench earthquake, triggered seismicity in the forearc and structural control of faulting represent an important deformation styles for off-trench and shallow megathrust zones.

Description: The Cadzow rank-reduction method can be effectively utilized in simultaneously denoising and reconstructing 5-D seismic data that depend on four spatial dimensions. The classic version of Cadzow rank-reduction method arranges the 4-D spatial data into a level-four block Hankel/Toeplitz matrix and then applies truncated singular value decomposition (TSVD) for rank reduction. When the observed data are extremely noisy, which is often the feature of real seismic data, traditional TSVD cannot be adequate for attenuating the noise and reconstructing the signals. The reconstructed data tend to contain a significant amount of residual noise using the traditional TSVD method, which can be explained by the fact that the reconstructed data space is a mixture of both signal subspace and noise subspace. In order to better decompose the block Hankel matrix into signal and noise components, we introduced a damping operator into the traditional TSVD formula, which we call the damped rank-reduction method. The damped rank-reduction method can obtain a perfect reconstruction performance even when the observed data have extremely low signal-to-noise ratio. The feasibility of the improved 5-D seismic data reconstruction method was validated via both 5-D synthetic and field data examples. We presented comprehensive analysis of the data examples and obtained valuable experience and guidelines in better utilizing the proposed method in practice. Since the proposed method is convenient to implement and can achieve immediate improvement, we suggest its wide application in the industry.

Description: An exact analytical solution is presented for the effective dynamic transverse shear modulus in a heterogeneous fluid-filled porous solid containing cylindrical inclusions. The complex and frequency-dependent properties of the dynamic shear modulus are caused by the physical mechanism of mesoscopic-scale wave-induced fluid flow whose scale is smaller than wavelength but larger than the size of pores. Our model consists of three phases: a long cylindrical inclusion, a cylindrical shell of poroelastic matrix material with different mechanical and/or hydraulic properties than the inclusion and an outer region of effective homogeneous medium of laterally infinite extent. The behavior of both the inclusion and the matrix is described by Biot's consolidation equations, whereas the surrounding effective medium which is used to describe the effective transverse shear properties of the inner poroelastic composite is assumed to be a viscoelastic solid whose complex transverse shear modulus needs to be determined. The determined effective transverse shear modulus is used to quantify the S -wave attenuation and velocity dispersion in heterogeneous fluid-filled poroelastic rocks. The calculation shows the relaxation frequency and relative position of various fluid saturation dispersion curves predicted by this study exhibit very good agreement with those of a previous 2-D finite-element simulation. For the double-porosity model (inclusions having a different solid frame than the matrix but the same pore fluid as the matrix) the effective shear modulus also exhibits a size-dependent characteristic that the relaxation frequency moves to lower frequencies by two orders of magnitude if the radius of the cylindrical poroelastic composite increases by one order of magnitude. For the patchy-saturation model (inclusions having the same solid frame as the matrix but with a different pore fluid from the matrix), the heterogeneity in pore fluid cannot cause any attenuation in the transverse shear modulus at all. A comparison with the case of spherical inclusions illustrates that the transverse shear modulus for the cylindrical inclusion exhibits more S -wave attenuation than spherical inclusions.

Description: Secondary microseism sources are pressure fluctuations close to the ocean surface. They generate acoustic P waves that propagate in water down to the ocean bottom where they are partly reflected and partly transmitted into the crust to continue their propagation through the Earth. We present the theory for computing the displacement power spectral density of secondary microseism P waves recorded by receivers in the far field. In the frequency domain, the P -wave displacement can be modeled as the product of (1) the pressure source, (2) the source site effect that accounts for the constructive interference of multiply reflected P waves in the ocean, (3) the propagation from the ocean bottom to the stations and (4) the receiver site effect. Secondary microseism P waves have weak amplitudes, but they can be investigated by beamforming analysis. We validate our approach by analysing the seismic signals generated by typhoon Ioke (2006) and recorded by the Southern California Seismic Network. Backprojecting the beam onto the ocean surface enables to follow the source motion. The observed beam centroid is in the vicinity of the pressure source derived from the ocean wave model WAVEWATCH III R . The pressure source is then used for modeling the beam and a good agreement is obtained between measured and modeled beam amplitude variation over time. This modeling approach can be used to invert P -wave noise data and retrieve the source intensity and lateral extent.

Description: In the context of the verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty in the marine environment, we present a new discriminant based on the empirical observation that hydroacoustic phases recorded at T -phase stations from explosive sources in the water column feature a systematic inverse dispersion, with lower frequencies traveling slower, which is absent from signals emanating from earthquake sources. This difference is present even in the case of the so-called ‘hotspot earthquakes’ occurring inside volcanic edifices featuring steep slopes leading to efficient seismic–acoustic conversions, which can lead to misidentification of such events as explosions when using more classical duration-amplitude discriminants. We propose an algorithm for the compensation of the effect of dispersion over the hydroacoustic path based on a correction to the spectral phase of the ground velocity recorded by the T -phase station, computed individually from the dispersion observed on each record. We show that the application of a standard amplitude-duration algorithm to the resulting compensated time-series satisfactorily identifies records from hotspot earthquakes as generated by dislocation sources, and present a full algorithm, lending itself to automation, for the discrimination of explosive and earthquake sources of hydroacoustic signals at T -phase stations. The only sources not readily identifiable consist of a handful of complex explosions which occurred in the 1970s, believed to involve the testing of advanced weaponry, and which should be independently identifiable through routine vetting by analysts. While we presently cannot provide a theoretical justification to the observation that only explosive sources generate dispersed T phases, we hint that this probably reflects a simpler, and more coherent distribution of acoustic energy among the various modes constituting the wave train, than in the case of dislocation sources embedded in the solid Earth.

Description: Multiparameter full waveform inversion (FWI) applied to an elastic orthorhombic model description of the subsurface requires in theory a nine-parameter representation of each pixel of the model. Even with optimal acquisition on the Earth surface that includes large offsets, full azimuth, and multicomponent sensors, the potential for trade-off between the elastic orthorhombic parameters are large. The first step to understanding such trade-off is analysing the scattering potential of each parameter, and specifically, its scattering radiation patterns. We investigate such radiation patterns for diffraction and for scattering from a horizontal reflector considering a background isotropic model. The radiation patterns show considerable potential for trade-off between the parameters and the potentially limited resolution in their recovery. The radiation patterns of C 11 , C 22 , and C 33 are well separated so that we expect to recover these parameters with limited trade-offs. However, the resolution of their recovery represented by recovered range of model wavenumbers varies between these parameters. We can only invert for the short wavelength components (reflection) of C 33 while we can mainly invert for the long wavelength components (transmission) of the elastic coefficients C 11 and C 22 if we have large enough offsets. The elastic coefficients C 13 , C 23 , and C 12 suffer from strong trade-offs with C 55 , C 44 , and C 66 , respectively. The trade-offs between C 13 and C 55 , as well as C 23 and C 44 , can be partially mitigated if we acquire P – SV and SV – SV waves. However, to reduce the trade-offs between C 12 and C 66 , we require credible SH – SH waves. The analytical radiation patterns of the elastic constants are supported by numerical gradients of these parameters.

Description: This work presents an innovative strategy to enhance the resolution of surface wave tomography obtained from ambient noise cross-correlation ( C 1 ) by bridging asynchronous seismic networks through the correlation of coda of correlations ( C 3 ). Rayleigh wave group dispersion curves show consistent results between synchronous and asynchronous stations. Rayleigh wave group traveltimes are inverted to construct velocity–period maps with unprecedented resolution for a region covering Mexico and the southern United States. The resulting period maps are then used to regionalize dispersion curves in order to obtain local 1-D shear velocity models ( V S ) of the crust and uppermost mantle in every cell of a grid of 0.4°. The 1-D structures are obtained by iteratively adding layers until reaching a given misfit, and a global tomography model is considered as an input for depths below 150 km. Finally, a high-resolution 3-D V S model is obtained from these inversions. The major structures observed in the 3-D model are in agreement with the tectonic-geodynamic features and with previous regional and local studies. It also offers new insights to understand the present and past tectonic evolution of the region.

Description: Archaeomagnetic field models cover longer timescales than historical models and may therefore resolve the motion of geomagnetic features on the core–mantle boundary (CMB) in a more meaningful statistical sense. Here we perform a detailed appraisal of archaeomagnetic field models to infer some aspects of the physics of the outer core. We characterize and compare the identification and tracking of reversed flux patches (RFPs) in order to assess the RFPs robustness. We find similar behaviour within a family of models but differences among different families, suggesting that modelling strategy is more influential than data set. Similarities involve recurrent positions of RFPs, but no preferred direction of motion is found. The tracking of normal flux patches shows similar qualitative behaviour confirming that RFPs identification and tracking is not strongly biased by their relative weakness. We also compare the tracking of RFPs with that of the historical field model gufm1 and with seismic anomalies of the lowermost mantle to explore the possibility that RFPs have preferred locations prescribed by lower mantle lateral heterogeneity. The archaeomagnetic field model that most resembles the historical field is interpreted in terms of core dynamics and core–mantle thermal interactions. This model exhibits correlation between RFPs and low seismic shear velocity in co-latitude and a shift in longitude. These results shed light on core processes, in particular we infer toroidal field lines with azimuthal orientation below the CMB and large fluid upwelling structures with a width of about 80° (Africa) and 110° (Pacific) at the top of the core. Finally, similar preferred locations of RFPs in the past 9 and 3 kyr of the same archaeomagnetic field model suggest that a 3 kyr period is sufficiently long to reliably detect mantle control on core dynamics. This allows estimating an upper bound of 220–310 km for the magnetic boundary layer thickness below the CMB.

Description: Determination of a response of the sea water column to teleseismic plane wave is important to suppress adverse effects of water reverberations in calculating receiver functions (RFs) using ocean-bottom seismometer (OBS) records. We present a novel non-linear waveform analysis method using the simulated annealing algorithm to determine such a water-layer response recorded by an OBS array. We then demonstrate its usefulness for the RF estimation through its application to synthetic and observed data. Synthetic experiments suggest that the water-layer response constrained in this way has a potential to improve RFs of OBS records drastically even in the high-frequency range (to 4 Hz). By applying it to data observed by the OBS array around the Kii Peninsula, southwestern Japan, we identified a low-velocity zone at the top of the subducting Philippine Sea plate. This zone may represent the incoming fluid-rich sediment layer that has been reported by active-source seismic survey.

Description: We develop an automated strategy for discriminating deep microseismic events from shallow ones on the basis of the waveforms recorded on a limited number of surface receivers. Machine-learning techniques are employed to explore the relationship between event hypocentres and seismic features of the recorded signals in time, frequency and time–frequency domains. We applied the technique to 440 microearthquakes –1.7 〈  M w  〈 1.29, induced by an underground cavern collapse in the Napoleonville Salt Dome in Bayou Corne, Louisiana. Forty different seismic attributes of whole seismograms including degree of polarization and spectral attributes were measured. A selected set of features was then used to train the system to discriminate between deep and shallow events based on the knowledge gained from existing patterns. The cross-validation test showed that events with depth shallower than 250 m can be discriminated from events with hypocentral depth between 1000 and 2000 m with 88 per cent and 90.7 per cent accuracy using logistic regression and artificial neural network models, respectively. Similar results were obtained using single station seismograms. The results show that the spectral features have the highest correlation to source depth. Spectral centroids and 2-D cross-correlations in the time–frequency domain are two new seismic features used in this study that showed to be promising measures for seismic event classification. The used machine-learning techniques have application for efficient automatic classification of low energy signals recorded at one or more seismic stations.

Description: We conduct a numerical experiment to investigate potential bias in measurements of S -wave splitting (apparent differences between the arrival times of SH and SV phases) for waves propagating close to the core–mantle boundary (CMB) in the D'' layer. The bias is defined as the discrepancy between shear wave splitting measured from finite frequency synthetic seismograms (‘apparent splitting’) and the splitting predicted by ray theory, which is a high-frequency approximation. For simple isotropic models, we find biases which are typically between 0.5 and 4 s, depending on the model, the Q structure and the dominant period of the synthetics. The bias increases for lower frequencies or lower Q values. The epicentral distance at which the bias starts depends on the frequency and the Q structure. We also compute synthetics for models based on mineral physics (using the elastic constants under lower-mantle pressure and temperature conditions, taking into account the phase transition from Mg-perovskite to Mg-post-perovskite) and geodynamics (the thermal boundary layer) and find that the depth of the positive velocity jump associated with the phase transition and the depth range over which the velocity decreases (due to temperature increases) in the thermal boundary layer significantly influence the wavefield in the lowermost mantle. For example, in cold regions beneath subduction zones, wavefields for SH and SV differ greatly due to the steep velocity decrease close to the CMB. For complex models, apparent splitting can also arise from the possibility that low amplitude direct phases might be overlooked, and larger amplitude later phases might instead incorrectly be picked as the direct arrival. Biases of the type investigated in this study combine with other sources of uncertainty for splitting in D'' (e.g. the correction for upper-mantle anisotropy and the difference between SH and SV ray paths) to make a precise evaluation of the anisotropy in D'' difficult.

Description: Geodetic, geologic and palaeomagnetic data reveal that Oregon (western USA) rotates clockwise at 0.3 to 1.0° Ma –1 (relative to North America) about an axis near the Idaho–Oregon–Washington border, while northeast Washington is relatively fixed. This rotation has been going on for at least 15 Ma. The Yakima fold and thrust belt (YFTB) forms the boundary between northern Oregon and central Washington where convergence of the clockwise-rotating Oregon block is apparently accommodated. North–south shortening across the YFTB has been thought to occur in a fan-like manner, increasing in rate to the west. We obtained high-accuracy, high-density geodetic GPS measurements in 2012–2014 that are used with earlier GPS measurements from the 1990s to characterize YFTB kinematics. The new results show that the deformation associated with the YFTB starts at the Blue Mountains Anticline in northern Oregon and extends north beyond the Frenchman Hills in Washington, past the epicentre of the 1872 M w 7.0 Entiat earthquake to 49°N. The north–south strain rate across the region is 2 to 3 x 10 –9 yr –1 between the volcanic arc and the eastern edge of the YFTB (241.0°E); east of there it drops to about 10 –9 yr –1 . At the eastern boundary of the YFTB, faults and earthquake activity are truncated by a north-trending, narrow zone of deformation that runs along the Pasco Basin and Moses Lake regions near 240.9°E. This zone, abutting the Department of Energy Hanford Nuclear Reservation, accommodates about 0.5 mm yr –1 of east to northeast shortening. A similar zone of N-trending transpression is seen along 239.9°E where there is a change in the strike of the Yakima folds. The modern deformation of the YFTB is about 600 km wide from south to north and internally may be controlled by pre-existing crustal structure.

Description: The Central Anatolian orogenic plateau is represented by young volcanism, rapid plateau uplift and distinctive (past and active) tectonic deformation. In this study, we consider observational data in terms of regional present-day geodynamics in the region. The residual topography of Central Anatolia was derived to define the regional isostatic conditions according to Airy isostasy and infer the potential role of ‘dynamic topography’. 2-D thermomechanical forward models for coupled mantle-lithosphere flow/deformation were conducted along an N–S directional profile through the region (e.g. northern/Pontides, interior and southern/Taurides). These models were based on seismic tomography data that provide estimates about the present-day mantle thermal structure beneath the Anatolian plate. We compare the modelling results with calculated residual topography and independent data sets of geological deformation, gravity and high surface heat flow/widespread geothermal activity. Model results suggest that there is ~1 km of mantle flow induced dynamic topography associated with the sublithospheric flow driven by the seismically inferred mantle structure. The uprising mantle may have also driven the asthenospheric source of volcanism in the north (e.g. Galatia volcanic province) and the Cappadocia volcanic province in the south while elevating the surface in the last 10 Myr. Our dynamic topography calculations emphasize the role of vertical forcing under other orogenic plateaux underlain by relatively thin crust and low-density asthenospheric mantle.

Description: Post-depositional reductive diagenesis usually results in partial or entire cleansing of the pristine palaeomagnetic signal, therefore, its intensity is important to be assessed for sediments that are in the purpose of retrieving palaeomagnetic information. Grain size, rock magnetic and geochemical studies on the entire core, along with scanning electron microscope observations and X-ray diffraction analyses for representative samples were carried out on a Holocene sediment core retrieved from the deep water part of Huguangyan maar lake (HGY), southeast China. The pristine magnetic mineral assemblage of the studied core is domianted by superparamagnetic (SP) and stable single domain titanomagnetite, and high coercivity minerals are not detectable. Based on down-core variations of the average grain size ( M Z ), total organic carbon (TOC), detrital elements (Al, Ti, Fe and Mn) and the concentration and mineralogy of magnetic minerals, the studied core could be divided into three subsections. The uppermost subsection is the least affected by diagenesis, with detrital titanomagnetite as the dominant magnetic mineral. This is owing to low TOC contents, but high detrital input generated by weak Asian summer monsoon intensity during the late Holocene. The intermediate subsection shows down-core progressively enhanced dissolution of detrital titanomagnetite, and concomitant formation of authigenic pyrite and siderite, which indicates down-core progressively enhanced diagenesis generated by down-core progressive increasing TOC content, but decreasing detrital input as the result of down-core progressively strengthened Asian summer monsoon intensity. The pristine magnetic mineral assemblage has been profoundly modified in the lowermost subsection. At certain positions of the lowermost subsection, detrital titanomagnetite has been even completely dissolved via diagenesis, giving place to authigenic pyrite and siderite. High TOC content, but low detrital input generated from strong Asian summer monsoon intensity during the early Holocene are accountable for intensive diagenesis in the lowermost subsection. Complete erasing of detrital magnetic input signal at certain positions of the lowermost subsection, and considerable formation of authigenic siderite indicate that palaeomagnetic records of the studied core have been significantly compromised. The studied core has relatively higher TOC content, lower detrital matter content, calmer sedimentary environments, and less DO available at its water–sediment interface than the cores retrieved at relatively shallower water depths, which all contribute to its relatively stronger diagenesis. Progressive thickening of the upper two subsections with increasing water depth is owing to progressive increase in sedimentation rate with increasing water depth, which is the key factor in determining the thickness of each diagenetic subsection of cores from HGY. It would be better that lake sediments for palaeomagnetic investigations collected at a water depth shallower than the depth of its thermocline.

Description: A velocity ( Vs ) and structure model is derived for the Los Angeles Basin, California based on ambient-noise surface wave and receiver-function analysis, using data from a low-cost, short-duration, dense broad-band survey (LASSIE) deployed across the basin. The shear wave velocities show lateral variations at the Compton-Los Alamitos and the Whittier Faults. The basement beneath the Puente Hills–San Gabriel Valley shows an unusually high velocity (~4.0 km s –1 ) and indicates the presence of schist. The structure of the model shows that the basin is a maximum of 8 km deep along the profile and that the Moho rises to a depth of 17 km under the basin. The basin has a stretch factor of 2.6 in the centre grading to 1.3 at the edges and is in approximate isostatic equilibrium.

Description: In many geological systems, inversion of density stratification sets in Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instabilities, leading to an ascent of relatively low-density materials through the high-density overburden in the form of diapirs. These diapirs often originate from dipping low-density layers. This study aims to show how the initial tilt of such source layers can control the ascent behaviour of diapirs initiated by RT instabilities. Using two-layer viscous models we produced RT instabilities in physical experiments, and investigated the effects of source-layer tilts ( β ). Our experiments suggest that these diapirs ascend with contrasting lateral spreading rates in the up and down slope directions, resulting in their axi-asymmetric geometry. However, their heads retain a circular outline on the horizontal top surface, where the upwelling axis is located away from their geometric centre in the upslope direction. In this paper, we present a series of experimental models to demonstrate the spectrum of axi-symmetric to -asymmetric geometrical transitions with increasing β . Our experiments also reveal that when β is large (〉4°) the diapirs become unstable, resulting in a continuous migration of their stems in the upslope direction. Using the volume of fluid method we ran computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations to study the underlying hydrodynamics of axi-asymmetric diapiric growth. The CFD simulations show that β 〉 0° conditions develop stronger flow vortices on the downslope side of an ascending diapir, leading to a pressure difference between the up- and downslope flanks. Such a differential pressure causes the diapir head to spread at a faster rate in the tilt direction. An estimate of the asymmetric spreading rates is given as a function of β . Our present study provides a fundamental understanding of the hydrodynamic flow structure responsible for the asymmetric growth of RT instabilities on tilted source layers, as applicable to a wide range of large-scale geological settings, such as sedimentary basins and subduction zones.

Description: Typically, seismic data are sparsely and irregularly sampled due to limitations in the survey environment and these cause problems for key seismic processing steps such as surface-related multiple elimination or wave-equation-based migration. Various interpolation techniques have been developed to alleviate the problems caused by sparse and irregular sampling. Among many interpolation techniques, matching pursuit interpolation is a robust tool to interpolate the regularly sampled data with large receiver separation such as crossline data in marine seismic acquisition when both pressure and particle velocity data are used. Multicomponent matching pursuit methods generally used the sinusoidal basis function, which have shown to be effective for interpolating multicomponent marine seismic data in the crossline direction. In this paper, we report the use of wavelet basis functions which further enhances the performance of matching pursuit methods for de-aliasing than sinusoidal basis functions. We also found that the range of the peak wavenumber of the wavelet is critical to the stability of the interpolation results and the de-aliasing performance and that the range should be determined based on Nyquist criteria. In addition, we reduced the computational cost by adopting the inner product of the wavelet and the input data to find the parameters of the wavelet basis function instead of using L-2 norm minimization. Using synthetic data, we illustrate that for aliased data, wavelet-based matching pursuit interpolation yields more stable results than sinusoidal function-based one when we use not only pressure data only but also both pressure and particle velocity together.

Description: We present a catalogue of full seismic moment tensors for 63 events from Uturuncu volcano in Bolivia. The events were recorded during 2011–2012 in the PLUTONS seismic array of 24 broad-band stations. Most events had magnitudes between 0.5 and 2.0 and did not generate discernible surface waves; the largest event was M w 2.8. For each event we computed the misfit between observed and synthetic waveforms, and we used first-motion polarity measurements to reduce the number of possible solutions. Each moment tensor solution was obtained using a grid search over the 6-D space of moment tensors. For each event, we show the misfit function in eigenvalue space, represented by a lune. We identify three subsets of the catalogue: (1) six isotropic events, (2) five tensional crack events, and (3) a swarm of 14 events southeast of the volcanic centre that appear to be double couples. The occurrence of positively isotropic events is consistent with other published results from volcanic and geothermal regions. Several of these previous results, as well as our results, cannot be interpreted within the context of either an oblique opening crack or a crack-plus-double-couple model. Proper characterization of uncertainties for full moment tensors is critical for distinguishing among physical models of source processes.

Description: The 2-D acoustic wave equation is commonly solved numerically by finite-difference (FD) methods in which the accuracy of solution is significantly affected by the FD stencils. The commonly used cross stencil can reach either only second-order accuracy for space domain dispersion-relation-based FD method or (2 M )th-order accuracy along eight specific propagation directions for time–space domain dispersion-relation-based FD method, if the conventional (2 M )th-order spatial FD and second-order temporal FD are used to discretize the equation. One other newly developed rhombus stencil can reach arbitrary even-order accuracy. However, this stencil adds significantly to computational cost when the operator length is large. To achieve a balance between the solution accuracy and efficiency, we develop a new FD stencil to solve the 2-D acoustic wave equation. This stencil is a combination of the cross stencil and rhombus stencil. A cross stencil with an operator length parameter M is used to approximate the spatial partial derivatives while a rhombus stencil with an operator length parameter N together with the conventional second-order temporal FD is employed in approximating the temporal partial derivatives. Using this stencil, a new FD scheme is developed; we demonstrate that this scheme can reach (2 M )th-order accuracy in space and (2 N )th-order accuracy in time when spatial FD coefficients and temporal FD coefficients are derived from respective dispersion relation using Taylor-series expansion (TE) method. To further increase the accuracy, we derive the FD coefficients by employing the time–space domain dispersion relation of this FD scheme using TE. We also use least-squares (LS) optimization method to reduce dispersion at high wavenumbers. Dispersion analysis, stability analysis and modelling examples demonstrate that our new scheme has greater accuracy and better stability than conventional FD schemes, and thus can adopt large time steps. To reduce the extra computational cost resulting from adopting the new stencil, we apply the variable spatial operator length schemes. Adopting our new FD scheme, characterized by new stencil, LS-based optimization, variable operator lengths and larger time step, modelling efficiency is significantly improved.

Description: The geomechanical analysis of a highly compartmentalized reservoir is performed to simulate the seafloor subsidence due to gas production. The available observations over the hydrocarbon reservoir consist of bathymetric surveys carried out before and at the end of a 10-yr production life. The main goal is the calibration of the reservoir compressibility c M , that is, the main geomechanical parameter controlling the surface response. Two conceptual models are considered: in one (i) c M varies only with the depth and the vertical effective stress (heterogeneity due to lithostratigraphic variability); in another (ii) c M varies also in the horizontal plane, that is, it is spatially distributed within the reservoir stratigraphic units. The latter hypothesis accounts for a possible partitioning of the reservoir due to the presence of sealing faults and thrusts that suggests the idea of a block heterogeneous system with the number of reservoir blocks equal to the number of uncertain parameters. The method applied here relies on an ensemble-based data assimilation (DA) algorithm (i.e. the ensemble smoother, ES), which incorporates the information from the bathymetric measurements into the geomechanical model response to infer and reduce the uncertainty of the parameter c M . The outcome from conceptual model (i) indicates that DA is effective in reducing the c M uncertainty. However, the maximum settlement still remains underestimated, while the areal extent of the subsidence bowl is overestimated. We demonstrate that the selection of the heterogeneous conceptual model (ii) allows to reproduce much better the observations thus removing a clear bias of the model structure. DA allows significantly reducing the c M uncertainty in the five blocks (out of the seven) characterized by large volume and large pressure decline. Conversely, the assimilation of land displacements only partially constrains the prior c M uncertainty in the reservoir blocks marginally contributing to the cumulative seafloor subsidence, that is, blocks with low pressure.

Description: Near-surface geophysical imaging is often performed by generating surface waves, and estimating the subsurface properties through inversion, that is, iteratively matching experimentally observed dispersion curves with predicted curves from a layered half-space model of the subsurface. Key to the effectiveness of inversion is the efficiency and accuracy of computing the dispersion curves and their derivatives. This paper presents improved methodologies for both dispersion curve and derivative computation. First, it is shown that the dispersion curves can be computed more efficiently by combining an unconventional complex-length finite element method (CFEM) to model the finite depth layers, with perfectly matched discrete layers (PMDL) to model the unbounded half-space. Second, based on analytical derivatives for theoretical dispersion curves, an approximate derivative is derived for the so-called effective dispersion curve for realistic geophysical surface response data. The new derivative computation has a smoothing effect on the computation of derivatives, in comparison with traditional finite difference (FD) approach, and results in faster convergence. In addition, while the computational cost of FD differentiation is proportional to the number of model parameters, the new differentiation formula has a computational cost that is almost independent of the number of model parameters. At the end, as confirmed by synthetic and real-life imaging examples, the combination of CFEM + PMDL for dispersion calculation and the new differentiation formula results in more accurate estimates of the subsurface characteristics than the traditional methods, at a small fraction of computational effort.

Description: Powerful subduction zone earthquakes rupture thousands of square kilometres along continental margins but at certain locations earthquake rupture terminates. To date, detailed knowledge of the parameters that govern seismic rupture and aftershocks is still incomplete. On 2015 September 16, the M w 8.3 Illapel earthquake ruptured a 200 km long stretch of the Central Chilean subduction zone, triggering a tsunami and causing significant damage. Here, we analyse the temporal and spatial pattern of the coseismic rupture and aftershocks in relation to the tectonic setting in the earthquake area. Aftershocks cluster around the area of maximum coseismic slip, in particular in lateral and downdip direction. During the first 24 hr after the main shock, aftershocks migrated in both lateral directions with velocities of approximately 2.5 and 5 km hr –1 . At the southern rupture boundary, aftershocks cluster around individual subducted seamounts that are related to the downthrusting Juan Fernández Ridge. In the northern part of the rupture area, aftershocks separate into an upper cluster (above 25 km depth) and a lower cluster (below 35 km depth). This dual seismic–aseismic transition in downdip direction is also observed in the interseismic period suggesting that it may represent a persistent feature for the Central Chilean subduction zone.

Description: The geocentre motion is the motion of the centre of mass of the entire Earth, considered an isolated system, in a terrestrial system of reference. We first derive a formula relating the harmonic degree-1 Lagrangian variation of the gravity at a station to both the harmonic degree-1 vertical displacement of the station and the displacement of the whole Earth's centre of mass. The relationship is independent of the nature of the Earth deformation and is valid for any source of deformation. We impose no constraint on the system of reference, except that its origin must initially coincide with the centre of mass of the spherically symmetric Earth model. Next, we consider the geocentre motion caused by surface loading. In a system of reference whose origin is the centre of mass of the solid Earth, we obtain a specific relationship between the gravity variation at the surface, the geocentre displacement and the load Love number $h^{\prime }_1$ , which demands the Earth's structure and rheological behaviour be known. For various networks of real or fictitious stations, we invert synthetic signals of surface gravity variations caused by atmospheric loading to retrieve the degree-1 variation of gravity. We then select six well-distributed stations of the Global Geodynamics Project, which is a world network of superconducting gravimeters, to invert actual gravity data for the degree-1 variations and determine the geocentre displacement between the end of 2004 and the beginning of 2012, assuming it to be due to surface loading. We find annual and semi-annual displacements with amplitude 0.5–2.3 mm.

Description: This work aims to explore the ongoing tectonic activity of structures in the outermost sector of the Northern Apennines, which represents the active leading edge of the thrust belt and is dominated by compressive deformation. We have applied the Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) technique to obtain new insights into the present-day deformation pattern of the frontal area of the Northern Apennine. PSI has proved to be effective in detecting surface deformation of wide regions involved in low tectonic movements. We used 34 Envisat images in descending geometry over the period of time between 2004 and 2010, performing about 300 interferometric pairs. The analysis of the velocity maps and of the PSI time-series has allowed to observe ground deformation over the sector of the Po Plain between Piacenza and Reggio Emilia. The time-series of permanent GPS stations located in the study area, validated the results of the PSI technique, showing a good correlation with the PS time-series. The PS analysis reveals the occurrence of a well-known subsidence area on the rear of the Ferrara arc, mostly connected to the exploitation of water resources. In some instances, the PS velocity pattern reveals ground uplift (with mean velocities ranging from 1 to 2.8 mm yr –1 ) above active thrust-related anticlines of the Emilia and Ferrara folds, and part of the Pede-Apennine margin. We hypothesize a correlation between the observed uplift deformation pattern and the growth of the thrust-related anticlines. As the uplift pattern corresponds to known geological features, it can be used to constrain the seismo-tectonic setting, and a working hypothesis may involve that the active Emilia and Ferrara thrust folds would be characterized by interseismic periods possibly dominated by aseismic creep.

Description: Least-squares inversion of seismic arrivals can provide remarkably detailed models of the Earth's subsurface. However, cycle skipping associated with these oscillatory arrivals is the main cause for local minima in the least-squares objective function. Therefore, it is often difficult for descent methods to converge to the solution without an accurate initial large-scale velocity estimate. The low frequencies in the arrivals, needed to update the large-scale components in the velocity model, are usually unreliable or absent. To overcome this difficulty, we propose a multi-objective inversion scheme that uses the conventional least-squares functional along with an auxiliary data-domain objective. As the auxiliary objective effectively replaces the seismic arrivals by bumps, we call it the bump functional. The bump functional minimization can be made far less sensitive to cycle skipping and can deal with multiple arrivals in the data. However, it can only be used as an auxiliary objective since it usually does not provide a unique model after minimization even when the regularized-least-squares functional has a unique global minimum and hence a unique solution. The role of the bump functional during the multi-objective inversion is to guide the optimization towards the global minimum by pulling the trapped solution out of the local minima associated with the least-squares functional whenever necessary. The computational complexity of the bump functional is equivalent to that of the least-squares functional. In this paper, we describe various characteristics of the bump functional using simple and illustrative numerical examples. We also demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed multi-objective inversion scheme by considering more realistic examples. These include synthetic and field data from a cross-well experiment, surface-seismic synthetic data with reflections and synthetic data with refracted arrivals at long offsets.

Description: Deep sea pockmarks underlain by chimney-like or pipe structures that contain methane hydrate are abundant along the Norwegian continental margin. In such hydrate provinces the interaction between hydrate formation and fluid flow has significance for benthic ecosystems and possibly climate change. The Nyegga region, situated on the western Norwegian continental slope, is characterized by an extensive pockmark field known to accommodate substantial methane gas hydrate deposits. The aim of this study is to detect and delineate both the gas hydrate and free gas reservoirs at one of Nyegga's pockmarks. In 2012, a marine controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) survey was performed at a pockmark in this region, where high-resolution 3-D seismic data were previously collected in 2006. 2-D CSEM inversions were computed using the data acquired by ocean bottom electrical field receivers. Our results, derived from unconstrained and seismically constrained CSEM inversions, suggest the presence of two distinctive resistivity anomalies beneath the pockmark: a shallow vertical anomaly at the underlying pipe structure, likely due to gas hydrate accumulation, and a laterally extensive anomaly attributed to a free gas zone below the base of the gas hydrate stability zone. This work contributes to a robust characterization of gas hydrate deposits within subseafloor fluid flow pipe structures.

Description: In Europe, common input data types for seismic hazard evaluation include earthquake catalogues, seismic zonation models and ground motion models, all with well-constrained epistemic uncertainties. In contrast, neotectonic deformation models and their related uncertainties are rarely considered in earthquake forecasting and seismic hazard studies. In this study, for the first time in Europe, we developed a seismic hazard model based exclusively on active fault and geodynamic deformation models. We applied it to the External Dinarides, a slow-deforming fold-and-thrust belt in the Central Mediterranean. The two deformation models furnish consistent long-term earthquake rates above the M w 4.7 threshold on a latitude/longitude grid with 0.2° spacing. Results suggest that the use of deformation models is a valid alternative to empirical-statistical approaches in earthquake forecasting in slow-deforming regions of Europe. Furthermore, we show that the variability of different deformation models has a comparable effect on the peak ground motion acceleration uncertainty as do the ground motion prediction equations.

Description: The rocks in the crust and the upper mantle of the Earth are believed to exhibit electrical anisotropy to some extent. It is beneficial to further understand and recognize the propagation of the electromagnetic waves in the Earth by investigating the magnetotelluric (which is one of the main geophysical techniques to probe the deep structures in the Earth) responses of the media with anisotropic conductivity structures. In this study, we examine the magnetotelluric fields over an idealized 2-D model consisting of two segments with axially anisotropic conductivity structures overlying a perfect conductor basement by a quasi-static analytic approach. The resulting analytic solution could not only contribute to the electromagnetic induction theory in the anisotropic Earth but also serve as at least an initial standard solution which could be used to validate the reliability and accuracy of the numerical algorithms developed for modelling the magnetotelluric responses of the 2-D media with much more general anisotropic conductivity.

Description: Owing to the increasing availability of computational resources, in recent years the probabilistic solution of non-linear, geophysical inverse problems by means of sampling methods has become increasingly feasible. Nevertheless, we still face situations in which a Monte Carlo approach is not practical. This is particularly true in cases where the evaluation of the forward problem is computationally intensive or where inversions have to be carried out repeatedly or in a timely manner, as in natural hazards monitoring tasks such as earthquake early warning. Here, we present an alternative to Monte Carlo sampling, in which inferences are entirely based on a set of prior samples—that is, samples that have been obtained independent of a particular observed datum. This has the advantage that the computationally expensive sampling stage becomes separated from the inversion stage, and the set of prior samples—once obtained—can be reused for repeated evaluations of the inverse mapping without additional computational effort. This property is useful if the problem is such that repeated inversions of independent data have to be carried out. We formulate the inverse problem in a Bayesian framework and present a practical way to make posterior inferences based on a set of prior samples. We compare the prior sampling based approach to a Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach that samples from the posterior probability distribution. We show results for both a toy example, and a realistic seismological source parameter estimation problem. We find that the posterior uncertainty estimates obtained based on prior sampling can be considered conservative estimates of the uncertainties obtained by directly sampling from the posterior distribution.

Description: The Afar Depression and its adjacent areas are underlain by an upper mantle marked by some of the world's largest negative velocity anomalies, which are frequently attributed to the thermal influences of a lower-mantle plume. In spite of numerous studies, however, the existence of a plume beneath the area remains enigmatic, partially due to inadequate quantities of broad-band seismic data and the limited vertical resolution at the mantle transition zone (MTZ) depth of the techniques employed by previous investigations. In this study, we use an unprecedented quantity (over 14 500) of P -to- S receiver functions (RFs) recorded by 139 stations from 12 networks to image the 410 and 660 km discontinuities and map the spatial variation of the thickness of the MTZ. Non-linear stacking of the RFs under a 1-D velocity model shows robust P -to- S conversions from both discontinuities, and their apparent depths indicate the presence of an upper-mantle low-velocity zone beneath the entire study area. The Afar Depression and the northern Main Ethiopian Rift are characterized by an apparent 40–60 km depression of both MTZ discontinuities and a normal MTZ thickness. The simplest and most probable interpretation of these observations is that the apparent depressions are solely caused by velocity perturbations in the upper mantle and not by deeper processes causing temperature or hydration anomalies within the MTZ. Thickening of the MTZ on the order of 15 km beneath the southern Arabian Plate, southern Red Sea and western Gulf of Aden, which comprise the southward extension of the Afro-Arabian Dome, could reflect long-term hydration of the MTZ. A 20 km thinning of the MTZ beneath the western Ethiopian Plateau is observed and interpreted as evidence for a possible mantle plume stem originating from the lower mantle.

Description: We study a model of lava flow to determine its thermal and dynamic characteristics from thermal measurements of the lava at its surface. Mathematically this problem is reduced to solving an inverse boundary problem. Namely, using known conditions at one part of the model boundary we determine the missing condition at the remaining part of the boundary. We develop a numerical approach to the mathematical problem in the case of steady-state flow. Assuming that the temperature and the heat flow are prescribed at the upper surface of the model domain, we determine the flow characteristics in the entire model domain using a variational (adjoint) method. We have performed computations of model examples and showed that in the case of smooth input data the lava temperature and the flow velocity can be reconstructed with a high accuracy. As expected, a noise imposed on the smooth input data results in a less accurate solution, but still acceptable below some noise level. Also we analyse the influence of optimization methods on the solution convergence rate. The proposed method for reconstruction of physical parameters of lava flows can also be applied to other problems in geophysical fluid flows.

Description: We propose a procedure for uncertainty quantification in Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Analysis (PTHA), with a special emphasis on the uncertainty related to statistical modelling of the earthquake source in Seismic PTHA (SPTHA), and on the separate treatment of subduction and crustal earthquakes (treated as background seismicity). An event tree approach and ensemble modelling are used in spite of more classical approaches, such as the hazard integral and the logic tree. This procedure consists of four steps: (1) exploration of aleatory uncertainty through an event tree, with alternative implementations for exploring epistemic uncertainty; (2) numerical computation of tsunami generation and propagation up to a given offshore isobath; (3) (optional) site-specific quantification of inundation; (4) simultaneous quantification of aleatory and epistemic uncertainty through ensemble modelling. The proposed procedure is general and independent of the kind of tsunami source considered; however, we implement step 1, the event tree, specifically for SPTHA, focusing on seismic source uncertainty. To exemplify the procedure, we develop a case study considering seismic sources in the Ionian Sea (central-eastern Mediterranean Sea), using the coasts of Southern Italy as a target zone. The results show that an efficient and complete quantification of all the uncertainties is feasible even when treating a large number of potential sources and a large set of alternative model formulations. We also find that (i) treating separately subduction and background (crustal) earthquakes allows for optimal use of available information and for avoiding significant biases; (ii) both subduction interface and crustal faults contribute to the SPTHA, with different proportions that depend on source-target position and tsunami intensity; (iii) the proposed framework allows sensitivity and deaggregation analyses, demonstrating the applicability of the method for operational assessments.

Description: We review the theory of the Earth's elastic and gravitational response to a surface disk load. The solutions for displacement of the surface and the geoid are developed using expansions of Legendre polynomials, their derivatives and the load Love numbers. We provide a matlab  function called diskload that computes the solutions for both uncompensated and compensated disk loads. In order to numerically implement the Legendre expansions, it is necessary to choose a harmonic degree, n max , at which to truncate the series used to construct the solutions. We present a rule of thumb (ROT) for choosing an appropriate value of n max , describe the consequences of truncating the expansions prematurely and provide a means to judiciously violate the ROT when that becomes a practical necessity.

Description: The expanding fleet of broad-band ocean-bottom seismograph (OBS) stations is facilitating the study of the structure and seismicity of oceanic plates at regional scales. For continental studies, an important tool to characterize continental crust and mantle structure is the analysis of teleseismic P receiver functions. In the oceans, however, receiver functions potentially suffer from several limiting factors that are unique to ocean sites and plate structures. In this study, we model receiver functions for a variety of oceanic lithospheric structures to investigate the possibilities and limitations of receiver functions using OBS data. Several potentially contaminating effects are examined, including pressure reverberations from the water column for various ocean-floor depths and the effects of a layer of low-velocity marine sediments. These modelling results indicate that receiver functions from OBS data are difficult to interpret in the presence of marine sediments, but shallow-water sites in subduction zone forearcs may be suitable for constraining various crustal elements around the locked megathrust fault. We propose using a complementary approach based on transfer function modelling combined with a grid search approach that bypasses receiver functions altogether and estimates model properties directly from minimally processed waveforms. Using real data examples from the Cascadia Initiative, we show how receiver and transfer functions can be used to infer seismic properties of the oceanic plate in both shallow (Cascadia forearc) and deep (Juan de Fuca Ridge) ocean settings.

Description: Several works have reported that haematite has non-linear initial susceptibility at room temperature, like pyrrhotite or titanomagnetite, but there is no explanation for the observed behaviours yet. This study sets out to determine which physical property (grain size, foreign cations content and domain walls displacements) controls the initial susceptibility. The performed measurements include microprobe analysis to determine magnetic phases different to haematite; initial susceptibility (300 K); hysteresis loops, SIRM and backfield curves at 77 and 300 K to calculate magnetic parameters and minor loops at 77 K, to analyse initial susceptibility and magnetization behaviours below Morin transition. The magnetic moment study at low temperature is completed with measurements of zero field cooled–field cooled and AC susceptibility in a range from 5 to 300 K. The minor loops show that the non-linearity of initial susceptibility is closely related to Barkhausen jumps. Because of initial magnetic susceptibility is controlled by domain structure it is difficult to establish a mathematical model to separate magnetic subfabrics in haematite-bearing rocks.

Description: Studies of discrete volcanic explosions, that usually last less than 2 or 3 min, have suggested that the partitioning of seismic-acoustic energy is likely related to a range of physical mechanisms that depend on magma properties and other physical constraints such as the location of the fragmentation surface. In this paper, we explore the energy partition of a paroxysmal eruptive phase of Tungurahua volcano that lasted for over 4 hr, on 2006 July 14–15, using seismic-acoustic information recorded by stations on its flanks (near field). We find evidence of a linear scaling between seismic and acoustic energies, with time-dependent intensities, during the sustained explosive phase of the eruption. Furthermore, we argue that this scaling can be explained by two different processes: (1) the fragmentation region ultimately acts as the common source of energy producing both direct seismic waves, that travel through the volcanic edifice, and direct acoustic waves coming from a disturbed atmosphere above the summit; (2) the coupling of acoustic waves with the ground to cause seismic waves. Both processes are concurrent, however we have found that the first one is dominant for seismic records below 4 Hz. Here we use the linear scaling of intensities to construct seismic and acoustic indices, which, we argue, could be used to track an ongoing eruption. Thus, especially in strong paroxysms that can produce pyroclastic flows, the index correlation and their levels can be used as quantitative monitoring parameters to assess the volcanic hazard in real time. Additionally, we suggest from the linear scaling that the source type for both cases, seismic and acoustic, is dipolar and dominant in the near field.

Description: One of the main applications of magnetic field measurements in boreholes is the detection of unexploded ordnance or buried utility structures like pipes or tiebacks. Even though the advantage of fully oriented magnetic vector measurements have long been recognized and could significantly reduce costs and risks, the tools used for those purposes typically measure only the total magnetic field, the vertical and horizontal components or gradients thereof. The Göttingen Bohrloch Magnetometer uses three fibre optic gyros to record its orientation and thus enables us to compute high-quality three-component magnetic vector data regardless of borehole orientation. The measurements described in this paper were run in the scientific borehole Cuxhaven Lüdingworth 1/1A, which was drilled as a part of the ‘Coastal Aquifer Test field’ project to study the dynamics of the saltwater/freshwater interface. As the drill string got stuck during drilling of the first borehole, a second hole was drilled in the immediate vicinity. The drill string lies at a depth between 80 and 114 m at a distance of only 2.5 m southeast of the borehole used for the measurements, making it an ideal target to demonstrate the benefits of vector magnetic surveys. Although the theories to calculate magnetic fields of objects with different shapes is well established and do not need to be tested, they almost exclusively include approximations of the geometry. It is not obvious whether these approximations are suited to describe real data, or whether additional effects or refinements have to be considered. We use both a simplified monopole model and a cylinder model to fit the data and are able to determine the position of the drill string within a statistical error of approximately 10 cm. Additionally, we show that the location of the drill string could not have been determined by measurements of the total field or its horizontal and vertical component alone and that those methods would require the drilling of additional boreholes to obtain an unambiguous result.

Description: Two types of signals are clearly visible in continuous GPS (cGPS) time-series in Iceland, in particular in the vertical component. The first one is a yearly seasonal cycle, usually sinusoid-like with a minimum in the spring and a maximum in the fall. The second one is a trend of uplift, with higher values the closer the cGPS stations are to the centre of Iceland and ice caps. Here, we study the seasonal cycle signal by deriving its average at 71 GPS sites in Iceland. We estimate the annual and semi-annual components of the cycle in their horizontal and vertical components using a least-squares adjustment. The peak-to-peak amplitude of the cycle of the vertical component at the studied sites ranges from 4 mm near the coastline up to 27 mm at the centre of the Vatnajökull, the largest ice cap in Iceland. The minimum of the seasonal cycle occurs earlier in low lying areas than in the central part of Iceland, consistent with snow load having a large influence on seasonal deformation. Modelling shows that the seasonal cycle is well explained by accounting for elastically induced surface displacements due to snow, atmosphere, reservoir lake and ocean variations. Model displacement fields are derived considering surface loads on a multilayered isotropic spherical Earth. Through forward and inverse modelling, we were able to reproduce a priori information on the average seasonal cycle of known loads (atmosphere, snow in non-glaciated areas and lake reservoir) and get an estimation of other loads (glacier mass balance and ocean). The seasonal glacier mass balance cycle in glaciated areas and snow load in non-glaciated areas are the main contributions to the seasonal deformation. For these loads, induced seasonal vertical displacements range from a few millimetres far from the loads in Iceland, to more than 20 mm at their centres. Lake reservoir load also has to be taken into account on local scale as it can generate up to 20 mm of vertical deformation. Atmosphere load and ocean load are observable and generate vertical displacements in the order of a few millimetres. Inversion results also shows that the Iceland crust is less rigid than the world average. Interannual deviation from the GPS seasonal cycle can occur and are caused by unusual weather conditions over extended period of time.

Description: A new implementation of indirect boundary element method allows simulating the elastic wave propagation in complex configurations made of embedded regions that are homogeneous with irregular boundaries or flat layers. In an older implementation, each layer of a flat layered region would have been treated as a separated homogeneous region without taking into account the flat boundary information. For both types of regions, the scattered field results from fictitious sources positioned along their boundaries. For the homogeneous regions, the fictitious sources emit as in a full-space and the wave field is given by analytical Green's functions. For flat layered regions, fictitious sources emit as in an unbounded flat layered region and the wave field is given by Green's functions obtained from the discrete wavenumber (DWN) method. The new implementation allows then reducing the length of the discretized boundaries but DWN Green's functions require much more computation time than the full-space Green's functions. Several optimization steps are then implemented and commented. Validations are presented for 2-D and 3-D problems. Higher efficiency is achieved in 3-D.

Description: An important real world application of doublet flow occurs in well design of both geothermal and hydrocarbon reservoirs. A guiding principle for fluid management of injection and extraction wells is that mass balance is commonly assumed between the injected and produced fluid. Because the doublets are considered closed loops, the injection fluid is assumed to eventually reach the producer well and all the produced fluid ideally comes from stream tubes connected to the injector of the well pair making up the doublet. We show that when an aquifer background flow occurs, doublets will rarely retain closed loops of fluid recirculation. When the far-field flow rate increases relative to the doublet's strength, the area occupied by the doublet will diminish and eventually vanishes. Alternatively, rather than using a single injector (source) and single producer (sink), a linear array of multiple injectors separated by some distance from a parallel array of producers can be used in geothermal energy projects as well as in waterflooding of hydrocarbon reservoirs. Fluid flow in such an arrangement of parallel source-sink arrays is shown to be macroscopically equivalent to that of a line doublet. Again, any far-field flow that is strong enough will breach through the line doublet, which then splits into two vortices. Apart from fundamental insight into elementary flow dynamics, our new results provide practical clues that may contribute to improve the planning and design of doublets and direct line drives commonly used for flow management of groundwater, geothermal and hydrocarbon reservoirs.

Description: Though well known for layer boundaries, the use of amplitude-versus-offset (AVO) variations for non-welded boundaries like fractures is not yet investigated. Depending on the seismic wavelength used, fractures can be regarded as thin, compliant zones in rocks, in different scales. We explore the potential of multiangle AVO inversion of P-P and P-S reflections from a fracture to estimate fracture properties. We conduct laboratory experiments to measure reflection responses of dry and wet fractures. The observed P-P reflections of the wet fracture and the fracture aperture are very well predicted by the non-welded interface model. We invert the angle-dependent P-P reflectivity of the fracture to estimate both normal and tangential fracture compliances. The estimated value of the normal compliance is accurate, and it is also possible to obtain the value of the non-zero tangential compliance. We find that supplementing the information of converted P-S reflections in the AVO inversion greatly improves the estimate of the tangential compliance. The calculated compliance ratio clearly shows the existence of fluid in the fracture. This finding can be crucial for new applications in a wide range of scale—from earthquake seismology, deep and shallow seismic exploration, to non-destructive material testing.

Description: The present study evaluates the capacity of the Boom Clay as a host rock for disposal purposes, more precisely its seismic characterization, which may assess its long-term performance to store radioactive wastes. Although the formation is relatively uniform and homogeneous, there are embedded thin layers of septaria (carbonates) that may affect the integrity of the Boom Clay. Therefore, it is essential to locate these geobodies. The seismic data to characterize the Boom Clay has been acquired at the Kruibeke test site. The inversion, which allowed us to obtain the anisotropy parameters and seismic velocities of the clay, is complemented with further information such as log and laboratory data. The attenuation properties have been estimated from equivalent formations (having similar composition and seismic velocities). The inversion yields quite consistent results although the symmetry of the medium is unusual but physically possible, since the anisotropy parameter is negative. According to a time-domain calculation of the energy velocity at four frequency bands up to 900 Hz, velocity increases with frequency, a behaviour described by the Zener model. Then, we use this model to describe anisotropy and anelasticity that are implemented into the equation of motion to compute synthetic seismograms in the space–time domain. The technique is based on memory variables and the Fourier pseudospectral method. We have computed reflection coefficients of the septaria thin layer. At normal incidence, the P -wave coefficient vanishes at specific thicknesses of the layer and there is no conversion to the S wave. For example, calculations at 600 Hz show that for thicknesses of 1 m the septarium can be detected more easily since the amplitudes are higher (nearly 0.8). Converted PS waves have a high amplitude at large offsets (between 30° and 80°) and can be useful to identify the target on this basis. Moreover, we have investigated the effect of septaria embedded in the Boom Clay with several simulations, by considering a lateral partial continuity of the calcareous thin inclusions. The simulations with layers of calcareous material show continuity of the reflections even when the percentage of carbonate within the layer is very small (5–15 per cent), while for low content of the calcareous material, isolated septaria boulders generate diffraction events. We have also simulated the stacked seismic section obtained from processing of the field data. The matching between the field and synthetic sections is acceptable.

Description: A new Matched Filtering Algorithm (MFA) is proposed for detecting and analysing microseismic events recorded by downhole monitoring of hydraulic fracturing. This method requires a set of well-located template (‘parent’) events, which are obtained using conventional microseismic processing and selected on the basis of high signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and representative spatial distribution of the recorded microseismicity. Detection and extraction of ‘child’ events are based on stacked, multichannel cross-correlation of the continuous waveform data, using the parent events as reference signals. The location of a child event relative to its parent is determined using an automated process, by rotation of the multicomponent waveforms into the ray-centred co-ordinates of the parent and maximizing the energy of the stacked amplitude envelope within a search volume around the parent's hypocentre. After correction for geometrical spreading and attenuation, the relative magnitude of the child event is obtained automatically using the ratio of stacked envelope peak with respect to its parent. Since only a small number of parent events require interactive analysis such as picking P - and S -wave arrivals, the MFA approach offers the potential for significant reduction in effort for downhole microseismic processing. Our algorithm also facilitates the analysis of single-phase child events, that is, microseismic events for which only one of the S - or P -wave arrivals is evident due to unfavourable S/N conditions. A real-data example using microseismic monitoring data from four stages of an open-hole slickwater hydraulic fracture treatment in western Canada demonstrates that a sparse set of parents (in this case, 4.6 per cent of the originally located events) yields a significant (more than fourfold increase) in the number of located events compared with the original catalogue. Moreover, analysis of the new MFA catalogue suggests that this approach leads to more robust interpretation of the induced microseismicity and novel insights into dynamic rupture processes based on the average temporal (foreshock–aftershock) relationship of child events to parents.

Description: Azimuthal anisotropy is a powerful tool to reveal information about both the present structure and past evolution of the mantle. Anisotropic images of the upper mantle are usually obtained by analysing various types of seismic observables, such as surface wave dispersion curves or waveforms, SKS splitting data, or receiver functions. These different data types sample different volumes of the earth, they are sensitive to different length scales, and hence are associated with different levels of uncertainties. They are traditionally interpreted separately, and often result in incompatible models. We present a Bayesian inversion approach to jointly invert these different data types. Seismograms for SKS and P phases are directly inverted using a cross-convolution approach, thus avoiding intermediate processing steps, such as numerical deconvolution or computation of splitting parameters. Probabilistic 1-D profiles are obtained with a transdimensional Markov chain Monte Carlo scheme, in which the number of layers, as well as the presence or absence of anisotropy in each layer, are treated as unknown parameters. In this way, seismic anisotropy is only introduced if required by the data. The algorithm is used to resolve both isotropic and anisotropic layering down to a depth of 350 km beneath two seismic stations in North America in two different tectonic settings: the stable Canadian shield (station FFC) and the tectonically active southern Basin and Range Province (station TA-214A). In both cases, the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary is clearly visible, and marked by a change in direction of the fast axis of anisotropy. Our study confirms that azimuthal anisotropy is a powerful tool for detecting layering in the upper mantle.

Description: We have obtained new results in the statistical analysis of global earthquake catalogues with special attention to the largest earthquakes, and we examined the statistical behaviour of earthquake rate variations. These results can serve as an input for updating our recent earthquake forecast, known as the ‘Global Earthquake Activity Rate 1’ model (GEAR1), which is based on past earthquakes and geodetic strain rates. The GEAR1 forecast is expressed as the rate density of all earthquakes above magnitude 5.8 within 70 km of sea level everywhere on earth at 0.1 x 0.1 degree resolution, and it is currently being tested by the Collaboratory for Study of Earthquake Predictability. The seismic component of the present model is based on a smoothed version of the Global Centroid Moment Tensor (GCMT) catalogue from 1977 through 2013. The tectonic component is based on the Global Strain Rate Map, a ‘General Earthquake Model’ (GEM) product. The forecast was optimized to fit the GCMT data from 2005 through 2012, but it also fit well the earthquake locations from 1918 to 1976 reported in the International Seismological Centre-Global Earthquake Model (ISC-GEM) global catalogue of instrumental and pre-instrumental magnitude determinations. We have improved the recent forecast by optimizing the treatment of larger magnitudes and including a longer duration (1918–2011) ISC-GEM catalogue of large earthquakes to estimate smoothed seismicity. We revised our estimates of upper magnitude limits, described as corner magnitudes, based on the massive earthquakes since 2004 and the seismic moment conservation principle. The new corner magnitude estimates are somewhat larger than but consistent with our previous estimates. For major subduction zones we find the best estimates of corner magnitude to be in the range 8.9 to 9.6 and consistent with a uniform average of 9.35. Statistical estimates tend to grow with time as larger earthquakes occur. However, by using the moment conservation principle that equates the seismic moment rate with the tectonic moment rate inferred from geodesy and geology, we obtain a consistent estimate of the corner moment largely independent of seismic history. These evaluations confirm the above-mentioned corner magnitude value. The new estimates of corner magnitudes are important both for the forecast part based on seismicity as well as the part based on geodetic strain rates. We examine rate variations as expressed by annual earthquake numbers. Earthquakes larger than magnitude 6.5 obey the Poisson distribution. For smaller events the negative-binomial distribution fits much better because it allows for earthquake clustering.

Description: In order to improve our understanding of hazardous underground cavities, the development and collapse of a ~200 m wide salt solution mining cavity was seismically monitored in the Lorraine basin in northeastern France. The microseismic events show a swarm-like behaviour, with clustering sequences lasting from seconds to days, and distinct spatiotemporal migration. Observed microseismic signals are interpreted as the result of detachment and block breakage processes occurring at the cavity roof. Body wave amplitude patterns indicated the presence of relatively stable source mechanisms, either associated with dip-slip and/or tensile faulting. Signal overlaps during swarm activity due to short interevent times, the high-frequency geophone recordings and the limited network station coverage often limit the application of classical source analysis techniques. To overcome these shortcomings, we investigated the source mechanisms through different procedures including modelling of observed and synthetic waveforms and amplitude spectra of some well-located events, as well as modelling of peak-to-peak amplitude ratios for the majority of the detected events. We extended the latter approach to infer the average source mechanism of many swarming events at once, using multiple events recorded at a single three component station. This methodology is applied here for the first time and represents a useful tool for source studies of seismic swarms and seismicity clusters. The results obtained with different methods are consistent and indicate that the source mechanisms for at least 50 per cent of the microseismic events are remarkably stable, with a predominant thrust faulting regime with faults similarly oriented, striking NW–SE and dipping around 35°–55°. This dominance of consistent source mechanisms might be related to the presence of a preferential direction of pre-existing crack or fault structures. As an interesting byproduct, we demonstrate, for the first time directly on seismic data, that the source radiation pattern significantly controls the detection capability of a seismic station and network.