Preliminary determination of the interdependence among strong motion amplitude, earthquake magnitude and hypocentral distance for the Himalayan region

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7 Rome / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal

S-wave envelope broadening characteristics of microearthquakes in the Canary Islands

This study analyzes the S-wave envelope broadening characteristics of 290 earthquakes recorded by 14 stations of the Spanish National Seismograph Network in the Canary Islands region. The S-wave peak delay time (tp) and envelope duration (tq) parameters are evaluated phenomenologically to infer the strength of velocity inhomogeneities of the medium along each seismic ray path. Crustal (0 ≤ h ≤ 18 km) and upper mantle (18 < h ≤ 80 km) events are analyzed separately. Results in the frequency range 1 to 12 Hz for hypocentral distances from 30 to 600 km show that both tp and tq increase according to a power of hypocentral distance and they are independent of frequency. The spatial distribution of the peak delay time reveals weak strength of heterogeneity in most of the region at shallow depths. Relatively strong inhomogeneous zones are generated under the island of Tenerife and Gran Canaria at depths of 11-22 km. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.Peer Reviewe

Visualization of Green’s function anomalies for megathrust source in Nankai Trough by reciprocity method

We used simulation by the reciprocity method to visualize the distribution of Green's function amplitudes in the source of a megathrust earthquake in the Nankai Trough and considered the effects of various areas (asperities or strong motion generation areas) on the simulated long-period ground motions at Konohana in the Osaka basin. We employed a fault source model proposed for an anticipated M9-class event in the Nankai Trough and the 3D Japan Intergrated Velocity Structure Model developed for simulations of long-period ground motions in Japan. Green's functions were calculated for about 1400 subsources by combining the finite-difference method and the reciprocity approach. Depths, strikes, and dips of subsources were adjusted to the shape of the upper boundary of the Philippine Sea plate. Ground motions with periods of 4-20 s were considered. The simulated distribution of peak amplitudes of Green's functions identified two strongly anomalous areas: (1) a large along-strike elongated area just south of the Kii Peninsula and (2) a parallel area closer to the trench. The elongation of the anomalies corresponded well with depth isolines at the top of the Philippine Sea plate. Postulating that plate shape influences simulated ground motions, we investigated the effect on Green's function amplitudes of phenomena related to plate shape: radiation pattern; variations of medium properties (e.g., velocity and density) at subsource depths; depth, strike, and dip; and the effect of soft sediments. We suggest that the cumulative effect on Green's function amplitudes of subsource radiation patterns, medium properties at subsource depth, reflection from crustal interfaces, and passage through soft sedimentary layers plays a critical role in the formation of amplitude anomalies. Analysis of waveforms and the time delay of peak amplitude demonstrate that large-amplitude waves of Green's functions in shallow parts of the plate boundary are composed mostly of surface waves