Body-wave waveform constraints on the source parameters of the Yangjiang,China, earthquake of July 25, 1969: A devastating earthquake in a stable continental region

On July 25, 1969, anM _s 5.9 earthquake shook the Kwangtung Province near Yangjiang, China. Casualties and extensive damage were reported in the epicentral area. The Yangjiang earthquake occurred within the passive margin located along China's southeast coast. This stable continental setting is seismically one of the most quiet regions of China; historic records indicate this earthquake to have been the first devastating one in the area. A remarkable feature of this earthquake sequence is that its foreshocks and aftershocks are relatively small in terms of number and magnitude despite the relatively large main shock.Waveforms of long-and short-period teleseismicP and long-period teleseismicSH waves have been modeled to estimate the source parameters for this earthquake. The focal mechanism determined is predominately strike-slip with a small normal component (strike=263°, dip=79°, rake=194°) and is in good agreement with observations in the epicentral area regarding dislocation direction of fissures, distribution of aftershocks, and isoseismals. The average seismic moment is 5.15×10²⁴ dyne-cm and the focal depth is estimated to be 9 km. The earthquake is characterized by a rather short source-time function and a high stress drop of approximately 380 bars. The observed pattern of the foreshock-main shock-aftershock sequence is interpreted in terms of the large stress drop associated with the main shock and the material properties at and near the source. TheP-axis orientation lies roughly NW-SE and is consistent with the maximum compressive stress observed along the coast of southeast China. This stress orientation is consistent with the NW subducting Philippine Sea plate and the SE ward push from central China due to the convergence between Indian and Eurasian subcontinents.     

A study in the velocity structure of December 5, 1997, M w = 7.8 Kronotskii rupture zone, Kamchatka

The object of the present study was to obtain and investigate the 3D velocity structure of the rupture zone of a large earthquake, to be specific, the great ( _Mw = 7.8) Kronotskii earthquake that occurred in Kamchatka on December 5, 1997. The event was preceded by a foreshock swarm (December 3–5, 1997) and followed by a long aftershock sequence. We investigated the V _P velocity distribution for different time periods: December 3–7, 1997 (when the chief events occurred, viz., the main shock and the larger aftershocks) and for subsequent periods of decaying aftershock activity until December 1998. The velocity distribution in the rupture zone proved to be inhomogeneous. Three regions have been identified: the northeastern (the main shock and foreshocks), the central, and the southwestern, which differ both in the character of seismicity and in velocity. The V _P distribution was found to be time-dependent. The velocity was below the standard values in the foreshock-aftershock area in December 1997, subsequently the velocity increased. These results may indicate the absence of a continuous rupture zone, with the main shock and the two largest aftershocks that occurred in the southwest probably being independent events rupturing a transverse fault during the stress rearrangement following the main shock.     

Body wave velocity distribution in the Benioff zone of central Kamchatka during aftershocks of the Kronotskii earthquake of 1997 (M = 7.9)

The distribution of the P and S velocities in the Benioff zone of central Kamchatka during the period of aftershocks (1997–2004) of the disastrous Kronotskii earthquake of 1997 (M = 7.9, M_W = 7.7) has been determined. Based on the data for the foreshock period immediately preceding the earthquake (1991–1997), a sharp increase in the body wave velocities in the Benioff zone below the Kronotskii Peninsula (up to 9.5–9.7 km/s for V _P and 5.1–5.3 km/s for V _S) has been determined at depths of 55–140 km in the subvertical region. Based on observations during the period of aftershocks comparable with the last period of foreshocks (about 7 years), it has been established that the body wave velocities calculated for the Benioff zone below the Kronotskii Peninsula returned to the initial values typical of the beginning of that period. This indicates that stresses relaxed around the head part of the Kronotskii earthquake rupture zone after its origination. This conclusion is confirmed by a sharp decrease in the number of earthquakes with M = 2.3–4.9 in the Benioff zone below the Kronotskii Peninsula. Moreover, taking the velocity distribution during the period of aftershocks into account, it has been determined that a second stress relaxation zone is located at the southwestern flank of the Kronotskii earthquake rupture zone where the largest (M = 6.7) aftershock occurred. According to these data, it is concluded that two stress concentration centers could have existed during the preparation of the Kronotskii earthquake.     

The 2010 M w 7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah Earthquake Sequence, Baja California, Mexico and Southernmost California, USA: Active Seismotectonics along the Mexican Pacific Margin

The El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake sequence started with a few foreshocks in March 2010, and a second sequence of 15 foreshocks of M?>?2 (up to M4.4) that occurred during the 24?h preceding the mainshock. The foreshocks occurred along a north?Csouth trend near the mainshock epicenter. The M _w 7.2 mainshock on April 4 exhibited complex faulting, possibly starting with a ~M6 normal faulting event, followed ~15?s later by the main event, which included simultaneous normal and right-lateral strike-slip faulting. The aftershock zone extends for 120?km from the south end of the Elsinore fault zone north of the US?CMexico border almost to the northern tip of the Gulf of California. The waveform-relocated aftershocks form two abutting clusters, each about 50?km long, as well as a 10?km north?Csouth aftershock zone just north of the epicenter of the mainshock. Even though the Baja California data are included, the magnitude of completeness and the hypocentral errors increase gradually with distance south of the international border. The spatial distribution of large aftershocks is asymmetric with five M5+ aftershocks located to the south of the mainshock, and only one M5.7 aftershock, but numerous smaller aftershocks to the north. Further, the northwest aftershock cluster exhibits complex faulting on both northwest and northeast planes. Thus, the aftershocks also express a complex pattern of stress release along strike. The overall rate of decay of the aftershocks is similar to the rate of decay of a generic California aftershock sequence. In addition, some triggered seismicity was recorded along the Elsinore and San Jacinto faults to the north, but significant northward migration of aftershocks has not occurred. The synthesis of the El Mayor-Cucapah sequence reveals transtensional regional tectonics, including the westward growth of the Mexicali Valley and the transfer of Pacific?CNorth America plate motion from the Gulf of California in the south into the southernmost San Andreas fault system to the north. We propose that the location of the 2010 El Mayor-Cucapah, as well as the 1992 Landers and 1999 Hector Mine earthquakes, may have been controlled by the bends in the plate boundary.     

2021年云南漾濞MS6.4地震序列静态应力触发研究

为深度剖析2021年云南漾濞M_S6.4地震对周围断层的影响以及地震序列间的静态库仑应力影响关系,文章基于主震的破裂模型和Okada给出位移对空间偏导数的解析式,首先计算了主震在周围断层上产生的静态库仑破裂应力,结果表明维西—乔后断裂带中段、澜沧江断裂带北端、红河断裂带北端以及怒江断裂带中段库仑应力均有千帕量级的增加。其次,计算了此次地震对周围地区产生的水平应力场及位移场,发现震中东西两侧物质向外流出,南北两侧向震中汇聚;震中南北两侧沉降,东西两侧隆升;产生的应力场呈EW向挤压,NS向拉张,在一定程度上抵消了该区域背景构造应力场。最后计算了前震-主震-余震序列间的静态库仑应力影响,结果表明前震产生的静态库仑应力促进了主震的发生;在2 km、13 km和18.5 km深度附近,触发的余震(前震和主震产生的库仑应力变化为正)比例很高,但在7 km深度处(同震破裂模型中滑移量最大)大部分余震分布在库仑应力负值区(应力影区),考虑到该深度余震与主震震源机制相差较大,因此通过模拟最易错动的断层面作为余震接受断层面,从而计算出最大静态库仑破裂应力,发现应力影区的余震仍有被触发的...     

2022年门源MS6.9和2016年门源MS6.4地震序列比较分析

2022年1月8日青海省海北州门源县发生M_S6.9地震,震中距离2016年1月21日门源M_S6.4地震震中约33km,两次门源地震均发生在冷龙岭断裂附近,但在震源机制、主发震断层破裂过程及地震序列余震活动等方面显著不同。针对两次门源地震序列的比较分析,对研究冷龙岭断裂及其附近区域强震序列和余震衰减特征等具有重要研究意义。通过对比分析2022年门源M_S6.9地震和2016年门源M_S6.4地震余震的时空演化特征,发现二者在震源过程和断层破裂尺度上存在明显差异,前者发震断层破裂充分,震后能量释放充分,余震丰富且震级偏高;而后者发震断层未破裂至地表,余震震级水平偏低。综合分析两次门源地震序列表现出来的差异性,认为其可能与地震发震断层的破裂过程密切相关,且同时受到区域构造环境的影响。     

The May 13, 1995, Kozani-Grevena (NW Greece) earthquake: Source study and its tectonic implications

At 08:47 GMT, on May 13, 1995, a strong earthquake of M_s = 6.6 occurred in the NW part of Greece (Western Macedonia) and caused serious damage in the Kozani and Grevena prefectures, but fortunately no fatalities. The maximum observed macroseismic intensity was IX + of the Modified Mercalli scale. The main shock was preceded by several foreshocks and followed by intense aftershock activity lasting several months.The Institute of Geodynamics of the National Observatory of Athens, in order to monitor and study the aftershock activity, installed a seismic network of nine (9) stations operated for a period of 50 days. Thousands of aftershocks were recorded. Based on the analysis of recorded data, a NE-SW trending zone dipping NW is defined.In the field a surface rupture of normal slip was observed, following a NE-SW direction for a length of 8 km with a 4 cm down throw of the NW area. This break was located along a pre-existing minor normal fault, while a main fault system exists 10 km to the SE.The focal mechanism of the main shock shows normal faulting, which is in agreement with the field observations. Moreover focal mechanisms of several well defined aftershocks were computed, showing various types of faulting.     

The reservoir-associated earthquakes of April 1983 in western Thailand: Source modeling and implications for induced seismicity

On 22 April 1983, a very large area of Thailand and part of Burma were strongly shaken by a rare earthquake (m _b=5.8,M _s=5.9). The epicenter was located at the Srinagarind reservoir about 190 km northwest of Bangkok, a relatively stable continental region that experienced little previous seismicity. The main shock was preceded by some foreshocks and followed by numerous aftershocks. The largest foreshock ofm _b=5.2 occurred 1 week before the main shock, and the largest aftershock ofm _b=5.3 took place about 3 hours after the main shock. Focal mechanisms of the three largest events in this earthquake sequence have been studied by other seismologists using firts-motion data. However, the solutions for the main shock and the largest aftershock showed significant inconsistency with known surface geology and regional tectonics. We reexamined the mechanisms of these three events by using teleseismicP-andS-waveforms and through careful readings ofP-wave first motions. The directions of theP axes in our study range from NNW-SSE to NNE-SSW, and nodal planes strike in the NW-SE to about E-W in agreement with regional tectonics and surface geology. The main shock mechanism strikes 255°, dips 48°, and slips 63.5°. The fault motions during the main shock and the foreshock are mainly thrust, while the largest aftershock has a large strike-slip component. The seismic moment and the stress drop of the mainshock are determined to be 3.86×10²⁴ dyne-cm and 180 bars, respectively. The occurrence of these thrust events appears to correlate with the unloading of the Srinagarind reservoir. The focal depths of the largest foreshock, the main shock, and the largest aftershock are determined to be 5.4 km, 8 km, and 22.7 km, respectively, from waveform modeling and relative location showing a downward migration of hypocenters of the three largest events during the earthquake sequence. Other characteristics of this reservoir-induced earthquake sequence are also discussed.     

The Rupture Process of the Manjil,Iran Earthquake of 20 June 1990 and Implications for Intraplate Strike-Slip Earthquakes

In terms of seismically radiated energy or moment release, the earthquake of 20 January 1990 in the Manjil Basin-Alborz Mountain region of Iran is the second largest strike-slip earthquake to have occurred in an intracontinental setting in the past decade. It caused enormous loss of life and the virtual destruction of several cities. Despite a very large meizoseismal area, the identification of the causative faults has been hampered by the lack of reliable earthquake locations and conflicting field reports of surface displacement. Using broadband data from global networks of digitally recording seismographs, we analyse broadband seismic waveforms to derive characteristics of the rupture process. Complexities in waveforms generated by the earthquake indicate that the main shock consisted of a tiny precursory subevent followed in the next 20 seconds by a series of four major subevents with depths ranging from 10 to 15 km. The focal mechanisms of the major subevents, which are predominantly strike-slip, have a common nodal plane striking about 285°–295°. Based on the coincidence of this strike with the dominant tectonic fabric of the region we presume that the EW striking planes are the fault planes. The first major subevent nucleated slightly south of the initial precursor. The second subevent occurred northwest of the initial precursor. The last two subevents moved progressively southeastward of the first subevent in a direction collinear with the predominant strike of the fault planes. The offsets in the relative locations and the temporal delays of the rupture subevents indicate heterogeneous distribution of fracture strength and the involvement of multiple faults. The spatial distribution of teleseismic aftershocks, which at first appears uncorrelated with meizoseismal contours, can be decomposed into stages. The initial activity, being within and on the periphery of the rupture zone, correlates in shape and length with meizoseismal lines. In the second stage of activity the aftershock zone expands and appears to cluster about the geomorphic and geologic features several tens of kilometres from the rupture zone. The activity is interpreted as a regional response to quasistatic stress migration along zones of tectonic weakness. The radiated energy of the main shock and the estimate of seismic moment yields an apparent stress of 20 bars. High apparent stress may be typical of strike slip earthquakes occurring in intracontinental environments undergoing continental collision.     

Relocation of the MS5.7 Earthquake Sequence in Songyuan, Jilin Province, 2018 and the Analysis of Its Seismogenic Structure

The 2018,Songyuan,Jilin M_S5. 7 earthquake occurred at the intersection of the FuyuZhaodong fault and the Second Songhua River fault. The moment magnitude of this earthquake is M_W5. 3,the centroid depth by the waveform fitting is 12 km,and it is a strike-slip type event. In this paper,with the seismic phase data provided by the China Earthquake Network, the double-difference location method is used to relocate the earthquake sequence,finally the relocation results of 60 earthquakes are obtained. The results show that the aftershock zone is about 4. 3km long and 3. 1km wide,which is distributed in the NE direction. The depth distribution of the seismic sequence is 9km-10 km. 1-2 days after the main shock,the aftershocks were scattered throughout the aftershock zone,and the largest aftershock occurred in the northeastern part of the aftershock zone. After 3-8 days,the aftershocks mainly occurred in the southwestern part of the aftershock zone. The profile distribution of the earthquake sequence shows that the fault plane dips to the southeast with the dip angle of about 75°. Combined with the regional tectonic setting,focal mechanism solution and intensity distribution,we conclude that the concealed fault of the Fuyu-Zhaodong fault is the seismogenic fault of the Songyuan M_S5. 7 earthquake. This paper also relocates the earthquake sequence of the previous magnitude 5. 0 earthquake in 2017. Combined with the results of the focal mechanism solution,we believe that the two earthquakes have the same seismogenic structure,and the earthquake sequence generally develops to the southwest. The historical seismic activity since 2009 shows that after the magnitude 5. 0 earthquake in 2017,the frequency and intensity of earthquakes in the earthquake zone are obviously enhanced,and attention should be paid to the development of seismic activity in the southwest direction of the earthquake zone.     

Using the match-and-locate method to characterize foreshocks of the July 2019 MW6.4 Ridgecrest,California earthquake

The July 2019 M_W6.4 Ridgecrest, California earthquake and its distinct foreshocks were well recorded by local and regional stations, providing a great opportunity to characterize its foreshocks and investigate the nucleation mechanisms of the mainshock. In this study, we utilized the match-and-locate (M&L) method to build a high-precision foreshock catalog for this M_W6.4 earthquake. Compared with the sequential location methods (matched-filter + cross-correlation-based hypoDD), our new catalog contains more events with higher location accuracy. The M_W6.4 mainshock was preceded by 40 foreshocks within ～2 h (on July 4, 2019 from 15:35:29 to 17:32:52, UTC). Their spatiotemporal distribution revealed a complex seismogenic structure consisting of multiple fault strands, which were connected as a throughgoing fault by later foreshocks and eventually accommodated the 2019 M_W6.4 mainshock. To better understand the nucleation mechanism, we determined the rupture dimension of the largest M_L4.0 foreshock by calculating its initial rupture and centroid points using the M&L method. By estimating Coulomb stress change we suggested that the majority of foreshocks following the M_L4.0 event and M_W6.4 mainshock occurred within regions of increasing Coulomb stress, indicating that they were triggered by stress transfer. The nucleation process before the M_L4.0 event remains unclear due to the insufficient sampling rate of waveforms and small magnitude of events. Thus, our study demonstrates that the M&L method has superior detection and location ability, showing potential for studies that require high-precision location (e.g., earthquake nucleation).     

Historical 1942 Ecuador and 1942 Peru subduction earthquakes and earthquake cycles along Colombia-Ecuador and Peru subduction segments

Two large shallow earthquakes occurred in 1942 along the South American subduction zone inclose proximity to subducting oceanic ridges: The 14 May event occurred near the subducting Carnegie ridge off the coast of Ecuador, and the 24 August event occurred off the coast of southwestern Peru near the southern flank of the subducting Nazca ridge. Source parameters for these for these two historic events have been determined using long-periodP waveforms,P-wave first motions, intensities and local tsunami data.We have analyzed theP waves for these two earthquakes to constrain the focal mechanism, depth, source complexity and seismic moment. Modeling of theP waveform for both events yields a range of acceptable focal mechanisms and depths, all of which are consistent with underthrusting of the Nazca plate beneath the South American plate. The source time function for the 1942 Ecuador event has one simple pulse of moment release with a duration of 22 suconds, suggesting that most of the moment release occurred near the epicenter. The seismic moment determined from theP waves is 6–8×10²⁰N·m, corresponding ot a moment magnitude of 7.8–7.9. The reported location of the maximum intensities (IX) for this event is south of the main shock epicenter. The relocated aftershcks are in an area that is approximately 200 km by 90 km (elongated parallel to the trench) with the majority of aftershocks north of the epicenter. In contrast, the 1942 Peru event has a much longer duration and higher degree of complexity than the Ecuador earthquake, suggesting a heterogeneous rupture. Seismic moment is released in three distinct pulses over approximately 74 seconds; the largest moment release occurs 32 seconds after rupture initiation. the seismic moment as determined from theP waves for the 1942 Peru event is 10–25×10²⁰N·m, corresponding to a moment magnitude of 7.9–8.2. Aftershock locations reported by the ISS occur over a broad area surrounding the main shock. The reported locations of the maximum intensities (IX) are concentrated south of the epicenter, suggesting that at least part of the rupture was to the south.We have also examined great historic earthquakes along the Colombia-Ecuador and Peru segments of the South American subduction zone. We find that the size and rupture length of the underthrusting earthquakes vary between successive earthquake cycles. This suggests that the segmentation of the plate boundary as defined by earthquakes this century is not constant.     

2015年11月23日青海祁连MS5.2地震震源机制解及发震构造初步探讨

采用CAP（Cut and Paste）方法反演了2015年11月23日青海祁连M_S5.2主震的震源机制解,其最佳双力偶解：节面Ⅰ走向109°、倾角58°、滑动角21°,节面Ⅱ走向8°、倾角72°、滑动角146°,矩震级M_W5.16,矩心震源深度约为9 km。结合震区的活动构造,判定发震断层面为节面Ⅰ,推测托勒山北缘活动断裂中段为此次地震的发震断裂。     

Rupture process of large earthquakes in the northern Mexico subduction zone

The Cocos plate subducts beneath North America at the Mexico trench. The northernmost segment of this trench, between the Orozco and Rivera fracture zones, has ruptured in a sequence of five large earthquakes from 1973 to 1985; the Jan. 30, 1973 Colima event (M _s 7.5) at the northern end of the segment near Rivera fracture zone; the Mar. 14, 1979 Petatlan event (M _s 7.6) at the southern end of the segment on the Orozco fracture zone; the Oct. 25, 1981 Playa Azul event (M _s 7.3) in the middle of the Michoacan gap; the Sept. 19, 1985 Michoacan mainshock (M _s 8.1); and the Sept. 21, 1985 Michoacan aftershock (M _s 7.6) that reruptured part of the Petatlan zone. Body wave inversion for the rupture process of these earthquakes finds the best: earthquake depth; focal mechanism; overall source time function; and seismic moment, for each earthquake. In addition, we have determined spatial concentrations of seismic moment release for the Colima earthquake, and the Michoacan mainshock and aftershock. These spatial concentrations of slip are interpreted as asperities; and the resultant asperity distribution for Mexico is compared to other subduction zones. The body wave inversion technique also determines theMoment Tensor Rate Functions; but there is no evidence for statistically significant changes in the moment tensor during rupture for any of the five earthquakes. An appendix describes theMoment Tensor Rate Functions methodology in detail.The systematic bias between global and regional determinations of epicentral locations in Mexico must be resolved to enable plotting of asperities with aftershocks and geographic features. We have spatially shifted all of our results to regional determinations of epicenters. The best point source depths for the five earthquakes are all above 30 km, consistent with the idea that the down-dip edge of the seismogenic plate interface in Mexico is shallow compared to other subduction zones. Consideration of uncertainties in the focal mechanisms allows us to state that all five earthquakes occurred on fault planes with the same strike (N65°W to N70°W) and dip (15±3°), except for the smaller Playa Azul event at the down-dip edge which has a steeper dip angle of 20 to 25°. However, the Petatlan earthquake does prefer a fault plane that is rotated to a more east-west orientation—one explanation may be that this earthquake is located near the crest of the subducting Orozco fracture zone. The slip vectors of all five earthquakes are similar and generally consistent with the NUVEL-predicted Cocos-North America convergence direction of N33°E for this segment. The most important deviation is the more northerly slip direction for the Petatlan earthquake. Also, the slip vectors from the Harvard CMT solutions for large and small events in this segment prefer an overall convergence direction of about N20°E to N25°E.All five earthquakes share a common feature in the rupture process: each earthquake has a small initial precursory arrival followed by a large pulse of moment release with a distinct onset. The delay time varies from 4 s for the Playa Azul event to 8 s for the Colima event. While there is some evidence of spatial concentration of moment release for each event, our overall asperity distribution for the northern Mexico segment consists of one clear asperity, in the epicentral region of the 1973 Colima earthquake, and then a scattering of diffuse and overlapping regions of high moment release for the remainder of the segment. This character is directly displayed in the overlapping of rupture zones between the 1979 Petatlan event and the 1985 Michoacan aftershock. This character of the asperity distribution is in contrast to the widely spaced distinct asperities in the northern Japan-Kuriles Islands subduction zone, but is somewhat similar to the asperity distributions found in the central Peru and Santa Cruz Islands subduction zones. Subduction of the Orozco fracture zone may strongly affect the seismogenic character as the overlapping rupture zones are located on the crest of the subducted fracture zone. There is also a distinct change in the physiography of the upper plate that coincides with the subducting fracture zone, and the Guerrero seismic gap to the south of the Petatlan earthquake is in the wake of the Orozco fracture zone. At the northern end, the Rivera fracture zone in the subducting plate and the Colima graben in the upper plate coincide with the northernmost extent of the Colima rupture zone.     

Precursory quiescence before the August 1982 Stone Canyon,San Andreas fault,earthquakes

The Stone Canyon earthquake sequence started during August 1982 and lasted for about four months. It contained four mainshocks withM _L 4, each with an aftershock zone about 4 km long. These mainshocks, progressing from southeast to northwest, ruptured a segment of the fault approximately 20 km long leaving two gaps, which were later filled by theM _L =4.6 mainshocks of January 14, and May 31, 1986. The equivalent magnitude of the sequence isM _L =5.0.Precursory seismic quiescence could be identified in: (1) the northernmost 10 km of the aftershock zone which contained three of the mainshocks; and (2) the southern gap in the aftershock zone. The fault segment containing the first mainshock and its aftershocks did not show quiescence. This pattern of precursory quiescence is very similar to two cases in Hawaii where the rupture initiation points of the mainshocks (M _S =7.2 and 6.6, respectively) were located in volumes of constant seismicity rate, surrounded by volumes with pronounced precursory quiescence.The precursory quiescence before the August 1982 Stone Canyon earthquakes lasted for 76 weeks, amounted to a reduction in rate of about 60%, and could be recognized without any false alarms. That is, the anomaly was unique within the 60 km study segment of the fault and in the years 1975 through August 1982. Eighteen foreshocks occurred between July 27 and August 7, 1982. We conclude that the August 1982 mainshocks could have been predicted, based on seismic quiescence and foreshocks.     

Seismic Subduction of the Nazca Ridge as Shown by the 1996–97 Peru Earthquakes

—By rupturing more than half of the shallow subduction interface of the Nazca Ridge, the great November 12, 1996 Peruvian earthquake contradicts the hypothesis that oceanic ridges subduct aseismically. The mainshock’s rupture has a length of about 200 km and has an average slip of about 1.4 m. Its moment is 1.5 × 10²⁸ dyne-cm and the corresponding M _w is 8.0. The mainshock registered three major episodes of moment release as shown by a finite fault inversion of teleseismically recorded broadband body waves. About 55% of the mainshock’s total moment release occurred south of the Nazca Ridge, and the remaining moment release occurred at the southern half of the subduction interface of the Nazca Ridge. The rupture south of the Nazca Ridge was elongated parallel to the ridge axis and extended from a shallow depth to about 65 km depth. Because the axis of the Nazca Ridge is at a high angle to the plate convergence direction, the subducting Nazca Ridge has a large southwards component of motion, 5 cm/yr parallel to the coast. The 900–1200 m relief of the southwards sweeping Nazca Ridge is interpreted to act as a "rigid indenter," causing the greatest coupling south of the ridge’s leading edge and leading to the large observed slip. The mainshock and aftershock hypocenters were relocated using a new procedure that simultaneously inverts local and teleseismic data. Most aftershocks were within the outline of the Nazca Ridge. A three-month delayed aftershock cluster occurred at the northern part of the subducting Nazca Ridge. Aftershocks were notably lacking at the zone of greatest moment release, to the south of the Nazca Ridge. However, a lone foreshock at the southern end of this zone, some 140 km downstrike of the mainshock’s epicenter, implies that conditions existed for rupture into that zone. The 1996 earthquake ruptured much of the inferred source zone of the M _w 7.9–8.2 earthquake of 1942, although the latter was a slightly larger earthquake. The rupture zone of the 1996 earthquake is immediately north of the seismic gap left by the great earthquakes (M _w ～8.8–9.1) of 1868 and 1877. The M _w 8.0 Antofagasta earthquake of 1995 occurred at the southern end of this great seismic gap. The M _w 8.2 deep-focus Bolivian earthquake of 1994 occurred directly downdip of the 1868 portion of that gap. The recent occurrence of three significant earthquakes on the periphery of the great seismic gap of the 1868 and 1877 events, among other factors, may signal an increased seismic potential for that zone.     

Relocation of the M 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake and its aftershock sequence

We relocated M8.0 Wenchuan earthquake and 2706 aftershocks with M⩾2.0 using double-difference algorithm and obtained relocations of 2553 events. To reduce the influence of lateral variation in crustal and upper mantle velocity structure, we used different velocity models for the east and west side of Longmenshan fault zone. In the relocation process, we added seismic data from portable seismic stations close to the shocks to constrain focal depths. The precisions in E-W, N-S, and U-D directions after relocation are 0.6, 0.7, and 2.5 km respectively. The relocation results show that the aftershock epi-centers of Wenchuan earthquake were distributed in NE-SW direction, with a total length of about 330 km. The aftershocks were concentrated on the west side of the central fault of Longmenshan fault zone, excluding those on the north of Qingchuan, which obviously deviated from the surface fault and passed through Pingwu-Qingchuan fault in the north. The dominant focal depths of the aftershocks are between 5 and 20 km, the average depth is 13.3 km, and the depth of the relocated main shock is 16.0 km. The depth profile reveals that focal depth distribution in some of the areas is characterized by high-angle westward dipping. The rupture mode of the main shock features reverse faulting in the south, with a large strike-slip component in the north. Supported by the Basic Research Project of Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration (Grant No. DQJB08Z03)     

Diversity of the 2014 Iquique’s foreshocks and aftershocks: clues about the complex rupture process of a Mw 8.1 earthquake

We study the foreshocks and aftershocks of the 1 April 2014 Iquique earthquake of Mw 8.1. Most of these events were recorded by a large digital seismic network that included the Northern Chile permanent network and up to 26 temporary broadband digital stations. We relocated and computed moment tensors for 151 events of magnitude Mw?≥?4.5. Most of the foreshocks and aftershocks of the Iquique earthquake are distributed to the southwest of the rupture zone. These events are located in a band of about 50 km from the trench, an area where few earthquakes occur elsewhere in Chile. Another important group of aftershocks is located above the plate interface, similar to those observed during the foreshock sequence. The depths of these events were constrained by regional moment tensor (RMT) solutions obtained using the records of the dense broad band network. The majority of the foreshocks and aftershocks were associated to the interplate contact, with dip and strike angles in good agreement with the characteristics of horst and graben structures (>2000 m offset) typical of the oceanic Nazca Plate at the trench and in the outer rise region. We propose that the spatial distribution of foreshocks and aftershocks, and its seismological characteristics were strongly controlled by the rheological and tectonics conditions of the extreme erosive margin of Northern Chile.     

Japan Tohoku March 11, 2011 (<Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis> = 9.0) earthquake source structure,its macroseismic,seismological, and geodynamic manifestations

Earthquake source parameters, seismological, geological, geophysical, geodetic, and macroseismic data are reported for the source zone of the Tohoku earthquake (M = 9) that occurred on March 11, 2011 near the eastern coast of Honshu Island. The seismotectonic position of the seismic source situated in the western Pacific active margin, distribution of epicenters and hypocenters of the main shock, foreshocks and aftershocks, features of the focal mechanism solutions, and directions of the horizontal and vertical offsets of the Island surface were studied to focus attention on the nature of deformation in the Honshu Region. The obtained data make it possible to establish intraplate and interplate components in the complex source of the earthquake. Relationships between seismic and geodetic manifestations were investigated. The Tohoku earthquake was suggested to be a great lithospheric structure.     

Rupture process of the 19 August 1992 Susamyr, Kyrgyzstan, earthquake

The Susamyr earthquake of August 19, 1992 in Kyrgyzstan is one of the largest events (M_s = 7.4, M_b = 6.8) of this century in this region of Central Asia. We used broadband and long period digital data from IRIS and GEOSCOPE networks to investigate the source parameters, and their space-time distribution by modeling both body and surface waves. The seismic moment (M₀ = 6.8 × 10¹⁹ N m) and the focal mechanism were determined from frequency-time analysis (FTAN) of the fundamental mode of long period surface waves (100–250 s). Then, the second order integral moments of the moment-rate release were estimated from the amplitude spectra of intermediate period surface waves(40–70 s). From these moments we determined a source duration of 11–13 s, major and minor axes of the source of 30 km and 10–22 km, respectively; and an instant centroid velocity of 1.2 km/s. Finally, we performed a waveform inversion of P and SH waves at periods from 5–60 s. We found a source duration of 18–20 s, longer than the integral estimate from surface wave amplitudes. All the other focal parameters inverted from body waves are similar to those obtained by surface waves ( = 87° ± 6°, = 49° ± 6°, = 105° ± 3°, h = 14 ± 2 km, and M₀ = 5.8 ± 0.7 × 10¹⁹ N m). The initial rupture of this shallow earthquake was located at the south-west border of Susamyr depression in the western part of northern Tien Shan. A finite source analysis along the strike suggests a westward propagation of the rupture. The main shock of this event was preceded 2 s earlier by small foreshock. The main event was almost immediately followed by a very strong series of aftershocks. Our surface and body wave inversion results agree with the general seismotectonic features of the region.