Keith Priestley

Le ture 14  The Earthquake sour e

Physi s of the Earth as a Planet

EARTHQUAKE SOURCE
EARTHQUAKE LOCATION

Figure 107: Diagram of the rupture surfa e of a fault. The rupture spreads from a point of initial rupture,

hypo enter, over the fault surfa e. The point on the

epi enter. All moving points on the fault radiate P and
energy release is alled the entroid lo ation.

the

surfa e dire tly above the hypo enter is the

Swave energy.

The average lo ation of the

The hypo enter of an earthquake is given in terms of four values: the (1) time, (2) latitude, (3) longitude
and (4) depth of initiation of the seismi energy. The hypo enter has to be determined from the arrival
times of phases re orded at seismographs around the earthquake. At least four phases are required to lo ate
an earthquake. The lo ation problem is then, given the arrival times of various seismi waves at a set of
seismographs, to dedu e the origin time and spatial oordinates of the hypo enter, the initiation point of
the radiated seismi energy.

There are two problems: (1) the identi ation of the seismi phases whose

arrival times are measured, and (2) the hoi e of an earth model to al ulate the propagation time of the
various seismi phases.
In many ases only the rst arriving P-wave is used in the lo ation making the phase identi ation less of a
problem but se ondary phases greatly improve the a ura y of a lo ation, espe ially the depth. The hoi e
of an earth model is more di ult. Ideally we should onsider the 3D stru ture of the Earth or at least use
regional velo ity stru ture in the region of the sour e. A pra ti al rst step is to determine a preliminary
lo ation in a 1D or spheri ally symmetri earth model, then rene the lo ation using a velo ity model
spe i to a region. The a ura y of the lo ation depends on a number of fa tors: (1) the a ura y of the
arrival time readings, (2) the validity of the velo ity model, and (3) the azimuthal distribution of stations
about the event.

88

GRAPHICAL LOCATION USING SP TIMES

Time

Sg

Sg

Pg

Sg
Pg

Pn
S P time
Sg

Pg

Pn Pg
Epicentral
distance

Distance

Figure 108: Determination of epi entral distan e from S - P times

ta(p) = tt(p) + to = x/vp + to

Arrival travel time:

S minus P time :

Distance :

(ta(s) to ) (ta(p) to ) = tt(s) tt(p) = ta(s) ta(p)

(S P) = tt(s) tt(p) =

x
1
1
x

= x(

)
vs
vp
vs
vp

S P TIME

x = (S P)

vp vs
vp vs

On e the epi enter is determined, the origin time an be determined from the distan e and velo ity. Be ause
the travel time urves are only approximate and be ause of measurement errors, the ir les will rarely
interse t at a point.

The epi enter is taken as the average of where the pairs of ar s interse t.

If the

velo ity model (travel time urves) are a good the average velo ity for the region and the ar s are all
on ave outward from the epi enter, then the origin time is too late. If the ar s are all onvex outward
from the epi enter, then the origin time may be too early or the event may be deep.

Cross section
N

sta 1

sta 2
Map view

10 km
sta 2

sta 1

epicentre
distance from
S P time

hypocentre

sta 3

Figure 109: Graphi al solution for the hypo entral lo ation

89

LEASTSQUARES HYPOCENTER DETERMINATION

P
V(r)

h
Figure 110: Earthquake hypo enter  seismograph geometry

Four parameters are required to dene the hypo enter: the latitude, the longitude, the depth, and the
origin time:

h = (x, y, z, to )
If we have

travel time observations

To,i

at a network of seismographs lo ated at

th station is
these for the lo ation ve tor h. The observed arrival time at the i

(xi , yi , zi ),

we an invert

To,i = ti (h, xi , yi , zi , v(r))

(71)

th seismograph and
where ti is the travel time to the i

v(r) is the Earth velo ity stru ture. We rst hoose

a trial hypo enter ho and a referen e Earth model vr (r) and al ulate the predi ted arrival times, Tp,i
for ea h seismograph. The hypo enter an then be found by minimizing the travel time residual ri
ri = To,i Tp,i

Tp,i

is a nonlinear fun tion of both the Earth model and individual station lo ations and this ompli ates

hypo enter determination. This nonlinearity is lear even for a 2D lo ation within a plane uniform velo ity
stru ture. The travel time in this ase for a station with oordinates

Tp,i =
where

is the velo ity. Sin e

Tp,i

(xi , yi )

from a point

(x, y)

is given by

(x xi )2 + (y yi )2 / v

does not s ale linearly with either

x or y , standard leastsquares methods

annot be used and an iterative method is used. Geiger (1912) linearized (71) giving

ti
ti
ti
ti
ti
(72)
x +
y +
z +
t0
= 1
x
y
z
t
t
th re eiver. If the travel times and
where ti /x, . . . are the partial derivatives of the travel time to the i
partial derivatives an be al ulated for the velo ity model v(r) then (72) is a linear system of n equations


To,i Tp,i =

with four unknowns and of the form

d = G h
whi h an be solved by standard leastsquares.
hypo enter

ho

(73)

The iterative pro edure then involves hoosing a trial

h = (x, y, z, to ), then using this to dene

ho (new) = ho (old) + h and repeating the pro edure until the hypo enter

and solving (73) for the orre tion ve tor

an improved trial hypo enter

onverges.

Some are needs to be taken in numeri al implementation be ause there an be signi ant dieren es in
the sizes of the derivatives of the arrival time with respe t to the hypo entral parameters.

tci /ts = 1,

Note that

while the spatial derivatives are often mu h smaller. Convergen e to a suitable hypo enter

an generally be obtained if the errors in the arrival times are small and the assumed earth model gives
a good representation of the travel times for the paths employed.
between the depth estimate

zh(est)

and the estimated origin time

However, there is a strong trade-o

th(est)

that is best resolved if observations

of dierent wave types P and S or a wide range of ray parameter an be made.

90

Cal ulating travel time and partial derivatives for earthquake lo ation
We an al ulate the travel times using ray theory where the travel time is given by the integral

T =

Rab (v)

where

Rab

is the ray path between a sour e at

a,

dl
v(r)

(74)

and a re eiver at

b.

Using the stationarity of the travel

time in (74) it an be shown that for any heterogeneous velo ity eld

v(r)

the partial derivatives in (72)

are given by

cos
ti
cos
ti
cos
ti
=
,
=
,
=
,
x
v(r)
y
v(r)
z
v(r)
where

, , and

(75)

are the take-o angles or dire tion osines of the rays at the sour e.

Examples:
i) Constant velo ity model,

v = vo ,

rays are straight lines.

T =

i1/2
1 h 2
x + z2
v

a
Figure 111: Ray path in a uniform half-spa e.
ii) 1-D ontinuous model,

v = v(z) = v0 + gz

where

is the velo ity gradient, ray paths be ome ar s of

ir les.

T =

tan b /2
1
d
=
ln
g sin
g
tan a /2


a
b
a

Figure 112: Ray path in a half-spa e with a uniform velo ity gradient.

91

iii) Multi-layered models (1-D)

Dire t

Td = x2 + z 2

Refra ted

1/2

/v

(same as i)

Tr = x/v2 + h1 cos a /v1 + ha cos a /v1

x

z
h1
ha

a
V1
V2

Figure 113: Ray paths in a model onsisting of a uniform layer over a uniform half-spa e.

NON-LINEAR LOCATION ALGORITHMS

Now that mu h faster omputers are available, it is feasible to al ulate the travel times for ea h postulated sour e lo ation rather than rely on the linearized pro edure just outlined. This formulation is more
exible and allows the introdu tion of better representations of the expe ted mist distribution between
the observed and al ulated arrival times for the dierent phases.

Grid search earthquake location

Figure 114: Grid sear h earthquake lo ation.

92

UNCERTAINTIES IN THE HYPOCENTER

The a ura y of the hypo entral lo ation has to be estimated from the information available in the inversion.
The implied pre ision of the estimates is therefore model based and an be quite dierent from the true
errors of the hypo enter.
Sour es of error in earthquake lo ation in lude: (1) errors asso iated with the pi king pro edure whi h an
be simulated by Monte-Carlo analysis; (2) errors asso iated with the hoi e of Earth models whi h an
generally be redu ed by using a full range of available phase data, in luding later phases; and (3) errors
asso iated with the magnitude of the event.
The inuen e of the magnitude an be quite subtle sin e it is primarily related to the available network
geometry for the lo ation.

As the magnitude of the event in reases, it re ords more widely and the in-

uen e of parti ular propagation paths is minimized. But for small events, ertain propagation paths are
emphasized by the pattern of re ording, with a onsequent bias in the lo ation estimate.

For example,

small events in the Helleni ar south of the Aegean are well re orded by a large number of stations in
Europe but relatively few stations to the south in Afri a. Paths to the north are fast paths with respe t
to spheri ally symmetri earth models so the hypo enters are pulled to the north, resulting in a systemati
mislo ation of 15-20 km. For large events there are more re ordings from Afri an stations to the south and
the ee t of the fast paths to the north is minimized.
Una ounted for lateral variations in the velo ity stru ture:

Figure 115: Distribution of earthquakes epi enters in California (left) and the San Fran is o bay area (right)
for 1969  1971.

The mist in earthquake lo ation problems is usually larger than is expe ted from timing errors alone
and this is the result of unmodeled lateral heterogeneity in the referen e velo ity model.

For example,

earthquakes o ur in faults su h as the San Andreas fault in California and lateral motion on the fault
an result in high velo ity ro ks on one side of the fault and low velo ity ro ks on the other side. Events
o urring on the fault will tend to be mislo ated o the fault onto the faster velo ity blo k due to a
systemati bias in the travel times.

93

111111111000000000
000000000
111111111

14

11

km

7
7.

km

km

km

.8

4 km/s

14

apparent epicenter

sta #2
t2 = 3.54 s

.1

6 km/s

10 km

.1
4

t1 = 2.36 s

10 km

10 km

sta #1

actual epicenter

4.3 km shift

average velocity = 5 km/s

Figure 116: Velo ity model for the upper rust whi h a ounts for the shift in epi enters o of the San
Fran is o Bay area faults.

Inadequate station distribution:

Error ellipse elongated

away from array

Stations
equidistant

Seismic network
distant stations
depth tradeoff
with origin time

Figure 117: Examples of poor station distributions whi h result in the re ording of a small ray parameter
range.

The distribution of rays leaving the sour e determines the onstraints that may be pla ed on it. Usually
the depth is the least well onstrained parameter along with origin time.

If all rays leave the sour e in

su h a manner that the partial derivatives with respe t to the depth are roughly equal, then the olumn
in the

matrix orresponding to the depth will be nearly proportional to the ve tor

equivalent to origin time olumn. Therefore two olumns of

[1, 1, ..., 1]T

whi h is

are linearly dependent and the problem is

non-unique. The situation an arise in a regional ase where the earthquake lies outside a network, or in
teleseismi studies where a limited distribution of stations and phases ause a similar problem.

94

MASTER EVENT METHODS

In many ases, the relative lo ation between events in a lo alized region an be determined with mu h
greater a ura y than the absolute lo ation of any of the events be ause the lateral velo ity variations
outside the lo al region ae t all of the events in nearly the same way. If one event is designated the master
event then the relative arrival times an be omputed relative to the master event

Trel,i = To,i Tmaster,i

and setting the master event lo ation to trial solution

Trel,i =
where

hj

ho

(72) and solving for the orre tions to this lo ation

ti
hj
hj

is the orre tion to the master event lo ation. The solution is valid as long as

is small.

Figure 118: Comparison of ISC aftersho k lo ation for four large earthquakes in the Kurile ar with relo ations of the aftersho ks using the master event te hnique.

The map views (right) show the epi enters

for the aftersho k zones and the average fo al me hanism for the main sho ks. The rossse tions of the
ISC fo al depths show a great deal of s atter whereas the relo ated hypo enters dene the dipping plane
of subdu tion (from S hwartz it et al, 1989).

95

SCSN

LSH

33.2

33.0

32.8

115.6

depth (km)

115.8

115.4

115.8

115.6

115.4

LSH

SCSN
distance (km)

depth (km)

distance (km)

SCSN
distance (km)
Figure 119:

LSH
distance (km)

Comparison of earthquake lo ations in the Imperial Valley of southern California.

SCSN

lo ations are the standard atalog of 408,105 events from 1981 to 2005 lo ated using a layered 1-D velo ity
model for southern California.

LSH lo ations in lude 399,521 events from 1981 to 2005 lo ated using

luster analysis, waveform ross- orrelation data and a dierential time lo ation method based on 3-D
starting lo ations. From Lin et al, 2008.

96

ELASTIC REBOUND THEORY (REID, 1910)

Figure 120: Results of the triangulation measurements analysis in the San Fran is o region prior to (1861,
1885) and following (1906) the San Fran is o earthquake of 1906 (Reid, 1910).

Mt. Moche

Mt. Tamelpias
Mt. Diablo
Farallon Lighthouse

Figure 121: Map of the San Andras fault in the San Fran is o region whi h moved in the 1906 earthquake.
Solid triangles denote triangulation points lo ations (Reid, 1910).

97

Figure 122: Slip on the San Andras fault during the 1906 earthquake, showing triangulation points lo ations
(Reid, 1910).

Strain buildup

Earthquake

Fault

Following last
Earthquake

time = ?

1861

1885

1906

Figure 123: The elasti rebound model of an earthquake assumes that between earthquakes strain a ross
the fault ause stress to a umulate be ause fri tion has lo ked the fault surfa e. At some point in time
the stress ex eed the strength of the ro k and slip on the fault  the earthquake  o urs relieving the
a umulated stress.

98

EARTHQUAKE FAULTS

Figure 124: Fault geometry  The oordinate system is oriented with respe t to the fault su h that
along the fault strike,

x2

is perpendi ular to fault, and

x3

x1

is

is verti al. The fault plane separates the foot

wall blo k from the hanging wall blo k (Kanimori and Cipar, 1974).

normal to the fault plane

slip ve tor whi h indi ates the motion of the hanging wall blo k

fault strike measured lo kwise from north

with respe t to the foot wall blo k




0 360

fault dip whi h is less than 90 measured from the x2 axis 0 90

rake or slip angle between the x1 axis and d in the fault plane 0 360

Figure 125: Basi types of faults  The slip angle an vary between

and

360

but faults are grouped into

Strike-slip fault  two sides of the fault slide horizontally

by ea h other; when = 0 the upper wall moves to the right and the motion is alled left-lateral be ause

if we stand on one side of the fault, the other side moves to the left; if = 180 right-lateral motion

o urs. Normal or dip slip fault  upper wall slides downwards, = 270 Thrust or reverse fault 
three basi types depending on their slip angle.

upper wall moves upwards,

= 90

(Eakins, 1987).

99

POINT FORCES AND THE SEISMIC MOMENT TENSOR

We will onsider a seismi sour e small enough ompared to the wavelength of the radiated waves that
it an be thought of as a

point sour e.

momentum would not be onserved.

A single, internal point sour e annot a t at a point be ause

Internal sour es must be represented by

either be two for e ve tors of magnitude

for e ouples

whi h an

a ting in opposite dire tions at a point, or two for e ve tors

separated by a small distan e in a dire tion perpendi ular to the dire tion of the for e. In this ase angular
momentum is only onserved if there is a omplementary ouple balan ing the for es and this ase is alled
a

double ouple.

Figure 126: For e ouples are opposing point for es separated by a small distan e

d.

A double ouple is a

pair of omplementary ouples that produ e no net torque (Shearer, 1999).

If we dene a for e ouple
the

Mij

in a Cartesian oordinate system as a pair of opposing for es pointing in

dire tion and separated in the

tensor

dire tion, then the nine dierent for e ouples dene the

moment

M11 M12 M13

M = M21 M22 M23

M31 M32 M33
The magnitude of

Mij

is

fd

and is assumed to be onstant as

onserved (76) must be symmetri so

(76)

goes to zero. Sin e angular momentum is

has only six independent omponents. This is a general represen-

tation of the internally generated for es that an a t at a point and is a good approximation for modeling
distan e seismi waves for sour es whi h are small ompared to the seismi wavelength.

Figure 127: The nine for e ouples whi h make up the elasti moment tensor (Shearer, 1999).

100

Seismi energy radiated from a fault an be represented by a double ouple sour e. For example, a verti al,
rightlateral, strikeslip fault oriented in the

x1

dire tion orresponds to the moment tensor

0 M0 0

M = M0 0 0
0
0 0

where

M0

is the

(77)

s alar seismi moment

M0 = DA
where

Be ause

is the shear modulus,

Mij = Mji

is the fault displa ement, and

is the area of the fault.

there are two fault planes whi h orrespond to the same double ouple, i.e., (77)

orresponds to the two faults shown below. This is a fundamental ambiguity whi h o urs be ause both
faults produ e exa tly the same displa ement in the fareld. The real fault plane is alled the

fault plane and the other is alled the auxiliary fault plane.

primary

Figure 128: Sin e the seismi moment tensor is symmetri , both the rightlateral and leftlateral faults
have the same moment tensor and radiation pattern (Shearer, 1999).
Sin e the moment tensor is symmetri it an be diagonalized by omputing its eigenvalues and eigenve tors
and rotating to a new oordinate system. For example, (77) has prin ipal axes at 45
and

x2

to the original

axes and the rotated moment tensor be omes

M0
0
0

M = 0 M0 0
0
0
0

The

x1

x1

oordinate axis is termed the

tension axis and the x2

(78)

oordinate axis is alled the

pressure axis

and these give the dire tions of the maximum ompression and tension if the fault plane orresponds to a
plane of maximum shear.

Figure 129: The double ouple (left) is represented by the odiagonal elements of the moment tensor
and

M21 .

If the oordinate system is rotated to be aligned with the

diagonal with opposing terms

M11

and

M22

and

M12

axes the moment tensor is

(Shearer, 1999).

The tra e of the moment tensor is a measure of the volume hange and is zero for double ouple sour es
but nonzero for explosion sour es.

101

The moment tensor an be written in terms of the unit normal ve tor to the fault plane
ve tor

d,

and the s alar moment

n
,

the unit slip

Mo :
Mij = Mo (ni dj + nj di )

2nx dx
nx dy + ny dx nx dz + nz dx

2ny dy
ny dz + nz dy
M = Mo ny dx + nx dy
nz dx + nx dz nz dy + ny dz
2nz dz

or

Things to note about the moment tensor:

(a) inter hangeability of

n
and d show that slip on the fault plane and auxiliary plane yield the same seismi

radiation.
(b) tra e given by

2ni di ij = 2
n d = 0  sin e the slip ve tor lies in the fault plane and is thus perpendi ular

to the normal ve tor, moment tensors representing double ouple sour es orresponding to slip on a fault
always have a zero tra e. If the tra e is nonzero, some net volume hange (i.e. explosion) is represented.
This is alled the isotropi omponent.
The normal ve tor to the fault plane is

sin sin f

n
= sin cos f
cos

where

f = strike
= dip
= slip

and the slip ve tor is

cos cos f + sin cos sin f

d = cos sin f + sin cos cos f

sin sin

Figure 130: Examples of moment tensor fault representations and bea hball fault plane solutions (Dahlen
and Tromp, 1998).

[Shearer 241251

102