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The 2019 Ridgecrest, CA earthquake sequence has provided a unique opportunity and a rich dataset to understand earthquake source properties and near-fault structure. Using the high-quality seismic data provided by the SCEC Stress Drop Validation group, we first estimate the corner frequency of M2.0-4.5 earthquakes by applying the spectral ratio method based on empirical Green’s function (Liu et al., 2020). We relate corner frequency estimates to stress drops assuming the Brune source model and circular cracks. Our preliminary results show increasing median stress drops with magnitude for both P and S waves, from 1 MPa for M2.0 events to 10 MPa for M4.0 events, though the limited frequency bandwidth may cause underestimation for small events. The estimated moment magnitude is proportional to the catalog magnitude by a factor of 0.72, which is close to 0.74 estimated by Trugman (2020) for the Ridgecrest earthquake sequence. In the second part of the study, we examine the impact of fault zone structure on the azimuthal variation of the source spectra. Using kinematic simulations and observations of the 2003 Big Bear earthquake sequence, Huang et al. (2016) showed that fault damage zones can act as an effective wave guide and cause high-frequency wave amplification along directions close to fault strike. We use clusters of M1.5-3 earthquakes in the Ridgecrest region to further examine the azimuthal variation of the stacked source spectra and investigate if the near-source structure can affect our corner frequency estimates. We aim to develop robust methods that utilize high-quality seismic data to illuminate earthquake source processes and fault zone properties.
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Analysis and Modeling of High-frequency Emission and Deep Seismic Sources of Sunquakes
Abstract Recent work published by Lindsey et al. find evidence for a deep and compact seismic source for the sunquake associated with the 2011 July 30 M9.3 flare, as well as seismic emission extending up to 10 mHz. We examine the sunquake independently, and a possible wave front is found in the 8 mHz band, though no wave front is easily discernible in the 10 mHz band. Additionally, we perform numerical simulations of seismic excitation modeled with the reported parameters and changes in the power spectra with increasing depth of the excitation source are examined. It is found that the peak frequency decreases for increasing depths, but a shallow minimum is indicated between z = 0 and z = −840 km. Analysis of the suspected wave front of the M9.3 sunquake finds that the power spectrum of the reported seismic emission is close to that of background oscillations, though with a peak frequency noticeably lower than the background peak. Additionally, it is found that the amplitude of the source estimated by Lindsey et al. is too low to produce the observed wave front.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1916509
- PAR ID:
- 10435941
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal Letters
- Volume:
- 937
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 2041-8205
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- L26
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ac8f92
