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Abstract On August 9, 2020, anM_w5.1 earthquake ruptured the uppermost crust near the town of Sparta, North Carolina, creating the first co-seismic faulting surface rupture documented in the Eastern United States. Combining deep learning and matched filter earthquake detection, with differential-travel times relocation, we obtain a catalog of 1761 earthquakes, about 5.8 times the number of events listed in the standard USGS/NEIC catalog. The relocated seismicity revealed a complex fault structure with distinct planar alignments, supported by a moment tensor inversion with significant non-double-couple component. The Sparta mainshock with a centroid depth of 1.3 km is interpreted to have nucleated near the intersection of two main fault strands. The mainshock likely ruptured a blind strike-slip fault and a reverse fault associated with the identified surface rupture, both possibly part of a flower structure-like diffuse fault zone. Our observations highlight a complex behavior of extremely shallow earthquakes in stable continental regions. 

Abstract The devastating 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake sequence in southeastern Türkiye started with a moment magnitude (Mw) 7.8 earthquake, for which the initial rupture broke the Sakçagöz segment near Nurdağı and then jumped into a bilateral rupture along multiple segments of the Eastern Anatolian fault zone (EAFZ). This complicated rupture was followed nine hours later by an Mw 7.6 event near Ekinözü. To better understand the spatiotemporal evolution of aftershocks, site amplification, and the structural and tectonic framework of the EAFZ in this diffuse triple junction, we deployed a dense seismometer array covering both aftershock zones for nearly four months. The main Eastern Anatolian Seismic Temporary (EAST) array includes 125 nodal, 10 broadband, and 6 strong-motion seismic stations distributed around the rupture zone. An additional linear array of 73 nodal stations was also installed across the Pazarcık segment of the EAFZ and the Sakçagöz segment near the Mw 7.8 epicenter to record fault-zone waves for ∼30 days. This article shows example recordings and the EAST array geometry, preliminary research results, and the metadata related to all of the stations in this array. A deep-learning-based phase picking for one month of continuous recording yielded millions of seismic phase readings and tens of thousands of aftershock locations after phase associations. We also give examples of both local and teleseismic waveforms recorded by the nodal arrays, which can be used for subsequent high-resolution earthquake relocation, imaging of crustal structures, and fault-zone imaging. 

As seismic data availability increases, the necessity for automated processing techniques has become increasingly evident. Expanded geophysical datasets collected over the past several decades across Antarctica provide excellent resources to evaluate different event detection approaches. We have used the traditional Short-Term Average/Long-Term Average (STA/LTA) algorithm to catalogue seismic data recorded by 19 stations in East Antarctica between 2012 and 2015. However, the complexities of the East Antarctic dataset, including low magnitude earthquakes and other types of seismic events such as icequakes or firnquakes, warrant more advanced automated detection techniques. Therefore, we have also applied template matching as well as several deep learning algorithms, including Generalized Phase Detection (GPD), PhaseNet, BasicPhaseAE, and EQTransformer (EQT), to identify seismic phases within our dataset. Our goal is not only to increase the volume of detectable seismic events but also to gain insights into the effectiveness of these different automated approaches. Our assessment evaluates the completeness of the newly generated catalogs, the precision of identified event locations, and the quality of the picks. The performance of these different event detection techniques applied to continuous seismic data from a polar environment will be highlighted. We will also identify potential limitations and necessary adjustments for deep learning algorithm training, which is essential for their reliable application to specific datasets. 

Abstract The 1886 magnitude ∼7 Summerville, South Carolina, earthquake was the largest recorded on the east coast of the United States. A better understanding of this earthquake would allow for an improved evaluation of the intraplate seismic hazard in this region. However, its source fault structure remains unclear. Starting in May 2021, a temporary 19-station short-period seismic network was deployed in the Summerville region. Here, we present our scientific motivation, station geometry, and quality of the recorded seismic data. We also show preliminary results of microearthquake detections and relocations using recordings from both our temporary and four permanent stations in the region. Starting with 52 template events, including two magnitude ∼3 events on 27 September 2021, we perform a matched filter detection with the one year of continuous data, resulting in a catalog of 181 total events. We then determine precise relative locations of a portion of these events using differential travel-time relocation methods, and compare the results with relocation results of 269 events from a previous seismic deployment in 2011–2012. We also determine focal mechanism solutions for three events from 27 September 2021 with magnitudes 2.0, 3.1, and 3.3, and infer their fault planes. Our relocation results show a south-striking west-dipping zone in the southern seismicity cluster, which is consistent with the thrust focal mechanism of the magnitude 3.3 earthquake on 27 September 2021 and results from the previous study based on the temporary deployment in 2011–2012. In comparison, the magnitudes 3.1 and 2.0 events likely occur on a north–south-striking right-lateral strike-slip fault further north, indicating complex patterns of stress and faulting styles in the region. 

Abstract We present the high-resolution Parkfield matched filter relocated earthquake (PKD-MR) catalog for the 2004 Mw 6 Parkfield earthquake sequence in central California. We use high-quality seismic data recorded by the borehole High Resolution Seismic Network combined with matched filter detection and relocations from cross-correlation derived differential travel times. We determine the magnitudes of newly detected events by computing the amplitude ratio between the detections and templates using a principal component fit. The relocated catalog spans from 6 November 2003 to 28 March 2005 and contains 13,914 earthquakes, which is about three times the number of events listed in the Northern California Seismic Network catalog. Our results on the seismicity rate changes before the 2004 mainshock do not show clear precursory signals, although we find an increase in the seismic activity in the creeping section of the San Andreas fault (SAF) (about ∼30 km northwest of the mainshock epicenter) in the weeks prior to the mainshock. We also observe a decrease in the b-value parameter in the Gutenberg–Richter relationship in the creeping section in the weeks prior to the mainshock. Our results suggest stress is increasingly released seismically in the creeping section, accompanied by a decreasing aseismic creeping rate before the mainshock occurrence. However, b-value and seismicity rates remain stable in the Parkfield section where the 2004 mainshock ruptured. This updated catalog can be used to study the evolution of aftershocks and their relations to afterslip following the 2004 Parkfield mainshock, seismicity before the mainshock, and how external stresses interact with the Parkfield section of the SAF and the 2004 sequence. 

Key Points The 15 January 2022 Hunga Tonga‐Hunga Ha'apai eruption had four episodic seismic subevents with similar waveforms within ∼300 s An unusual upward force jump‐started each subevent A magma hammer explains the force and estimates the subsurface magma mass flux which fits the vent discharge rate based on satellite data 

SUMMARY We present our estimations and comparisons of the in situ Vp/Vs ratios and seismicity characteristics for the Parkfield segment of the San Andreas fault in northern California and the San Jacinto Fault Zone and its adjacent regions in southern California. Our results show that the high-resolution in situ Vp/Vs ratios are much more complex than the tomographic Vp/Vs models. They show similar variation patterns to those in the tomographic Vp models, indicating that Vp/Vs ratios are controlled by material properties but are also strongly influenced by fluid contents. In Parkfield, we observe velocity contrasts between the creeping and locked sections. In southern California, we see small-scale anomalous Vp/Vs variation patterns, especially where fault segments intersect, terminate and change orientations. In addition, our investigation confirms that the seismicity in Parkfield is more repeatable than in southern California. However, the earthquakes in the southernmost portion of the San Andreas fault, the trifurcation area of the San Jacinto Fault Zone and the Imperial fault are as much likely falling into clusters as those in Parkfield. The correlation of highly similar events with anomalous in situ Vp/Vs ratios supports the important role of fluids in the occurrence of repeating earthquakes. The high-resolution Vp/Vs ratio estimation method and the corresponding results are helpful for revealing roles of fluids in driving earthquake, fault interaction and stress distribution in fault zones.