Location

2011/05/03 02:58:30 30.677 -105.767 10.6 4.2 Chihuahua, MX

Arrival Times (from USGS)

Arrival time list

Felt Map

USGS Felt map for this earthquake

USGS Felt reports main page

Focal Mechanism

 USGS/SLU Moment Tensor Solution
 ENS  2011/05/03 02:58:30:0  30.68 -105.77  10.6 4.2 Chihuahua, MX
 
 Stations used:
   AR.113A AR.319A AR.U15A AR.X16A AR.X18A AR.Y14A IM.TX31 
   IU.ANMO IU.TUC MX.HPIG MX.HSIG MX.LNIG TA.133A TA.134A 
   TA.214A TA.233A TA.236A TA.333A TA.334A TA.433A TA.434A 
   TA.435B TA.436A TA.533A TA.534A TA.535A TA.633A TA.634A 
   TA.733A TA.735A TA.832A TA.833A TA.933A TA.ABTX TA.MSTX 
   TA.T25A TA.U32A TA.V32A TA.W18A TA.W32A TA.W33A TA.WHTX 
   TA.X32A TA.X33A TA.X34A TA.Y12C TA.Y22D TA.Y33A TA.Y34A 
   TA.Z33A TA.Z34A TA.Z35A US.JCT US.WMOK US.WUAZ 
 
 Filtering commands used:
   hp c 0.02 n 3
   lp c 0.06 n 3
 
 Best Fitting Double Couple
  Mo = 7.00e+21 dyne-cm
  Mw = 3.83 
  Z  = 13 km
  Plane   Strike  Dip  Rake
   NP1        5    60   -65
   NP2      142    38   -126
  Principal Axes:
   Axis    Value   Plunge  Azimuth
    T   7.00e+21     12      77
    N   0.00e+00     21     172
    P  -7.00e+21     65     321

 Moment Tensor: (dyne-cm)
    Component   Value
       Mxx    -4.03e+20
       Mxy     2.05e+21
       Mxz    -1.75e+21
       Myy     5.90e+21
       Myz     3.03e+21
       Mzz    -5.49e+21
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                     ----------####                  
                 ---------------#######              
              #------------------#########           
             #--------------------#########          
           ##----------------------##########        
          ###----------------------###########       
         ####----------------------############      
        #####----------   ----------#########        
        #####---------- P ----------######### T      
       ######----------   ----------#########   #    
       ######-----------------------#############    
       #######----------------------#############    
       ########--------------------##############    
        ########-------------------#############     
        #########------------------#############     
         #########----------------#############      
          ##########-------------#############       
           ###########-----------############        
             ############-------###########          
              ##############---###########           
                 ############----------              
                     #######-------                  
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
 Global CMT Convention Moment Tensor:
      R          T          P
 -5.49e+21  -1.75e+21  -3.03e+21 
 -1.75e+21  -4.03e+20  -2.05e+21 
 -3.03e+21  -2.05e+21   5.90e+21 


Details of the solution is found at

http://www.eas.slu.edu/eqc/eqc_mt/MECH.NA/20110503025830/index.html
        

Preferred Solution

The preferred solution from an analysis of the surface-wave spectral amplitude radiation pattern, waveform inversion and first motion observations is

      STK = 5
      DIP = 60
     RAKE = -65
       MW = 3.83
       HS = 13.0

The NDK file is 20110503025830.ndk The waveform inversion is preferred.

Moment Tensor Comparison

The following compares this source inversion to others
SLU
 USGS/SLU Moment Tensor Solution
 ENS  2011/05/03 02:58:30:0  30.68 -105.77  10.6 4.2 Chihuahua, MX
 
 Stations used:
   AR.113A AR.319A AR.U15A AR.X16A AR.X18A AR.Y14A IM.TX31 
   IU.ANMO IU.TUC MX.HPIG MX.HSIG MX.LNIG TA.133A TA.134A 
   TA.214A TA.233A TA.236A TA.333A TA.334A TA.433A TA.434A 
   TA.435B TA.436A TA.533A TA.534A TA.535A TA.633A TA.634A 
   TA.733A TA.735A TA.832A TA.833A TA.933A TA.ABTX TA.MSTX 
   TA.T25A TA.U32A TA.V32A TA.W18A TA.W32A TA.W33A TA.WHTX 
   TA.X32A TA.X33A TA.X34A TA.Y12C TA.Y22D TA.Y33A TA.Y34A 
   TA.Z33A TA.Z34A TA.Z35A US.JCT US.WMOK US.WUAZ 
 
 Filtering commands used:
   hp c 0.02 n 3
   lp c 0.06 n 3
 
 Best Fitting Double Couple
  Mo = 7.00e+21 dyne-cm
  Mw = 3.83 
  Z  = 13 km
  Plane   Strike  Dip  Rake
   NP1        5    60   -65
   NP2      142    38   -126
  Principal Axes:
   Axis    Value   Plunge  Azimuth
    T   7.00e+21     12      77
    N   0.00e+00     21     172
    P  -7.00e+21     65     321

 Moment Tensor: (dyne-cm)
    Component   Value
       Mxx    -4.03e+20
       Mxy     2.05e+21
       Mxz    -1.75e+21
       Myy     5.90e+21
       Myz     3.03e+21
       Mzz    -5.49e+21
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                     ----------####                  
                 ---------------#######              
              #------------------#########           
             #--------------------#########          
           ##----------------------##########        
          ###----------------------###########       
         ####----------------------############      
        #####----------   ----------#########        
        #####---------- P ----------######### T      
       ######----------   ----------#########   #    
       ######-----------------------#############    
       #######----------------------#############    
       ########--------------------##############    
        ########-------------------#############     
        #########------------------#############     
         #########----------------#############      
          ##########-------------#############       
           ###########-----------############        
             ############-------###########          
              ##############---###########           
                 ############----------              
                     #######-------                  
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
 Global CMT Convention Moment Tensor:
      R          T          P
 -5.49e+21  -1.75e+21  -3.03e+21 
 -1.75e+21  -4.03e+20  -2.05e+21 
 -3.03e+21  -2.05e+21   5.90e+21 


Details of the solution is found at

http://www.eas.slu.edu/eqc/eqc_mt/MECH.NA/20110503025830/index.html
	

Magnitudes

ML Magnitude


(a) ML computed using the IASPEI formula for Horizontal components; (b) ML residuals computed using a modified IASPEI formula that accounts for path specific attenuation; the values used for the trimmed mean are indicated. The ML relation used for each figure is given at the bottom of each plot.


(a) ML computed using the IASPEI formula for Vertical components (research); (b) ML residuals computed using a modified IASPEI formula that accounts for path specific attenuation; the values used for the trimmed mean are indicated. The ML relation used for each figure is given at the bottom of each plot.

Context

The next figure presents the focal mechanism for this earthquake (red) in the context of other events (blue) in the SLU Moment Tensor Catalog which are within ± 0.5 degrees of the new event. This comparison is shown in the left panel of the figure. The right panel shows the inferred direction of maximum compressive stress and the type of faulting (green is strike-slip, red is normal, blue is thrust; oblique is shown by a combination of colors).

Waveform Inversion

The focal mechanism was determined using broadband seismic waveforms. The location of the event and the and stations used for the waveform inversion are shown in the next figure.
Location of broadband stations used for waveform inversion

The program wvfgrd96 was used with good traces observed at short distance to determine the focal mechanism, depth and seismic moment. This technique requires a high quality signal and well determined velocity model for the Green functions. To the extent that these are the quality data, this type of mechanism should be preferred over the radiation pattern technique which requires the separate step of defining the pressure and tension quadrants and the correct strike.

The observed and predicted traces are filtered using the following gsac commands:

hp c 0.02 n 3
lp c 0.06 n 3
The results of this grid search from 0.5 to 19 km depth are as follow:

           DEPTH  STK   DIP  RAKE   MW    FIT
WVFGRD96    0.5   210    60   -45   3.52 0.2881
WVFGRD96    1.0   205    55   -50   3.56 0.2972
WVFGRD96    2.0   205    55   -50   3.62 0.3191
WVFGRD96    3.0   200    60   -60   3.69 0.3157
WVFGRD96    4.0    25    85   -60   3.73 0.3026
WVFGRD96    5.0    25    85   -60   3.73 0.3247
WVFGRD96    6.0    25    90   -55   3.72 0.3459
WVFGRD96    7.0    25    90   -50   3.71 0.3627
WVFGRD96    8.0    20    85   -60   3.77 0.3763
WVFGRD96    9.0     5    70   -70   3.80 0.3913
WVFGRD96   10.0     0    65   -70   3.82 0.4071
WVFGRD96   11.0     0    60   -70   3.83 0.4192
WVFGRD96   12.0     0    60   -70   3.83 0.4265
WVFGRD96   13.0     5    60   -65   3.83 0.4281
WVFGRD96   14.0     5    60   -65   3.82 0.4258
WVFGRD96   15.0    10    60   -60   3.82 0.4212
WVFGRD96   16.0    15    65   -55   3.82 0.4151
WVFGRD96   17.0    15    65   -50   3.82 0.4089
WVFGRD96   18.0    20    70   -45   3.82 0.4016
WVFGRD96   19.0    20    75   -45   3.82 0.3944
WVFGRD96   20.0    20    75   -45   3.82 0.3859
WVFGRD96   21.0    25    80   -40   3.83 0.3783
WVFGRD96   22.0    25    80   -40   3.84 0.3702
WVFGRD96   23.0    25    80   -40   3.84 0.3611
WVFGRD96   24.0    25    80   -40   3.84 0.3516
WVFGRD96   25.0    25    85   -40   3.85 0.3421
WVFGRD96   26.0    25    85   -40   3.85 0.3323
WVFGRD96   27.0   210    90    35   3.86 0.3229
WVFGRD96   28.0    30    90   -35   3.87 0.3131
WVFGRD96   29.0    30    90   -35   3.87 0.3034

The best solution is

WVFGRD96   13.0     5    60   -65   3.83 0.4281

The mechanism correspond to the best fit is
Figure 1. Waveform inversion focal mechanism

The best fit as a function of depth is given in the following figure:

Figure 2. Depth sensitivity for waveform mechanism

The comparison of the observed and predicted waveforms is given in the next figure. The red traces are the observed and the blue are the predicted. Each observed-predicted component is plotted to the same scale and peak amplitudes are indicated by the numbers to the left of each trace. A pair of numbers is given in black at the right of each predicted traces. The upper number it the time shift required for maximum correlation between the observed and predicted traces. This time shift is required because the synthetics are not computed at exactly the same distance as the observed and because the velocity model used in the predictions may not be perfect. A positive time shift indicates that the prediction is too fast and should be delayed to match the observed trace (shift to the right in this figure). A negative value indicates that the prediction is too slow. The lower number gives the percentage of variance reduction to characterize the individual goodness of fit (100% indicates a perfect fit).

The bandpass filter used in the processing and for the display was

hp c 0.02 n 3
lp c 0.06 n 3
Figure 3. Waveform comparison for selected depth
Focal mechanism sensitivity at the preferred depth. The red color indicates a very good fit to thewavefroms. Each solution is plotted as a vector at a given value of strike and dip with the angle of the vector representing the rake angle, measured, with respect to the upward vertical (N) in the figure.

A check on the assumed source location is possible by looking at the time shifts between the observed and predicted traces. The time shifts for waveform matching arise for several reasons:

Assuming only a mislocation, the time shifts are fit to a functional form:

 Time_shift = A + B cos Azimuth + C Sin Azimuth

The time shifts for this inversion lead to the next figure:

The derived shift in origin time and epicentral coordinates are given at the bottom of the figure.

Discussion

Acknowledgements

Thanks also to the many seismic network operators whose dedication make this effort possible: University of Nevada Reno, University of Alaska, University of Washington, Oregon State University, University of Utah, Montana Bureas of Mines, UC Berkely, Caltech, UC San Diego, Saint Louis University, University of Memphis, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, the Iris stations and the Transportable Array of EarthScope.

Velocity Model

The WUS model used for the waveform synthetic seismograms and for the surface wave eigenfunctions and dispersion is as follows:

MODEL.01
Model after     8 iterations
ISOTROPIC
KGS
FLAT EARTH
1-D
CONSTANT VELOCITY
LINE08
LINE09
LINE10
LINE11
      H(KM)   VP(KM/S)   VS(KM/S) RHO(GM/CC)         QP         QS       ETAP       ETAS      FREFP      FREFS
     1.9000     3.4065     2.0089     2.2150  0.302E-02  0.679E-02   0.00       0.00       1.00       1.00    
     6.1000     5.5445     3.2953     2.6089  0.349E-02  0.784E-02   0.00       0.00       1.00       1.00    
    13.0000     6.2708     3.7396     2.7812  0.212E-02  0.476E-02   0.00       0.00       1.00       1.00    
    19.0000     6.4075     3.7680     2.8223  0.111E-02  0.249E-02   0.00       0.00       1.00       1.00    
     0.0000     7.9000     4.6200     3.2760  0.164E-10  0.370E-10   0.00       0.00       1.00       1.00    

Quality Control

Here we tabulate the reasons for not using certain digital data sets

The following stations did not have a valid response files:

Last Changed Sun Dec 6 20:20:46 CST 2015