Location

2011/12/09 01:25:41 62.255 -145.693 23 4.40 Alaska

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  2011/12/09 01:25:41:0  62.26 -145.69  23.0 4.4 Alaska
 
 Stations used:
   AK.BMR AK.BPAW AK.BRLK AK.CAST AK.CCB AK.CHUM AK.CNP 
   AK.COLD AK.DHY AK.DIV AK.EYAK AK.FID AK.FYU AK.GHO AK.HDA 
   AK.HIN AK.HMT AK.HOM AK.KAI AK.KLU AK.KNK AK.KTH AK.MCK 
   AK.MDM AK.MLY AK.PAX AK.PPLA AK.RAG AK.RC01 AK.RND AK.SAW 
   AK.SCM AK.SGA AK.SKN AK.SSN AK.SWD AK.TRF AK.WAX AT.MENT 
   AT.MID AT.PMR AT.SVW2 CN.DAWY IU.COLA US.EGAK 
 
 Filtering commands used:
   hp c 0.02 n 3
   lp c 0.07 n 3
 
 Best Fitting Double Couple
  Mo = 4.68e+22 dyne-cm
  Mw = 4.38 
  Z  = 19 km
  Plane   Strike  Dip  Rake
   NP1      324    69   112
   NP2       95    30    45
  Principal Axes:
   Axis    Value   Plunge  Azimuth
    T   4.68e+22     60     266
    N   0.00e+00     21     136
    P  -4.68e+22     21      37

 Moment Tensor: (dyne-cm)
    Component   Value
       Mxx    -2.56e+22
       Mxy    -1.88e+22
       Mxz    -1.40e+22
       Myy    -3.09e+21
       Myz    -3.00e+22
       Mzz     2.86e+22
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                     --------------                  
                 ----------------------              
              #####-----------------   ---           
             #########-------------- P ----          
           #############------------   ------        
          ################--------------------       
         ###################-------------------      
        ######################------------------     
        #######################-----------------     
       ##########################----------------    
       -###########   ############---------------    
       -########### T #############--------------    
       --##########   ##############------------#    
        --###########################----------#     
        ---###########################--------##     
         ----##########################-----###      
          -----########################---####       
           -------###########################        
             ----------############-----###          
              --------------------------##           
                 ----------------------              
                     --------------                  
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
 Global CMT Convention Moment Tensor:
      R          T          P
  2.86e+22  -1.40e+22   3.00e+22 
 -1.40e+22  -2.56e+22   1.88e+22 
  3.00e+22   1.88e+22  -3.09e+21 


Details of the solution is found at

http://www.eas.slu.edu/eqc/eqc_mt/MECH.NA/20111209012541/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 = 95
      DIP = 30
     RAKE = 45
       MW = 4.38
       HS = 19.0

The NDK file is 20111209012541.ndk The waveform inversion is preferred.

Moment Tensor Comparison

The following compares this source inversion to others
SLU
 USGS/SLU Moment Tensor Solution
 ENS  2011/12/09 01:25:41:0  62.26 -145.69  23.0 4.4 Alaska
 
 Stations used:
   AK.BMR AK.BPAW AK.BRLK AK.CAST AK.CCB AK.CHUM AK.CNP 
   AK.COLD AK.DHY AK.DIV AK.EYAK AK.FID AK.FYU AK.GHO AK.HDA 
   AK.HIN AK.HMT AK.HOM AK.KAI AK.KLU AK.KNK AK.KTH AK.MCK 
   AK.MDM AK.MLY AK.PAX AK.PPLA AK.RAG AK.RC01 AK.RND AK.SAW 
   AK.SCM AK.SGA AK.SKN AK.SSN AK.SWD AK.TRF AK.WAX AT.MENT 
   AT.MID AT.PMR AT.SVW2 CN.DAWY IU.COLA US.EGAK 
 
 Filtering commands used:
   hp c 0.02 n 3
   lp c 0.07 n 3
 
 Best Fitting Double Couple
  Mo = 4.68e+22 dyne-cm
  Mw = 4.38 
  Z  = 19 km
  Plane   Strike  Dip  Rake
   NP1      324    69   112
   NP2       95    30    45
  Principal Axes:
   Axis    Value   Plunge  Azimuth
    T   4.68e+22     60     266
    N   0.00e+00     21     136
    P  -4.68e+22     21      37

 Moment Tensor: (dyne-cm)
    Component   Value
       Mxx    -2.56e+22
       Mxy    -1.88e+22
       Mxz    -1.40e+22
       Myy    -3.09e+21
       Myz    -3.00e+22
       Mzz     2.86e+22
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                     --------------                  
                 ----------------------              
              #####-----------------   ---           
             #########-------------- P ----          
           #############------------   ------        
          ################--------------------       
         ###################-------------------      
        ######################------------------     
        #######################-----------------     
       ##########################----------------    
       -###########   ############---------------    
       -########### T #############--------------    
       --##########   ##############------------#    
        --###########################----------#     
        ---###########################--------##     
         ----##########################-----###      
          -----########################---####       
           -------###########################        
             ----------############-----###          
              --------------------------##           
                 ----------------------              
                     --------------                  
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
 Global CMT Convention Moment Tensor:
      R          T          P
  2.86e+22  -1.40e+22   3.00e+22 
 -1.40e+22  -2.56e+22   1.88e+22 
  3.00e+22   1.88e+22  -3.09e+21 


Details of the solution is found at

http://www.eas.slu.edu/eqc/eqc_mt/MECH.NA/20111209012541/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 0.07 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   130    45   -90   3.93 0.3029
WVFGRD96    1.0   305    45   -90   3.97 0.2866
WVFGRD96    2.0   310    40    90   4.08 0.3565
WVFGRD96    3.0   130    50    90   4.13 0.3083
WVFGRD96    4.0   130    75    45   4.10 0.2632
WVFGRD96    5.0    55    20   -10   4.16 0.3137
WVFGRD96    6.0    60    20     0   4.16 0.3700
WVFGRD96    7.0    65    20     5   4.17 0.4175
WVFGRD96    8.0    70    20    10   4.25 0.4541
WVFGRD96    9.0    85    20    30   4.27 0.5038
WVFGRD96   10.0    95    20    40   4.28 0.5481
WVFGRD96   11.0    95    25    40   4.30 0.5879
WVFGRD96   12.0   100    25    50   4.31 0.6239
WVFGRD96   13.0   100    25    50   4.32 0.6533
WVFGRD96   14.0   100    30    50   4.34 0.6775
WVFGRD96   15.0   100    30    50   4.35 0.6972
WVFGRD96   16.0   100    30    50   4.36 0.7117
WVFGRD96   17.0   100    30    50   4.37 0.7215
WVFGRD96   18.0   100    30    50   4.37 0.7273
WVFGRD96   19.0    95    30    45   4.38 0.7297
WVFGRD96   20.0    95    30    40   4.39 0.7295
WVFGRD96   21.0    95    30    40   4.41 0.7274
WVFGRD96   22.0    95    30    40   4.42 0.7225
WVFGRD96   23.0    90    30    35   4.42 0.7155
WVFGRD96   24.0    90    30    35   4.43 0.7068
WVFGRD96   25.0    90    30    35   4.44 0.6962
WVFGRD96   26.0    90    30    35   4.44 0.6842
WVFGRD96   27.0    90    30    35   4.45 0.6708
WVFGRD96   28.0    90    30    35   4.46 0.6560
WVFGRD96   29.0    90    30    35   4.46 0.6399

The best solution is

WVFGRD96   19.0    95    30    45   4.38 0.7297

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 0.07 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 Mon Dec 7 03:11:44 CST 2015