Location

2016/02/15 10:41:45 60.904 -150.055 25.7 4.2 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  2016/02/15 10:41:45:0  60.90 -150.05  25.7 4.2 Alaska
 
 Stations used:
   AK.BRLK AK.CAPN AK.CAST AK.CUT AK.FID AK.FIRE AK.GLI AK.HOM 
   AK.KNK AK.KTH AK.PWL AK.RC01 AK.SAW AK.SCM AT.PMR AV.ILSW 
   TA.J20K TA.M22K TA.M27K TA.N19K TA.N25K TA.O19K TA.O22K 
 
 Filtering commands used:
   cut o DIST/3.3 -40 o DIST/3.3 +60
   rtr
   taper w 0.1
   hp c 0.03 n 3 
   lp c 0.07 n 3 
 
 Best Fitting Double Couple
  Mo = 2.69e+22 dyne-cm
  Mw = 4.22 
  Z  = 46 km
  Plane   Strike  Dip  Rake
   NP1      240    80   -30
   NP2      336    61   -168
  Principal Axes:
   Axis    Value   Plunge  Azimuth
    T   2.69e+22     13     291
    N   0.00e+00     59      43
    P  -2.69e+22     28     194

 Moment Tensor: (dyne-cm)
    Component   Value
       Mxx    -1.64e+22
       Mxy    -1.35e+22
       Mxz     1.30e+22
       Myy     2.10e+22
       Myz    -2.82e+21
       Mzz    -4.60e+21
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                     --------------                  
                 ######----------------              
              ###########-----------------           
             ##############----------------          
           ##################----------------        
          #####################--------------#       
            ####################-------########      
        # T #####################--#############     
        #   ###################---##############     
       #####################-------##############    
       ##################-----------#############    
       ###############--------------#############    
       ############------------------############    
        ########---------------------###########     
        ######------------------------##########     
         ###--------------------------#########      
          ----------------------------########       
           ------------   ------------#######        
             ---------- P ------------#####          
              ---------   ------------####           
                 --------------------##              
                     --------------                  
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
 Global CMT Convention Moment Tensor:
      R          T          P
 -4.60e+21   1.30e+22   2.82e+21 
  1.30e+22  -1.64e+22   1.35e+22 
  2.82e+21   1.35e+22   2.10e+22 


Details of the solution is found at

http://www.eas.slu.edu/eqc/eqc_mt/MECH.NA/20160215104145/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 = 240
      DIP = 80
     RAKE = -30
       MW = 4.22
       HS = 46.0

The NDK file is 20160215104145.ndk The waveform inversion is preferred.

Moment Tensor Comparison

The following compares this source inversion to others
SLU
 USGS/SLU Moment Tensor Solution
 ENS  2016/02/15 10:41:45:0  60.90 -150.05  25.7 4.2 Alaska
 
 Stations used:
   AK.BRLK AK.CAPN AK.CAST AK.CUT AK.FID AK.FIRE AK.GLI AK.HOM 
   AK.KNK AK.KTH AK.PWL AK.RC01 AK.SAW AK.SCM AT.PMR AV.ILSW 
   TA.J20K TA.M22K TA.M27K TA.N19K TA.N25K TA.O19K TA.O22K 
 
 Filtering commands used:
   cut o DIST/3.3 -40 o DIST/3.3 +60
   rtr
   taper w 0.1
   hp c 0.03 n 3 
   lp c 0.07 n 3 
 
 Best Fitting Double Couple
  Mo = 2.69e+22 dyne-cm
  Mw = 4.22 
  Z  = 46 km
  Plane   Strike  Dip  Rake
   NP1      240    80   -30
   NP2      336    61   -168
  Principal Axes:
   Axis    Value   Plunge  Azimuth
    T   2.69e+22     13     291
    N   0.00e+00     59      43
    P  -2.69e+22     28     194

 Moment Tensor: (dyne-cm)
    Component   Value
       Mxx    -1.64e+22
       Mxy    -1.35e+22
       Mxz     1.30e+22
       Myy     2.10e+22
       Myz    -2.82e+21
       Mzz    -4.60e+21
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                     --------------                  
                 ######----------------              
              ###########-----------------           
             ##############----------------          
           ##################----------------        
          #####################--------------#       
            ####################-------########      
        # T #####################--#############     
        #   ###################---##############     
       #####################-------##############    
       ##################-----------#############    
       ###############--------------#############    
       ############------------------############    
        ########---------------------###########     
        ######------------------------##########     
         ###--------------------------#########      
          ----------------------------########       
           ------------   ------------#######        
             ---------- P ------------#####          
              ---------   ------------####           
                 --------------------##              
                     --------------                  
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
 Global CMT Convention Moment Tensor:
      R          T          P
 -4.60e+21   1.30e+22   2.82e+21 
  1.30e+22  -1.64e+22   1.35e+22 
  2.82e+21   1.35e+22   2.10e+22 


Details of the solution is found at

http://www.eas.slu.edu/eqc/eqc_mt/MECH.NA/20160215104145/index.html
 USGS/SLU Moment Tensor Solution
 ENS  2016/02/15 10:41:46:0  60.84 -149.93  57.0 4.2 Alaska
 
 Stations used:
   AK.BRLK AK.CAPN AK.CAST AK.CUT AK.FID AK.FIRE AK.GLI AK.HOM 
   AK.KNK AK.KTH AK.PWL AK.RC01 AK.SAW AK.SCM AT.PMR AV.ILSW 
   TA.J20K TA.M22K TA.M27K TA.N19K TA.N25K TA.O19K TA.O22K 
 
 Filtering commands used:
   cut o DIST/3.3 -40 o DIST/3.3 +60
   rtr
   taper w 0.1
   hp c 0.03 n 3 
   lp c 0.07 n 3 
 
 Best Fitting Double Couple
  Mo = 2.69e+22 dyne-cm
  Mw = 4.22 
  Z  = 46 km
  Plane   Strike  Dip  Rake
   NP1      235    85   -30
   NP2      328    60   -174
  Principal Axes:
   Axis    Value   Plunge  Azimuth
    T   2.69e+22     17     285
    N   0.00e+00     60      46
    P  -2.69e+22     24     187

 Moment Tensor: (dyne-cm)
    Component   Value
       Mxx    -2.03e+22
       Mxy    -9.04e+21
       Mxz     1.20e+22
       Myy     2.26e+22
       Myz    -5.94e+21
       Mzz    -2.34e+21
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                     --------------                  
                 ----------------------              
              ########--------------------           
             ############------------------          
           #################-----------------        
          ####################------------####       
         ######################-------#########      
        ##   ####################--#############     
        ## T ####################-##############     
       ###   #################-----##############    
       ####################---------#############    
       #################-------------############    
       ###############----------------###########    
        ############------------------##########     
        #########----------------------#########     
         ######------------------------########      
          ###---------------------------######       
           -----------------------------#####        
             -----------   -------------###          
              ---------- P ------------###           
                 -------   ------------              
                     --------------                  
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
 Global CMT Convention Moment Tensor:
      R          T          P
 -2.34e+21   1.20e+22   5.94e+21 
  1.20e+22  -2.03e+22   9.04e+21 
  5.94e+21   9.04e+21   2.26e+22 


Details of the solution is found at

http://www.eas.slu.edu/eqc/eqc_mt/MECH.NA/20160215104146/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:

cut o DIST/3.3 -40 o DIST/3.3 +60
rtr
taper w 0.1
hp c 0.03 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    2.0    60    75    15   3.50 0.2913
WVFGRD96    4.0    60    90    10   3.58 0.3375
WVFGRD96    6.0   235    70   -30   3.66 0.3788
WVFGRD96    8.0   235    70   -30   3.73 0.4176
WVFGRD96   10.0   240    90   -25   3.75 0.4405
WVFGRD96   12.0    65    80    25   3.79 0.4739
WVFGRD96   14.0    65    80    25   3.82 0.4964
WVFGRD96   16.0    65    80    20   3.85 0.5154
WVFGRD96   18.0    65    80    20   3.88 0.5328
WVFGRD96   20.0    65    80    20   3.91 0.5483
WVFGRD96   22.0    60    85    20   3.93 0.5637
WVFGRD96   24.0    60    85    20   3.95 0.5784
WVFGRD96   26.0    60    90    20   3.97 0.5923
WVFGRD96   28.0    60    90    20   3.99 0.6085
WVFGRD96   30.0    60    90    20   4.01 0.6240
WVFGRD96   32.0    60    90    20   4.03 0.6359
WVFGRD96   34.0   240    85   -20   4.05 0.6503
WVFGRD96   36.0   240    85   -20   4.07 0.6597
WVFGRD96   38.0   240    85   -20   4.10 0.6669
WVFGRD96   40.0   240    80   -30   4.16 0.6786
WVFGRD96   42.0   240    80   -30   4.18 0.6832
WVFGRD96   44.0   240    80   -30   4.20 0.6848
WVFGRD96   46.0   240    80   -30   4.22 0.6852
WVFGRD96   48.0   240    80   -30   4.23 0.6826
WVFGRD96   50.0   240    80   -30   4.24 0.6791
WVFGRD96   52.0   240    80   -30   4.25 0.6743
WVFGRD96   54.0   240    80   -30   4.26 0.6670
WVFGRD96   56.0   240    80   -30   4.27 0.6590
WVFGRD96   58.0   240    75   -30   4.27 0.6505
WVFGRD96   60.0   240    75   -30   4.28 0.6425
WVFGRD96   62.0   240    75   -30   4.29 0.6332
WVFGRD96   64.0   240    75   -30   4.29 0.6230
WVFGRD96   66.0   235    70   -30   4.30 0.6129
WVFGRD96   68.0   235    70   -30   4.30 0.6022
WVFGRD96   70.0   235    70   -30   4.30 0.5907
WVFGRD96   72.0   235    70   -30   4.31 0.5797
WVFGRD96   74.0   235    65   -30   4.31 0.5685
WVFGRD96   76.0   235    65   -30   4.31 0.5581
WVFGRD96   78.0   235    65   -30   4.31 0.5472
WVFGRD96   80.0   235    65   -30   4.31 0.5371
WVFGRD96   82.0   235    65   -30   4.32 0.5268
WVFGRD96   84.0    65    40   -35   4.41 0.5223
WVFGRD96   86.0    65    40   -35   4.42 0.5204
WVFGRD96   88.0    65    45   -30   4.42 0.5192
WVFGRD96   90.0    65    45   -30   4.42 0.5171
WVFGRD96   92.0    65    45   -30   4.43 0.5154
WVFGRD96   94.0    65    45   -30   4.43 0.5123
WVFGRD96   96.0    65    45   -30   4.44 0.5070
WVFGRD96   98.0    65    45   -30   4.44 0.5022

The best solution is

WVFGRD96   46.0   240    80   -30   4.22 0.6852

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

cut o DIST/3.3 -40 o DIST/3.3 +60
rtr
taper w 0.1
hp c 0.03 n 3 
lp c 0.07 n 3 
Figure 3. Waveform comparison for selected depth. Red: observed; Blue - predicted. The time shift with respect to the model prediction is indicated. The percent of fit is also indicated.
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 Feb 15 06:19:39 CST 2016