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Source Parameters of Seven Large Australian Earthquakes Determined By Body Waveform Inversion

Source Parameters of Seven Large Australian Earthquakes Determined By Body Waveform Inversion Summary We determine source mechanisms and centroid depths for the seven largest earthquakes in and near the Australian continent in the past 20 yr using teleseismic body waves. Six of the earthquakes were thrusts and one was strike-slip. All five earthquakes that occurred beneath the continent were shallower than 10 km (the ranges of centroid depths are constrained to be 1–5, 2–4, 0–3, 5–11, and 6–10 km) and indicate nearly pure thrust faulting. the three shallowest events were associated with surface faulting. While the published first motion solutions for these three events included large amounts of strike-slip, our thrust mechanisms are more consistent with displacements observed at the surface of the Earth. the range of possible centroid depths for a strike-slip earthquake beneath the continental shelf off the northwest coast is 23–29 km, and that for a thrust earthquake in oceanic lithosphere beneath the Tasman Sea is 22–26 km below sea level. the pressure axis is consistently near-horizontal, and in the western half of the continent, five earthquakes indicate that the azimuth of the maximum compressive stress is E-ENE (azimuthal range of 66°–91°). On the basis of one earthquake, we conclude that the P-axis is oriented NNW beneath the Tasman Sea. Australia, earthquake source mechanism, intraplate seismicity References Aki K. Richards P. G. , 1980 Quantitative Seismology, Theory and Methods , W. H. Freeman , San Francisco. Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Bergman E. A. Solomon S. C. , 1985 . Earthquake source mechanisms from body-waveform inversion and intraplate tectonics in the northern Indian Ocean , Phys. Earth planet. Int. , 40 , 1 – 23 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Bergman E. A. Solomon S. C. , 1980 Oceanic intraplate earthquakes: implications for local and regional intraplate stress , J. geophys. Res. , 85 , 5389 – 5410 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Bock G. Denham D. , 1983 . Recent earthquake activity in the Snowy Mountain region and its relationship to major faults , J. Geol. Soc. Aust. , 30 , 423 – 429 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Choy G. L. Boatwright J. Dewey J. W. Sipkin S. A. , 1983 . A teleseismic analysis of the New Brunswick earthquake of January 9, 1982 , J. geophys. Res. , 88 , 2199 – 2212 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Cloetingh S. Wortel R. , 1985 . Regional stress field of the Indian plate , Geophys. Res. Lett. , 12 , 77 – 80 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Denham D. , 1985 . the Tasman Sea earthquake of 25 November 1983 and stress in the Australian plate , Tectonophys. , 111 , 329 – 338 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Denham D. Alexander L. G. Gregson P. J. Wallance T. C. Enever J. , 1985 . Intraplate stress and the 1979 Cadoux earthquake (abstract) , Bur. min. Rec. J. Aust. Geol. Geophys. , 31 , 33 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Denham D. Alexander L. G. Worotnicki G. , 1979 , Stresses in Australian crust: evidence from earthquakes and in situ stress measurements , Bur. min. Rec. J. Aust. Geol. Geophys. , 4 , 289 – 295 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Denham D. Everingham I. B. Gregson P. J. , 1974 East Canning basin earthquake, March 1970 , J. Geol. Soc. Aust. , 21 , 353 – 358 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Doyle H. A. Underwood R. , 1965 . Seismological stations in Australia , Aust. J. Sci. , 28 , 40 – 43 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Dziewonski A. M. Woodhouse J. H. , 1983 . an experiment in systematic study of global seismicity: centroid-moment tensor solutions for 201 moderate and large earthquakes of 1981 , J. geophys. Res. , 88 , 3247 – 3272 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Dziewonski A. M. Franzen J. E. Woodhouse J. H. , 1984 . Centroid-moment tensor solutions for October-December, 1983 , Phys. Earth planet. Int. , 34 , 129 – 136 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Dziewonski A. M. Ekstrom G. Franzen J. E. Woodhouse J. H. , 1987 . Centroid-moment tensor solutions for January-March 1986 , Phys. Earth planet. Int. , 45 , 1 – 10 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Dziewonski A. M. Ekstrom G. Franzen J. E. Woodhouse J. H. , 1987 . Global seismicity of 1979: centroid-moment tensor solutions for 524 earthquakes , Phys. Earth planet. Int. , 48 , 18 – 46 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Fitch T. J. Worthington M. H. Everingham I. B. , 1973 . Mechanisms of Australian earthquakes and contemporary stress in the Indian ocean plate , Earth planet. Sci. Lett. , 18 , 345 – 356 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Futterman W. I. , 1962 . Dispersive body waves , J. geophys. Res. , 67 , 5279 – 5291 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Gordon F. R. Lewis J. D. , 1980 . the Meckering and Calingiri earthquakes October 1968 and March 1970 , Bull. Geol. Suru. West Aust. , 126 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Hart R. , 1978 . Body wave studies of the September, 1969, North Atlantic Ridge earthquake (abstract) , Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Un. , 59 , 1135 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Hayes D. E. Ringis J. , 1973 . Seafloor spreading in the Tasman Sea , Nature , 243 , 454 – 458 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Jackson J. , 1980 . Errors in focal depth determination and the depth of seismicity in Iran and Turkey , Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc. , 61 , 285 – 301 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Lambeck K. Mcqueen H. W. S. Stephenson R. A. Denham D. , 1984 . the state of stress within the Australian continent , Annal. Geophys. , 2 , 723 – 742 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Langston C. A. , 1976 . A body wave inversion of the Koyna, India, earthquake of December 10, 1967, and some implications for body wave focal mechanisms , J. Geophys. Res. , 81 , 2517 – 2529 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Langston C. A. Helberger D. V. , 1976 . A procedure for modelling shallow dislocation sources . Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc. , 42 , 117 – 130 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Lewis J. D. Daetwyler N. A. Bunting J. A. Moncrieff J. S. , 1981 . the Cadoux earthquake, 2 June 1979 , Geol. Survey West Aust. , Report 11. Mccaffrey R. , 1988 . Active tectonics of the eastern Sunda and Banda arcs , J. geophys. Res. , submitted. OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Mccaffrey R. Nabelek J. , 1984 . the geometry of back arc thrusting along the eastern Sunda arc. Indonesia: constraints from earthquake and gravity data . J. geophys. Res. , 89 , 6171 – 6179 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Mccue K. Barlow B. C. Denham D. Jones T. , 1987 . Another chip off the old Australian block , Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Un. , 68 , 609 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Nabelek J. L. , 1984 . Determination of earthquake source parameters from inversion of body waves , PhD Thesis , M.I.T. , Cambridge, MA. Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Nabelek J. , 1985 . Geometry and mechanism of faulting of the 1980 El Asnam, Algeria earthquake from inversion of teleseismic body waves and comparison with field observations , J. geophys. Res. , 91 , 12713 – 12728 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Nelson M. R. Mccaffrey R. Molnar P. , 1987 . Source parameters for 11 earthquakes in the Tien Shan, Central Asia, determined by P- and SH-waveform inversion , J. geophys. Res. , 92 , 12629 – 12648 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Richardson R. M. Solomon S. C. Sleep N. H. , 1979 . Tectonic stress in the plates , Rev. geophys. Space Phys. , 17 , 981 – 1019 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Stagg H. M. J. Exon N. F. , 1981 . Geology of the Scott Plateau and Rowley Terrace . Bur. min. Rec. Bull. , 213 , 67 pp. OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Stewart G. S. , 1978 . Implications for plate-tectonics of the August 19 1977 Indonesian decoupling normal-fault earthquake (abstract) , Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Un. , 59 , 326 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Stewart I. C. F. Denham D. , 1974 . Simpson Desert earthquake central Australia, August 1972 , Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc. , 39 , 335 – 341 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Stewart I. C. F. Mount T. J. , 1972 . Earthquake Mechanisms in South Australia in relation to plate tectonics , J. Geol. Soc. Aust. , 19 , 41 – 52 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Sykes L. R. Sbar M. L. , 1973 . Intraplate earthquakes, lithospheric stresses and the driving mechanism of plate tectonics , Nature , 245 , 298 – 302 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Trehu A. M. Nabelek J. L. Solomon S. C. , 1981 . Source characterization of two Reykjanes Ridge earthquakes: surface waves and moment tensors; P-waveforms and nonorthogonal nodal planes , J. geophys. Res. , 86 , 1701 – 1724 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Veevers J. J. , (Ed.) 1984 . Phanerozoic Earth History of Australia , Clarendon Press , Oxford. Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Vogfjord K. S. Langston C. A. , 1987 . the Meckering earthquake of 14 October 1968: a possible downward propagating rupture . Bull. seism. Soc. Am. , 77 , 1558 – 1578 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Weissel J. K. Anderson R. N. Geller C. A. , 1980 . Deformation of the Indo-Australian plate , Nature , 287 , 284 – 291 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat This content is only available as a PDF. Author notes * Now also at: Air Force Geophysical Laboratory, Hanscom AFB. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Geophysical Journal International Oxford University Press

Source Parameters of Seven Large Australian Earthquakes Determined By Body Waveform Inversion

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References (43)

Publisher
Oxford University Press
ISSN
0956-540X
eISSN
1365-246X
DOI
10.1111/j.1365-246X.1988.tb00446.x
Publisher site
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Abstract

Summary We determine source mechanisms and centroid depths for the seven largest earthquakes in and near the Australian continent in the past 20 yr using teleseismic body waves. Six of the earthquakes were thrusts and one was strike-slip. All five earthquakes that occurred beneath the continent were shallower than 10 km (the ranges of centroid depths are constrained to be 1–5, 2–4, 0–3, 5–11, and 6–10 km) and indicate nearly pure thrust faulting. the three shallowest events were associated with surface faulting. While the published first motion solutions for these three events included large amounts of strike-slip, our thrust mechanisms are more consistent with displacements observed at the surface of the Earth. the range of possible centroid depths for a strike-slip earthquake beneath the continental shelf off the northwest coast is 23–29 km, and that for a thrust earthquake in oceanic lithosphere beneath the Tasman Sea is 22–26 km below sea level. the pressure axis is consistently near-horizontal, and in the western half of the continent, five earthquakes indicate that the azimuth of the maximum compressive stress is E-ENE (azimuthal range of 66°–91°). On the basis of one earthquake, we conclude that the P-axis is oriented NNW beneath the Tasman Sea. Australia, earthquake source mechanism, intraplate seismicity References Aki K. Richards P. G. , 1980 Quantitative Seismology, Theory and Methods , W. H. Freeman , San Francisco. Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Bergman E. A. Solomon S. C. , 1985 . Earthquake source mechanisms from body-waveform inversion and intraplate tectonics in the northern Indian Ocean , Phys. Earth planet. Int. , 40 , 1 – 23 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Bergman E. A. Solomon S. C. , 1980 Oceanic intraplate earthquakes: implications for local and regional intraplate stress , J. geophys. Res. , 85 , 5389 – 5410 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Bock G. Denham D. , 1983 . Recent earthquake activity in the Snowy Mountain region and its relationship to major faults , J. Geol. Soc. Aust. , 30 , 423 – 429 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Choy G. L. Boatwright J. Dewey J. W. Sipkin S. A. , 1983 . A teleseismic analysis of the New Brunswick earthquake of January 9, 1982 , J. geophys. Res. , 88 , 2199 – 2212 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Cloetingh S. Wortel R. , 1985 . Regional stress field of the Indian plate , Geophys. Res. Lett. , 12 , 77 – 80 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Denham D. , 1985 . the Tasman Sea earthquake of 25 November 1983 and stress in the Australian plate , Tectonophys. , 111 , 329 – 338 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Denham D. Alexander L. G. Gregson P. J. Wallance T. C. Enever J. , 1985 . Intraplate stress and the 1979 Cadoux earthquake (abstract) , Bur. min. Rec. J. Aust. Geol. Geophys. , 31 , 33 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Denham D. Alexander L. G. Worotnicki G. , 1979 , Stresses in Australian crust: evidence from earthquakes and in situ stress measurements , Bur. min. Rec. J. Aust. Geol. Geophys. , 4 , 289 – 295 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Denham D. Everingham I. B. Gregson P. J. , 1974 East Canning basin earthquake, March 1970 , J. Geol. Soc. Aust. , 21 , 353 – 358 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Doyle H. A. Underwood R. , 1965 . Seismological stations in Australia , Aust. J. Sci. , 28 , 40 – 43 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Dziewonski A. M. Woodhouse J. H. , 1983 . an experiment in systematic study of global seismicity: centroid-moment tensor solutions for 201 moderate and large earthquakes of 1981 , J. geophys. Res. , 88 , 3247 – 3272 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Dziewonski A. M. Franzen J. E. Woodhouse J. H. , 1984 . Centroid-moment tensor solutions for October-December, 1983 , Phys. Earth planet. Int. , 34 , 129 – 136 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Dziewonski A. M. Ekstrom G. Franzen J. E. Woodhouse J. H. , 1987 . Centroid-moment tensor solutions for January-March 1986 , Phys. Earth planet. Int. , 45 , 1 – 10 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Dziewonski A. M. Ekstrom G. Franzen J. E. Woodhouse J. H. , 1987 . Global seismicity of 1979: centroid-moment tensor solutions for 524 earthquakes , Phys. Earth planet. Int. , 48 , 18 – 46 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Fitch T. J. Worthington M. H. Everingham I. B. , 1973 . Mechanisms of Australian earthquakes and contemporary stress in the Indian ocean plate , Earth planet. Sci. Lett. , 18 , 345 – 356 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Futterman W. I. , 1962 . Dispersive body waves , J. geophys. Res. , 67 , 5279 – 5291 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Gordon F. R. Lewis J. D. , 1980 . the Meckering and Calingiri earthquakes October 1968 and March 1970 , Bull. Geol. Suru. West Aust. , 126 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Hart R. , 1978 . Body wave studies of the September, 1969, North Atlantic Ridge earthquake (abstract) , Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Un. , 59 , 1135 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Hayes D. E. Ringis J. , 1973 . Seafloor spreading in the Tasman Sea , Nature , 243 , 454 – 458 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Jackson J. , 1980 . Errors in focal depth determination and the depth of seismicity in Iran and Turkey , Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc. , 61 , 285 – 301 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Lambeck K. Mcqueen H. W. S. Stephenson R. A. Denham D. , 1984 . the state of stress within the Australian continent , Annal. Geophys. , 2 , 723 – 742 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Langston C. A. , 1976 . A body wave inversion of the Koyna, India, earthquake of December 10, 1967, and some implications for body wave focal mechanisms , J. Geophys. Res. , 81 , 2517 – 2529 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Langston C. A. Helberger D. V. , 1976 . A procedure for modelling shallow dislocation sources . Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc. , 42 , 117 – 130 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Lewis J. D. Daetwyler N. A. Bunting J. A. Moncrieff J. S. , 1981 . the Cadoux earthquake, 2 June 1979 , Geol. Survey West Aust. , Report 11. Mccaffrey R. , 1988 . Active tectonics of the eastern Sunda and Banda arcs , J. geophys. Res. , submitted. OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Mccaffrey R. Nabelek J. , 1984 . the geometry of back arc thrusting along the eastern Sunda arc. Indonesia: constraints from earthquake and gravity data . J. geophys. Res. , 89 , 6171 – 6179 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Mccue K. Barlow B. C. Denham D. Jones T. , 1987 . Another chip off the old Australian block , Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Un. , 68 , 609 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Nabelek J. L. , 1984 . Determination of earthquake source parameters from inversion of body waves , PhD Thesis , M.I.T. , Cambridge, MA. Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Nabelek J. , 1985 . Geometry and mechanism of faulting of the 1980 El Asnam, Algeria earthquake from inversion of teleseismic body waves and comparison with field observations , J. geophys. Res. , 91 , 12713 – 12728 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Nelson M. R. Mccaffrey R. Molnar P. , 1987 . Source parameters for 11 earthquakes in the Tien Shan, Central Asia, determined by P- and SH-waveform inversion , J. geophys. Res. , 92 , 12629 – 12648 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Richardson R. M. Solomon S. C. Sleep N. H. , 1979 . Tectonic stress in the plates , Rev. geophys. Space Phys. , 17 , 981 – 1019 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Stagg H. M. J. Exon N. F. , 1981 . Geology of the Scott Plateau and Rowley Terrace . Bur. min. Rec. Bull. , 213 , 67 pp. OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Stewart G. S. , 1978 . Implications for plate-tectonics of the August 19 1977 Indonesian decoupling normal-fault earthquake (abstract) , Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Un. , 59 , 326 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Stewart I. C. F. Denham D. , 1974 . Simpson Desert earthquake central Australia, August 1972 , Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc. , 39 , 335 – 341 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Stewart I. C. F. Mount T. J. , 1972 . Earthquake Mechanisms in South Australia in relation to plate tectonics , J. Geol. Soc. Aust. , 19 , 41 – 52 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Sykes L. R. Sbar M. L. , 1973 . Intraplate earthquakes, lithospheric stresses and the driving mechanism of plate tectonics , Nature , 245 , 298 – 302 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Trehu A. M. Nabelek J. L. Solomon S. C. , 1981 . Source characterization of two Reykjanes Ridge earthquakes: surface waves and moment tensors; P-waveforms and nonorthogonal nodal planes , J. geophys. Res. , 86 , 1701 – 1724 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Veevers J. J. , (Ed.) 1984 . Phanerozoic Earth History of Australia , Clarendon Press , Oxford. Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Vogfjord K. S. Langston C. A. , 1987 . the Meckering earthquake of 14 October 1968: a possible downward propagating rupture . Bull. seism. Soc. Am. , 77 , 1558 – 1578 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Weissel J. K. Anderson R. N. Geller C. A. , 1980 . Deformation of the Indo-Australian plate , Nature , 287 , 284 – 291 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat This content is only available as a PDF. Author notes * Now also at: Air Force Geophysical Laboratory, Hanscom AFB.

Journal

Geophysical Journal International – Oxford University Press

Published: Oct 1, 1988

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