The 2023 M_(w)6.8 Adassil Earthquake(Chichaoua,Morocco)on a steep reverse fault in the deep crust and its geodynamic implications

The Mw 6.8 Adassil earthquake that occurred in the High Atlas on September 8,2023,was a catastrophic event that provided a rare opportunity to study the mechanics of deep crustal seismicity.This research aimed to decipher the rupture characteristics of the Adassil earthquake by analyzing teleseismic waveform data in conjunction with interferometric synthetic aperture radar(InSAR)observations from both ascending and descending orbits.Our analysis revealed a reverse fault mechanism with a centroid depth of approximately 28 km,exceeding the typical range for crustal earthquakes.This result suggests the presence of cooler temperatures in the lower crust,which facilitates the accumulation of tectonic stress.The earthquake exhibited a steep reverse mechanism,dipping at 70°,accompanied by minor strike-slip motion.Within the geotectonic framework of the High Atlas,known for its volcanic legacy and resulting thermal irregularities,we investigated the potential contributions of these factors to the initiation of the Adassil earthquake.Deep seismicity within the lower crust,away from plate boundaries,calls for extensive research to elucidate its implications for regional seismic hazard assessment.Our findings highlight the critical importance of studying and preparing for significant seismic events in similar geological settings,which would provide valuable insights into regional seismic hazard assessments and geodynamic paradigms.

Machine-learning-facilitated earthquake and anthropogenic source detections near the Weiyuan Shale Gas Blocks,Sichuan,China

Seismic hazard assessment and risk mitigation depend critically on rapid analysis and characterization of earthquake sequences.Increasing seismicity in shale gas blocks of the Sichuan Basin,China,has presented a serious challenge to monitoring and managing the seismicity itself.In this study,to detect events we apply a machine-learning-based phase picker(PhaseNet)to continuous seismic data collected between November 2015 and November 2016 from a temporary network covering the Weiyuan Shale Gas Blocks(SGB).Both P-and S-phases are picked and associated for location.We refine the velocity model by using detected explosions and earthquakes and then relocate the detected events using our new velocity model.Our detections and absolute relocations provide the basis for building a high-precision earthquake catalog.Our primary catalog contains about 60 times as many earthquakes as those in the catalog of the Chinese Earthquake Network Center(CENC),which used only the sparsely distributed permanent stations.We also measure the local magnitude and achieve magnitude completeness of ML0.We relocate clusters of events,showing sequential migration patterns overlapping with horizontal well branches around several well pads in the Wei202 and Wei204 blocks.Our results demonstrate the applicability of a machine-learning phase picker to a dense seismic network.The algorithms can facilitate rapid characterization of earthquake sequences.

Upper-mantle velocity structures beneath the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding areas inferred from triplicated P waveforms

P-wave waveforms in the distance range between 12°and 30°were analyzed to investigate upper-mantle P velocity structures beneath the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding areas.The waveform data from 504 earthquakes with magnitudes larger than 5.0 between 1990 and 2005 that occurred within 30°from the center of the Plateau were modelled.We divided the study area into 6 regions and modeled upper-mantle-distance P waveforms with turning points beneath each region separately.The results show that the uppermantle P-wave velocity structures beneath India,the Himalayas,and the Lhasa Terrane are similar and contain a high-velocity lid about 250 km thick.The upper-mantle velocities down to 200 km beneath the Qiangtang Terrane,the Tarim Basin,and especially the Songpan-GarzêTerrane are lower than those in the south.The 410-km discontinuity beneath these two terranes is elevated by about 20 km.Highvelocity anomalies are found in the transition zone below 500 km under the Lhasa and Qiangtang Terranes.The results suggest that the Tibetan Plateau was generated by thrusting of the Indian mantle lithosphere under the southern part of Tibet.Portions of the thickened Eurasian mantle lithosphere were delaminated;they are now sitting in the transition zone beneath southern Tibet and atop of the 410-km discontinuity underneath northern Tibet.

Template matching for simple waveforms with low signal-to-noise ratio and its application to icequake detection

Template matching is a useful method to detect seismic events through waveform similarity between two signals.The traditional template matching method works well in detecting small tectonic earthquakes.However,the method has some difficulty when the signals have relatively low signal-to-noise ratios(SNRs)and simple shapes,e.g.a sinusoidal function.In this study,we modify the traditional template matching approach for this situation.We first construct a virtual three-component seismic station using vertical-component waveforms recorded by three stations.Next,we select a template event from the virtual station,and apply the traditional template matching.We then verify this method by detecting icequakes with simple waveforms on the Urumqi Glacier No.1 and compare the results with those from the short-term-averages over long-term-average(STA/LTA),the REST method,and traditional template matching method.It can be concluded that the modified template matching method using virtual stations has some advantages for seismic data with low SNRs.

Preliminary study on aftershock decay rate of the 2013 Ms 7.0 Lushan earthquake

We obtained a catalog of early aftershocks of the 2013 Lushan earthquake by examining waveform from a nearby station MDS which is 30.2 km far away from the epicenter, and then we analyzed the relation between aftershock rate and time. We used time-window ratio method to identify aftershocks from continuous waveform data and compare the result with the catalog provided by China Earthquake Networks Center （CENC）. As expected, a significant amount of earthquakes is missing in CENC catalog in the 24 h after the main shock. Moreover, we observed a steady seismicity rate of aftershocks nearly in the first 10,000 s before an obvious power-law decay of aftershock activity. We consider this distinct early stage which does not fit the Omori law with a constant p （p - 1） value as early aftershock deficiency （EAD）, as proposed by previous studies. Our study suggests that the main shock rupture process is different from aftershocks＇ processes, and EAD can vary in different cases as compared to earthquakes of strike-slip mechanism in California.

体波接收函数与瑞利波椭圆率联合反演研究

近年来,结合体波接收函数或瑞利波椭圆率,面波频散已被广泛应用于岩石层结构的成像研究中。由于面波频散是其传播路径的总传播效应,因此联合反演方法需依赖于密集的地震台阵或较高的地震活动性,从而获得局部速度结构。但是,接收函数和瑞利波椭圆率均为具有局部敏感性的单台测量方法,并且能自然地相互合并进行联合反演。本文中,我们对利用瑞利波椭圆率和接收函数联合反演的可行性进行了探讨。我们通过正演模拟进行了敏感性检验,发现接收函数对速度跃变的界面较为敏感,但对长波结构显示较弱的敏感性,这几乎与瑞利波椭圆率互补。因此,利用两种单台测量方法进行联合反演为地震台站下方的速度结构提供了更严格的条件约束。本文提出了一种基于快速模拟退火方法的联合反演算法,对岩石层结构的瑞利波椭圆率和接收函数进行反演。该算法在印度克拉通和美国威利斯顿盆地的应用中,在减少反演的非唯一性方面证明了其有效性。但是,通过该联合反演可能无法获得有效的地壳平均速度,表明有必要结合面波频散(或其他类型的观察研究)、接收函数和瑞利波椭圆率来获得更准确的速度结构。

Donald V.Helmberger,the master mentor:Testimonials from former international students

Don trained many Ph.D.students over the〜5 decades of his career,at least 45 were advised or co-advised according to a Caltech account.A large number were international students including a high percentage of Chinese students.The contributors to this article graduated over a time span of 26 years,and we are now distributed in 6 countries across 14 time zones,yet we represent only a small fraction of his former students and postdocs.

CRPN: A cascaded classification and regression DNN framework for seismic phase picking

Current deep neural networks(DNN)used for seismic phase picking are becoming more complex,which consumes much computing time without significant accuracy improvement.In this study,we introduce a cascaded classification and regression framework for seismic phase picking,named as the classification and regression phase net(CRPN),which contains two convolutional neural network(CNN)models with different complexity to meet the requirements of accuracy and efficiency.The first stage of the CRPN are shallow CNNs used for rapid detection of seismic phase and picking P and S arrival times for earthquakes with magnitude larger than 2.0,respectively.The second stage of CRPN is used for high precision classification and regression.The regression is designed to reduce the time difference between the probability maximum and the real arrival time.After being trained using 500,000 P and S phases,the CRPN can process 400 hours’seismic data per second,whose sampling rate is 1 Hz and 25 Hz for the two stages,respectively,on a Nvidia K2200 GPU,and pick 93%P and 89%S phases with the error being reduced by 0.1s after regression correction.

Poisson's ratios and S-wave velocities of the Xishancun landslide,Sichuan,China,inferred from high-frequency receiver functions of local earthquakes

Landslides are recurrent geological phenomena on Earth that cause heavy casualties and property losses annually.In this study,we use the V_(p)-k stacking and nonlinear waveform inversion methods of high-frequency receiver functions extracted from local earthquakes,to sequentially invert Poisson’s ratios and S-wave velocities of the Quaternary Xishancun landslide,which is composed of three segments,i.e.,h1,h2,and h3 from bottom to top.Our results show that Poisson’s ratio values are generally higher than 0.33 and that the S-wave velocities vary from 0.1 to 0.9 km s^(-1).High Poisson’s ratios(>0.44)are mainly distributed in the juncture regions between different segments,as well as the western edge of h2.These zones show significant variation in landslide thickness and are potentially hazardous areas.Low velocities of 0.05–0.2 km s^(-1)with thicknesses of 10–30m are widely observed in the lower layer of the landslide.The high Poisson’s ratios and low-velocity layer may be related to water-rich materials in these areas.Our study suggests that the high-frequency receiver functions from local earthquakes can be used to delineate geotechnical structures,which is valuable for landslide stability analysis and hazard mitigation.

Causative fault and seismogenic mechanism of the 2010 Suining M5.0 earthquake from joint modeling of seismic and InSAR data

Although the Sichuan basin is a stable block with low historical seismicity,the Suining M5.0 earthquake on January31,2010 occurred near the center of the basin,causing casualty and substantial damage.Previous studies have shown that the earthquake is very shallow and may occur in the sedimentary cover rocks,but its causative fault has not been identified.Based on local broadband seismic waveform data as well as a pair of ALOS PALSAR ascending orbit data,we explore the seismogenic mechanism via further constraining the source depth and the ruptured fault.The earthquake caused ground uplift in the southeast of the epicenter area,with a maximum line of sight displacement of about 13.6 cm,much larger than the displacement caused by a M5 earthquake at a typical depth of 10 km,which indicates that the earthquake is very shallow.Through joint inversion of seismic waveform and InSAR data,we obtain the moment magnitude of Suining earthquake as MW4.5,with the strike,dip,and rake of its fault plane as 17°,66° and 90°,respectively,and the centroid depth less than 1 km,supporting that the earthquake occurred at the shallow part of a high angle thrust fault dipping to the southeast.It is further confirmed that the earthquake may be triggered by the diffusion of high-pressure fluid migrating from the underside gas reservoir.

Determination of the crustal structure and seismicity of the Linfen rift with S-wave velocity mapping

The Linfen rift is a Cenozoic extensional rift with significant seismicity and seismic hazards.Studies of this rift shed light on deep dynamic processes and seismogenic mechanisms relevant to crustal structure and seismic activity.We first conducted a joint inversion of receiver functions and surface wave dispersion on waveform data collected from 27 broadband seismic stations to image the crustal S-wave velocity in the Linfen rift and its surroundings.We then relocated the source parameters for 10 earthquake events with depths>20 km and studied the relationship between crustal S-wave velocity and seismicity.The results show that low-velocity zones of different scales exist in the middle-lower crust,and that the depth of the seismogenic layer gradually increases from^25 km in the south to^34 km in the north,roughly corresponding to the bottom of the low-velocity zone.We found that most of the relocated earthquakes occurred in the low-velocity zone at depths of 18 km to 34 km,with the deepest at 32 km.Two of the greatest historic earthquakes,Linfen(Ms 7.75)in 1695 and Hongtong(Ms 8.0)in 1303,occurred at the bottom of the high-velocity zone at depths of 12 km to 18 km.Our results,combined with previous studies,suggest that the upwelling mantle material below the rift did not remarkably affect the velocity structure from the bottom of the seismogenic layer down to the uppermost mantle nor heat the crust.It is likely that neither crustal-scale faults nor mantle earthquakes exist in the Linfen rift.