Regional Magnitude Scaling, Transportability, and Ms:mb Discrimination at Small Magnitudes

Abstract

Ð Data sets of m b (Pn) and m b (Lg) measurements are presented for three continental regions in order to investigate scaling relationships with moment magnitude M w and event discrimination at small magnitudes. Compilations of published measurements are provided for eastern North American and central Asian earthquakes, and new measurements are reported for earthquakes located in western United States. Statistical tests on M w :m b relationships show that the m b (Lg) scale of NUTTLI (1973) is transportable between tectonic regions, and a single, uni®ed M w :m b (Lg) relationship satis®es observations for M w $4.2± 6.5 in all regions. A uni®ed relationship is also developed for nuclear explosions detonated at the Nevada Test Site and test sites of the former Soviet Union. Regional m b for explosions scale at higher rates than for earthquakes, and of signi®cance is the ®nding that m b (Pn) for explosions scales at a higher rate than m b (Lg). A model is proposed where dierences in scaling rates are related to eects of spectral overshoot and near-®eld Rg scattering on the generation of Pn and Lg waves by explosions. For earthquakes, m b (Pn) and m b (Lg) scale similarly, showing rates near 1.0 or 2/3 á log 10 M o (seismic moment). M w :m b (Lg) scaling results are converted to uni®ed M s :m b (Lg) relationships using scaling laws between log M o and M s . For earthquakes with M s greater than 3.0, the scaling rate is 0.69 á M s , which is the same as it is for nuclear explosions if M s is proportional to 1.12 á log M o , as determined by NTS observations. Thus, earthquake and explosion populations are parallel and separated by 0.68 m b units for large events. For small events (M s < 3.0), populations may converge or diverge depending on the tectonic region in which earthquakes occur and the scaling rate of explosions at small yields. Earthquakes scale as 0.64 and 0.75 on M s :m b (Lg) plots for stable and tectonic regions, respectively. While the scaling rate for explosions is $0.69, this value is uncertain due to paucity of M o observations at small yields. Measurements of [m b (P) ) m b (Lg)] for earthquakes in the western United States have an average value of )0.33 .03 m b units, in good agreement with Nuttli's estimate of m b bias for NTS. This result suggests that Nuttli's method for estimating test site bias can be extended to earthquakes to make estimates of bias on regional scales. In addition, a new approach for quick assessments of regional bias is proposed where M s :m b (P) observations are compared with M s :m b (Lg) relationships. Catalog M s :m b (P) data suggest that m b bias is signi®cant for tectonic regions of southern Asia, averaging about )0.4 m b units. 1952Howard J. Patton Pure appl. geophys., transportability by comparing scaling relationships determined for dierent regions. Regional M s :m b relationships are derived for continental earthquakes and nuclear explosions, and discrimination is investigated at small magnitudes. I will show that m b (Lg), as devised by NUTTLI (1973), is transpor...

The apparent explosion moment: Inferences of volumetric moment due to source medium damage by underground nuclear explosions

“…On a plot of log[ I ] ( x axis) versus M s ( y axis), data points at lower yields move to the right ( I is larger) and down ( M s decreases), giving a slope greater than one. Regression analysis on a compilation of log[ I ]‐ M s observations for nuclear explosions is consistent with this prediction [ Patton , 2001, see Figure 4.5]. For a smaller ensemble made up of just Pahute Mesa explosions, linear regression of log[ I ] versus MLE M s values reported by Stevens and Murphy [2001] gives a slope of 1.18 ± 0.05 in good agreement with 1.12 ± 0.04 from Patton [2001].…”

Regional seismic observations of the 9 October 2006 underground nuclear explosion in North Korea and the influence of crustal structure on regional phases

“…Regional seismic wavefields from both nuclear explosions and natural earthquakes typically consist of mantle lid head waves ( Pn and Sn ), crustally reflected (or guided) waves ( Pg and Lg ), and fundamental mode Rayleigh waves ( Rg ) (Figures 2, 3, and 4) [e.g., Hong and Xie , 2005]. Since, however, the Rg waves from nuclear explosions are typically weaker than those from natural earthquakes [ Patton , 2001], the regional seismic records for underground nuclear explosions are usually dominated by Lg .…”

A transportable scale for central Europe and implications for low-magnitude discrimination

“…The central Asian data set consists of 120 crustal earthquakes located in a region 35°–52°N by ∼75°–100°E. The m b ( Lg ) values were measured by Patton (2001a,b) using a four‐station network: AAK, MAK, NIL and WMQ. M s values were taken from the ISC catalogue.…”

“…Current developments in nuclear test detection are often motivated by the need to improve broad‐area monitoring capabilities at low magnitudes. Such is the motivation of this paper, where we follow up recent studies (Patton 2001a; referred to as P01a) investigating the transportability of Nuttli's m b ( Lg ) and the discrimination potential of M s − m b ( Lg ) at low magnitudes. Lg waves are well suited for low‐magnitude monitoring since they are usually the largest signals on regional seismograms.…”