IngentaConnect Source parameters of the Pinotepa Nacional, Mexico, earthquake of...

Abstract:

We use near-field accelerograms recorded by the very broadband seismographic station of PNIG to locate the Pinotepa Nacional earthquake of 27 March, 1996 (Mw = 5.4) and to determine its source parameters. The data from PNIG on P and S arrival times, the azimuth of the arrival of P wave, and the angle of incidence of the P wave at the free surface permit the determination of the location (16.365° N, 98.303° W, depth = 18 km) and the origin time (12:34;48.35) of the earthquake.

The displacement seismograms of the earthquake clearly shows contribution from the near-field terms. We compute a suite of synthetic seismograms for local mechanisms in the vicinity of the mechanism reported by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and compare them with the observed seismograms at PNIG. The point whose synthetics fit the observed records well has the following parameters: seismic moment, M0 = 1.2 × 10^24 dyne-cm; source time function: a triangular pulse of 0.9 sec duration; fault plane: strike phiv = 291°, dip dgr = 10°, and rake lgr =80°. The location and the source parameters obtained from the analysis of PNIG records differ significantly from those reported by the USGS. This demonstrates again, what has been shown by some previous researchers, that high-quality recordings from a single near-field station can considerably improve the estimation of the source parameters of an earthquake.

The main event was preceded by a subevent which occurred sim 0.18 sec before and whose seismic moment was sim 1% of the main event. It is possible that even this subevent was preceded by a couple of smaller subevents. This earthquake supports the body of evidence showing that an earthquake begins with a sequence of smaller subevents, cascading in the occurrence of the main event.

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Source parameters of the Pinotepa Nacional, Mexico, earthquake of 27 March, 1996 (Mw = 5.4) estimated from near-field recordings of a single station