Constraints on Source Parameters on Deep Moonquakes and Lunar Interior Structure

Abstract:

The NASA Apollo mission realized the first and only seismic network on the Moon consisting of 4 seismic stations (Apollo 12, 14, 15 and 16). The seismic recording obtained by the network revealed that the most active lunar seismic events occurred in the lunar deep region at about 700 to 1200 km depth, which are called as deep moonquakes (e.g., Nakamura, 2005). The deep moonquakes repeatedly occur at the identical source with lunar tidal period depending on the relative positions of the Moon, the Earth and the Sun (e.g., Lammlein, 1977). On the other hand, the occurrence mechanism of the deep moonquakes is still unclear because we do not yet understand the source parameters such as focal mechanism, seismic moment and source spectrum.

 Yamada et al. (2013) analyzed the seismic data from Apollo 12 station to derive seismic moment distribution for active 15 deep moonquakes and showed that the seismic moments were different source by source. However, we found that the amplitudes of deep moonquakes observed at Apollo 15 and 16 stations cannot be well explained by our seismic moment distribution derived from the Apollo 12 data (Yamada et al., 2014). The higher seismic quality factors of S-wave are required to explain attenuation of amplitude of the deep moonquakes. 

 This discrepancy may be also due to assumption of constant radiation pattern (strike dip, slip) in our previous studies. The amplitude of seismic event is determined from seismic moment, radiation pattern and lunar interior structure through which the seismic rays pass. Nakamura (1978) indicated that the radiation pattern varies with time by analyzing of the ratio of amplitudes of the same deep event observed at two stations. In this study, we investigate possible radiation pattern and seismic quality factor and seismic moments so as to explain the amplitude ratios of the same deep event observed at three stations (Apollo12, 15 and 16) and absolute amplitude of the deep events at each station using Markov-Chain Monte Carlo inversion method. We will present these results and discuss the possible source mechanism of the deep moonquakes.