A uniform parameterization of moment tensors

Abstract:

A moment tensor is a 3 x 3 symmetric matrix that expresses an earthquake source. We construct a parameterization of the five-dimensional space of all moment tensors of unit norm. The coordinates associated with the parameterization are closely related to moment tensor orientations and source types. The parameterization is uniform, in the sense that equal volumes in the coordinate domain of the parameterization correspond to equal volumes of moment tensors. Uniformly distributed points in the coordinate domain therefore give uniformly distributed moment tensors. A cartesian grid in the coordinate domain can be used to search efficiently over moment tensors. We find that uniformly distributed moment tensors have uniformly distributed orientations (eigenframes), but that their source types (eigenvalue triples) are distributed so as to favor double couples. An appropriate choice of a priori moment tensor probability is a prerequisite for parameter estimation. As a seemingly sensible choice, we consider the homogeneous probability, in which equal volumes of moment tensors are equally likely. We believe that it will lead to improved characterization of source processes.