Relative earthquake location for remote offshore and tectonically active continental regions using surface waves

Abstract:

Earthquake locations are a fundamental parameter necessary for reliable seismic monitoring and seismic event characterization. Within dense continental seismic networks, event locations can be accurately and precisely estimated. However, for many regions of interest, existing catalog data and traditional location methods provide neither accurate nor precise hypocenters. In particular, for isolated continental and offshore areas, seismic event locations are estimated primarily using distant observations, often resulting in inaccurate and imprecise locations. The use of larger, moderate-size events is critical to the construction of useful travel-time corrections in regions of strong geologic heterogeneity. Double difference methods applied to cross-correlation measured Rayleigh and Love wave time shifts are an effective tool at providing improved epicentroid locations and relative origin-time shifts in these regions. Previous studies have applied correlation of R1 and G1 waveforms to moderate-magnitude vertical strike-slip transform-fault and normal faulting earthquakes from nearby ridges. In this study, we explore the utility of phase-match filtering techniques applied to surface waves to improve cross-correlation measurements, particularly for smaller magnitude seismic events. We also investigate the challenges associated with applying surface-wave location methods to shallow earthquakes in tectonically active continental regions.