Earthquake core inferred from near field observations

Abstract

The source processes of large shallow earthquakes are investigated based on the various field phenomena and on the seismograms recorded at short focal distances. The results from coseismic and postseismic field surveys in some source regions strongly show that there must be a particular region characterized by a large dislocation, large acceleration and extremely low aftershock activity. This specific region seems to have a relatively small dimension compared with the length of the main fault. The predominant short-period waves on the strong-motion seismograms are concentrated within the short intervals at the initial parts of P and S waves. This fact also suggests that the rupture elements generating the predominant short-period waves are not distributed over the entire surface of a single main fault but are concentrated in a small region. We call this confined small region in the source area “earthquake core”. The earthquake core is formed a little later than the start of smoothing dislocation and it may be located at some distance from the starting point of rupture.