Estimation of earthquake source parameters by the inversion of waveform data: synthetic waveforms

Abstract

Two methods are presented for the recovery of a time-dependent moment-tensor source from waveform data. One procedure utilizes multichannel signal-enhancement theory; in the other a multichannel vector-deconvolution approach, developed by Oldenburg (1982) and based on Backus-Gilbert inverse theory, is used. These methods have the advantage of being extremely flexible; both may be used either routinely or as research tools for studying particular earthquakes in detail. Both methods are also robust with respect to small errors in the Green's functions and may be used to refine estimates of source depth by minimizing the misfits to the data. The multichannel vector-deconvolution approach, although it requires more interaction, also allows a trade-off between resolution and accuracy, and complete statistics for the solution are obtained. The procedures have been tested using a number of synthetic body-wave data sets, including point and complex sources, with satisfactory results.