Magnitude estimation of Koyna-Warna earthquakes, India

Abstract

The paper presents the current state of magnitude estimation for Koyna earthquakes exceeding magnitude 3.0. We estimate coda duration magnitude from analogue seismograms recorded on the short period vertical (SPZ) seismometer at Hyderabad seismic observatory HYB and determine moment magnitude using very broad-band (VBB) data from the Geoscope station (HYB)and short period digital data from the local seismic network of NationalGeophysical Research Institute (NGRI) around the Koyna and Warna reservoirs.Firstly, the seismograms of 97 Koyna earthquakes exceeding magnitude 4.0 havebeen used to establish a new empirical coda duration magnitude scale which includes the higher order terms of log10τ, where τ is the coda length in seconds. Four background noise levels (1, 2, 6 and 10 mm) areconsidered to estimate the coda duration. We found that the duration magnitudes for 1 mm background level are more stable than those for 2, 6 and 10 mm. The new coda duration magnitude (Mdnew) scale, for 1 mmlevel, is:Mdnew = –0.594 + 2.04 log10 τ – 0.0435 (log10τ)2The estimated Mdnew are compatible with the reported MS values of the NGRI observatory and the mb values of the United States Geological Survey (USGS). These magnitudes can be obtained within the standard deviation of ± 0.26 units of MS (NGRI). A new relatively homogeneous catalog for Koyna earthquakes of Mdnew ≥ 4.0 is obtained. The momentmagnitudes for 34 Koyna-Warna events of Mdnew ranging from 3.0 to 5.4 have been estimated using two techniques. The first utilizes amplitudes of band-pass filtered (between 15 and 30 sec) velocity traces of moderate Koyna-Warna earthquakes of MW} 4.4 to 5.4, we abbreviate the magnitude using MA. The second is based on the S-wave spectrum of short period seismograms of local earthquakes (MW 3.8). We recommend the use of both techniques whenever possible. The estimated moment magnitudes and Mdnew show an almost linear relationship with a standard deviation of ± 0.05.