Postseismic Crustal Deformation Research Articles

Anisotropic structure at shallow depths across the Japan Trench

Anisotropic structures within the crust are frequently perceived to originate from stress-induced cracks, which have been mainly estimated on land through different wave speeds of orthogonally polarized S waves propagating in the anisotropic media. However, such estimations of crustal anisotropic structures in ocean areas, particularly for subduction zones around trenches, have not been investigated in detail due to the lack of long-term ocean bottom observations. In this study, we used ocean bottom seismometers of a permanent network deployed across the Japan Trench and the southern part of the Kuril Trench and applied the shear-wave splitting analysis to P-to-s converted waves extracted by receiver function analyses using teleseismic events. We estimated the anisotropic structures in marine sediments and oceanic crust for the incoming Pacific Plate and marine sediments for the overriding North American Plate. The obtained fast polarization directions for the incoming plate are mainly oriented to be parallel to the trench axis for the marine sediment and oceanic crust, which are formed by normal faults and cracks due to the upward plate bending in the outer-rise region, whereas results for marine sediments at the northern part of the Japan Trench are obliquely aligned to the trench axis. The oblique direction is consistent with the magnetic lineations of the incoming plate, indicating that ancient faults within the plate, which were formed in the shallow part of the crust during the creation of the oceanic plate at the ridge, are reactivated by the plate flexure. For the overriding plate, the fast polarization directions in the northern and southern parts of the study area are nearly normal to the trench axis. The central part shows two distinct features: the fast polarization directions parallel to the trench axis and small degrees of anisotropy. These patterns may reflect crack alignments associated with the lateral variation in postseismic crustal deformation after the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake. Our results suggest substantial lateral variations in the stress field at the tip of the overriding plate along the strike direction.Graphical

Detectability of low-viscosity zone along lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary beneath the Nankai Trough, Japan, based on high-fidelity viscoelastic simulation

After the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake, a seafloor observation system observed rapid landward deformation. These seafloor observation data are potentially explicable via modeling of a low-viscosity zone under the subducting plate, called the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB). However, the effect of a low-viscosity LAB has not been empirically examined in past earthquakes because of the absence of seafloor observation data, which are expected to have high sensitivity in the detection of a low-viscosity LAB. The Nankai Trough, southwest Japan, is one location where seafloor geodetic stations are in operation that could detect a low-viscosity LAB after a future earthquake. Therefore, we quantitatively model how the low-viscosity of the LAB is expected to affect postseismic crustal deformation following an anticipated future large earthquake under the Nankai Trough. Calculating viscoelastic deformation using a model that takes into account the realistic crustal structure in the southwestern Japanese Archipelago, we examine the effects of LAB viscosity on surface deformation patterns. The results show for very low LAB viscosities (2.5×1017\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$2.5 \ imes 10^{17}$$\\end{document} Pa s), rapid landward displacement as large as 38 cm/yr occurs in the offshore area, with uplift and subsidence patterns highly dependent on the viscosity structure. Especially in the first year after the earthquake, the difference in deformation between the cases with and without a low-viscosity LAB was much larger than the observational error level of the current seafloor observation system. For such low LAB viscosities, the probability of detection is therefore high. On the other hand, for moderately low LAB viscosities (2.5×1018\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$2.5 \ imes 10^{18}$$\\end{document} Pa s), the deformation patterns in the cases with and without a low-viscosity LAB are similar. Indeed, the difference in displacement lies within the observational error level of the current observational network, so detection is expected to be difficult for a LAB of only moderately low-viscosity. However, such a LAB may be detected by improving observational accuracy in the Global Navigation Satellite System–acoustic observation technique by performing more frequent measurements. Additional detection potential lies in expected future accuracy improvements in vertical displacement estimates at the DONET stations.Graphical

12th June 2017 offshore Karaburun-Lesvos Island earthquake coseismic deformation analysis using continuous GPS and seismological data

Understanding the tectonic mechanism generated by the earthquakes and faults is possible only if the preseismic, coseismic and postseismic crustal deformation related to the earthquakes is determined properly. By the analysis of continuous GPS (CGPS) coordinate time series, it is possible to estimate the crustal deformation. Besides, accelerometer records at strong motion stations (SMSs) may support the CGPS-based estimates. In this study, CGPS coordinate time series were analyzed in comparison with the accelerometer records for clarifying the coseismic deformation caused by the earthquake occurred in the surrounding of Lesvos fault located in the northern part of Karaburun within the active mechanism that controls the area where the earthquakes occurred during June 2017 on the offshore Karaburun. The activity of this fault continued throughout June 2017 until the time when the main shock (12th June 2017, Mw= 6.2) occurred. We analyzed CGPS coordinate time series of AYVL and CESM and DEUG stations to determine the coseismic deformation due to the offshore Karaburun-Lesvos Island earthquake using the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method. Besides, the EMD method results were compared with the accelerometer records obtained from the SMSs close to the CGPS stations and CGPS-based results were found to be consistent with the accelerometer records. Additionally, the horizontal displacements were calculated by Coulomb 3.3 software using different focal plane solutions and compared with CGPS-based results. Consequently, it is suggested an integrated use of CGPS and strong motion accelerometer networks for the joint assessment of the crustal deformation and for the cost-effective use of existing observation networks as well as for the establishment of future observation networks at lower cost.

Post-seismic crustal internal deformation in a layered earth model

SUMMARY This study introduces a novel method for computing post-seismic crustal internal deformation in a layered earth model. The surface dislocation Love number (DLN) calculated by the reciprocity theorem was implemented as the initial value. Furthermore, numerical integration of the value from the Earth's surface to the interior was undertaken to obtain the internal DLN. This method does not require a combination of the general solution and particular solution for the calculation of internal deformation above the seismic source, thus avoiding the loss of precision. When the post-seismic deformation within a certain period is calculated, the particular solutions at the beginning and end of the considered period cancel each other. This simplifies the calculation of post-seismic internal deformation. The numerical results depict that as the degrees increase, the post-seismic DLN reaches stability in a shorter interval of time. Thus, for improved efficiency of the post-seismic internal deformation calculation, the post-seismic DLNs should be calculated within 2000 degree and integrated with the coseismic results. As an application, the post-seismic Coulomb failure stress changes (∆CFS) induced by the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake in the near field around the Japanese archipelagos and two major faults in Northeast China were simulated. The results exhibit that the ∆CFS values in the near field agree well with those simulated by the method in a half-space layered earth model, thus verifying the present method. The coseismic ∆CFS on the Mishan-Dunhua fault in Northeast China, as an example, is only 0.094–0.668 KPa. However, the ∆CFS caused by the viscoelastic relaxation of the mantle within 5 yr following the 2011 Tohoku-Oki event on the same fault exceeds the coseismic results. Therefore, the cumulative effect of the viscoelastic relaxation of the mantle is deserving of attention.

Viscoelastic relaxation of the upper mantle and afterslip following the 2014 MW8.1 Iquique earthquake

An improved understanding of postseismic crustal deformation following large subduction earthquakes may help to better understand the rheological properties of upper mantle and the slip behavior of subduction interface. Here we construct a three-dimensional viscoelastic finite element model to study the postseismic deformation of the 2014 MW8.1 Iquique, Chile earthquake. Elastic units in the model include the subducting slab, continental and oceanic lithospheres. Rheological units include the mantle wedge, the oceanic asthenosphere and upper mantle. We use a 2 ​km thick weak shear zone attached to the subduction fault to simulate the time-dependent stress-driven afterslip. The viscoelastic relaxation in the rheological units is represented by the Burgers rheology. We carry out grid-searches on the shear zone viscosity, thickness and viscosity of the asthenosphere, and they are determined to be 1017 ​Pa ​s, 110 ​km and 2 ​× ​1018 ​Pa ​s, respectively. The stress-driven afterlsip within the first two years is up to ~47 ​cm and becomes negligible after two years (no more than 5 ​cm/yr). Our results suggest that a thin, low-viscosity oceanic asthenosphere together with a weak shear zone attached to the fault are required to better reproduce the observed postseismic deformation.

Adjoint-based direct data assimilation of GNSS time series for optimizing frictional parameters and predicting postseismic deformation following the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake

Postseismic Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) time series followed by megathrust earthquakes can be interpreted as a result of afterslip on the plate interface, especially in its early phase. Afterslip is a stress release process accumulated by adjacent coseismic slip and can be considered a recovery process for future events during earthquake cycles. Spatio-temporal evolution of afterslip often triggers subsequent earthquakes through stress perturbation. Therefore, it is important to quantitatively capture the spatio-temporal evolution of afterslip and related postseismic crustal deformation and to predict their future evolution with a physics-based simulation. We developed an adjoint data assimilation method, which directly assimilates GNSS time series into a physics-based model to optimize the frictional parameters that control the slip behavior on the fault. The developed method was validated with synthetic data. Through the optimization of frictional parameters, the spatial distributions of afterslip could roughly (but not in detail) be reproduced if the observation noise was included. The optimization of frictional parameters reproduced not only the postseismic displacements used for the assimilation, but also improved the prediction skill of the following time series. Then, we applied the developed method to the observed GNSS time series for the first 15 days following the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake. The frictional parameters in the afterslip regions were optimized to A–B ~ O(10 kPa), A ~ O(100 kPa), and L ~ O(10 mm). A large afterslip is inferred on the shallower side of the coseismic slip area. The optimized frictional parameters quantitatively predicted the postseismic GNSS time series for the following 15 days. These characteristics can also be detected if the simulation variables can be simultaneously optimized. The developed data assimilation method, which can be directly applied to GNSS time series following megathrust earthquakes, is an effective quantitative evaluation method for assessing risks of subsequent earthquakes and for monitoring the recovery process of megathrust earthquakes.

Coseismic and Postseismic Crustal Deformation Associated With the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake Sequence Revealed by PALSAR‐2 Pixel Tracking and InSAR

AbstractCoseismic and postseismic crustal deformations caused by earthquake episodes are important in understanding the mechanisms of these episodes as well as the fault rheology near an epicentral area. Specifically, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) pixel tracking can depict high‐resolution crustal deformation fields associated with earthquakes and volcanic activities without installing on‐site observation instruments. In this study, we investigate the coseismic and postseismic near‐fault crustal deformations associated with the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake sequence in southwest Japan using ALOS‐2/PALSAR‐2 (Phased Array‐type L‐band SAR‐2) data. Coseismic three‐dimensional (3‐D) displacement fields inferred from PALSAR‐2 pixel tracking data showed 1.6 m of horizontal displacements and 2 m of subsidence at maximum, despite the mainshock focal mechanism that was dominated by strike‐slip components with N‐S extension axes. The locations of large displacement variations along surface ruptures due to the mainshock were almost identical to a region where infrastructure was damaged, thus implying the generation of strong ground seismic waves. By using conventional InSAR stacking, we inferred two independent quasi‐east‐west and quasi‐vertical displacement fields as cumulative postseismic deformations following the mainshock over a period of about 2 years. The near‐fault postseismic deformation represented complicated displacement characteristics that could not be explained by a single physical process. Deformation signals around Aso volcano were interpreted by the effects of postseismic physical processes as well as geological heterogeneous structures.

Changes in groundwater radon concentrations caused by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake

This study examined radon concentrations in springs in Kumamoto and Aso regions following the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, in addition to monitoring springs near the Futagawa-Hinagu fault zone for more than two years following the earthquake to investigate the relationship between crustal deformation and the radon concentration variation. We compared these radon concentrations with those obtained prior to the earthquake. The springs that showed elevated radon concentrations were located within the compressive strain quadrant of the earthquake. The post-seismic concentration variations of the monitored springs can be explained by rock porosity changes. These results suggest that the radon concentration in spring water is affected by porosity changes caused by stress changes derived from earthquake deformation and subsequent post-seismic relaxation. Our results are consistent with the previously inferred permeability enhancement model. Mass conservation calculations for radon release yielded porosity changes ranging from 30% to 70% for some aquifer systems. This study explores the possibility of radon monitoring as a tool to investigate not only seismic precursors but also post-seismic crustal deformation and aquifer property changes due to large earthquakes on a regional scale.

Tremor and Inferred Slow Slip Associated With Afterslip of the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake

AbstractCharacterizing shallow interplate slip is essential for modeling the potential generation of megathrust earthquakes and tsunamis. Large postseismic crustal deformation caused by the 2011 Tohoku‐Oki earthquake suggests the occurrence of shallow afterslip, but it is unclear what kind of slip is dominant at the shallow plate interface. Here we report episodic tremor activity south of the primary rupture area based on ocean bottom seismometer observations. Five tremor episodes with recurrence intervals of ~60 days show migration behavior and shear mechanisms consistent with plate subduction, indicating the occurrences of the episodic slow slip events in the vicinity of the afterslip area. The association of slow slip events and afterslip sheds new light on the frictional nature and stress state of shallow megathrusts and may help predict the possible rupture extent of future earthquakes.

Asthenosphere rheology inferred from observations of the 2012 Indian Ocean earthquake.

The concept of a weak asthenospheric layer underlying Earth's mobile tectonic plates is fundamental to our understanding of mantle convection and plate tectonics. However, little is known about the mechanical properties of the asthenosphere (the part of the upper mantle below the lithosphere) underlying the oceanic crust, which covers about 60 per cent of Earth's surface. Great earthquakes cause large coseismic crustal deformation in areas hundreds of kilometres away from and below the rupture area. Subsequent relaxation of the earthquake-induced stresses in the viscoelastic upper mantle leads to prolonged postseismic crustal deformation that may last several decades and can be recorded with geodetic methods. The observed postseismic deformation helps us to understand the rheological properties of the upper mantle, but so far such measurements have been limited to continental-plate boundary zones. Here we consider the postseismic deformation of the very large (moment magnitude 8.6) 2012 Indian Ocean earthquake to provide by far the most direct constraint on the structure of oceanic mantle rheology. In the first three years after the Indian Ocean earthquake, 37 continuous Global Navigation Satellite Systems stations in the region underwent horizontal northeastward displacements of up to 17 centimetres in a direction similar to that of the coseismic offsets. However, a few stations close to the rupture area that had experienced subsidence of up to about 4 centimetres during the earthquake rose by nearly 7 centimetres after the earthquake. Our three-dimensional viscoelastic finite-element models of the post-earthquake deformation show that a thin (30-200 kilometres), low-viscosity (having a steady-state Maxwell viscosity of (0.5-10) × 1018 pascal seconds) asthenospheric layer beneath the elastic oceanic lithosphere is required to produce the observed postseismic uplift.

Geodetic analysis of post-seismic crustal deformations occurring in South Korea due to the Tohoku-Oki earthquake

Despite its low frequency of resident earthquakes, the Korean Peninsula is indirectly affected by the large earthquakes occurring in the Japanese Islands. In this study, GPS coordinate time series were analyzed to examine the changes in the crustal movement of the Korean Peninsula due to the 2011 Tohoku-Oki (TO) earthquake. A comparison of the pre- and post-seismic crustal deformation velocities indicated that the crustal movements of the Korean Peninsula had a velocity of 29 mm/year and an azimuth of 113° before the earthquake, and a velocity of 36 mm/year and an azimuth of 108° after the earthquake. Therefore, the crustal movement velocity significantly increased, and the direction of the movement headed more eastward compared to that before the earthquake. The calculation of the progress rate of the post-seismic crustal deformation after eliminating the Euler pole velocity and annual cycle signal from the coordinate time series showed that about 80% of the total post-seismic crustal deformation had progressed in the Korean Peninsula. In addition, analysis of principal strain change indicated that for the principal strain applied to the Korean Peninsula, the east-west dilatation increased and the north-south contraction decreased compared to those in the co-seismic stage.

Coseismic and postseismic deformation estimation of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Kanto Region, Japan, using InSAR time series analysis and GPS

Abstract We propose a methodology using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) time series analysis and a single GPS station to estimate the coseismic and postseismic crustal deformations in the Kanto region, Japan, which has been affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. The proposed methodology depends on choosing a proper deformation trend(s) to accurately describe the earthquake deformation signature by studying the deformation time series of a single GPS station. The modeled deformation trend is subtracted from the unwrapped phase maps to separate the main deformation signature from the imposed errors. Some deformation components, not described by the model(s), will leak to the residual phase maps which will be subjected to temporal and spatial filtering. The final corrected unwrapped phase maps are estimated by restoring the modeled deformation trend to the filtered residual phase maps and finally the deformation time series is estimated using a least squares technique. The proposed methodology was designed to retrieve complex and fine surface deformations in areas that have been affected by large dominating deformation signatures and contain at a least single GPS station. The methodology was tested using Envisat-ASAR C-band images and validation was carried out using GPS stations resulting in a mean RMS error of 6.9 mm. The estimated deformation time series shows a differential postseismic deformation pattern that can be attributed to an off Boso peninsula motion triggered by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.

Analysis of the Far-Field Co-seismic and Post-seismic Responses Caused by the 2011 M W 9.0 Tohoku-Oki Earthquake

We analyzed the far-field co-seismic response of the M W 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake, which occurred on March 11th 2011 at the Japan Trench plate boundary. Our analysis indicates that the far-field co-seismic displacement was very sensitive to the magnitude of this event, and that a significant co-seismic surface displacement from earthquakes in the Japan Trench region can be observed in Eurasia only for events of M W ≥ 8.0. We also analyzed the temporal characteristics of the near-field post-seismic deformation caused by the afterslip and the viscoelastic relaxation following the Japan earthquake. Next, we performed a simulation to analyze the influence of the two post-seismic effects previously mentioned on the far-field post-seismic crustal deformation. The simulation results help explain the post-seismic crustal deformation observed on the Chinese mainland 1.5 years after the event. Fitting results revealed that after the M W 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake, the afterslip decayed exponentially, and may eventually disappear after 4 years. The far-field post-seismic displacement in Eurasia caused by the viscoelastic relaxation following this earthquake will reach the same magnitude as the co-seismic displacement in approximately 10 years. In addition, the co- and post-seismic Coulomb stress on several NE-trending faults in the northeastern and northern regions of the Chinese mainland were significantly enhanced because of the M W 9.0 earthquake, especially on the Yilan-Yitong and the Dunhua-Mishan faults (the northern section of the Tan-Lu fault zone) as well as the Yalujiang and the Fuyu-Zhaodong faults.

Numerical Verification Criteria for Coseismic and Postseismic Crustal Deformation Analysis with Large-scale High-fidelity Model

Abstract Numerical verification of postseismic crustal deformation analysis, computed using a large-scale finite element simulation, was carried out, by proposing new criteria that consider the characteristics of the target phenomenon. Specifically, pointwise displacement was used in the verification. In addition, the accuracy of the numerical solution was explicitly shown by considering the observation error of the data used for validation. The computational resource required for each analysis implies that high- performance computing techniques are necessary to obtain a verified numerical solution of crustal de- formation analysis for the Japanese Islands. Such verification in crustal deformation simulations should take on greater importance in the future, since continuous improvement in the quality and quantity of crustal deformation data is expected.

Spectral-finite element approach to post-seismic relaxation in a spherical compressible Earth: application to gravity changes due to the 2004 Sumatra–Andaman earthquake

Global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) have revealed that a mega-thrust earthquake that occurs in an island-arc trench system causes post-seismic crustal deformation. Such crustal deformation data have been interpreted by combining three mechanisms: afterslip, poroelastic rebound and viscoelastic relaxation. It is seismologically important to determine the contribution of each mechanism because it provides frictional properties between the plate boundaries and viscosity estimates in the asthenosphere which are necessary to evaluate the stress behaviour during earthquake cycles. However, the observation sites of GNSS are mostly deployed over land and can detect only a small part of the large-scale deformation, which precludes a clear separation of the mechanisms. To extend the spatial coverage of the deformation area, recent studies started to use satellite gravity data that can detect long-wavelength deformations over the ocean. To date, compared with theoretical models for calculating the post-seismic crustal deformation, a few models have been proposed to interpret the corresponding gravity variations. Previous approaches have adopted approximations for the effects of compressibility, sphericity and self-gravitation when computing gravity changes. In this study, a new spectral-finite element approach is presented to consider the effects of material compressibility for Burgers viscoelastic earth model with a laterally heterogeneous viscosity distribution. After the basic principles are explained, it is applied to the 2004 Sumatra–Andaman earthquake. For this event, post-seismic deformation mechanisms are still a controversial topic. Using the developed approach, it is shown that the spatial patterns of gravity change generated by the above three mechanisms clearly differ from one another. A comparison of the theoretical simulation results with the satellite gravity data obtained from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment reveals that both afterslip and viscoelastic relaxation are occurring. Considering the spatial patterns in satellite gravity fields is an effective method for investigating post-seismic deformation mechanisms.

Wide-area land subsidence caused by “the 2011 Off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake”

This paper gives an overview of the crustal deformation caused by “the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake” (hereinafter: “the Tohoku Earthquake”) as detected by the GPS Earth Observation Network (GEONET), a GPS continuous observation system operated by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI), and of ground deformation resulting from liquefaction triggered by the earthquake motion as determined by a leveling survey. A very large part of the Japanese archipelago was affected by the crustal deformation caused by the mainshock. The subsidence in the Pacific coastal area of the Tohoku region is especially remarkable. Based on a resurvey after the earthquake, the GSI revised the coordinates and heights of survey marks, including the Origin of the Japanese Horizontal Control Network and the Origin of the Japanese Vertical Control Network. We estimated the geometry of the seismogenic fault of the Tohoku Earthquake, as well as a slip model for the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, based on crustal deformation data. Postseismic crustal deformation was also observed by GEONET. Even though the area that coseismicaly subsided is undergoing partial uplift from postseismic deformation, such uplift is not rapid enough to make up for the coseismic subsidence within the next several years.The earthquake caused liquefaction in large parts of the Kanto Region, especially on the Tokyo Bay side and at the lower reaches of the Tone River. Liquefaction was concentrated in areas of land reclamation and former river channels, where it is easy to recognize using time-series geospatial information such as olden topographic maps and olden aerial photographs. To determine the amount of land subsidence (cm) due to liquefaction in Urayasu City, the GSI carried out a leveling survey and compared the differences between pre- and post-earthquake LIDAR survey data with the relative subsidence obtained by leveling.

Coseismic and postseismic crustal deformations of the Korean Peninsula caused by the 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku earthquake, Japan, from global positioning system data

Terra Nova, 24, 295–300, 2012AbstractWe present the first analysis on the crustal deformation in the Korean peninsula by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. The great Mw 9.0 earthquake extended the Korean peninsula along E–W direction even though it is at a distance longer than one thousand kilometres from the epicentre. The coseismic surface displacements from 1.0 cm (in the southwestern part) to 5.4 cm (in the eastern part) were detected by continuous GPS observation. The estimated coseismic strains from the displacements correspond to approximately 6–28 years of accumulated strains in the Korean peninsula. The postseismic displacements during 162 days after the earthquake showed 43–48% of the coseismic displacements. The results imply that the contractional strains of the Korean peninsula have been accumulated by the locked subduction zone off, and a part of accumulated strains has been released by the mainshock and the afterslip of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.

Lower atmospheric anomalies following the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake observed by GPS measurements

The Mw=8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake occurred on May 12, 2008 at the Longmen Shan fault, the western Sichuan Basin, China, killing more than ten thousand people in several cities and causing large economic losses. Global Positioning System (GPS) observations have provided unique insights on this event, including co-seismic ionospheric disturbances, co-/post-seismic crustal deformations and fault slip distributions. However, the processes and the driving mechanisms are still not clear, particularly possible seismo-lower atmospheric–ionospheric coupling behaviors. In this paper, the lower atmospheric (tropospheric) variations are investigated using the total zenith tropospheric delay (ZTD) from GPS measurements around this event. It has the first found co-seismic tropospheric anomalies during the mainshock with an increase and then a decrease, mainly in the zenith hydrostatic delay component (ZHD), while it is also supported by the same pattern of surface-observed atmospheric pressure changes at co-located GPS site that are driven by the ground-coupled air waves from ground vertical motion of seismic waves propagation. Therefore, the co-seismic tropospheric disturbances (CTD) indicate again the acoustic coupling effect of the atmosphere and the solid-Earth with air wave propagation from the ground to the top atmosphere.

Comprhensive Approach to the Analysis of the 3D Kinematics Deformation with appliction to the Kenai Peninsula

Comprhensive Approach to the Analysis of the 3D Kinematics Deformation with appliction to the Kenai PeninsulaThe problem of analyzing surface deformation of the Earth's crust in three-dimensions is discussed. The isoparametric and Lagrangian formulations of deformation are extended from 2D to 3D. Analytical and numerical investigation of problem conditioning proves that analyzing the 3D kinematics of deformation can be an ill-posed problem. The required mathematical elements for solving this problem, including sensitivity analysis of the deformation tensor and regularization, are proposed. Regularized deformation tensors were computed using the method of truncated singular value decomposition (TSVD). The optimal regularization parameter was attained by minimizing regularization errors. Regularization errors were assessed using the corresponding 2D results of deformation analysis. The proposed methods were applied to the GPS network in the Kenai Peninsula, south-central Alaska, in order to compute the 3D pattern of postseismic crustal deformation in this area. Computed deformation in the vertical direction is compared to the existing pattern of vertical deformation obtained from the combination of precise leveling, gravity and GPS measurements from other studies on this area.

On the resolution of shallow mantle viscosity structure using postearthquake relaxation data: Application to the 1999 Hector Mine, California, earthquake

Most models of lower crust/mantle viscosity inferred from postearthquake relaxation assume one or two uniform‐viscosity layers. A few existing models possess apparently significant radially variable viscosity structure in the shallow mantle (e.g., the upper 200 km), but the resolution of such variations is not clear. We use a geophysical inverse procedure to address the resolving power of inferred shallow mantle viscosity structure using postearthquake relaxation data. We apply this methodology to 9 years of GPS‐constrained crustal motions after the 16 October 1999 M = 7.1 Hector Mine earthquake. After application of a differencing method to isolate the postearthquake signal from the “background” crustal velocity field, we find that surface velocities diminish from ∼20 mm/yr in the first few months to ≲2 mm/yr after 2 years. Viscoelastic relaxation of the mantle, with a time‐dependent effective viscosity prescribed by a Burgers body, provides a good explanation for the postseismic crustal deformation, capturing both the spatial and temporal pattern. In the context of the Burgers body model (which involves a transient viscosity and steady state viscosity), a resolution analysis based on the singular value decomposition reveals that at most, two constraints on depth‐dependent steady state mantle viscosity are provided by the present data set. Uppermost mantle viscosity (depth ≲ 60 km) is moderately resolved, but deeper viscosity structure is poorly resolved. The simplest model that explains the data better than that of uniform steady state mantle viscosity involves a linear gradient in logarithmic viscosity with depth, with a small increase from the Moho to 220 km depth. However, the viscosity increase is not statistically significant. This suggests that the depth‐dependent steady state viscosity is not resolvably different from uniformity in the uppermost mantle.