Source Parameters for Moderate Earthquakes in the Zagros Mountains with Implications for the Depth Extent of Seismicity

Journal Article · Mon Feb 23 04:00:00 EST 2009 · Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1785/0120080314· OSTI ID:966230

Adams, A; Brazier, R; Nyblade, A; Rodgers, A; Al-Amri, A

Six earthquakes within the Zagros Mountains with magnitudes between 4.9 and 5.7 have been studied to determine their source parameters. These events were selected for study because they were reported in open catalogs to have lower crustal or upper mantle source depths and because they occurred within an area of the Zagros Mountains where crustal velocity structure has been constrained by previous studies. Moment tensor inversion of regional broadband waveforms have been combined with forward modeling of depth phases on short period teleseismic waveforms to constrain source depths and moment tensors. Our results show that all six events nucleated within the upper crust (<11 km depth) and have thrust mechanisms. This finding supports other studies that call into question the existence of lower crustal or mantle events beneath the Zagros Mountains.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 966230
• Report Number(s): LLNL-JRNL-410816
• Journal Information: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Journal Name: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 99; ISSN BSSAAP; ISSN 0037-1106
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
EARTHQUAKES
MOUNTAINS
SEISMICITY
SIMULATION
VELOCITY
WAVE FORMS