Berkeley Seismological Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley,

By using small-to-moderate-sized earthquakes located within ~200 km of San Francisco, we characterize the scaling of the ground motions for frequencies ranging between 0.25 and 20 Hz, obtaining results for geometric spreading, Q(f), and site parameters using the methods of Mayeda et al. (2005) and Malagnini et al. (2004). The results of the analysis show that, throughout the Bay Area, the average regional attenuation of the ground motion can be modeled with a bilinear geometric spreading function with a 30 km crossover distance, coupled to an anelastic function exp(-pi*f*r/V*Q(f)) , where: Q(f)=180f^0.42. A body-wave geometric spreading, g(r)= r^-1.0, is used at short hypocentral distances (r < 30 km), whereas g(r)= r^-0.6 fits the attenuation of the spectral amplitudes at hypocentral distances beyond the crossover. The frequency-dependent site effects at 12 of the Berkeley Digital Seismic Network (BDSN) stations were evaluated in an absolute sense using coda-derived source spectra. Our results show: i) the absolute site response for frequencies ranging between 0.3 Hz and 2.0 Hz correlate with independent estimates of the local magnitude residuals (dML) for each of the stations; ii) moment-magnitudes (MW) derived from our path and site-corrected spectra are in excellent agreement with those independently derived using full-waveform modeling as well as coda-derived source spectra; iii) we use our weak-motion-based relationships to predict motions region wide for the Loma Prieta earthquake, well above the maximum magnitude spanned by our data set, on a completely different set of stations. Results compare well with measurements taken at specific NEHRP site classes; iv) an empirical, magnitude-dependent scaling was necessary for the Brune stress parameter in order to match the large magnitude spectral accelerations and peak ground velocities with our weak-motion-based model.

Large numbers of small earthquakes recorded over 2 decades and analyzed with advanced techniques are used to characterize the detailed kinematics, structure and recurrence interval scaling properties of micro-seismicity in a 4 4 km lateral and 6 km deep crustal volume encompassing the region of the SAFOD deep drilling experiment. The characterization reveals that the seismically active San Andreas fault in the vicinity of SAFOD’s repeating magnitude 2 target earthquakes is composed of two sub-parallel fault strands that are creeping at comparable rates and that one of the strands lies between the SAFOD drilling platform and SAFOD’s target events. In the region, 55% of the earthquakes are members of 52 characteristically repeating earthquake sequences. The recurrence intervals of the repeating target events are consistent with the interval scaling of the other sequences. However this scaling is contrary to that expected from standard constant stress-drop theory.

We report on the installation of a long-term buried ocean-floor broadband seismic station (MOBB) in Monterey Bay, California (USA), 40km off-shore, at a water depth of 1000 m. The station was installed in April 2002 using a ship and ROV, in a collaborative effort between the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory (BSL). The station is located on the western side of the San Gregorio Fault, a major fault in the San Andreas plate boundary fault system. In addition to a 3-component CMG-1T seismometer package, the station comprises a current meter and Differential Pressure Gauge, both sampled at high-enough frequency (1 Hz) to allow the study of relations between background noise on the seismometers and ocean waves and currents. The proximity of several land-based broadband seismic stations of the Berkeley Digital Seismic Network allows insightful comparisons of land/ocean background seismic noise at periods relevant to regional and teleseismic studies. The station is currently autonomous. Recording and battery packages are exchanged every 3 months during scheduled one day dives. Ultimately, this station will be linked to shore using continuous telemetry (cable and/or buoy) and will contribute to the earthquake notification system in Northern California. We present examples of earthquake and noise data recorded during the first 6 months of operation of MOBB. Lessons learned from these and continued recordings will help understand the nature and character of background noise in regional off-shore environments and provide a reference for the installation of future off-shore temporary and permanent broadband seismic stations.