Estimation of Moment Magnitude (M) for Small Events (M<4) on Local Networks

Research Article| September 01, 2014 Estimation of Moment Magnitude (M) for Small Events (M<4) on Local Networks Gail M. Atkinson; Gail M. Atkinson aWestern University, London, Canada N6A 5B7gmatkinson@aol.comemrah.yenier@gmail.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar D. Wesley Greig; D. Wesley Greig bNanometrics, 250 Herzberg Rd., Kanata, Ontario K2K 2A1wesgreig@nanometrics.ca Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Emrah Yenier Emrah Yenier aWestern University, London, Canada N6A 5B7gmatkinson@aol.comemrah.yenier@gmail.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Gail M. Atkinson aWestern University, London, Canada N6A 5B7gmatkinson@aol.comemrah.yenier@gmail.com D. Wesley Greig bNanometrics, 250 Herzberg Rd., Kanata, Ontario K2K 2A1wesgreig@nanometrics.ca Emrah Yenier aWestern University, London, Canada N6A 5B7gmatkinson@aol.comemrah.yenier@gmail.com Publisher: Seismological Society of America First Online: 14 Jul 2017 Online ISSN: 1938-2057 Print ISSN: 0895-0695 © 2014 by the Seismological Society of America Seismological Research Letters (2014) 85 (5): 1116–1124. https://doi.org/10.1785/0220130180 Article history First Online: 14 Jul 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Gail M. Atkinson, D. Wesley Greig, Emrah Yenier; Estimation of Moment Magnitude (M) for Small Events (M<4) on Local Networks. Seismological Research Letters 2014;; 85 (5): 1116–1124. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/0220130180 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietySeismological Research Letters Search Advanced Search ABSTRACT We develop a simple model to estimate moment magnitude for events of M<4 at distances out to ∼300 km, based on readily available ShakeMap parameters and seismological scaling principles. Estimates of moment magnitude for such small events are not available from standard methods but are needed for local‐network applications and for traffic light systems for induced‐seismicity applications. This issue is currently of particular interest in central and eastern North America. The method takes advantage of the fact that for small events the response spectrum is well‐correlated with seismic moment for periods greater than 0.3 s and can be predicted from a simple stochastic point‐source model. We develop an equation by which we calculate M from the 1 s pseudoacceleration amplitudes (PSA) (M≥3) or the 0.3 s PSA (M<3) at each station, using a simple linear equation that corrects for the effects of attenuation. We show that this method produces unbiased estimates of moment magnitudes in both eastern and western North America, for M≤4 events recorded at distances <300 km. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.