D e t e r m i n i n g E n e r g y o f Elastic w a v e s Caused by E a r t h q u a k e (*) V . L . B E L O T E L O V , N . "V. K O N D O R S K A Y A , E . T H . S A V A R E N S K Y Rieevuto il 7 dicembre 1960 The recent achievements in seismology and the development of the USSR seismic station network make it possible to determine the absolute value of the energy of elastic oscillations radiated by a source, on the basis of the method suggested by B. B. Galitzin in 1915 (l) and developed by H. Jeffreys (2). To solve this problem, it is necessary to determine the changes in the density of elastic wave energy with distance, and to work out methods for determining the energy of non- stationary oscillations. The present communication represents the contents of two ar- ticles (3'4), connected with the question of determination the absolute value of the energy of longitudinal and transverse waves. The value of the energy radiated by the source is that of the energy of body waves in the period range of 2 to 10 sec. where standard equip- ment of D. P. Kirnos type has constant magnification. In estimating elastic energy radiated by a source we shall proceed from the following assumptions: 1. The flux of the energy transmitted from the source to the earth surface is directed along the rays. 2. The variations in the energy flux due to reflection and refrac- tion at the intermediate underground boundaries are of the same order as the errors in determining the oscillation energy, and only the effect of the bottom of the Earth's crust and the Earth surface is taken into account. 3. The duration of elastic oscillations in P and S phases radiated by the source does not change in propagating towards the Earth surface. (*) P a p e r read a t the Helsinky Assembly of the I . U . G . G . , 1960. 5 6 V . L. B E L O T E L O V , N . V . K O N D O R S K A Y A , E . TIL. S A V A R E N S K Y In this paper the term " earthquake energy " will signify the energy of elastic body waves radiated by the earthquake source. This energy we represent as the sum of energies of longitudinal (Ep) and transverse (Es) waves radiated from the source. E = Ep Es The calculation of the energy of P or S waves from the data of individual stations has been carried out by means of the following formulas: 4 n R2 sin 6 sin e0 ( E0 \ E = —— - e ) • P o f(e,a) cos e de dd QC E0 = oc d AN Y / DA,: dt ) + \ dt K 2 v dAjV dt ) K/ dt, where 0 = epicentral distance, e = angle of emergence of the seismic ray from the earthquake source, k — coefficient of energy absorption in the Earth, c = velocity of the incident P or 8 wave near the Earth surface, o = rock density in the vicinity of the seismic stations, E0 = density of oscillation energy in the incident wave at the point of obser- vation, e0 = angle of emergence of the seismic ray to the earth surface, AK, AE, AZ = components of true ground displacement, at the earth surface iTv, Kz = coefficients of reflection at the free interface for the horizontal and the vertical component respectively, / (e, a) function taking into account the mechanism of the earthquake source. Energy determinations were carried out for 11 earthquakes recorded by seismic stations of the USSE. The co-ordinates of their epicentres were determined on the basis of the time of arrival of 8 and P waves at Soviet and foreign seismic stations. The basic data on the sources are given in Table 1. The geographical distribution of the epicentres is presented in Fig. 1. 112 seismograms with the most distinct recordings were selected, which served as basic material for the determination of P and 8 wave energy. These seismograms represented the records obtained by Soviet instruments " CTK " and " CBK " (records made by B. B. Galitzin- type instrument were used only in two cases). In calculating the oscillation energy we first selected the oscillation groups corresponding to P and 8 waves in the seismograms. We cal- D E T E R M I N I N G E N E R G Y OK E L A S T I C W A V E S C A U S E D B Y E A R T H Q U A K E 5 7 ciliated the energy at the point of observation for the time interval corresponding to these selected groups. The arrival of the respective wave was assumed to be the beginning of the group, its duration being determined by the time interval from the arrival to the appearance of new visible arrivals. In our cases this average duration was equal to T a b l e 1 NN D a t a Time of origin 7t m s Koordinates of epicenter M Number station of determining NN D a t a Time of origin 7t m s
hkm M M IgE
1 26-X-1952 19 19 18 39.4 143 3 30 6 2 15 13
2 27-X-1952 03 17 15 39.6 143 3 30 6 2 28 12
3 28-III-1954 20 36 24 50.9 175 9 50 6 4 22 11
4 1-IV-1954 18 18 47 46.8 153 5 60 6 0 24 9
5 18-VII-1954 09 07 41 36.0 141 0 40 6 2 15 10
6 9-VI1I-1954 19 16 51 53.3 160 7 60 6 2 26 8
7 30-VIII-1954 07 57 24 43.9 147 4 60 5 9 18 9
8 6-IX-1954 18 30 52 51.7 157 9 60 6 2 30 10
9 23-IX-1954 21 43 37 48.6 156 8 60 6 3 21 13
10 18-VIII-1957 21 42 36 50.0 156 5 40 6 4 15 13
11 3-1-1957 12 48 29 44.0 130 0 560 6 4 17 34
the doubled time of amplitude increment after arrival. I t proved to be
equal on the average to about 20 sec for P and 10 sec for S waves. The
abovementioned intervals were selected after a detailed consideration
of many records.
I n calculating the energy of the selected P and S groups, we as-
sume t h a t we determine the energy of P and 8 waves within the given
frequency range. Since waves of different frequencies have different
attenuation with distance, it was necessary to estimate the frequency
spectrum of P and S waves as a function of the cbstance. The average
periods in the P and S phases were measured.
The dependence of the average period on the distance in the se-
lected groups is shown in Fig. 2. As may be seen, t h e average periods
in the groups investigated are very similar and do not change with a
5 8 V . L . B E L O T E L O V , N . V . K O N D O R S K A Y A , E . TIL. S A V A R E N S K Y
variation in the epieentral distance (on the average, TP is 4-5 sec and
TS — 6-8 sec.).
One may assume that starting with d = 20° and up P and S waves
propagate without substantial distortions or shape variations. Our
data on energy values are somewhat understated owing to the limited
range of the periods under consideration.
r
/
( d A \2
I — j-j dt we departed from the usual o
scheme representing oscillations as sinusoid curves. The calculation
of these integrals was carried out by means of a special device.
The operating principle of this device consists in the following.
The seismogram is placed on the drum of a station recorder which ro-
tates at a constant speed. A rheostat having an indicator on its slide
is fixed parallel to the drum generatrix. A permanent voltage is applied
at the ends of the rheostat, which is proportional to the amplitude on
the seismogram at each moment of time. Further, the electronic device
differentiates the oscillation curve, squares and then integrates it (5).
The integrals were measured repeatedly, the results being continuously
D E T E R M I N I N G E N E R G Y OK E L A S T I C W A V E S C A U S E D B Y E A R T H Q U A K E 5 9
compared with the calibration sinusoid curves for which the integral
value was determined numerically. The average error of individual
measurements turned out to be about 20%.
For calculation the amplitudes of true displacement on the earth
surface, the normal magnification of the instruments was used as a
divider; it is characterized by the magnification of stationary sinusoidal
oscillations.
The paper by D. P. Kirnos and N. V. Kondorskaya (6) shows t h a t
in the case of non-stationary oscillations the instrument amplification
may differ considerably from normal. An estimate was made of the cal-
fox PWUUVJ
foi 3 u/xx irej
10 T s e c
* < S
• •
•50 ' j o ®
Pig. 2. - Dependence of the average period in the P a n d S phases on t h e
epicentral distance (6).
. . . — for P waves
xxx - for 8 waves
culation error due to the adoption of stationary normal magnification.
I t proved to be up to 20%.
The reflection coefficients at the free interface and the refraction
coefficients at the intermediate boundaries have been taken from papers
by B. Gutenberg (') and S. D. Kogan (8).
sin 0 ' sin. o
The function — 0 was calculated on the basis of Hodgson's
cos e de
dO
tables (9) and the numerical differentiation with respect to the tabulated
values of e. Values of this function for different depths from 0 to 600 km
were plotted.
We defined / (e, a) as the amount of energy per unit solid angle
in the direction e, a as related to the average energy of the source in a
unit solid angle. To calculate this, it is necessary to known the direction
of the forces in the source, and the position of the seismic stations which
6 0 V . L. B E L O T E L O V , N . V . K O N D O R S K A Y A , E . TIL. S A V A R E N S K Y
is determined by the angles e and a. For the calculations of / (e, a) we
employed the equations for displacements in P and S waves suggested
by Keibs-Borok (10). The source mechanism was studied specially for
one of the earthquakes of the series under review, namely t h a t of J a -
nuary 3, 1957, on the basis of distribution of displacement signs upon
the arrival of P.SV, SH and PCP waves at the seismic stations. The
force system of this earthquake is modelled by a double force with a
T a b l e 2
D a t a hkm IgEp igEs lg Ep+S M igEui)
A IgE
(IgEp+s-
IgE(M))
1 26-X-52 197; 30 20 9 20.7 21 1 6 2 21 1 0
2 27-X-52 03/i 30 20 8 20.6 21 0 6 2 21 1 — 0.1
3 28-111-54 20 h 50 20 9 20.9 21 2 6 4 21 4 — 0.2
4 l-IV-54 1 8h 60 21 0 20.5 21 1 6 0 20 8 + 0.3
5 18-VTI-54 09h 40 20 8 20.7 21 0 6 2 21 1 — 0.1
6 9-VIII-54 197; 60 20 5 20.9 21 1 6 2 21 1 0.0
7 30-VIII-54 07 h 60 20 7 20.7 21 0 5 9 20 7 + 0.3
8 6-IX-54 18 h 60 20 7 20.9 21 1 6 2 21 1 0.0
9 23-IX-54 21h 60 20 6 20.8 21 0 6 3 21 3 — 0.3
10 18-VIII-57 21 h 40 20 3 20.3 20 6 6 4 21 4 — 0.8
11 3-1-57 127i 560 20.45 20.65 20 9 6 4 21 4 — 0.5
moment, the forces forming a plane extending at 303° and inclined at
10°. The movement in the rupture plane is nearly horizontal. The
determination of the direction of forces in the source of this earthquake
was helpful in determining / (e, a) which varied between 0 and 1 for
the system of the stations used. I t turned out that the scatter of E
values for individual stations exceeded / (e, a) variations.
For the other 10 earthquakes we assumed / (e, a) = 1.
I n calculating the average E value for each earthquake, we deter-
mmed the average geometrical of all values calculated for individual
seismic stations.
E — | Ex • E2 En ,
where n = number of stations whose data served to determine the energy.
D E T E R M I N I N G E N E R G Y OK E L A S T I C W A V E S C A U S E D B Y E A R T H Q U A K E 6 1
In this case E = \ El • E2 • E3... jQn • ek(di+ez+d3 +
where E = Ee k° , k = 0.00012a.,,,-1 (Gutenberg's value).
at, 3,
• -T v n
• Oo* • •
a
<1
• • M.
• OO . 1
Fig. 3. - Experimental d a t a on A lg Ep and A lg Es
A lg Ep = lg Ep* (individual) - lg Ep (average)
A ]g Es = lg Es* (individual) - lg Es (average)
as a function of the epic.entral distance (0).
. . . - experimental d a t a on earthquakes No. 1-10
ooo - experimental d a t a on e a r t h q u a k e No. 11
Taking into account all the values indicated, we obtained the values
of the energy of P and S waves reduced to the source. They are pre-
sented in Table 2.
The data of the Table enable the following conclusions to be drawn:
1. The average values of lg Ep and lg Es are very similar.
6 2 V . L. B E L O T E L O V , N . V . K O N D O R S K A Y A , E. TIL. S A V A R E N S K Y
2. All the earthquakes under consideration have nearly iden-
tical values of M. The energy values obtained are also rather close.
3. If the relationship of the M value and the energy as obtained
by Gutenberg and Richter ( u ) is assumed to be lg E = 11.8 + 1.5 M,
then the values of Ig E derived agree with the energy values obtained
by our method.
4. The values of A lg Fjp and A lg Es were considered, which re-
present the deviations from the average values of lg Ep and lg Es for
each station within individual regions.
One can observe a regularity of A lg Ep and A lg Es values for in-
dividual stations. These deviations may be regarded as corrections
which should be introduced when making determinations according
to the data from individual stations. I t is noteworthy that these cor-
rections agree with the features of the hodograph which were previous-
ly noted by N. Y. Kondorskaya (12). I t was shown that the travel times
of seismic waves to individual stations within the region exhibit a re-
gularity with respect to the averaged Jeffreys-Buben hodograph: the
travel times to some stations are always less than to others.
The deviation signs of A lg Ep and A lg Es for individual stations
agree with deviation signs of travel times to these stations from the
Jeffreys-Buben hodograph. The most probable cause of these deviations
obtained evidently bes in the peculiarities of the geological structure
in the region of each seismic station.
To analyse ab the obtained data statistically, a single graph was
used for plotting the deviations of individual values of lg E * for indivi-
dual stations from the average value of lg E for each earthquake. Such
E*
plotting enables to obtain the dependence lg j - = A \gE = f (0) for
earthquakes of different intensities. The respective dependences
A IgE = f (6) for P and S waves are given in Fig. 3.
In spite of the considerable scatter of individual values, the general
trend is toward an increase in A Ig E with the epicentral distance which
may be due to the decrease in the absorption coefficient of energy with
depth.
SUMMARY
The energy of 11 earthquakes in the Far East was examined by using
observations of seismic stations of the USSR with epicentral distances
from 20° up.
DETERMINING ENERGY OK ELASTIC WAVES CAUSED BY EARTHQUAKE 63
The absolute value of energy of elastic ivaves (P and S) ivas determined
on the basis of development of Galitzin method.
The results agree with the value of energy calculated on the basis of
Gutenberg and Richter formula.
IgE = 11.8 + 1.5 M.
The dependence of the value of lg E with epicentral distance was no-
ticed. It is suggested that this tvay be due to the decrease with absorption
coefficient of energy with depth.
RIASSUNTO
E stata esaminata I'energia di 11 terremoti nclV Estremo Oriente uti-
lizzando le osservazioni delle stazioni sismiche dell'U.R.S.S. con distanze
dalVepicentro da 200 in poi.
II valore assoluto delVenergia delle onde elastiche (P ed E) e stato
determinato sulla base dello sviluppo del metodo di Galitzin.
I risultati concordano con il valore delVenergia calcolato sulla base
della formula di Gutenberg e Richter
lg E = 11,8 + 1,5 M
R E F E R E N C E S
(1) E. B. rojimiHHj O 3eMjiempjiceHuu 18/11/1911 r., « H3BCTHH POCC. A H , » c e p .
6, 1915 r .
(2) JEFFREYS H . , The Pamir earthquake of 1911 February 18 in relation
to depth of earthquake foci. « M o n . N o t . R o y . A s t r o n o m . S o c . G e o p l i y s . n ,
Suppl. 1, 2, (1923).
(3) E.