West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center

Operations Manual

NOAA/NWS/WCATWC

910 South Felton Street

Palmer, Alaska 99645

http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov

 

 

Section 4.1.11 – mtinver

 

Last Updated: 9/2010

Date Written:                        8/2004
Development Language:
MicroSoft C/C++ v7.0 using WinAPI

Necessary Rings:
 Input Ring -
WAVE_RING_LP; reads TYPE_TRACEBUF format messages
 
Input Ring - HYPO_RING; reads TYPE_HYPOTWC format messages

Necessary Data Files:
 StaFile -
picker configuration file
 StaDataFile -
seismometer location, elevation, etc.
 
DummyFile - Hypo-parameters of last located quake
 ResponseFile - Broadband instrument response in poles/zeroes format
 MTFile – Results file
 
EmailFile – Results file to send
 
DepthFile – Maximum expected quake depth file
 DiskPFile – P-Times from Locate

 RTPFile – P-Times from loc_wcatwc

 Flinn-EngdahlFiles – Files controlling Flinn-Engdahl regions

Initialization File:
 mtinver.d -
read on module start-up

Module Description:
This module determines moment tensor solutions from teleseismic broadband seismic data by inverting the first 200s of data.  The technique was provided to the WC/ATWC by USGS, and converted to an earthworm module which reads data from a WAVE_RING, or from files created by disk_wcatwc.  Observed data are compared to synthetic data to determine the most likely moment tensor.  Green’s functions provided by USGS are used to generate the synthetic seismograms.  Trace data are only used for stations with observed P-times (taken from automatic P-picks or interactive P-picks).  The synthetics are shifted up to a specified amount of time to account for bad p-picks.  Synthetic seismograms are created for depths up to the maximum expected depth of the epicentral region.  Moment tensors, scalar moment magnitude, focal plane solution, and depth are output.  An epicenter must be provided to the module.  The data and synthetics are filtered based on the first seismic moment estimate.  Lower frequency filters are used for larger earthquakes.

Input seismic data are taken from WAVE_RING_LP. The data are buffered by this module. Processing is triggered by a TYPE_HYPOTWC message obtained from the HYPO_RING. If the hypocenter has a magnitude greater than 5.0 Mb, Ml, or Mwp, this module will compute a moment tensor every one minute from 11 minutes after the origin to 25 minutes after. Several checks are made on the data, including signal-to-noise, gaps checks, and DC offset removal.

Data are saved for up to MinutesInBuff time, so processing can be performed for a quake so long as the data are still in the buffer. The processing is either triggered automatically through the HYPO_RING, or manually in this module through a menu option.

Program Controls:
This module has a Windows graphical interface. Due to this interface, the module will only compile and run under Windows (NT, 2K, or XP). The display shows a beachball and source parameters on the left, and comparisons between the observed signal and synthetic on the right.

            Mouse Buttons:

No effect.

 

Menu Options:

Inversion:

Compute MT: Using last location in dummy file, process broadband data for moment tensor inversion.  Several control parameters can be interactively set in the follow-up dialog box.

Stop Processing: Stop ongoing computations.

 

Waveform Display:

            Green’s functions: Display original Green’s functions for a distance/depth.

            Synthetics: Display the results for the last compute moment tensor.

 

Refresh: Re-paint the screen.