The relations between the corner frequency, seismic moment and source dynamic parameters derived from the spontaneous rupture of a circular fault

Abstract

The stress drop is an important dynamic source parameter for understanding the physics of source processes. The estimation of stress drops for moderate and small earthquakes is based on measurements of the corner frequency |${f_c}$|⁠, the seismic moment |${M_0}$| and a specific theoretical model of rupture behaviour. To date, several theoretical rupture models have been used. However, different models cause considerable differences in the estimated stress drop, even in an idealized scenario of circular earthquake rupture. Moreover, most of these models are either kinematic or quasi-dynamic models. Compared with previous models, we use the boundary integral equation method to simulate spontaneous dynamic rupture in a homogeneous elastic full space and then investigate the relations between the corner frequency, seismic moment and source dynamic parameters. Spontaneous ruptures include two states: runaway ruptures, in which the rupture does not stop without a barrier, and self-arresting ruptures, in which the rupture can stop itself after nucleation. The scaling relationships between |${f_c}$|⁠, |${M_0}$| and the dynamic parameters for runaway ruptures are different from those for self-arresting ruptures. There are obvious boundaries in those scaling relations that distinguish runaway ruptures from self-arresting ruptures. Because the stress drop varies during the rupture and the rupture shape is not circular, Eshelby's analytical solution may be inaccurate for spontaneous dynamic ruptures. For runaway ruptures, the relations between the corner frequency and dynamic parameters coincide with those in the previous kinematic or quasi-dynamic models. For self-arresting ruptures, the scaling relationships are opposite to those for runaway ruptures. Moreover, the relation between |${f_c}$| and |${M_0}$| for a spontaneous dynamic rupture depends on three factors: the dynamic rupture state, the background stress and the nucleation zone size. The scaling between |${f_c}$| and |${M_0}$| is |${f_c} \propto {M_0^{ - n}}$|⁠, where n is larger than 0. Earthquakes with the same dimensionless dynamic parameters but different nucleation zone sizes are self-similar and follow a |${f_c} \propto {M_0^{ - 1/3}}$| scaling law. However, if the nucleation zone size does not change, the relation between |${f_c}$| and |${M_0}$| shows a clear departure from self-similarity due to the rupture state or background stress.