Seismology

Time reversal location of glacial earthquakes

  1. Carène Larmat1,3,
  2. Jeroen Tromp1,4,
  3. Qinya Liu1,5,
  4. Jean-Paul Montagner2

Article first published online: 25 SEP 2008

DOI: 10.1029/2008JB005607

Issue

Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth (1978–2012)

Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth (1978–2012)

Additional Information

How to Cite

Larmat, C., J. Tromp, Q. Liu, and J.-P. Montagner (2008), Time reversal location of glacial earthquakes, J. Geophys. Res., 113, B09314, doi:10.1029/2008JB005607.

Author Information

  1. 1

    Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

  2. 2

    Département de Sismologie, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Paris, France

  3. 3

    Now at EES-11 (Geophysics Group), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA.

  4. 4

    Now at Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.

  5. 5

    Now at Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 25 SEP 2008
  2. Article first published online: 25 SEP 2008
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 22 JUL 2008
  4. Manuscript Revised: 17 JUN 2008
  5. Manuscript Received: 22 JAN 2008

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Keywords:

  • glacial earthquakes;
  • time-reversal imaging;
  • source parameters

[1] In 2003, Ekström et al. reported the detection and location of a new class of earthquakes occurring in the polar regions of the Earth. The proposed source mechanism involves large and sudden sliding motions of glaciers, which gave the name “glacial earthquakes” to these events. In this study we localize some of these earthquakes with a time reversal mirror (TRM) algorithm, which, contrary to ordinary back projection methods, does not involve testing each possible source location. In TRM localization, an earthquake is located on the basis of only one 3-D spectral element simulation of seismic wave propagation by using the full complexity of recorded data as simultaneous time-reversed sources. We show that on the basis of this approach, even glacial earthquakes with a faint signal can be correctly localized and that the pattern of the time-reversed wavefield is coherent with the motion of glaciers down their valley.

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