S/P amplitude ratios with Distributed Acoustic Sensing and application to earthquake focal mechanisms

Geophysical Research Letters
By: , and 

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Abstract

Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), which transforms a fiber optic cable into an array of high frequency strainmeters, has the potential to help us characterize earthquakes with a dense sampling of measurements. While earthquake focal mechanisms are frequently determined using P-wave polarities and S/P amplitude ratios with inertial seismometers, the dense sampling of DAS over potentially large portions of the focal sphere can aid our solutions. Here, we consider ∼200 regional earthquakes and thousands of S/P measurements on a DAS cable colocated with a network of inertial seismometers near Arcata, California. We demonstrate the S/P ratio measurements made on DAS are similar to those made on the inertial seismometers and can be used to constrain focal mechanism solutions.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title S/P amplitude ratios with Distributed Acoustic Sensing and application to earthquake focal mechanisms
Series title Geophysical Research Letters
DOI 10.1029/2025GL116373
Volume 52
Issue 20
Publication Date October 15, 2025
Year Published 2025
Language English
Publisher American Geophysical Union
Contributing office(s) Earthquake Science Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center - Seismology / Geomagnetism
Description e2025GL116373, 8 p.
Country United States
State California
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