Seismic Wave Attenuation and Yield Determination at Regional Distances

Abstract : Work was completed on yield determination at the Soviet test site on Novaya Zemlya. Magnitudes and yields, determined for 30 explosions using Lg amplitudes recorded in northwestern Europe, ranged between 2.5 and 4900 kt, the largest since April 1976 being about 145 kt. Studies were completed on seismic wave attenuation of surface waves at intermediate periods and of Lg waves at 1 Hz in several regions of the world. Limits were determined for the degree of frequency dependence of Q sub beta which can occur in the crust in stable and tectonically active regions. A stochastic convolution model was proposed for Lg coda at distances > 200 km which considers the effects of dispersion scattering and mode conversions at those distances. A back projection tomographic method was developed to regionalize large-scale lateral variations of coda Q for Lg waves which traverse long continental paths. A seismically active region in the New Madrid seismic zone was found to be characterized by lower than normal Q values. In the western United States we find that Q values in the upper mantle vary laterally, becoming smaller from east to west. Crust of the Basin and Range province has a low-Q upper crust overlying a lower crust with higher Q values.