Teleseismic-Seismic Monitoring At Coso Geothermal Area (1983-1985)

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Exploration Activity: Teleseismic-Seismic Monitoring At Coso Geothermal Area (1983-1985)

Exploration Activity Details
Location	Coso Geothermal Area
Exploration Technique	Teleseismic-Seismic Monitoring
Activity Date	1983 - 1985
Usefulness	not indicated
DOE-funding	Unknown

 

Exploration Basis

To study anomalous shear wave attenuation in the shallow crust

 

Notes

V _s and V _p wave amplitudes were measured from vertical component seismograms of earthquakes that occurred in the Coso-southern Sierra Nevada region from July 1983 to 1985. Seismograms of 16 small earthquakes show SV amplitudes which are greatly diminished at some azimuths and takeoff angles, indicating strong lateral variations in S wave attenuation in the area. Three-dimensional images of the relative S wave attenuation structure are obtained from forward modeling and a back projection inversion of the amplitude data. The results indicate regions within a 20 by 30 by 10 km volume of the shallow crust (one shallower than 5 km) that severely attenuate SV waves passing through them.

 

References

• Sanders, C.; Ho-Liu, P.; Rinn, D.; Kanamori, H.   (10 April 1988) Anomalous shear wave attenuation in the shallow crust beneath the Coso volcanic region, California