SEISMIC GUIDED-WAVES TRAPPED IN THE FAULT ZONE OF THE LANDERS, CALIFORNIA, EARTHQUAKE OF 1992

A mobile seismic array of seven stations was deployed at 11 sites alon g the fault trace of the M7.4 Landers earthquake of June 28, 1992, wit h a maximum offset of 1 km from the trace. We found a distinct wave tr ain with a relatively long period following the S waves that shows up only when both the stations and the events are close to the fault trac e. This wave train is interpreted as a seismic guided wave trapped in a low-velocity fault zone. To study the distribution of amplitude of t he guided waves with distance from the fault trace and also their atte nuation with travel distance along the fault zone, we eliminated sourc e and recording site effects by the coda normalization method. The nor malized amplitudes of guided waves show a spectral peak at 3-4 Hz, whi ch decays sharply with distance from the fault trace. Spectral amplitu des at high frequencies (8-15 Hz) show an opposite trend, increasing w ith distance from the fault trace. The normalized amplitudes of guided waves at 3-4 Hz also show a systematic decrease with hypocentral dist ance along the fault zone, from which we infer an apparent Q of 50. In order to confirm the existence of the guided waves, a dense array of 31 stations was deployed at one of the 11 sites. The resultant records revealed unequivocal evidence for the existence of guided waves assoc iated with the fault zone. By modeling the waveforms as S waves trappe d in a low-velocity waveguide sandwiched between two homogeneous half- spaces with velocity V(s) = 3.0 km/s, we infer a waveguide width of ab out 180 m, a shear velocity of 2.0-2.2 km/s, and a Q of approximately 50. Hypocenters of aftershocks with clear guided waves show a systemat ic distribution both laterally and with depth delineating the extent o f the low-velocity fault zone in three dimensions. We find that the zo ne extends to a depth of at least 10 km. This zone apparently continue s to the south across the Pinto Mountain fault because guided waves ar e observed at stations north of the Pinto Mountain fault for earthquak es with epicenters south of it. On the other hand, the zone appears to be discontinuous at the fault bend located about 20 km north of the m ainshock epicenter; guided waves were observed for stations and epicen ters which are located on the same sides of the fault bend but not for those on the opposite sides.