Source rupture process of the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake deduced from strong-motion data considering seismic wave propagation in three-dimensional velocity structure

Abstract

Abstract The source rupture process of the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake (MJMA 6.7) was analyzed by a kinematic waveform inversion method using strong-motion data in 0.04–0.5 Hz. This earthquake occurred close to the Hidaka Collision Zone and the Ishikari depression, where the crustal structure is rather complex. Thus, we used a three-dimensional velocity structure model to compute the theoretical Green’s functions by the finite difference method. A source fault model with strike-angle variation was set based on the spatial distribution of the early aftershocks. The strong-motion stations used for the source inversion were selected based on the result of forward ground motion simulation of a moderate aftershock. The slip in the first 5 s was relatively small, but an area of significant slip with peak slip of 1.7 m was found in the depth range from 22 to 32 km. The rupture propagated upward mainly in the southwest direction. Based on the regional crustal structure and the configuration of the Moho discontinuity, the large-slip area was thought to be located in the lower crust, and its rupture did not reach the upper part of the continental crust. Most of the early aftershocks occurred around the large-slip area. The later aftershocks at the depth shallower than 20 km occurred outside the causative source fault of the mainshock. Three-dimensional ground motion simulation demonstrated that the heterogeneous source process and the three-dimensional basin and crustal velocity structure brought a large velocity pulse to an area to the southwest of the source fault, where the largest PGV was observed during the mainshock. The spatial distribution of the simulated PGV resembled the observed PGV distribution except some sites located inside the Ishikari depression where thick Quaternary soft low-velocity sediments exist at the top of the basin.