The U.S. Geological Survey’s Rapid Seismic Array Deployment for the 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence

Seismological Research Letters
By: , and 

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Abstract

Rapid seismic deployments following large earthquakes capture ephemeral near‐field recordings of aftershocks and ambient noise that can provide valuable data for seismological studies. The U.S. Geological Survey installed 19 temporary seismic stations following the 4 July 2019 Mw 6.4 and 6 July 2019 (UTC) Mw 7.1 earthquakes near the city of Ridgecrest, California. The stations record the aftershock sequence beginning two days after the mainshock and are expected to remain in the field through approximately January 2020. The deployment augments the permanent seismic network in the area to improve azimuthal coverage and provide additional near‐field observations. This article summarizes the motivation and goals of the deployment; details of station installation, instrumentation, and configurations; and initial data quality and observations from the network. We expect these data to be useful for a range of studies including detailing near‐field variability in strong ground motions, determining stress drops and rupture directivity of small events, imaging the fault zone, documenting the evolution of crustal properties within and outside of the fault zone, and others.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title The U.S. Geological Survey’s Rapid Seismic Array Deployment for the 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence
Series title Seismological Research Letters
DOI 10.1785/0220190296
Volume 91
Year Published 2020
Language English
Publisher Seismological Society of America
Contributing office(s) Earthquake Science Center
Description 9 p.
First page 1952
Last page 1960
Country United States
State California
City Ridgecrest
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