2019 Volume 128 Issue 3 Pages 465-475
Teaching materials on determining epicenters using P-wave lateral polarity data were produced. These materials are intended for use in secondary and advanced education and only require inexpensive tools such as a ruler and a protractor; they do not require specialized software or devices. The materials consist of PDF files containing three-component waveform data before and after P-wave arrivals for 929 small events recorded at Hi-net stations in the Hida region, central Japan, from February 1 to April 30, 2011. A P-wave lateral polarity analysis using the two horizontal components provides information on seismicity in the Hida region before and after the March 11, 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake. Students can discuss temporal changes in the underground stress state based on their analyses. Depending on the grade and science education level of students, the time-series waveform data allow them to conduct additional exercises such as error analyses and epicenter determinations using S–P differential travel time, as well as geophysical interpretations of results.
