A simple source model, in which only far-field term is considered, is used to determine the fault size and the moment of small earthquakes (4.2<
M<5.0). This model gives a relation between the fault dimension and the spectrum of observed seismograms. The model is tested for Gifu-ken Chubu earthquake on September 9, 1969(
M=6.6), for which detailed fault parameters had been obtained from geodetic and near-field seismic observations. This test demonstrates that the moment and the fault dimension estimated by the present method agree with those determined by the nearfield data within a factor of two.
This simple method is applied to small earthquakes with magnitude 4.2 to 5.0 which occurred in 1966-1972 in the Kii peninsula region, using the long-period seismograms observed at SHK. The fault length and seismic moment for the earthquakes are estimated to be about 2km to 9km and about 1×10
22 dyne·cm to 2×10
23 dyne·cm, respectively. The estimated fault lengths coincide with the linear dimension of the aftershock areas, within a factor of two or so. By using AKI (1966) and KEYLIS-BOROK (1959) formulas, the stress drop and dislocation are estimated to be about 0.4 bar to 13 bars and about 0.3cm to 3.4cm, respectively. It is concluded that the simple fault model is useful for estimating the fault length of the small earthquakes when no other information as to the dimension is available.
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