Reliability of Moment Tensor Inversion for Different Seismic Networks

Abstract The article investigates the reliability of moment tensor (MT) inversion in time domain with use of first P-wave amplitude, a method used to determine the source mechanisms of earthquakes, across four different seismic networks. The study compares the synthetic tests results of MT inversion for two underground mining and two artificial reservoir monitoring seismic networks. The analysis was performed to assesses how consistency and accuracy of the results depend on different factors like: network configuration, events depth, velocity model, focal mechanism of event and applied noise. The findings highlight the impact of network configuration compared to other variables and data quality on the reliability of moment tensor inversion and provide insights into different factors which have to be considered to enhance MT accuracy. The significance of events depth in P-wave amplitude MT inversion and the necessity to consider velocity model influence, especially presence of high velocity gradient, is highlighted by the presented results.