Kinematic earthquake rupture inversion in the frequency domain

S U M M A R Y We develop a frequency-based approach to earthquake slip inversion that requires no prior information on the rupture velocity or slip-rate functions. Because the inversion is linear and is performed separately at each frequency, it is computationally efficient and suited to imaging the finest resolvable spatial details of rupture. We demonstrate the approach on synthetic seismograms based on the Source Inversion Validation Exercise 1 (SIV1) of a crustal Mw 6.6 strike-slip earthquake recorded locally. A robust inversion approach is obtained by applying a combination of damping, smoothing and forcing zero slip at the edge of the fault model. This approach achieves reasonable data fits, overall agreement to the SIV1 model, including slip-rate functions of each subfault, from which its total slip, slip time history and rupture velocity can be extracted. We demonstrate the method’s robustness by exploring the effects of noise, random timing errors, and fault geometry errors. The worst effects on the inversion are seen from errors in the assumed fault geometry.