Maximum Likelihood Estimation of Seismic Event Magnitude from Network Data.

摘要

Seismic networks often tend to overestimate the magnitude of earthquakes, because those stations within the network that do not detect a particular event are ignored in the conventional magnitude averaging procedure. By assuming a normal distribution of world-wide magnitudes for any given event, it is possible to establish a simple statistical model that includes the additional information that the event magnitude at nondetecting stations must be below a certain threshold value. In this report, maximum likelihood estimation is applied to determine event magnitude based on this model. The advantages and limitations of the technique are discussed using both simulated and real data.