Systematic Assessment of station configuration on moment tensor estimation and associated uncertainties

The earthquake source mechanism is mathematically represented by a 3x3 moment tensor (MT) matrix. It is typically obtained by comparing observed waveforms with synthetic seismograms, generated using varying fault plane solutions and a known velocity model. The best-fitting MT solution and its probability depend vastly on observed data quality and station coverage. We present a comparative assessment of multiple station configurations and their impact on the obtained MT solution. A circular array of virtual seismic stations is arranged to capture the seismic signals. Synthetic seismograms are generated from Green’s functions obtained using the frequency-wavenumber method for the Mahesh2013 one-dimensional velocity model. The synthetic source is placed at a depth varying from surface to 50 km, at 5 km intervals, with a fixed orientation (strike-dip-rake) and magnitude. Random noise is added to the resulting synthetic seismograms to serve as the observed data for subsequent analysis. A waveform-based approach, the Cut And Paste (CAP) method, is used to estimate the MT by comparing the observed data with the synthetics.We further present the results for linear, rectangular, star-shaped, and randomly distributed station arrays. An Uncertainty Quantification for each MT solution is performed to assess the influence of varying station configurations on the final solution. The MT estimations obtained through this synthetic approach contribute to a better understanding of the effect of different station arrays, thereby providing valuable information for application-specific permanent or temporary deployment.