Seismic Attenuation in the Rupture Zone of the 2010 Maule, Chile, Earthquake: Two Spectral Ratio Methods

We used data from the IRIS CHAMP temporary seismic network, deployed for 6 months following the February 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule earthquake, to estimate differential attenuation of P and S waves in the Maule rupture zone, 33°S - 38°S. We used two complementary spectral ratio methods both of which assume identical source-to-station travel paths which allowed us to neglect the source-time function and instrument response of each P-S phase pair. The first method iteratively determines 400 individual Qs values and uncertainties for each phase pair and the second method stacks the spectra of each of the 400 measurements to yield a composite spectrum from which we derive a single Qs. Measurements are deemed acceptable when the two methods agree. We examined 235 local events yielding a total of 1083 Qs measurements.The majority of ray paths evaluated show low Qs values (100-400) with an average Qs over the entire rupture zone of 350 and an average standard deviation of +/- 569. We are evaluating spatial and temporal variability in Qs; however, from our preliminary measurements we do not observe a temporal variability in Qs throughout the rupture zone nor do we recognize any consistent spatial pattern in the measurements. Tomographic inversion of the Qs measurements made along ray paths spanning the upper mantle wedge and South American crust above the Maule rupture region will allow us to interpret the observed Qs variability.