Seismic moment tensor for intermediate depth earthquakes at regional distances in Southern Spain

A method has been developed to obtain the seismic moment tensor components by linear inversion of P waves recorded at regional distance for intermediate depth earthquakes. The seismic moment tensor is separated into double couple (DC) and compensated linear vector dipole (CLVD) parts. The method has been applied to four earthquakes (64 < h < 95 km) which occurred in the Malaga region (southern Spain). Solutions for the 1987 event show a percentage of CLVD of 20% with a short source time function and DC part corresponding to vertical motion. For the 1989, 1990 and 1992 earthquakes, percentages of CLVD between 0% and 6% have been found. Comparison with the results obtained in a previous study [Buforn et al., J. Seismol. 1 (1997) 113] by modelling of P waves using a DC model, shows that the use of a more general representation of the source (seismic moment tensor) gives a fit of data for the 1987 event. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.