Estimation of Coda wave attenuation in NW Iran

As seismic energy propagates through the earth medium, its energy (amplitude) decays due to geometrical spreading, intrinsic attenuation and scattering. Owing to anelastic absorption, intrinsic attenuation converts the seismic energy to heat while scattering redistributes the energy at random heterogeneities. Knowledge of the relative contributions of scattering and intrinsic attenuation is important for appropriate subsurface material identification, tectonic interpretations and quantification of the ground motion. Besides, investigating seismic wave attenuation inside lithosphere allows for a more thorough knowledge as to Earth’s deep structures. The attenuation of short-period S waves, expressed as the inverse of the quality factor (Q−1), helps fathom the physical laws related to the propagation of the elastic energy of an earthquake through the lithosphere. Coda wave attenuation is considered as the combination of scattering and anelastic attenuation. In this study, the quality factor of coda wave was estimated in NW Iran making use of single back scattering method of Aki and Chouet (1975). For this purpose, we analyzed 3720 waveforms recorded by 8 short-period stations of Tabriz network from 1996 to 2013. So as to calculate the frequency relationships for Qc, nine frequency bands with central frequencies of 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16 and 20 Hz were considered and the lateral and depth variations of Q0 (Qc in 1 Hz) were investigated in the research area. In order to study the lateral variations, we chose coda waves recorded in epicentral distances less than 80 km, in a lapse time window of 30 s. The reason for the selection of such short distance (