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Y. Sasai

Publications and source records attributed to Y. Sasai.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2009

Drag-out effect of piezomagnetic signals due to a borehole: The Mogi source as an example

We show that using borehole measurements in tectonomagnetic experiments allows enhancement of the observed signals. New magnetic dipoles, which vary with stress changes from mechanical sources, are produced on the walls of the borehole. We evaluate such an effect quantitatively. First we formulate a general expression for the borehole effect due to any arbitrary source models. This is valid everywhere above the ground surface as well as within the cylindrical hole. A first-order approximate solution is given by a line of horizontal dipoles and vertical quadrupoles along the central axis of the borehole, which is valid above the ground surface and a slightly away (several tens of cm) from the top of the borehole. Selecting the Mogi model as an example, we numerically evaluated the borehole effect. It turned out that the vertical quadrupoles produce two orders of magnitude more intense magnetic field than the horizontal dipoles. The borehole effect is very local, i.e. detectable only within a few m from its outlet, since it is of the same order or more than the case without a borehole. However, magnetic lines of force cannot reach the ground surface from a deeper portion (> 10 m) of a borehole.

Annals of Geophysics↗
USGS2007

Close temporal correspondence between geomagnetic anomalies and earthquakes during the 2002-2003 eruption of Etna volcano

The early stages of the 2002-2003 lateral eruption at Mount Etna were accompanied by slow changes (over some hours) and some rapid step offsets in the local magnetic field. At five monitoring locations, the total magnetic field intensity has been measured using continuously operating Overhauser magnetometers at a sampling rate of 10 s. The very unique aspect of these observations is the close temporal correspondence between magnetic field offsets and earthquakes that occurred in the upper northern flank of the volcano on 27 October 2002 prior to a primary eruption. Rapid coseismic changes of the magnetic field were clearly identified for three of the most energetic earthquakes, which were concentrated along the Northeast Rift at a depth of about 1 km below sea level. Coseismic magnetic signals, with amplitudes from 0.5 to 2.5 nT, have been detected for three of the largest seismic events located roughly midway between the magnetic stations. We quantitatively examine possible geophysical mechanisms, which could cause the magnetic anomalies. The comparison between magnetic data, seismicity and surface phenomena implies that piezomagnetic effects are the primary physical mechanism responsible for the observed magnetic anomalies although the detailed cause of the rapid high stress change required is not clear. The modeling of the observed coseismic magnetic changes in terms of piezomagnetic mechanism provides further evidence of the complex interaction between volcanic and tectonic processes during dike propagation along the Northeast Rift. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2006

Seismomagnetic effects from the long-awaited 28 September 2004 M 6.0 parkfield earthquake

Precise measurements of local magnetic fields have been obtained with a differentially connected array of seven synchronized proton magnetometers located along 60 km of the locked-to-creeping transition region of the San Andreas fault at Parkfield, California, since 1976. The M 6.0 Parkfield earthquake on 28 September 2004, occurred within this array and generated coseismic magnetic field changes of between 0.2 and 0.5 nT at five sites in the network. No preseismic magnetic field changes exceeding background noise levels are apparent in the magnetic data during the month, week, and days before the earthquake (or expected in light of the absence of measurable precursive deformation, seismicity, or pore pressure changes). Observations of electric and magnetic fields from 0.01 to 20 Hz are also made at one site near the end of the earthquake rupture and corrected for common-mode signals from the ionosphere/magnetosphere using a second site some 115 km to the northwest along the fault. These magnetic data show no indications of unusual noise before the earthquake in the ULF band (0.01-20 Hz) as suggested may have preceded the 1989 ML 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake. Nor do we see electric field changes similar to those suggested to occur before earthquakes of this magnitude from data in Greece. Uniform and variable slip piezomagnetic models of the earthquake, derived from strain, displacement, and seismic data, generate magnetic field perturbations that are consistent with those observed by the magnetometer array. A higher rate of longer-term magnetic field change, consistent with increased loading in the region, is apparent since 1993. This accompanied an increased rate of secular shear strain observed on a two-color EDM network and a small network of borehole tensor strainmeters and increased seismicity dominated by three M 4.5-5 earthquakes roughly a year apart in 1992, 1993, and 1994. Models incorporating all of these data indicate increased slip at depth in the region, and this may have played a role in the final occurrence of the 28 September 2004 M 6.0 Parkfield earthquake. The absence of electric and magnetic field precursors for this, and other earthquakes with M 5-7.3 elsewhere in the San Andreas fault system, indicates useful prediction of damaging earthquakes seems unlikely using these electromagnetic data.

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America↗