Moment-tensor solutions for the 24 November 1987 Superstition Hills, California, earthquakes

The teleseismic long-period waveforms recorded by the Global Digital Seismograph Network from the two largest Superstition Hills earthquakes are inverted using an algorithm based on optimal filter theory. These solutions differ slightly from those published in the Preliminary Determination of Epicenters Monthly Listing because a somewhat different, improved data set was used in the inversions and a time-dependent moment-tensor algorithm was used to investigate the complexity of the main shock. The foreshock (origin time 01:54:14.5, mb 5.7, Ms 6.2) had a scalar moment of 2.3 × 1025 dyne-cm, a depth of 8 km, and a mechanism of strike 217°, dip 79°, rake 4°. The main shock (origin time 13:15:56.4, mb 6.0, Ms 6.6) was a complex event, consisting of at least two subevents, with a combined scalar moment of 1.0 × 1026 dyne-cm, a depth of 10 km, and a mechanism of strike 303°, dip 89°, rake −180°.