Routine location of T-phase sources in the Pacific

Abstract

A program for the routine location of T-phase sources in the Pacific is described. Data for this program are supplied principally by the Pacific Missile Range hydrophone network. Arrival times and power levels are read at Honolulu for processing by an IBM 7040 computer. The solution for location and origin time is the least-squares fit to all hydrophone arrivals which are weighted according to their distribution in azimuth and their distance from the T-phase source. The velocities for the program are obtained from algebraic functions of latitude and longitude which are based upon shot calibrations and upon hydrographic measurements. A T-phase strength is computed from readings of peak power level in a manner analogous to earthquake magnitude. Early results for the r.m.s. difference between T-phase source locations and the corresponding earthquake epicenters were 0.6° in the Aleutians and 1.1° in the Kuril Islands.