Seismic source classification by means of a sonogram-correlation approach: Application to data of the RSM seismic network (Central Italy)

In this paper, we apply a new sonogram correlation approach for seismic source classification. In order to test the technique, we use the waveforms recorded by 6 among 16 of the stations of the Rete Sismometrica Marchigiana (RSM) network, relevant to the vertical component of 365 earthquakes that occurred in the analyzed area from April 1996 until September 1999. All the sonograms of each station are cross-correlated in a single station procedure and the calculated degrees of resemblance are used to classify the events by means of a bridging technique. The results obtained with the single-station approach are integrated into a network classification. We identified three families in the investigated area. Once the efficiency of the method is tested, we analyzed the families obtained for the selected subset of events. Considering the temporal and the spatial distribution of the events forming each family, we classified them as quarry blasts. This classification, even if relevant to a subset of earthquakes occurring in Central Italy, modifies the present knowledge of the seismicity distribution in the area and allows estimation of the errors affecting the hypocenter locations provided by the RSM network. An extension of this new technique to the whole Central Italy earthquake catalog promises an interesting review of the seismicity in the area.