Seismic detection of strong ground motions by <i>M<sub>W</sub></i>5.6 North Korean nuclear explosion

Abstract

The North Korean nuclear explosion test site in Punggye-ri is located in a seismically quiescent region on a stable Precambrian basement. The 3 September 2017 M(W)5.6 North Korean underground nuclear explosion (UNE) test produced unprecedented strong ground motions. The peak ground accelerations might reach tens to hundreds m/s(2) on the surface of the UNE test site, decaying exponentially with distance. Ten shallow events with magnitudes greater than or equal to M(L)2.5 and source depths less than 3 km followed the 2017 UNE for 5 months in an area with a radius of 15 km from the UNE where strong ground shaking was experienced. The largest event with M(W)3.7 occurred 20 days after the 2017 UNE test at shallow depths less than 3 km. Its moment tensor solution indicates a combined source behavior with comparable strengths of double-couple and compensated linear vector dipole (CLVD) components, suggesting an unusual event different from typical natural earthquakes in the Korean Peninsula. The clustered shallow seismic events appeared to have occurred in damaged media that were effectively perturbed by the strong ground motions of the UNE.