Articles | Volume 32, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-32-489-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-32-489-2025
Research article
 | 
05 Dec 2025
Research article |  | 05 Dec 2025

Nonlinear wavefield characteristics of seismic translation and rotation in small-strain deformation from moment tensor simulations

Wei Li, Yun Wang, Chang Chen, and Lixia Sun

Cited articles

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Bonilla, L. F., Archuleta, R. J., and Lavallée, D.: Hysteretic and dilatant behavior of cohesionless soils and their effects on nonlinear site response: Field data observations and modeling. Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am., 95, 2373–2395, https://doi.org/10.1785/0120040138, 2005. 
Bonilla, L. F., Tsuda, K., Pulido, N., Régnier, J., and Laurendeau, A.: Nonlinear site response evidence of K-NET and KiK-net records from the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake, Earth Planets Space, 63, 785–789, https://doi.org/10.5047/eps.2011.06.012, 2011. 
Donner, S., Bernauer, M., and Igel, H.: Inversion for seismic moment tensors combining translational and rotational ground motions, Geophys. J. Int., 207, 562–570, https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggw298, 2016. 
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Short summary
This study uses numerical simulations to investigate geometric nonlinearity in six-component seismic motions. Our results reveal the characteristic of these nonlinear effects: while their pattern in body waves is universal, their excitation efficiency shows a strong source-type dependency. It demonstrates that rotational components are highly sensitive to effects driven by S-waves, and that surface waves may be the primary carriers of these features.
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