lsforce: A Python-Based Single-Force Seismic Inversion Framework for Massive Landslides

Abstract We present an open-source Python package, lsforce, for performing single-force source inversions of long-period (tens to hundreds of seconds) seismic signals. Although the software is designed primarily for landslides, it can be used for any single-force seismic source. The package allows users to produce estimates of the three-component time series of forces exerted on the Earth by a landslide with postprocessing options to estimate the trajectory of its center of mass. Green’s functions for a user-selected 1D Earth model are obtained automatically from the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Synthetics Engine webservice or can be computed for custom 1D Earth models using Computer Programs in Seismology. lsforce implements the two most commonly used source parameterizations: a fully flexible, high-resolution approach and a more stable but lower-resolution method of overlapping triangle sources. Regularization options include a blended zeroth-, first-, and second-order semiautomated Tikhonov regularization scheme, as well as additional optional constraints on start times, end times, and on the sum of forces. Uncertainty due to data selection can be assessed using either a leave-one-out approach or a modified jackknife technique that randomly excludes subsets of the data for multiple re-inversions. Numerous built-in plotting methods allow for easy quality control and assessment of results. In this article, we briefly outline the theory and methodology, describe our implementation, and demonstrate the usage of lsforce using the well-studied 28 June 2016 Lamplugh rock avalanche in Alaska. Despite the rapidly increasing prevalence of landslide single-force inversions in the landslide and seismology literature over the past decade, to our knowledge this is the first open-source code for performing such inversions.