scholarly journals Ambient Vibration Analysis on Large Scale Arrays When Lateral Variations Occur in the Subsurface: A Study Case in Switzerland

2020 ◽  
Vol 177 (9) ◽  
pp. 4247-4269
Author(s):  
Dario Chieppa ◽  
Manuel Hobiger ◽  
Paolo Bergamo ◽  
Donat Fäh

Abstract The ambient vibration analysis is a non-invasive and low-cost technique used in site characterization studies to reconstruct the subsurface velocity structure. Depending on the goal of the research, the investigated depth ranges from tens to hundreds of meters. In this work, we aimed at investigating the deeper contrasts within the crust and in particular down to the sedimentary-rock basement transition located at thousands of meters of depth. To achieve this goal, three seismic arrays with minimum and maximum interstation distances of 7.9 m and 26.8 km were deployed around the village of Schafisheim. Schafisheim is located in the Swiss Molasse Basin, a sedimentary basin stretching from Lake Constance to Lake Geneva with a thickness ranging from 800 to 900 m in the north to 5 km in the south. To compute the multimodal dispersion curves for Rayleigh and Love waves and the Rayleigh wave ellipticity angles, the data were processed using two single-station and three array processing techniques. A preliminary analysis of the inversion results pointed out a good agreement with the fundamental modes of Rayleigh and Love waves used in the inversion and a quite strong disagreement with the higher modes. The impossibility to explain at the same time most of the dispersion curves was interpreted as the co-existence, within the investigated area, of portions of the subsurface with different geophysical properties. The hypothesis was confirmed by the Horizontal-to-Vertical spectral analysis (H/V) which indicated the presence of two distinguished areas. The observation allowed a new interpretation and the identification of the Rayleigh and Love wave fundamental modes and of the S-wave velocity profiles to be reconstructed for each investigated zone. It results in two S-wave velocity profiles with similar velocities down to 15 km deferring only in their shallow portions due to the occurrence of a low velocity zone at a depth of 50–150 m at the centre of the investigated area.

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 931-938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selene Quispe ◽  
◽  
Kosuke Chimoto ◽  
Hiroaki Yamanaka ◽  
Hernando Tavera ◽  
...  

Microtremor exploration was performed around seismic recording stations at five sites in Lima city, Peru in order to know the site amplification at these sites. The Spatial Autocorrelation (SPAC) method was applied to determine the observed phase velocity dispersion curve, which was subsequently inverted in order to estimate the 1-D S-wave velocity structure. From these results, the theoretical amplification factor was calculated to evaluate the site effect at each site. S-wave velocity profiles at alluvial gravel sites have S-wave velocities ranging from ∼500 to ∼1500 m/s which gradually increase with depth, while Vs profiles at sites located on fine alluvial material such as sand and silt have Swave velocities that vary between ∼200 and ∼500 m/s. The site responses of all Vs profiles show relatively high amplification levels at frequencies larger than 3 Hz. The average transfer function was calculated to make a comparison with values within the existing amplification map of Lima city. These calculations agreed with the proposed site amplification ranges.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 940-955
Author(s):  
Zhiwei You ◽  
Peifen Xu ◽  
Suqun Ling ◽  
Yanan Du ◽  
Ruohan Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Due to its efficiency, convenience, non-destructive nature and strong anti-interference capability, the microtremor survey method (MSM) has found wide applications in urban geological surveys. The spatial autocorrelation method is diffusely applied to extract the dispersion curves from microtremor signals, which needs to satisfy the assumption that the energy of the fundamental Rayleigh wave is dominant. However, for layered media containing a layer with a significant low- or high-velocity contrast, this assumption is distinctly incorrect for certain frequency ranges. We present a processing methodology comprising the extraction and inversion of the apparent dispersion curves based on extended spatial autocorrelation method and fast simulated-annealing algorithm. We analyse synthetic microtremor signals for three selected geological models, and then compare the S-wave velocity structures estimated from their inversions with the actual models. Subsequently, a filed data example is given to detect the shallow stratigraphic structures in Guangzhou city, China, in which the new MSM was used. The estimated two-dimensional S-wave velocity model provided an accurate description of the thickness and depth of the strata in the study area, based on a priori information. Moreover, the S-wave velocity structures estimated from the MSM and the results from the drilling match very well, indicating that MSM is a reliable geophysical technique in urban geological surveys. Combined with available borehole information, MSM can be a very robust and effective method for detecting the shallow three-dimensional velocity structures in an urban area.


Geophysics ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. T323-T338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Castellaro

Noninvasive geophysical techniques based on the dispersion of surface waves in layered media are commonly used approaches for measuring shear-wave velocity profiles of the subsoil. Acquiring surface waves is a simple task, but the interpretation of their dispersion curves poses a number of challenges. In an increasing number of cases, shear-wave velocity profiles are derived from the inversion of dispersion curves of surface waves and single-station passive horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) spectral ratios, mostly using a blind joint fit of the two sets of curves. Here we emphasize the benefits of carrying out H/V surveys prior to any array acquisition. We propose to start by collecting at least two H/V recordings at a site to verify the 1D plane-parallel soil condition, as this is essential in dispersion curve inversion/modeling. Then, we look for the diagnostic features of velocity inversions in the H/V curves: when they occur, the interpretation of dispersion curves is made difficult by mode splitting/superposition and Love wave arrays will not be effective. Then we inspect the shape of the H/V curves: flat curves acquired on rock usually imply poor dispersion curves. Large receiver spacings are recommended in the arrays and Love wave arrays will not be efficient. Flat curves on soft material sites represent gently increasing [Formula: see text] gradients and Rayleigh wave arrays should be preferred. H/V curves with high frequency peaks indicate shallow impedance contrasts: this makes Love wave arrays efficient for the soft layer characterization, but provide little information at depth. H/V curves with low frequency peaks indicate deep bedrock and their inversion can provide approximate [Formula: see text] profiles down to greater depths than from an array. Equipped with the information coming from accurate H/V observations, practitioners could make better-informed decisions about array acquisition geometries, source/surface wave types, and inversion strategies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Sadeghi-Bagherabadi

We compiled a dataset of continuous recordings from the temporary and permanent seismic networks to compute the high-resolution 3D S-wave velocity model of the Southeastern Alps, the western part of the external Dinarides, and the Friuli and Venetian plains through ambient noise tomography. Part of the dataset is recorded by the SWATH-D temporary network and permanent networks in Italy, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia between October 2017 and July 2018. We computed 4050 vertical component cross-correlations to obtain the empirical Rayleigh wave Green’s functions. The dataset is complemented by adopting 1804 high-quality correlograms from other studies. The fast-marching method for 2D surface wave tomography is applied to the phase velocity dispersion curves in the 2–30 s period band. The resulting local dispersion curves are inverted for 1D S-wave velocity profiles using the non-perturbational and perturbational inversion methods. We assembled the 1D S-wave velocity profiles into a pseudo-3D S-wave velocity model from the surface down to 60 km depth. A range of iso-velocities, representing the crystalline basement depth and the crustal thickness, are determined. We found the average depth over the 2.8–3.0 and 4.1–4.3 km/s iso-velocity ranges to be reasonable representations of the crystalline basement and Moho depths, respectively. The basement depth map shows that the shallower crystalline basement beneath the Schio-Vicenza fault highlights the boundary between the deeper Venetian and Friuli plains to the east and the Po-plain to the west. The estimated Moho depth map displays a thickened crust along the boundary between the Friuli plain and the external Dinarides. It also reveals a N-S narrow corridor of crustal thinning to the east of the junction of Giudicarie and Periadriatic lines, which was not reported by other seismic imaging studies. This corridor of shallower Moho is located beneath the surface outcrop of the Permian magmatic rocks and seems to be connected to the continuation of the Permian magmatism to the deep-seated crust. We compared the shallow crustal velocities and the hypocentral location of the earthquakes in the Southern foothills of the Alps. It revealed that the seismicity mainly occurs in the S-wave velocity range between ∼3.1 and ∼3.6 km/s.


Geophysics ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. EN95-EN105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatsunori Ikeda ◽  
Takeshi Tsuji ◽  
Toshifumi Matsuoka

CMP crosscorrelation (CMPCC) analysis of surface waves enhances lateral resolution of surface wave analyses. We found the technique of window-controlled CMPCC analysis, which applies two kinds of spatial windows to further improve the lateral resolution of CMPCC analysis. First, a spatial weighting function given by the number of crosscorrelation pairs is applied to CMPCC gathers. Because the number of crosscorrelation pairs is concentrated near the CMP, the lateral resolution in extracting dispersion curves on CMPs can be improved. Second, crosscorrelation pairs with longer receiver spacing are excluded to further improve lateral resolution. Although removing crosscorrelation pairs generally decreases the accuracy of phase velocity estimations, the required accuracy to estimate phase velocities is maintained by considering the wavenumber resolution defined for given receiver configurations. When applied to a synthetic data set simulating a laterally heterogeneous structure, window-controlled CMPCC analysis improved the retrieval of the lateral variation in local dispersion curves beneath each CMP. We also applied the method to field seismic data across a major fault. The window-controlled CMPCC analysis improved lateral variations of the inverted S-wave velocity structure without degrading the accuracy of S-wave velocity estimations. We discovered that window-controlled CMPCC analysis is effective in improving lateral resolution of dispersion curve estimations with respect to the original CMPCC analysis.


Geophysics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. R693-R705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Li ◽  
Sherif Hanafy ◽  
Zhaolun Liu ◽  
Gerard T. Schuster

We present a theory for wave-equation inversion of Love-wave dispersion curves, in which the misfit function is the sum of the squared differences between the wavenumbers along the predicted and observed dispersion curves. Similar to inversion of Rayleigh-wave dispersion curves, the complicated Love-wave arrivals in traces are skeletonized as simpler data, namely, the picked dispersion curves in the [Formula: see text] domain. Numerical solutions to the SH-wave equation and an iterative optimization method are then used to invert these dispersion curves for the S-wave velocity model. This procedure, denoted as wave-equation dispersion inversion of Love waves (LWD), does not require the assumption of a layered model or smooth velocity variations, and it is less prone to the cycle-skipping problems of full-waveform inversion. We demonstrate with synthetic and field data examples that LWD can accurately reconstruct the S-wave velocity distribution in a laterally heterogeneous medium. Compared with Rayleigh waves, inversion of the Love-wave dispersion curves empirically exhibits better convergence properties because they are completely insensitive to the P-velocity variations. In addition, Love-wave dispersion curves for our examples are simpler than those for Rayleigh waves, and they are easier to pick in our field data with a low signal-to-noise ratio.


2020 ◽  
Vol 222 (1) ◽  
pp. 526-543
Author(s):  
Dario Chieppa ◽  
Manuel Hobiger ◽  
Donat Fäh

SUMMARY The difficulty and the high cost to assess the subsurface properties led to the development of several geophysical techniques. Generally, the focus of a site study is the reconstruction of the S-wave velocity profile down to few tens to hundreds of metres (e.g. 30–300 m), but not the investigation of deeper structures, such as the transition to the crystalline basement. However, such deeper structures are of interest when seismic hazard products have to relate to a reference rock-velocity profile, for example in regional seismic hazard assessment and microzonation studies. To estimate the S-wave velocity profiles down to several kilometres, we study the potential of Rayleigh and Love waves at low (down to 0.1 Hz) and high (up to 20 Hz) frequencies using two seismic arrays of increasing size. The small array, with a maximum inter-station distance of 900 m and a recording time of 3 hr, was aimed at constraining the shallow subsurface down to about 350–400 m, while the big one, with a maximum inter-station distance of more than 29 km and 23 hr of recording had the goal to constrain the deeper structure. The arrays were deployed in northern Switzerland (east of the village of Herdern) within the Swiss Molasse basin, a sedimentary basin north of the Alps stretching from Lake Constance to Lake Geneva; its thickness increases from 800 to 900 m in the northeast to more than 5 km in the southwest. The seismic data recorded by the two arrays were analysed using the techniques developed for the analysis of small-aperture arrays. The results were inverted for the S-wave velocity profile in two steps: first, the Rayleigh and Love wave phase dispersion curves were inverted together. Secondly, the previous dispersion curves were jointly inverted with the measured Rayleigh wave ellipticity angle. The resulting S-wave velocity profiles are similar and show agreement with the available geological and geophysical data, confirming the potential of surface waves to investigate deep structures. Moreover, our analysis proves the feasibility of site characterization techniques to large arrays and the possibility to estimate the P- and S-wave velocity profiles down to 5 km, deeper than the contrast between Molasse basin and crystalline rock at around 2.1 km.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kentaro Kasamatsu ◽  
Hiroaki Yamanaka ◽  
Shin’ichi Sakai

Abstract We have proposed a new waveform inversion method to estimate a 2D S-wave velocity structure of deep sedimentary layers using broadband Love waves. As a preprocessing operation in our inversion scheme, we decompose earthquake observation records into velocity waveforms at periods of 1 s interval. Then, we verify an assumption of 2D propagations of Love waves with polarization features based on a principal component analysis to select the segments applied for the inversion. A linearized iterative inversion analysis for the selected Love wave segments filtered at period of every 1 s allows a detailed estimation of boundary shapes of interfaces over the seismic bedrock with an S-wave velocity of approximately 3 km/s. We demonstrate the technique’s effectiveness with applications to observed seismograms in the Kanto plain, Japan. Differences between the estimated and existing structural models are remarkable at basin edges. A regional variation of the near-surface S-wave velocities in our model is similar to a distribution of surface geological classifications. Since a subsurface structure at a basin edge strongly affects earthquake ground motions in a basin with generations of surface waves, our method can provide a detail model of a complex S-wave velocity structure at an edge part for a strong ground motion prediction.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document