Non-stability of the noise HVSR at sites near or on topographic heights

2020 ◽  
Vol 222 (3) ◽  
pp. 2162-2171
Author(s):  
M La Rocca ◽  
G D Chiappetta ◽  
A Gervasi ◽  
R L Festa

SUMMARY The horizontal to vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) of seismic noise is often used to investigate site effects, and it is usually assumed to be a stable feature of the site considered. Here we show that such an assumption is not always justified, and may lead to incorrect conclusions. The HVSR analysis was performed on ambient seismic noise recordings lasting from weeks to months at many sites in Calabria, Italy. Results show a variety of site effects, from the resonance of a shallow sedimentary layer to the polarized amplification of horizontal ground motion associated with topographic effects. We describe the results of seven sites whose HVSR is characterized by dual content: one that is persistent, and another appearing only occasionally. Two sites very near the coast of the Tyrrhenian sea and five sites in the Calabrian Arc mountains show the most remarkable results. The shape of the HVSR changes significantly at these sites when the amplitude of background noise increases in a broad frequency band during periods of bad weather. The occasional contribution to the HVSR consists of one or more peaks, depending on the site, that appear only when the amplitude of ambient noise is higher than usual. The seven sites where we observe the HVSR variability are all located in complex geological environments, on mountains, ridges or foothills. A variation of the HVSR correlated with the day–night cycle is also observed at some of these sites.

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Talha Qadri ◽  
Bushra Nawaz ◽  
S. H. Sajjad ◽  
Riaz Ahmad Sheikh

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Éléonore Stutzmann ◽  
Martin Schimmel ◽  
Philippe Lognonné ◽  
Anna Horleston ◽  
Savas Ceylan ◽  
...  

<p>Seismic noise recorded at the surface of Mars has been monitored since February 2019, using the InSight seismometers.This noise can reach -200 dB and is 500 times lower than on Earth at night and it increases of 30 dB during the day. We analyze its polarization as a function of time and frequency in the band 0.03-1Hz. We use the degree of polarization<span>  </span>to extract signals with stable polarization independent of their amplitude and type of polarization. We detect polarized signals at all frequencies and all times. Glitches correspond to linear polarized signals which are more abundant during the night. For signals with elliptical polarization, the ellipse is in the horizontal plane below 0.3 Hz (LF). Above 0.3 Hz (HF) and except in the evening, the ellipse is in the vertical plane and the major axis is tilted. While polarization azimuths are different in the two frequency bands, they both vary as a function of local hour and season.<span>  </span>They are also correlated with wind direction, particularly during the daytime.</p><p>We investigate possible aseismic and seismic origins of the polarized signals. Lander or tether noise can be discarded. Pressure fluctuations transported by wind may explain part of the HF polarization but not the tilt of the ellipse. This tilt can be obtained if the source is an acoustic emission coming from high altitude at critical angle. Finally, in the evening when the wind is low, the polarized signals may correspond to the seismic wavefield of the Mars background noise.</p>


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabah Bensalem* ◽  
Djamal Machane ◽  
Jean-Luc Chatelain ◽  
Mohamed Djeddi ◽  
Hakim Moulouel ◽  
...  

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 186
Author(s):  
Alessandro Todrani ◽  
Giovanna Cultrera

On 24 August 2016, a Mw 6.0 earthquake started a damaging seismic sequence in central Italy. The historical center of Amatrice village reached the XI degree (MCS scale) but the high vulnerability alone could not explain the heavy damage. Unfortunately, at the time of the earthquake only AMT station, 200 m away from the downtown, recorded the mainshock, whereas tens of temporary stations were installed afterwards. We propose a method to simulate the ground motion affecting Amatrice, using the FFT amplitude recorded at AMT, which has been modified by the standard spectral ratio (SSR) computed at 14 seismic stations in downtown. We tested the procedure by comparing simulations and recordings of two later mainshocks (Mw 5.9 and Mw 6.5), underlining advantages and limits of the technique. The strong motion variability of simulations was related to the proximity of the seismic source, accounted for by the ground motion at AMT, and to the peculiar site effects, described by the transfer function at the sites. The largest amplification characterized the stations close to the NE hill edge and produced simulated values of intensity measures clearly above one standard deviation of the GMM expected for Italy, up to 1.6 g for PGA.


Author(s):  
José Piña-Flores ◽  
Martín Cárdenas-Soto ◽  
Antonio García-Jerez ◽  
Michel Campillo ◽  
Francisco J. Sánchez-Sesma

ABSTRACT Ambient seismic noise (ASN) is becoming of interest for geophysical exploration and engineering seismology, because it is possible to exploit its potential for imaging. Theory asserts that the Green’s function can be retrieved from correlations within a diffuse field. Surface waves are the most conspicuous part of Green’s function in layered media. Thus, the velocities of surface waves can be obtained from ASN if the wavefield is diffuse. There is widespread interest in the conditions of emergence and properties of diffuse fields. In the applications, useful approximations of the Green’s function can be obtained from cross correlations of recorded motions of ASN. An elastic field is diffuse if the background illumination is azimuthally uniform and equipartitioned. It happens with the coda waves in earthquakes and has been verified in carefully planned experiments. For one of these data sets, the 1999 Chilpancingo (Mexico) experiment, there are some records of earthquake pre-events that undoubtedly are composed of ASN, so that the processing for coda can be tested on them. We decompose the ASN energies and study their equilibration. The scheme is inspired by the original experiment and uses the ASN recorded in an L-shaped array that allows the computation of spatial derivatives. It requires care in establishing the appropriate ranges for measuring parameters. In this search for robust indicators of diffusivity, we are led to establish that under certain circumstances, the S and P energy equilibration is a process that anticipates the diffusion regime (not necessarily isotropy), which justifies the use of horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio in the context of diffuse-field theory.


2018 ◽  
Vol 108 (1) ◽  
pp. 309-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferdinando Napolitano ◽  
Anna Gervasi ◽  
Mario La Rocca ◽  
Ignazio Guerra ◽  
Roberto Scarpa
Keyword(s):  

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yawar Hussain ◽  
Martin Cardenas-Soto ◽  
Salvatore Martino ◽  
Cesar Moreira ◽  
Welitom Borges ◽  
...  

Geophysical methods have a varying degree of potential for detailed characterization of landslides and their dynamics. In this study, the application of four well-established seismic-based geophysical techniques, namely Ambient Noise Interferometry (ANI), Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR), Multi-Channel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) and Nanoseismic Monitoring (NM), were considered to examine their suitability for landslide characterization and monitoring the effect of seasonal variation on slope mass. Furthermore, other methods such as Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and DC Resistivity through Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) were also used for comparison purpose. The advantages and limitations of these multiple techniques were exemplified by a case study conducted on Sobradinho landslide in Brazil. The study revealed that the geophysical characterization of the landslide using traditional techniques (i.e., GPR, ERT and MASW) were successful in (i) the differentiation between landslide debris and other Quaternary deposits, and (ii) the delineation of the landslide sliding surface. However, the innovative seismic based techniques, particularly ambient noise based (HVSR and ANI) and emitted seismic based (NM), were not very effective for the dynamic monitoring of landslide, which might be attributed to the short-time duration of the data acquisition campaigns. The HVSR was also unsuccessful in landslide site characterization i.e., identification of geometry and sliding surface. In particular, there was no clear evidence of the light seasonal variations, which could have been potentially detected from the physical parameters during the (short-time) ambient noise and microseismic acquisition campaigns. Nevertheless, the experienced integration of these geophysical techniques may provide a promising tool for future applications.


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