scholarly journals Using Teleseismic P-Wave Arrivals to Calibrate the Clock Drift of Autonomous Underwater Hydrophones

Author(s):  
Alexey Sukhovich ◽  
Julie Perrot ◽  
Jean-Yves Royer

ABSTRACT Networks of autonomous underwater hydrophones (AUHs) are successfully employed for monitoring the low-level seismicity of mid-oceanic ridges by detecting hydroacoustic phases known as T waves. For a precise localization of a seismic event from T-wave arrival times, all AUHs must be synchronized. To this effect, at the beginning of the experiment, all instrument clocks are set to GPS time, which serves as a common reference. However, during the experiment, the instrument clock often deviates from GPS time, and, because the amount of deviation differs from one instrument to another, the synchronization of the AUHs deteriorates, as the experiment progresses in time. Just after the instrument recovery, the time difference (called “skew”) between the instrument and the GPS clocks is measured. Assuming that the skew varies linearly with time, the correction of a time series for the clock drift is a straightforward procedure. When the final skew cannot be determined, correcting for the clock drift is not possible, and any event localization becomes problematic. In this article, we demonstrate that the clock-drift rate (assumed to be time-independent) can be successfully estimated from arrival times of teleseismic P waves, commonly recorded by AUHs. Using a ray-tracing code, and accounting for the uncertainties in event hypocenter locations, origin times, and the Earth seismic-velocity model, confidence intervals of the estimated drift rates are deduced. The validity of the approach is tested on data from two AUHs with known clock drifts. Our results show that a reliable estimation is possible for skews as small as 4 s per two years (corresponding to a drift rate of about 5.5  ms·day−1). This method can also be applied to correct data of other recording instruments subject to internal-clock drift, such as ocean-bottom seismometers, when the skew is unknown.

1992 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 2494-2510
Author(s):  
H. R. Quin ◽  
C. H. Thurber

Abstract Three-component seismic data from a set of presumed explosions recorded by stations at Bayanaul and Karkaralinsk in Kazakhstan were analyzed in order to model the crustal structure of the region and to examine the use of the arrival times of secondary P phases, primarily PmP, in regional event location. Polarization analysis aided in the identification of the secondary phases. Low-pass filtered data (4-Hz corner) from the first 5 to 10 sec of 13 presumed explosions were modeled with the reflectivity method. The two chemical explosions in 1987 provided a check on accuracy, as their locations and origin times are accurately known. A good fit to the arrival times and amplitudes in the first 5 sec of the P wave (Pn, Pg, and PmP) was obtained in the epicentral distance range of 100 to 300 km. Beyond 300 km, the simple layered model was not adequate to model the PmP arrival. The crustal P-wave velocity model we derived has an upper crustal velocity increasing fairly rapidly from 4.5 km/sec near the surface to 6.5 km/sec at 15-km depth, then increasing more slowly to 7.05 km/sec at 50-km depth. The observed difference in the arrival times of the phases Pg, PmP, and Pn in the range between 100- and 250-km distance required a relatively sharp transition at the crust mantle boundary. The model is generally similar to previous estimates of P velocity structure in the region, though with a gentler gradient in the upper crust and a steeper gradient in the lower crust. We used the derived crustal model and the primary and secondary P-wave arrival times to relocate events in the Kazakhstan region. Inclusion of the phase PmP substantially decreases the focal depth uncertainty for many of the events. All but one of the events analyzed are concluded to be surface explosions; the identity of the remaining event is uncertain.


2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 2247-2258
Author(s):  
Karina Loviknes ◽  
Zeinab Jeddi ◽  
Lars Ottemöller ◽  
Thibaut Barreyre

Abstract Ocean-bottom seismographs (OBSs) are used to obtain seismic recordings offshore and are an increasingly important tool for investigating the globe. However, because OBS data cannot be time stamped using Global Positioning System (GPS) during deployment, correction for drift of the internal clock is required. This time drift is typically derived by synchronizing the clock before and after deployment. Linear correction is then applied using the timing deviation between GPS and the instrument’s internal clock at recovery, that is, the skew measurement. If synchronization measurements are missing, ambient noise cross-correlation functions (CCFs) are commonly used for time correction. When investigating recordings from a small-scale OBS network located on the Mohn’s mid-ocean ridge, we observed a remaining drift on the skew-corrected data. After recalculating the drift of the raw data using CCFs, we found that the skew-based time correction was incorrect. This was also verified with the observation of teleseismic P-wave arrivals. We describe a method to obtain properly time-corrected data and discuss the OBS timing issues in detail. The results shown were obtained using a software package that we developed for this specific purpose and made available as open-source software. Although we cannot explain the technical reason for the failure of skew correction, this study shows that skew corrections should not be trusted alone, and OBS timing should always be verified by either ambient noise correlations or P-wave arrival times.


1991 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 508-523
Author(s):  
Jim Mori

Abstract Event record sections, which are constructed by plotting seismograms from many closely spaced earthquakes recorded on a few stations, show multiple free-surface reflections (PP, PPP, PPPP) of the P wave in the Imperial Valley, California. The relative timing of these arrivals is used to estimate the strength of the P-wave velocity gradient within the upper 5 km of the sediment layer. Consistent with previous studies, a velocity model with a value of 1.8 km/sec at the surface increasing linearly to 5.8 km/sec at a depth of 5.5 km fits the data well. The relative amplitudes of the P and PP arrivals are used to estimate the source depth for the aftershock distributions of the Elmore Ranch and Superstition Hills main shocks. Although the depth determination has large uncertainties, both the Elmore Ranch and Superstition Hills aftershock sequences appear to have similar depth distribution in the range of 4 to 10 km.


Geophysics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. B41-B57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Himanshu Barthwal ◽  
Mirko van der Baan

Microseismicity is recorded during an underground mine development by a network of seven boreholes. After an initial preprocessing, 488 events are identified with a minimum of 12 P-wave arrival-time picks per event. We have developed a three-step approach for P-wave passive seismic tomography: (1) a probabilistic grid search algorithm for locating the events, (2) joint inversion for a 1D velocity model and event locations using absolute arrival times, and (3) double-difference tomography using reliable differential arrival times obtained from waveform crosscorrelation. The originally diffusive microseismic-event cloud tightens after tomography between depths of 0.45 and 0.5 km toward the center of the tunnel network. The geometry of the event clusters suggests occurrence on a planar geologic fault. The best-fitting plane has a strike of 164.7° north and dip angle of 55.0° toward the west. The study region has known faults striking in the north-northwest–south-southeast direction with a dip angle of 60°, but the relocated event clusters do not fall along any mapped fault. Based on the cluster geometry and the waveform similarity, we hypothesize that the microseismic events occur due to slips along an unmapped fault facilitated by the mining activity. The 3D velocity model we obtained from double-difference tomography indicates lateral velocity contrasts between depths of 0.4 and 0.5 km. We interpret the lateral velocity contrasts in terms of the altered rock types due to ore deposition. The known geotechnical zones in the mine indicate a good correlation with the inverted velocities. Thus, we conclude that passive seismic tomography using microseismic data could provide information beyond the excavation damaged zones and can act as an effective tool to complement geotechnical evaluations.


Geophysics ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-52
Author(s):  
Yuzhu Liu ◽  
Xinquan Huang ◽  
Jizhong Yang ◽  
Xueyi Liu ◽  
Bin Li ◽  
...  

Thin sand-mud-coal interbedded layers and multiples caused by shallow water pose great challenges to conventional 3D multi-channel seismic techniques used to detect the deeply buried reservoirs in the Qiuyue field. In 2017, a dense ocean-bottom seismometer (OBS) acquisition program acquired a four-component dataset in East China Sea. To delineate the deep reservoir structures in the Qiuyue field, we applied a full-waveform inversion (FWI) workflow to this dense four-component OBS dataset. After preprocessing, including receiver geometry correction, moveout correction, component rotation, and energy transformation from 3D to 2D, a preconditioned first-arrival traveltime tomography based on an improved scattering integral algorithm is applied to construct an initial P-wave velocity model. To eliminate the influence of the wavelet estimation process, a convolutional-wavefield-based objective function for the preprocessed hydrophone component is used during acoustic FWI. By inverting the waveforms associated with early arrivals, a relatively high-resolution underground P-wave velocity model is obtained, with updates at 2.0 km and 4.7 km depth. Initial S-wave velocity and density models are then constructed based on their prior relationships to the P-wave velocity, accompanied by a reciprocal source-independent elastic full-waveform inversion to refine both velocity models. Compared to a traditional workflow, guided by stacking velocity analysis or migration velocity analysis, and using only the pressure component or other single-component, the workflow presented in this study represents a good approach for inverting the four-component OBS dataset to characterize sub-seafloor velocity structures.


Geophysics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. KS63-KS73
Author(s):  
Yangyang Ma ◽  
Congcong Yuan ◽  
Jie Zhang

We have applied the cross double-difference (CDD) method to simultaneously determine the microseismic event locations and five Thomsen parameters in vertically layered transversely isotropic media using data from a single vertical monitoring well. Different from the double-difference (DD) method, the CDD method uses the cross-traveltime difference between the S-wave arrival time of one event and the P-wave arrival time of another event. The CDD method can improve the accuracy of the absolute locations and maintain the accuracy of the relative locations because it contains more absolute information than the DD method. We calculate the arrival times of the qP, qSV, and SH waves with a horizontal slowness shooting algorithm. The sensitivities of the arrival times with respect to the five Thomsen parameters are derived using the slowness components. The derivations are analytical, without any weak anisotropic approximation. The input data include the cross-differential traveltimes and absolute arrival times, providing better constraints on the anisotropic parameters and event locations. The synthetic example indicates that the method can produce better event locations and anisotropic velocity model. We apply this method to the field data set acquired from a single vertical monitoring well during a hydraulic fracturing process. We further validate the anisotropic velocity model and microseismic event locations by comparing the modeled and observed waveforms. The observed S-wave splitting also supports the inverted anisotropic results.


1996 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Poupinet ◽  
A. Ratdomopurbo ◽  
O. Coutant

Multiplets, i.e. events with similar waveforms, are common features on active volcanoes. The seismograms of multiplets are analyzed by cross-spectrum techniques: this procedure improves by a factor of about 10 the precision of differential P-arrival times and therefore the accuracy of the relative location of earthquakes. Long period events which cannot be located because of the impossibility to pick up P-waves on individual seismograms can be located with a precision of about 10 m. Such a precision permits fault planes to be mapped inside a volcanic edifice and the azimuth and strike of fractures to be defined. Seismograms of the two events (of a doublet) that occur on different dates are analyzed by the Cross Spectrum Moving Window technique (CSMW) for measuring the time delay between waves in the coda. The pattern of the delays in the coda is a function of the temporal changes of seismic velocity that occurred inside the volcano during the time interval that separates the two events of a doublet. We illustrate the potential of the doublet technique for detecting temporal changes inside a volcano by performing computations of synthetic seismograms. The case of a dyke injected inside the volcano is considered as well as that of the replenishment of a superficial magma chamber and of a general increase in velocity in the summit of the volcano. Data from Merapi volcano (Indonesia)illustrate a possible temporal velocity change inside the volcano several months before the 1992 eruption.


Solid Earth ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 523-535
Author(s):  
M. Dec ◽  
M. Malinowski ◽  
E. Perchuc

Abstract. We present a new 1-D P wave seismic velocity model (called MP1-SUW) of the upper mantle structure beneath the western rim of the East European Craton (EEC) based on the analysis of the earthquakes recorded at the Suwałki (SUW) seismic station located in NE Poland which belongs to the Polish Seismological Network (PLSN). Motivation for this study arises from the observation of a group of reflected waves after expected P410P at epicentral distances 2300–2800 km from the SUW station. Although the existing global models represent the first-arrival traveltimes, they do not represent the full wavefield with all reflected waves because they do not take into account the structural features occurring regionally such as 300 km discontinuity. We perform P wave traveltime analysis using 1-D and 2-D forward ray-tracing modelling for the distances of up to 3000 km. We analysed 249 natural seismic events from four azimuthal spans with epicentres in the western Mediterranean Sea region (WMSR), the Greece and Turkey region (GTR), the Caucasus region (CR) and the part of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge near the Jan Mayen Island (JMR). For all chosen regions, except the JMR group for which 2-D modelling was performed, we estimate a 1-D average velocity model which will characterize the main seismic discontinuities. It appears that a single 1-D model (MP1-SUW model) explains well the observed traveltimes for the analysed groups of events. Differences resulting from the different azimuth range of earthquakes are close to the assumed picking uncertainty. The MP1-SUW model documents the bottom of the asthenospheric low-velocity zone (LVZ) at the depth of 220 km, 335 km discontinuity and the zone with the reduction of P wave velocity atop 410 km discontinuity which is depressed to 440 km depth. The nature of the regionally occurring 300 km boundary is explained here by tracing the ancient subduction regime related to the closure of the Iapetus Ocean, the Rheic Ocean and the Tornquist Sea.


1974 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 1501-1507 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Sutton

Abstract A fall in P-wave velocity before the Gisborne earthquake of March 4, 1966 is indicated by arrival-time residuals of P waves from distant earthquakes recorded at the Gisborne seismograph station. Residuals were averaged over 6-month intervals from 1964 to 1968 and showed an increase of about 0.5 sec, implying later arrival times. The change began about 480 days before the earthquake. This precursory time interval is about that expected for an earthquake of this magnitude (ML = 6.2), but unlike most other reported instances, there was no obvious delay between the return of the velocity to normal and the occurrence of the earthquake. Similar analyses were carried out over the same period for two other New Zealand seismograph stations; at Karapiro there was no significant variation in mean residuals, and at Wellington the scatter was too large for the results to be meaningful. The Gisborne earthquake had a focus in the lower crust, about 25 km deep and was deeper than other events for which such precursory drops in P-wave velocity have been reported.


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