scholarly journals Shear velocity structure of the Northland Peninsula, New Zealand, inferred from ambient noise correlations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Behr ◽  
John Townend ◽  
S Bannister ◽  
Martha Savage

Ambient noise correlation has been successfully applied in several cases to regions with dense seismic networks whose geometries are well suited to tomographic imaging. The utility of ambient noise correlation-based methods of seismic imaging where either network or noise field characteristics are less ideal has yet to be fully demonstrated. In this study, we focus on the Northland Peninsula of New Zealand using data from five seismographs deployed in a linear pattern parallel to the direction from which most of the ambient noise arrives. Shear wave velocity profiles computed from Rayleigh and Love wave dispersion curves using the Neighborhood Algorithm are in good agreement with the results of a previous active source refraction experiment and a teleseismic receiver function and surface wave analysis. In particular, we compute a path-averaged Moho depth of ̃28 km along a ̃250 km profile. The use of both Rayleigh and Love wave measurements enables us to estimate the degree of radial anisotropy in the crust, yielding values of 2-15%. These results demonstrate that ambient noise correlation methods provide useful geophysical constraints on lithospheric structure even for nonoptimal network geometries and noise field characteristics. © 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Behr ◽  
John Townend ◽  
S Bannister ◽  
Martha Savage

Ambient noise correlation has been successfully applied in several cases to regions with dense seismic networks whose geometries are well suited to tomographic imaging. The utility of ambient noise correlation-based methods of seismic imaging where either network or noise field characteristics are less ideal has yet to be fully demonstrated. In this study, we focus on the Northland Peninsula of New Zealand using data from five seismographs deployed in a linear pattern parallel to the direction from which most of the ambient noise arrives. Shear wave velocity profiles computed from Rayleigh and Love wave dispersion curves using the Neighborhood Algorithm are in good agreement with the results of a previous active source refraction experiment and a teleseismic receiver function and surface wave analysis. In particular, we compute a path-averaged Moho depth of ̃28 km along a ̃250 km profile. The use of both Rayleigh and Love wave measurements enables us to estimate the degree of radial anisotropy in the crust, yielding values of 2-15%. These results demonstrate that ambient noise correlation methods provide useful geophysical constraints on lithospheric structure even for nonoptimal network geometries and noise field characteristics. © 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuel Kästle ◽  
Irene Molinari ◽  
Lapo Boschi ◽  
AlpArray Working Group

<p>We make use of the AlpArray Seismic Network to study the properties of the ambient-noise field and create a new 3D shear-velocity model of the Alpine crust. The latter will be used to improve our understanding of the tectonic processes that formed the Alps.</p><p>From two years of data, more than 150,000 station-station cross-correlations are extracted and used to evaluate strength and directivity of the noise field and its seasonal variations. Phase-velocity measurements for both Love and Rayleigh waves are obtained and the anisotropic phase-velocity structure is imaged. At mid-crustal levels, the strongest azimuthal anisotropy is found underneath the northern Italian Po plain and in the northern Dinarides, with strengths of 10-20% and a fast axis direction pointing NNE in Italy and NE in the Dinarides. In the western and central Alps we find an approximately NE direction and a strength of 5%; the eastern Alpine fast axis point toward the north with strengths of 2-5%.</p><p>We apply a probabilistic inversion to resolve the 3D shear-velocity structure of the crust. The homogeneous and dense station setup results in a shear-velocity model of unprecedented resolution for the uppermost 60 km of the crust underneath the entire orogen. By using data in the period range between 2 and 100s, we are able to better constrain shallow structures, such as the sedimentary basins, and to link surface-geological features to velocity variations observed at depth.</p>


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. SJ87-SJ101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Civilini ◽  
Aasha Pancha ◽  
Martha Kane Savage ◽  
Steven Sewell ◽  
John Townend

We have determined subsurface structure using the refraction microtremor (ReMi) method at the Ngatamariki geothermal field, Central North Island, New Zealand. The local geology is such that refraction and reflection studies are hindered by energy scattering and attenuation in the near-surface layers. The ReMi method uses surface waves from ambient noise and active sources to determine S-wave velocities in the shallow subsurface. We have deployed two lines of 72-channel, 10 Hz vertical geophones with 10 m spacing, and we were able to model near-surface S-wave velocity to depths of 57–93 m for 2D profiles and as much as 165 m for 1D profiles. Shear-velocity anomalies were detected on one line that were spatially correlated with a fault. The location of the fault was previously inferred from stratigraphic offset in the geothermal wells, suggesting that the ReMi method can provide important constraints on near-surface geology in noisy geothermal settings.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Yannik Behr

<p>We use ambient seismic noise to image the crust and uppermost mantle, and to determine the spatiotemporal characteristics of the noise field itself, and examine the way in which those characteristics may influence imaging results. Surface wave information extracted from ambient seismic noise using cross-correlation methods significantly enhances our knowledge of the crustal and uppermost mantle shear-velocity structure of New Zealand. We assemble a large dataset of three-component broadband continuous seismic data from temporary and permanent seismic stations, increasing the achievable resolution of surface wave velocity maps in comparison to a previous study. Three-component data enables us to examine both Rayleigh and Love waves using noise cross-correlation functions. Employing a Monte Carlo inversion method, we invert Rayleigh and Love wave phase and group velocity dispersion curves separately for spatially averaged isotropic shear velocity models beneath the Northland Peninsula. The results yield first-order radial anisotropy estimates of 2% in the upper crust and up to 15% in the lower crust, and estimates of Moho depth and uppermost mantle velocity compatible with previous studies. We also construct a high-resolution, pseudo-3D image of the shear-velocity distribution in the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the central North Island using Rayleigh and Love waves. We document, for the first time, the lateral extent of low shear-velocity zones in the upper and mid-crust beneath the highly active Taupo Volcanic Zone, which have been reported previously based on spatially confined 1D shear-velocity profiles. Attributing these low shear-velocities to the presence of partial melt, we use an empirical relation to estimate an average percentage of partial melt of < 4:2% in the upper and middle crust. Analysis of the ambient seismic noise field in the North Island using plane wave beamforming and slant stacking indicates that higher mode Rayleigh waves can be detected, in addition to the fundamental mode. The azimuthal distributions of seismic noise sources inferred from beamforming are compatible with high near-coastal ocean wave heights in the period band of the secondary microseism (~7 s). Averaged over 130 days, the distribution of seismic noise sources is azimuthally homogeneous, indicating that the seismic noise field is well-suited to noise cross-correlation studies. This is underpinned by the good agreement of our results with those from previous studies. The effective homogeneity of the seismic noise field and the large dataset of noise cross-correlation functions we here compiled, provide the cornerstone for future studies of ambient seismic noise and crustal shear velocity structure in New Zealand.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Máté Timkó ◽  
Lars Wiesenberg ◽  
Amr El-Sharkawy ◽  
Zoltán Wéber ◽  
Thomas Meier ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;The Pannonian Basin is located in Central-Europe surrounded by the Alpine, Carpathian, and Dinarides mountain ranges. This is a back-arc basin characterized by shallow Moho depth, updoming mantle and high heat flow. In this study, we present the results of the Rayleigh wave based ambient noise tomography to investigate the velocity structure of the Carpathian-Pannonian region.&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For the ambient noise measurements, we collected the continuous waveform data from more than 1280 seismological stations from the broader Central-Eastern European region. This dataset embraces all the permanent and the temporary (AlpArray, PASSEQ, CBP, SCP) stations from the 9-degree radius of the Pannonian Basin which were operating between the time period between 2005 and 2018. All the possible vertical component noise cross-correlation functions were calculated and all phase velocity curves were determined in the 5-80 s period range using an automated measuring algorithm.&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The collected dispersion measurements were then used to create tomographic images that are characterized by similar velocity anomalies in amplitude, pattern and location that are consistent with the well-known tectonic and geologic structure of the research area and are comparable to previous tomographic models published in the literature.&lt;/p&gt;


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 641-652
Author(s):  
Feng Liang ◽  
Zhihui Wang ◽  
Hailong Li ◽  
Kai Liu ◽  
Tao Wang

Urban geophysics ups the ante in the world of applied geophysics, which requires innovative thinking and seemingly off-the-wall approaches, if for no other reason than the settings. Ambient-noise-tomography (ANT) can play a pivotal role in yielding subsurfa2ce information in urban areas, which is capable of dealing with challenges related to these scenarios ( e.g., human activities and low signal-to-noise ratio). In this study, the ANT was conducted to investigate the near-surface shear-velocity structure in the surrounding area of the Baotu Spring Park in downtown Jinan, Shandong Province, China. Quiet clear Rayleigh waves have been obtained by the cross-correlation, which indicates that strong human activities, such as moving vehicles and municipal engineering constructions, can produce approximately isotropic distribution of noise sources for high-frequency signals. The direct surface-wave tomographic method with period-dependent ray-tracing was used to invert all surface-wave dispersion data in the period band 0.2-1.5 s simultaneously for 3D variations of shear-velocity (Vs) structure. Our results show a good correspondence to the geological features with thinner Quaternary sediments, the geological structural characteristic of the limestone surrounded by the igneous which has the highest velocity than that of the limestone in the study area, and several concealed faults of which specific location has been detected at depth. The results demonstrate that it is possible to successfully use ANT with high-frequency signal in an urban environment provided a detailed planning and execution is implemented.


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