scholarly journals Potential Use of Time-Lapse Surface Seismics for Monitoring Thawing of the Terrestrial Arctic

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1875
Author(s):  
Helene Meling Stemland ◽  
Tor Arne Johansen ◽  
Bent Ole Ruud
Keyword(s):  
Surface Wave ◽  
Seismic Data ◽  
Rock Physics ◽  
Wave Dispersion ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Unconsolidated Sediments ◽  
Frozen Ground ◽  
Surface Wave Dispersion ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Surface Temperatures

The terrestrial Arctic is warming rapidly, causing changes in the degree of freezing of the upper sediments, which the mechanical properties of unconsolidated sediments strongly depend upon. This study investigates the potential of using time-lapse surface seismics to monitor thawing of currently (partly) frozen ground utilizing synthetic and real seismic data. First, we construct a simple geological model having an initial temperature of −5 °C, and infer constant surface temperatures of −5 °C, +1 °C, +5 °C, and +10 °C for four years to this model. The geological models inferred by the various thermal regimes are converted to seismic models using rock physics modeling and subsequently seismic modeling based on wavenumber integration. Real seismic data reflecting altered surface temperatures were acquired by repeated experiments in the Norwegian Arctic during early autumn to mid-winter. Comparison of the surface wave characteristics of both synthetic and real seismic data reveals time-lapse effects that are related to thawing caused by varying surface temperatures. In particular, the surface wave dispersion is sensitive to the degree of freezing in unconsolidated sediments. This demonstrates the potential of using surface seismics for Arctic climate monitoring, but inversion of dispersion curves and knowledge of the local near-surface geology is important for such studies to be conclusive.

scholarly journals Probabilistic seismic-hazard site assessment in Kitimat, British Columbia, from Bayesian inversion of surface-wave dispersion

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 928-940
Author(s):  
Jeremy M. Gosselin ◽  
John F. Cassidy ◽  
Stan E. Dosso ◽  
Camille Brillon
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Surface Wave ◽  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Wave Dispersion ◽  
Site Amplification ◽  
Site Classification ◽  
Surface Wave Dispersion ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Amplification Factors

This paper applies rigorous quantitative inversion methods to estimate seismic-hazard site classification and amplification factors in Kitimat, British Columbia, due to near-surface geophysical conditions. Frequency-wavenumber seismic-array processing is applied to passive data collected at three sites in Kitimat to estimate surface-wave dispersion. The dispersion data are inverted using a fully nonlinear Bayesian (probabilistic) inference methodology to estimate shear-wave velocity (VS) profiles and uncertainties. The VS results are used to calculate the travel-time average of VS to 30 m depth (VS30) as a representation of the average sediment conditions, and to determine seismic-hazard site classification with respect to the National Building Code of Canada. In addition, VS30-dependent site amplification factors are computed to estimate site amplification at the three Kitimat sites. Lastly, the VS profiles are used to compute amplification and resonance spectra for horizontally polarized shear waves. Quantitative uncertainties are estimated for all seismic-hazard estimates from the probabilistic VS structure. The Kitimat region is the site for several proposed large-scale industrial development projects. One of the sites considered in this study is co-located with a recently deployed soil seismographic monitoring station that is currently recording ground motions as part of a 5 year campaign. The findings from this work will be useful for mitigating seismic amplification and resonance hazards on critical infrastructure, as well as for future seismological research, in this environmentally and economically significant region of Canada.

scholarly journals Time-lapse monitoring of climate effects on earthworks using surface waves

Geophysics ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. EN1-EN15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Bergamo ◽  
Ben Dashwood ◽  
Sebastian Uhlemann ◽  
Russell Swift ◽  
Jonathan E. Chambers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Wave ◽  
Transportation Network ◽  
Wave Dispersion ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Initial Model ◽  
Surface Wave Dispersion ◽  
Wave Data ◽  
Surface Wave Data

The UK’s transportation network is supported by critical geotechnical assets (cuttings/embankments/dams) that require sustainable, cost-effective management, while maintaining an appropriate service level to meet social, economic, and environmental needs. Recent effects of extreme weather on these geotechnical assets have highlighted their vulnerability to climate variations. We have assessed the potential of surface wave data to portray the climate-related variations in mechanical properties of a clay-filled railway embankment. Seismic data were acquired bimonthly from July 2013 to November 2014 along the crest of a heritage railway embankment in southwest England. For each acquisition, the collected data were first processed to obtain a set of Rayleigh-wave dispersion and attenuation curves, referenced to the same spatial locations. These data were then analyzed to identify a coherent trend in their spatial and temporal variability. The relevance of the observed temporal variations was also verified with respect to the experimental data uncertainties. Finally, the surface wave dispersion data sets were inverted to reconstruct a time-lapse model of S-wave velocity for the embankment structure, using a least-squares laterally constrained inversion scheme. A key point of the inversion process was constituted by the estimation of a suitable initial model and the selection of adequate levels of spatial regularization. The initial model and the strength of spatial smoothing were then kept constant throughout the processing of all available data sets to ensure homogeneity of the procedure and comparability among the obtained [Formula: see text] sections. A continuous and coherent temporal pattern of surface wave data, and consequently of the reconstructed [Formula: see text] models, was identified. This pattern is related to the seasonal distribution of precipitation and soil water content measured on site.

Frost quakes – the sound of a dynamic cryosphere and a convenient source for passive surface wave imaging of permafrost

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rowan Romeyn ◽  
Alfred Hanssen ◽  
Andreas Köhler ◽  
Bent Ole Ruud ◽  
Helene Meling Stemland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Stress ◽  
Surface Wave ◽  
Wave Dispersion ◽  
Surface Wave Dispersion ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Wave Imaging ◽  
Passive Seismic ◽  
Temporal Occurrence ◽  
Similar Class ◽  
Cooling Air

<p>A class of short-duration seismic events were recorded on dense, temporary geophone arrays deployed in Adventdalen, Svalbard in spring and autumn 2019. A similar class of events have also been detected in seismic records from the SPITS seismic array located on Janssonhaugen in Adventdalen, that has been in continuous operation since the 1990’s. In both cases, estimated source positions are dominantly local and cluster around frost polygon, ice-wedge geomorphologies. Correlation with periods of rapidly cooling air temperature and consequent thermal stress build-up in the near surface are also observed. These events are consequently interpreted as frost quakes, a class of cryoseism. The dense, temporary arrays allowed high quality surface-wave dispersion images to be generated, that show potential to monitor structure and change in permafrost through passive seismic deployments. While the lower wavenumber resolution of the sparser SPITS array is less suited to imaging the near-surface in detail, the long continuous recording period gives us a unique insight into the temporal occurrence of frost quakes. This allows us, for example, to better understand the dynamic processes leasing to frost quakes by correlating temporal occurrence with models of thermal stress in the ground, constrained by thermistor temperature measurements from a nearby borehole.</p>

scholarly journals 2D characterization of near‐surface : surface‐wave dispersion inversion versus refraction tomography

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 315-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvain Pasquet ◽  
Ludovic Bodet ◽  
Laurent Longuevergne ◽  
Amine Dhemaied ◽  
Christian Camerlynck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Wave ◽  
Wave Dispersion ◽  
Surface Wave Dispersion ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Refraction Tomography
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