Joint Inversion of Rayleigh and Love Dispersion Curves Extracted from Ambient Seismic Noise Based on Secular Function

Traditional multi-mode dispersion curve inversion requires correct mode discrimination. However, when the stratum contains complex structures such as low-speed soft interlayer or high-speed hard interlayer, the dispersion curve may show phenomena such as “mode kissing” and “mode jumping”, which can easily cause mode misjudgment and lead to erroneous inversion results. Based on the “secular function”, this paper constructs a new type of objective function applied to the inversion of dispersion curve. This objective function does not require prior mode discrimination, which effectively solves the “mode misjudgment” problem of multi-mode dispersion curve inversion. The joint inversion of Rayleigh and Love dispersion curves extracted from ambient seismic noise is used to improve the constraint of the inversion and avoid the inversion falling into a local minimum in the case of a large-scale search of parameters. Finally, a numerical simulation was performed to verify the feasibility of the new inversion method.

Using ambient seismic noise to study temporal and spatial surface wave velocity structures and ambient noise field characteristics of central South Island, New Zealand

<p>Ambient seismic noise is used to examine the spatial and temporal surface wave velocity structures and ambient seismic noise fields in the vicinity of different fault zone environments. This study focuses on two distinct regions of central South Island, New Zealand. The Canterbury Plains is a sedimentary basin with many minor faults, which was considered to have low seismic hazard prior to the 2010 – 2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence. We focus on the time period immediately following the 2010 Darfield earthquake, which ruptured the previously unmapped Greendale Fault. The second region of interest is the central Southern Alps. The locked portion of the Alpine Fault currently poses one of the largest seismic hazards for New Zealand. The wealth of data from both permanent and temporary seismic deployments in these regions make them ideal areas in which to assess the effectiveness of ambient noise for velocity modelling in regions surrounding faults at different stages of their seismic cycles. Temporal velocity changes are measured following the Mw 7.1 Darfield earthquake of 4 September 2010 in the Canterbury Plains. Nine-component cross-correlations are computed from temporary and permanent seismic stations lying on and surrounding the Greendale Fault. Using the Moving-Window Cross-Spectral method, surface wave velocity changes are calculated for the four months immediately following the earthquake until 10 January 2011, for 0.1 — 1.0 Hz. An average increase in seismic velocity of 0.14 ± 0.04 % is determined throughout the region, providing the first such estimate of postseismic relaxation rates in Canterbury. Depth analyses further showed that velocity changes are confined to the uppermost 5 km of the subsurface and we attribute this to postseismic relaxation via crack-healing of the Greendale Fault and throughout the surrounding region. Rayleigh and Love wave dispersion is examined throughout the Canterbury region. Multi-component cross-correlation functions are analysed for group and phase dispersion curves. These are inverted using frequency-time analysis for 2-D phase and group velocity maps of Rayleigh and Love waves. A high-velocity zone to the southeast of the region coincides with volcanic rocks of Banks Peninsula. Dispersion curves generated from the surface wave tomography are further inverted for one-dimensional shear velocity profiles. These models show a thin, low-velocity near surface layer consistent with the basin sediments, which thins towards the foothills of the Southern Alps. A near-surface damage zone is identified along the length of the Greendale Fault, with consistent reduced Vs velocities to depth of up to 5 km. Surface and shear wave velocity maps are computed for the central Southern Alps to image the seismic structure of the region. Tomographic surface maps at periods of 5 – 12 s are produced from dispersion measurements of three-component cross-correlation functions. At periods of 5 – 8 s a strong NE-SW trending velocity contrast highlights the Alpine Fault. One-dimensional shear velocity models, computed from the surface wave maps, are in agreement with previous models produced by other conventional methods. An analysis of surface wave amplitudes through signal-to-noise ratios of cross-correlations reveals strong directional effects. Calculated signal-to-noise ratios are up to eight times higher for surface waves travelling north-west than for waves travelling to the south or east. We attribute this to a combination of more energetic ocean wave signals from the Southern Ocean compared to the Tasman Sea.</p>

Using ambient seismic noise to study temporal and spatial surface wave velocity structures and ambient noise field characteristics of central South Island, New Zealand

<p>Ambient seismic noise is used to examine the spatial and temporal surface wave velocity structures and ambient seismic noise fields in the vicinity of different fault zone environments. This study focuses on two distinct regions of central South Island, New Zealand. The Canterbury Plains is a sedimentary basin with many minor faults, which was considered to have low seismic hazard prior to the 2010 – 2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence. We focus on the time period immediately following the 2010 Darfield earthquake, which ruptured the previously unmapped Greendale Fault. The second region of interest is the central Southern Alps. The locked portion of the Alpine Fault currently poses one of the largest seismic hazards for New Zealand. The wealth of data from both permanent and temporary seismic deployments in these regions make them ideal areas in which to assess the effectiveness of ambient noise for velocity modelling in regions surrounding faults at different stages of their seismic cycles. Temporal velocity changes are measured following the Mw 7.1 Darfield earthquake of 4 September 2010 in the Canterbury Plains. Nine-component cross-correlations are computed from temporary and permanent seismic stations lying on and surrounding the Greendale Fault. Using the Moving-Window Cross-Spectral method, surface wave velocity changes are calculated for the four months immediately following the earthquake until 10 January 2011, for 0.1 — 1.0 Hz. An average increase in seismic velocity of 0.14 ± 0.04 % is determined throughout the region, providing the first such estimate of postseismic relaxation rates in Canterbury. Depth analyses further showed that velocity changes are confined to the uppermost 5 km of the subsurface and we attribute this to postseismic relaxation via crack-healing of the Greendale Fault and throughout the surrounding region. Rayleigh and Love wave dispersion is examined throughout the Canterbury region. Multi-component cross-correlation functions are analysed for group and phase dispersion curves. These are inverted using frequency-time analysis for 2-D phase and group velocity maps of Rayleigh and Love waves. A high-velocity zone to the southeast of the region coincides with volcanic rocks of Banks Peninsula. Dispersion curves generated from the surface wave tomography are further inverted for one-dimensional shear velocity profiles. These models show a thin, low-velocity near surface layer consistent with the basin sediments, which thins towards the foothills of the Southern Alps. A near-surface damage zone is identified along the length of the Greendale Fault, with consistent reduced Vs velocities to depth of up to 5 km. Surface and shear wave velocity maps are computed for the central Southern Alps to image the seismic structure of the region. Tomographic surface maps at periods of 5 – 12 s are produced from dispersion measurements of three-component cross-correlation functions. At periods of 5 – 8 s a strong NE-SW trending velocity contrast highlights the Alpine Fault. One-dimensional shear velocity models, computed from the surface wave maps, are in agreement with previous models produced by other conventional methods. An analysis of surface wave amplitudes through signal-to-noise ratios of cross-correlations reveals strong directional effects. Calculated signal-to-noise ratios are up to eight times higher for surface waves travelling north-west than for waves travelling to the south or east. We attribute this to a combination of more energetic ocean wave signals from the Southern Ocean compared to the Tasman Sea.</p>

Imaging New Zealand's Crustal Structure Using Ambient Seismic Noise Recordings from Permanent and Temporary Instruments

<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>

Imaging New Zealand's Crustal Structure Using Ambient Seismic Noise Recordings from Permanent and Temporary Instruments

<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>