Shallow velocity structure of the Luoyang basin derived from dense array observations of urban ambient noise

Determining the shallow structure of a sediment basin is important when evaluating potential seismic hazards given that such basins can significantly amplify seismic energy. The Luoyang basin is located in the western He’nan uplift and is a Meso-Cenozoic depression basin. To characterize the shallow structure of the basin, we develop a model of the shallow high-resolution three-dimensional(3D)shear-wave velocity structure of the basin by applying ambient noise tomography to a dense array of 107 portable digital seismometers deployed over the basin. More than 1,400 Rayleigh-wave dispersion curves for periods in the range 0.5–5 s are extracted. The 3D variations of shear-wave velocity in the shallow crust are inverted using a direct surface-wave tomographic method with period-dependent ray tracing, with all the surface-wave group-velocity dispersion data being inverted simultaneously. The results show that in the shallow crust of the study area, the velocity distribution corresponds to surface geology and geological features. The Luoyang basin exhibits a low shear-wave velocity feature that is consistent with the distribution of sediment in the region,while the Xiongershan and Songshan uplifts exhibit higher shear-wave velocity structures. The results provide a shallow high-resolution 3D velocity model that can be used as a basis for simulation of strong ground motion and evaluation of potential seismic hazards.

Preface to the special issue of Dense Array Seismology

Both earthquake seismology and structural seismology rely on observations, which in turn contribute critically to the development of seismology, especially in recent years.In order to understand specific geologic structures and interior processes of the Earth, seismic arrays are widely

Application of S-transform threshold filtering in Anhui experiment airgun sounding data de-noising

As a relatively new method of processing non-stationary signal with high time-frequency resolution, S transform can be used to analyze the time-frequency characteristics of seismic signals. It has the following characteristics: its time-frequency resolution corresponding to the signal frequency, reversible inverse transform, basic wavelet that does not have to meet the permit conditions. We combined the threshold method, proposed the S-transform threshold filtering on the basis of S transform timefrequency filtering, and processed airgun seismic records from temporary stations in "Yangtze Program"(the Anhui experiment). Compared with the results of the bandpass filtering, the S transform threshold filtering can improve the signal to noise ratio(SNR) of seismic waves and provide effective help for first arrival pickup and accurate travel time. The first arrival wave seismic phase can be traced farther continuously, and the Pm seismic phase in the subsequent zone is also highlighted.

Resolution assessment of the three-dimensional acquisition geometry of the Anhui experiment in"Geoscience Yangtze Plan"

According to the actual observation conditions of the Yangtze River valley from Anqing city to Maanshan city,we designed the 3D acquisition geometry,and applied the multi-scale checkerboard semblance analysis to assess the preliminary resolution of the designed observation.The checkerboard semblance tests use the refraction and reflection travel-time simultaneous inversion algorithm to quantitatively provide both resolution assessment of velocity structure and Moho topography.The multi-scale checker-board semblance recovery results show that while the chec-kerboard semblance threshold value is 0.5,the preliminary resolution of the designed acquisition geometry is better than 10 km in the upper crust(the depth is less than 10 km),around 15 km in the mid-crust(the depth is 10?25 km),and better than 20 km in the lower crust(the depth is 25?33 km).The preliminary tomographic resolution for the Moho topography is about 20 km in the ray-path coverage area beneath the acquisition geometry.While the checkerboard semblance threshold value is 0.75,the preliminary resolution is 20 km in the upper crust,around 20?25 km in the mid-crust and 25 km in the lower crust.And the preliminary tomographic resolution for the Moho topography is better than 30 km in the ray-path coverage area beneath the acquisition geometry.These non-linear checkerboard tests reveal that the designed acquisition geometry is suitable to image the crustal velocity structure of the Yangtze River valley in the Anhui province.

3-D isotropic and anisotropic tomography of P-wave travel times from the Anhui airgun experiment in the Yangtze River

The Middle-Lower Yangtze River is a typical transition region between the nearly NW-oriented Tethys and NE-trending Pacific tectonic regimes.Structures of different periods and directions overlap strongly during these processes.The NE-trending Yangtze River compound structural belt and NW-trending Tongling-Hangzhou structural belt both control the magmatic activities and distributions of the metallogenic belts in the area.Here,we obtain 3-D high-resolution isotropic and azimuthally anisotropic velocity structures at depths of 1–10 km using the first arrivals from airgun sources.The velocity maps correspond well with the tectonic structures,with high-velocity anomalies distributed in ore-concentrated districts and low-velocity anomalies distributed along the Yangtze River.The fast directions are generally consistent with the fault strike,indicating that the azimuthal anisotropy is mainly dominated by the fault and fracture trends in the upper crust.The complicated fast directions near the Luzong and Tongling ore deposits reveal complex deformations in the upper crust,which are mainly caused by the intersection of the Yangtze River compound and Tongling-Hangzhou structural belts.The magma intrusion beneath the two ore deposits(Luzong and Tongling)are connected at depths of 5–10 km.

Illuminating high-resolution crustal fault zones using multi-scale dense arrays and airgun source

High-resolution imaging of fault zone structure and its temporal changes can not only advance our understanding of earthquake physics,but is also critical for better seismic hazard preparation and mitigation.In the past a few years,we deployed multi-scale dense arrays across the Chenghai fault system in Binchuan,Yunnan,China.The first array consisted of 381 intermediate-period three-component seismometers with an average station spacing of~2 km.The array has been deployed in the field for~3 months in 2017 and recorded numerous local and teleseismic earthquakes.Travel time analyses based on teleseismic earthquakes and an airgun source in the region indicated clear signature of low-velocity fault zones in the southern branch of the Chenghai fault system.In 2018 we deployed two other linear arrays using the same instruments with much smaller inter-station spacing,e.g.30-50 m,across the southern branch the Chenghai fault.The profile lengths were 8 and 5 km,respectively.Record sections of the airgun source on the two linear arrays clearly marked a low-velocity zone(LVZ)within the southern array but no such signature in the northern array,suggesting along-strike variation of the LVZ.Although the instruments within our dense arrays had an intermediate frequency band,we demonstrated that they were capable of characterizing crustal structure with techniques commonly applied to broadband signals such as receiver functions.To our best knowledge,this was the first time to have multi-scale across-fault dense arrays with three-component seismometers in such apertures.These results lay out the pavement to comprehensively investigate fault zone structures as well as to derive subsurface structural changes using dense arrays and the airgun source.

Acidic electroreduction CO_(2)to formic acid via interfacial modification of Bi nanoparticles at industrial-level current

Electrocatalytic CO_(2)reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR)in acidic media is a promising approach to overcome the unavoidable formation of carbonates in alkaline or neutral electrolytes.However,the proton-rich environment near the catalyst surface favors hydrogen evolution reactions(HER),leading to lower energy efficiency of the desired products,especially in industrial-level current densities.Here,quaternary ammonium cationic surfactant(cetyltrimethylammonium bromide(CTAB))was introduced into acidic electrolyte to modulate the interfacial microenvironment,which greatly enhanced CO_(2)electroreduction to formic acid(HCOOH)at the Bi/C nanoparticles electrode.Using a Bi/C nanoparticles electrode with CTAB added,constant production of formic acid was enabled with a cathodic energy efficiency of>40%and maximum FE_(HCOOH)(FE=Faradaic efficiency)of 86.2%at−400 mA·cm^(−2)over 24 h.Combined with in-situ attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,the concentration of*OCHO intermediates significantly increased after CTAB modification,confirming that the hydrophobic interface microenvironment formed by dynamic adsorption of positively charged long alkyl chains on Bi/C nanoparticle electrodes inhibited HER and improved the selectivity of CO_(2)RR to HCOOH.

Crustal P-wave velocity structure in the northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and insights into crustal deformation

The transitional area between the northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Ordos Block and Alxa Block, also being the northern segment of the North-South Seismic Belt, is characterized by considerably high seismicity level and high risk of strong earthquakes. In view of the special tectonic environment and deep tectonic setting in this area, this study used two seismic wide-angle reflection/refraction cross profiles for double constraining, so as to more reliably obtain the fine-scale velocity structure characteristics in both the shallow and deep crust of individual blocks and their boundaries in the study area, and further discuss the seismogenic environment in seismic zones with strong historical earthquakes. In this paper, the P-wave data from the two profiles are processed and interpreted, and two-dimensional crustal velocity structure models along the two profiles are constructed by travel time forward modeling. The results show that there are great differences in velocity structure, shape of intra-crustal interfaces and crustal thickness among different blocks sampled by the two seismic profiles. The crustal thickness along the Lanzhou-Huianbu-Yulin seismic sounding profile （L1） increases from -43 km in the western margin of Ordos Block to -56 km in the Qilian Block to the west. In the Ordos Block, the velocity contours vary gently, and the average velocity of the crust is about 6.30 km s^-1; On the other hand, the velocity structures in the crust of the Qilian Block and the arc-like tectonic zone vary dramatically, and the average crustal velocities in these areas are about 0.10 km s^-1 lower than that of the Ordos Block. In addition, discontinuous low-velocity bodies （LVZ1 and LVZ2） are identified in the crust of the Qilian Block and the arc-like tectonic zone, the velocity of which is 0.10-0.20 krn s^-1 lower than that of the surroundings. The average crustal thickness of the Ordos Block is consistently estimated to be around 43 km along both Profile L2 （Tongchuan-Huianbu-Alashan left banner seismic sounding profile） and Profile L1. In contrast to the gently varying intra-crustal interfaces and velocity contours in the Ordos Block along Profile L 1, which is a typical structure characteristic of stable cratons, the crustal structure in the Ordos Block along Profile L2 exhibits rather complex variations. This indicates the presence of significant structural differences in the crust within the Ordos Block. The crustal structure of the Helan Mountain Qilian Block and the Yinchuan Basin is featured by ＂uplift and depression＂ undulations, showing the characteristics of localized compressional deformation. Moreover, there are low-velocity zones with altemative high and low velocities in the middle and lower crust beneath the Helan Mountain, where the velocity is about 0.15-0.25 km s^-1 lower than that of the surrounding areas. The crustal thickness of the Alxa Block is about 49 kin, and the velocity contours in the upper and middle-lower crust of the block vary significantly. The complex crustal velocity structure images along the two seismic sounding profiles L1 and L2 reveal considerable structural differences among different tectonic blocks, their coupling relationships and velocity structural features in the seismic zones where strong historical earthquakes occurred. The imaging result of this study provides fine-scale crustal structure information for further understanding the seismogenic environment and mechanism in the study area.

Crustal P-and S-Wave Velocity Structure of the North China Craton at 36°N from Active-Source Seismic Data and Its Tectonic Implications

We present crustal models for seismic P-waves(Vp),S-waves(Vs)and the Vp/Vs ratio across the southern North China Craton along latitude 36°N.Our results are based on inverse and forward modeling of long-range wide-angle reflection/refraction data.The crust of the southern Ordos Block has high lower crustal velocity(7.0 km/s)and a Moho depth of~42 km.In contrast,thick sediments and a lower average velocity(compared with the Ordos block)found underneath the Shanxi Graben are likely to be the products of rifting that has occurred since the Cenozoic.Steep Moho dips,exposed basement rock and higher average crustal velocity beneath the Lüliang Mountain and the Taihang Mountain are characteristic of an orogenic belt.The Tanlu fault and the Liaocheng-Lankao fault show sharp crustal velocity variations and a Moho offset.This seismic profile sampled the entire region of the Eastern North China Craton where the cratonic root has been destroyed and the unique crustal structure is correlated with the substantially modified lithosphere.Our crustal seismic velocity model shows a strong correspondence between surface geology,local tectonics and the deep crustal structure.