Processing Seismic Ambient Noise Data to Obtain Reliable Surface Wave Dispersion Measurements

Ambient noise tomography is a rapidly emerging field of seismological research. This paper presents the current status of ambient noise data processing and its development history over the past several years, with the intention to explain and justify this development through salient examples. The ambient noise data processing procedure can be divided into four principal phases： ① single station data preparation; ② cross- correlation and temporal stacking; ③ measurements of dispersion curves （ performed with frequency-time analysis for both group and phase speeds） ; ④ quality control, including SNR analysis and selection of the acceptable measurements. In addition, we provide a specific solution for a better use of the seismic station data to ambient noise study.

Determination of Direction of Arrival of Seismic Wave by a Single Tri-axial Fiber Optic Geophone

A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) geophone and a surface seismic wave-based algorithm for detecting the direction of arrival (DOA) are described. The operational principle of FBG geophone is introduced and illustrated with systematic experimental data, demonstrating an improved FBG geophone with many advantages over the conventional geophones. An innovative, robust, and simple algorithm is developed for obtaining the bearing information on the seismic events, such as people walking, or vehicles moving. Such DOA estimate is based on the interactions and projections of surface-propagating seismic waves generated by the moving personnel or vehicles with a single tri-axial seismic sensor based on FBGs. Of particular interest is the case when the distance between the source of the seismic wave and the detector is less than or comparable to one wavelength (less than 100 m), corresponding to near-field detection, where an effective method of DOA finding lacks.

Near-surface model reconstruction using pseudo well-surface simultaneous travel time tomographic inversion

The static correction of a near-surface model may be improved by using travel time tomographic inversion.We discuss unfavorable factors in the inversion of surface seismic waves that have been analyzed by the first break.These factors show that sources and geophones arranged on the surface,or close to the surface,give a first break that only includes the direct wave and the up going wave from the down going to up going transition.These up going waves have weak directivity when they arrive at a geophone and so the rays passing through the grids have small directional differences and a narrow azimuth.Drawing lessons from the advantages of Vertical Seismic Profiling(VSP) acquisition mode we describe a pseudo well-surface simultaneous travel time tomographic inversion of a near-surface model.The well depth should be increased in the surface seismic study to produce a pure up going wave,to enhance the verticality of the rays and to increase the azimuth and shorten path length of the rays.Simulations of the effect of well depth on a pseudo well-surface simultaneous travel time tomographic inversion model are reported.The results show that the static corrections are improved significantly when the well depth extends below the weathered or sub-weathered layers.The root mean square error of the statics is 1.14 or 0.93 ms for these two situations,respectively.