Development of a new high resolution waveform migration location method and its applications to induced seismicity

Locating seismic events is a central task for earthquake monitoring.Compared to arrival-based location methods,waveformbased location methods do not require picking phase arrivals and are more suitable for locating seismic events with noisy waveforms.Among waveform-based location methods,one approach is to stack different attributes of P and S waveforms around arrival times corresponding to potential event locations and origin times,and the maximum stacking values are assumed to indicate the correct event location and origin time.In this study,to obtain a high-resolution location image,we improve the waveform-based location method by applying a hybrid multiplicative imaging condition to characteristic functions of seismic waveforms.In our new stacking method,stations are divided into groups;characteristic functions of seismic waveforms recorded at stations in the same group are summed,and then multiplied among groups.We find that this approach can largely eliminate the cumulative effects of noise in the summation process and thus improve the resolution of location images.We test the new method and compare it to three other stacking methods,using both synthetic and real datasets that are related to induced seismicity occurring in petroleum/gas production.The test results confirm that the new stacking method can provide higher-resolution location images than those derived from currently used methods.

Weighted-elastic-wave interferometric imaging of microseismic source location

Knowledge of the locations of seismic sources is critical for microseismic monitoring. Time-window-based elastic wave interferometric imaging and weighted- elastic-wave （WEW） interferometric imaging are proposed and used to locate modeled microseismic sources. The proposed method improves the precision and eliminates artifacts in location profiles. Numerical experiments based on a horizontally layered isotropic medium have shown that the method offers the following advantages： It can deal with Iow-SNR microseismic data with velocity perturbations as well as relatively sparse receivers and still maintain relatively high precision despite the errors in the velocity model. Furthermore, it is more efficient than conventional traveltime inversion methods because interferometric imaging does not require traveltime picking. Numerical results using a 2D fault model have also suggested that the weighted-elastic-wave interferometric imaging can locate multiple sources with higher location precision than the time-reverse imaging method.

Microseismic source location using the Log-Cosh function and distant sensor-removed P-wave arrival data

Source location is the core foundation of microseismic monitoring.To date,commonly used location methods have usually been based on the ray-tracing travel-time technique,which generally adopts an L1 or L2 norm to establish the location objective function.However,the L1 norm usually achieves low location accuracy,whereas the L2 norm is easily affected by large P-wave arrival-time picking errors.In addition,traditional location methods may be affected by the initial iteration point used to find a local optimum location.Furthermore,the P-wave arrival-time data that have travelled long distances are usually poor in quality.To address these problems,this paper presents a microseismic source location method using the Log-Cosh function and distant sensor-removed P-wave arrival data.Its basic principles are as follows:First,the source location objective function is established using the Log-Cosh function.This function has the stability of the L1 norm and location accuracy of the L2 norm.Then,multiple initial points are generated randomly in the mining area,and the established Log-Cosh location objective function is used to obtain multiple corresponding location results.The average value of the 50 location points with the largest data field potential values is treated as the initial location result.Next,the P-wave travel times from the initial location result to triggered sensors are calculated,and then the P-wave arrival data with travel times exceeding 0.2 s are removed.Finally,the aforementioned location steps are repeated with the denoised P-wave arrival dataset to obtain a high-precision location result.Two synthetic events and eight blasting events from the Yongshaba mine,China,were used to test the proposed method.Regardless of whether the P-wave arrival data with long travel times were eliminated,the location error of the proposed method was smaller than that of the L1/L2 norm and trigger-time-based location method(TT1/TT2 method).Furthermore,after eliminating the Pwave arrival data with long travel distances,the location accuracy of these three location methods increased,indicating that the proposed location method has good application prospects.

Improvements in seismic event locations in a deep western U.S. coal mine using tomographic velocity models and an evolutionary search algorithm

Methods of improving seismic event locations were investigated as part of a research study aimed at reducing ground control safety hazards. Seismic event waveforms collected with a 23-station three-dimensional sensor array during longwall coal mining provide the data set used in the analyses. A spatially variable seismic velocity model is constructed using seismic event sources in a passive tomographic method. The resulting three-dimensional velocity model is used to relocate seismic event positions. An evolutionary optimization algorithm is implemented and used in both the velocity model development and in seeking improved event location solutions. Results obtained using the different velocity models are compared. The combination of the tomographic velocity model development and evolutionary search algorithm provides improvement to the event locations.

Location and moment tensor inversion of small earthquakes using 3D Green＇s functions in models with rugged topography： application to the Longmenshan fault zone

With dense seismic arrays and advanced imaging methods, regional three-dimensional （3D） Earth models have become more accurate. It is now increasingly feasible and advantageous to use a 3D Earth model to better locate earthquakes and invert their source mechanisms by fitting synthetics to observed waveforms. In this study, we develop an approach to determine both the earthquake location and source mechanism from waveform information. The observed waveforms are filtered in different frequency bands and separated into windows for the individual phases. Instead of picking the arrival times, the traveltime differences are measured by cross-correlation between synthetic waveforms based on the 3D Earth model and observed waveforms. The earthquake location is determined by minimizing the cross-correlation traveltime differences. We then fix the horizontal location of the earthquake and perform a grid search in depth to determine the source mechanism at each point by fitting the synthetic and observed waveforms. This new method is verified by a synthetic test with noise added to the synthetic waveforms and a realistic station distribution. We apply this method to a series of Mw3.4-5.6 earthquakes in the Longmenshan fault （LMSF） zone, a region with rugged topography between the eastern margin of the Tibetan plateau and the western part of the Sichuan basin. The results show that our solutions result in improved waveform fits compared to the source parameters from the catalogs we used and the location can be better constrained than the amplitude-only approach. Furthermore, the source solutions with realistic topography provide a better fit to the observed waveforms than those without the topography, indicating the need to take the topography into account in regions with rugged topography.

Research on location of underground explosion center based on distributed testing system

Distributed testing system has strong applicability in the field of dynamic testing,which can centrally manage the testing equipment in different locations through the local area network,and meet the new requirements of the test.Based on the theory of seismic location,the location of underground explosion center was studied.The applicability of seismic location theory to the location of underground explosion center was verified by simulating the underground explosion with LS-DYNA simulation platform.Combined with distributed testing system theory and weighting method,the optimal distribution method of test points was summarized through data analysis.

Study on the Precise Location of the Xinjiang Yutian M_S7.3 Earthquake

The seismic waveform of the Yutian Ms7. 3 earthquake, Xinjiang on February 12, 2014 was recorded clearly and completely by the Digital Seismic Networks of Xinjiang, Qinghai, Tibet, and Xinjiang Hotan array, so the method of joint location by regional seismic network and seismic array can be used to accurately determine the earthquake source location. The following technologies were used in the process of location： （ 1 ） We selected seismic stations equally located around the epicenter of the Ms 7. 3 earthquake with an average interval of about 15 degrees in the initial location. （2） The recording waveforms of Yutian seismic station were rotated to the radial and tangential directions to precisely obtain the arrival time of S-waves to determine the epicentral distance. （ 3） The velocity model was used in the determination of location of the epicenter, based on the historical records of earthquakes in the area within a radius of 1.0 ° from the source as the center, and the velocity model is obtained after re-fitting and calibration. （4） Based on the waveform records of the Hotan seismic array, the method of waveform beaming was used to determine the azimuths and perform the correction of the epicenter location with these azimuths. （5） The deterministic method was used to measure the source depth. Finally, it is concluded that the Yutian Ms 7. 3 main shock hypocenter location is 36. 197°N, 82. 467°E, focal depth 12km and original time 17：19：48. 2 μm. February 12, 2014.