ALBERT

Description: The article presents problem of non-uniform foundation of structures in weak wet subsoil. The problem is illustrated with the case study of two-chamber-reinforced concrete water tank constructed in 1920s of 20th century, which cracked during construction. Under part of foundation, where the peat was found, the concrete piles were introduced.The results of five-year measurement of crack widths with crack gauges and geodesic measurements of vertical displacement of tank were presented. These results indicate that the tank is not stable and part of broken tank supported on piles is movable.On the basis of the presented data, the general conclusions concerning the non-uniform founding of tanks are formulated.

Description: The inclusions of geosynthetic materials (fibers, geomembranes and geotextiles) is a new improvement technique that ensures uniformity in the soil during construction. The use of tension resisting discreet inclusions like polypropylene fibers has attracted a significant amount of attention these past years in the improvement of soil performance in a cost-efficient manner. A series of direct shear box tests were conducted on unreinforced and reinforced Chlef sand with different contents of fibers (0, 0.25, 0.5 and0.75%) in order to study the mechanical behavior of sand reinforced with polypropylene fibers. Samples were prepared at three different relative densities 30%, 50% and 80% representing loose, medium dense and dense states,respectively, and performed at normal stresses of 50, 100 and 200 kPa. The experimental results show that the mechanical characteristics are improved with the addition of polypropylene fibers. The inclusion of randomly distributed fibers has a significant effect on the shear strength and dilation of sandy soil. The increase in strength is a function of fiber content, where it has been shown that the mechanical characteristics improve with the increase in fiber content up to 0.75%, this improvement is more significant at a higher normal stress and relative density.

Description: The present article examines the problem related to the axisymmetric torsion of an elastic layer by a circular rigid disc at the symmetry plane. The layer is sandwiched between two similar elastic half-spaces with two penny-shaped cracks symmetrically located at the interfaces between the two bonded dissimilar media. The mixed boundary-value problem is transformed, by means of the Hankel integral transformation, to dual integral equations, that are reduced, to a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. The numerical methods are used to convert the resulting system to a system of infinite algebraic equations. Some physical quantities such as the stress intensity factor and the moment are calculated and presented numerically according to some relevant parameters. The numerical results show that the discontinuities around the crack and the inclusion cause a large increase in the stresses that decay with distance from the disc-loaded. Furthermore, the dependence of the stress intensity factor on the disc size, the distance between the crack and the disc, and the shear parameter is also observerd.

Description: A characteristic feature of soil-steel structures is that, unlike in typical bridges, the backfill and the carriageway pavement with its foundation play a major role in bearing loads. In the soil-steel structure model, one can distinguish two structural subsystems: the shell made of corrugated plates and the backfill with the pavement layers. The interactions between the subsystems are modelled as interfacial interactions, that is, forces normal and tangent to the surface of the shell. This is a static condition of the consistency of mutual interactions between the surrounding earth and the shell, considering that slip can arise at the interface between the subsystems. This paper presents an algorithm for determining the internal forces in the shell on the basis of the unit strains in the corrugated plates, and subsequently, the interfacial interactions. The effects of loads arising during the construction of a soil-steel bridge when, for example, construction machines drive over the structure, are taken into account in the analysis of the internal forces in the shell and in the surrounding earth. During construction, the forces in the shell are usually many times greater than the ones generated by service loads. Thus, the analytical results presented in this paper provide the basis for predicting the behaviour of the soil medium under operational loads.

Description: This article presents the results of laboratory tests on soft, normally consolidated soils from the Vistula Marshlands. Samples of high-plasticity organic soils (muds) taken from 3.2–4.0 m and 9.5–10.0 m depth, as well as peat deposit at 14.0 m, are analysed. Presented case study confirms the applicability of the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH) method based on Cone Penetration Tests (CPTU) and allows for a conservative estimation of effective friction angle for muds. The plastification angle equal to 14.5° for organic silt, applied in the modified NTH method, fits well the triaxial test (TX) results. Moreover, the dilative-contractive behaviour according to the CPTU soil classification based on the Robertson’s proposal from 2016 corresponds well with volumetric changes observed in the consolidated drained triaxial compression tests. The internal friction angles of the Vistula Marshlands’ muds and peats are lower in comparison with the database of similar soft soils.

Description: Based on the response of small-scale model square footing, the present paper shows the results of an experimental bearing capacity of eccentrically loaded square footing, near a slope sand bed. To reach this aim, a steel model square footing of (150 mm × 150 mm) and a varied sand relative density of 30%, 50% and 70% are used. The bearing capacity-settlement relationship of footing located at the edge of a slope and the effect of various parameters such as eccentricity (e) and dimensions report (b/B) were studied. Test results indicate that ultimate bearing capacity decreases with increasing load eccentricity to the core boundary of footing and that as far as the footing is distant from the crest, the bearing capacity increases. Furthermore, the results also prove that there is a clear proportional relation between relative densities –bearing capacity. The model test provides qualitative information on parameters influencing the bearing capacity of square footing. These tests can be used to check the bearing capacity estimated by the conventional methods.

Description: Tunnel construction below or adjacent to piles will affect the performance and eventually the stability of piles due to ground deformation resulting in the movement of piles and changes in the axial force distribution along the piles. A three dimensional finite element analysis using PLAXIS 3D (2013) was performed to study the behaviour of a single pile and 3 x 3 piles group during the advancement of shield tunnelling in ground. The 10-node tetrahedral elements were used to model both the soil and the tunnel lining. The Hardening Soil (HS) model was used to simulate the soil structure interaction at the tunnel-soil interface. An isotropic elastic model was used for the pile, piles cap, tunnel lining and tunnel boring machine shield (TBM). Several parametric studies were attempted including the longitudinal, lateral, and vertical tunnel location relative to pile embedded in different types of soil (clay or sand). The results showed that the pile head settlement increases during the tunnelling advancement in larger values than that for ground surface settlement. A zone of influence was determined in the range of twice the tunnel diameter in the longitudinal direction (forward and backward of the pile), and transverse direction (left and right of the tunnel centreline). If the tunnel boring is kept off this zone then there is no fear of pile collapse.

Description: The paper evaluates the effectiveness of reinforcing a damaged earth structure with making counterfort drains in its slope. The system of counterfort drains changed the soil properties significantly over a long-term use. The evaluation was based on many years of field and laboratory tests and stability analysis. The field tests concerned the observation of N WST probing resistance change, and the laboratory tests concerned the change in soil consistency and water content. The paper presents the results of tests that were conducted over 13 years.

Description: The article describes a computer analysis of the pull-out test used to calculate the force needed to pull out a rock fragment and determine the shape of this broken fragment. The analyzed material is sandstone and porphyry. The analysis included the first approach to using own subroutine in the Simulia Abaqus system, that is, which task is undertaken to accurately determine the crack path of the Finite Element Method model. The work also contains a description of laboratory tests and analytical considerations.

Description: At present, the suspended monorail systems constitute a very common means of transportation in the Polish hard coal mines. The main advantages of the suspended monorail include the independence of the route from the working floor surface irregularities and the possibility to transport cargo of significant mass and size.The masses and dimensions of machines and devices transported via monorail have increased considerably in recent times. This particularly concerns the transport of longwall system elements. In Poland, the maximum speed of suspended monorail travel is 2 m/s. Due to the fact that preparations are currently underway to increase the maximum speed above 2 m/s, it is necessary to inspect what influence it will have on work safety and mining support stability.Current operational experience and tests have shown that dynamic loads induced by the suspended monorail transportation have a significant influence on the roadway support stability, working protection durability and on the monorail operators. This is particularly true during the emergency braking of a suspended monorail by means of a braking trolley, where the overloads reach 3g.Bench tests of the selected steel arch and rock bolt support elements utilised in the Polish hard coal mines were conducted in order to determine the resistance of steel arch and rock bolt supports to static and dynamic loads.The article presents the results of the tests conducted on a steel arch support in the form of the sliding joints of an ŁP/V29 yielding roadway support, which is commonly employed in the Polish hard coal mines. Tests of elements of the threaded bolts with trapezoidal threads over the entire rod length were conducted as well.The conducted strength tests of steel arch and rock bolt support elements under static and dynamic loading have shown that dynamic loading has decisive influence on the support’s retaining of its stability. Support element stability decreases along with the increase of the impact velocity. This concerns both the steel arch support and the rock bolt support.

Description: We show that the global non-linear stability threshold for convection in a double-diffusive couple-stress fluid saturating a porous medium is exactly the same as the linear instability boundary. The optimal result is important because it shows that linearized instability theory has captured completely the physics of the onset of convection. It is also found that couple-stress fluid saturating a porous medium is thermally more stable than the ordinary viscous fluid, and the effects of couple-stress parameter (F ) , solute gradient ( S f ) and Brinkman number ( D a ) on the onset of convection is also analyzed.

Description: This paper discusses the pull-out laboratory tests and the monitoring of expansion-shell bolts with a length of 1.82 m. The bolts comprised the KE-3W expansion shell, a rod with a diameter of 0.0183 m and a profiled, circular plate with a diameter of 0.14 m, and a gauge of 0.006 m. The bolts were installed in a concrete block with a compressive strength of 75 MPa. The tests were conducted on a state-of-the-art test stand owned by the Department of Underground Mining of the AGH University of Science and Technology. The test stand can be used to test roof bolts on a geometric scale of 1:1 under static and rapidly varying loads. Also, the stand is suitable for testing rods measuring 5.5 m in length. The stand has a special feature of providing the ongoing monitoring of bolt load, displacement and deformation. The primary aim of the study was to compare the results recorded by two different measurement systems with the innovative Self-Excited Acoustic System (SAS) for measuring stress variations in roof bolts. In order to use the SAS, a special handle equipped with an accelerometer and exciter mounted to the nut or the upset end of the rod was designed at the Faculties of Mining and Geoengineering and Mechanical Engineering and Robotics of the AGH University of Science and Technology. The SAS can be used for nondestructive evaluation of performance of bolts around mining workings and in tunnels. Through laboratory calibration tests, roof bolt loads can be assessed using the in-situ non-destructive method.

Description: This paper presents an experimental investigation of the discharge flow pressure in the vertical silo and the hopper due to the use of insert (top cone with trunk cone bottom). Using the Insert inside the silos is one of the proposed solutions to avoid the problems of having funnel flow pattern, which has a significant effect on the distribution of flow pressure exerted on the silo wall and the hopper. The experiments were performed on a metal cylinder prototype; corn was used as a granular material, and the wall and hopper pressure distribution was measured by a special pressure transducer. The experiments revealed an important result in the flow pressure due to the change in the location of the insert. The experiments were conducted in Damascus University laboratories.

Description: Water seepage is one of the most important features of embankment dams. To prevent and reduce seepage, it is necessary to seal the dam. Plastic concrete cutoff walls are one of the most efficient methods in waterproofing the foundation of embankment dams on permeable alluvial substrates. Sufficient resistance to loads, low permeability to maintain dam sealing, high ductility compatible with the foundation and deformation under load without cracking are the main requirements in plastic concrete cutoff walls. In this paper, the construction and implementation of the cutoff wall of Karkheh Dam, which is one the world’s largest water sealing projects, was studied. In addition, a numerical model using Seep-3D software was developed to evaluate the efficiency of the cut-off wall to decrease the seepage over the dam’s foundation. The numerical results validated by instrumentation statistics resulted from 17-years dam operation. According to the results, after the drainage of the reservoir, the cutoff wall optimally reduced the hydraulic gradient by 0.08 from 2.35 and the water leakage by 3.1 m/s from 18.3 m/s.

Description: The main issue of the paper is the estimation of soil hydraulic permeability based on the DMT test. DMTA, DMTC and SASK methods performed in the Nielisz dam, Stegny and the SGGW Campus of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences sites are described. The article presents the implementation of the dilatometer Marchetti test (DMT) in the determination of soil fraction and effects of its occurrence in the subsoil, tested in the Nielisz dam located in the Wieprz river valley in the Lublin province, and in various sites in Warsaw (Stegny site and SGGW Campus of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences). In order to acquire the needed data, the flat dilatometer test (DMT) method was used. A direct and indirect pressure methodology of interpreting soil swelling was characterized in the article. The paper shows the possibilities of determining sand, silt and clay soil fractions based on po and p1 pressures from dilatometer tests (DMT) and the effective (σ’vo) and total (σvo) vertical in situ overburden stress. Additionally, the main advantage of this paper is the proposal of use of a new chart to determine hydraulic permeability and soil fraction, based on DMT tests.

Description: This article deals with the vibrations of a nonprismatic thin-walled beam with an open cross section and any geometrical parameters. The thin-walled beam model presented in this article was described using the membrane shell theory, whilst the equations were derived based on the Vlasov theory assumptions. The model is a generalisation of the model presented by Wilde (1968) in ‘The torsion of thin-walled bars with variable cross-section’, Archives of Mechanics, 4, 20, pp. 431–443. The Hamilton principle was used to derive equations describing the vibrations of the beam. The equations were derived relative to an arbitrary rectilinear reference axis, taking into account the curving of the beam axis and the axis formed by the shear centres of the beam cross sections. In most works known to the present authors, the equations describing the nonprismatic thin-walled beam vibration problem do not take into account the effects stemming from the curving (the inclination of the walls of the thin-walledcross section towards to the beam axis) of the analysed systems. The recurrence algorithm described in Lewanowicz’s work (1976) ‘Construction of a recurrence relation of the lowest order for coefficients of the Gegenbauer series’, Applicationes Mathematicae, XV(3), pp. 345–396, was used to solve the derived equations with variable coefficients. The obtained solutions of the equations have the form of series relative to Legendre polynomials. A numerical example dealing with the free vibrations of the beam was solved to verify the model and the effectiveness of the presented solution method. The results were compared with the results yielded by finite elements method (FEM).

Description: This paper presents the results obtained from an experimental programme and numerical investigations conducted on model tests of strip footing resting on reinforced and unreinforced sand slopes. The study focused on the determination of ultimate bearing capacity of strip footing subjected to eccentric load located either towards or opposite to the slope facing. Strip footing models were tested under different eccentricities of vertical load. The obtained results from tests conducted on unreinforced sand slope showed that the increase in eccentricity of applied load towards the slope facing decreases the ultimate bearing capacity of footing. Predictions of the ultimate bearing capacity obtained by the effective width rule are in good agreement with those proposed from the consideration of total width of footing subjected to eccentric load. The ultimate bearing capacity of an eccentrically loaded footing on a reinforced sand slope can be derived from that of axially loaded footing resting on horizontal sand ground when adopting the effective width rule and the coefficient of reduction due to the slope. When increasing the distance between the footing border to the slope crest, for unreinforced and reinforced ground slope by geogrids, the ultimate bearing capacity of footing is no more affected by the slope ground.

Description: In urban areas, the control of ground surface settlement is an important issue during shield tunnel-boring machine (TBM) tunneling. These ground movements are affected by many machine control parameters. In this article, a finite difference (FD) model is developed using Itasca FLAC-3D to numerically simulate the whole process of shield TBM tunneling. The model simulates important components of the mechanized excavation process including slurry pressure on the excavation face, shield conicity, installation of segmental lining, grout injection in the annular void, and grout consolidation. The analysis results from the proposed method are compared and discussed in terms of ground movements (both vertical and horizontal) with field measurements data. The results reveal that the proposed 3D simulation is sufficient and can reasonably reproduce all the operations achieved by the TBM. In fact, the results show that the TBM parameters can be controlled to have acceptable levels of surface settlement. In particular, it seems that moderate face pressure can reduce ground movement significantly and, most importantly, can prevent the occurrence of face-expected instability when the shield crosses very weak soil layers. The shield conicity has also an important effect on ground surface settlement, which can be partly compensated by the grout pressure during tail grouting. Finally, the injection pressure at the rear of the shield significantly reduces the vertical displacements at the crown of the tunnel and, therefore, reduces the settlement at the ground surface.

Description: This paper presents an enhanced constitutive model integrating deviatoric hardening with a modified yield surface for overconsolidated clayey soils in a general framework of Cam-clay type models. Its performance was assessed with the simulation of drained and undrained triaxial tests on three clays at different consolidation states in comparison to two critical state models. The proposed model satisfactorily estimates the shear resistance, while capturing the smooth nonlinearity of the soil response.Shear triaxial tests at constant mean pressure were performed on an overconsolidated marl to study the shear response. Their simulation attests the importance of deviatoric hardening integration.

Description: The present study investigates the onset of penetrative convection in- duced by selective absorption of radiation in a magnetic nanofluid saturated porous medium. The influence of Brownian motion, thermophoresis, and magnetophoresis on magnetic nanofluid treatment is taken into consideration. The Darcy’s model is selected for the porous medium. We conduct a linear stability analysis to examine the onset of instability and evaluate the results for two different configurations, namely, when the layer is heated from below and when the layer is heated from above. The numerical investigations are carried out by applying the Chebyshev pseudospectral method. The effect of the porosity parameter E, parameter Y (represents the ratio of internal heating to boundary heating), Lewis number Le, concentration Rayleigh number Rn, Langevin parameter αL, width of nanofluid layer d, diffusivity ratio η, and modified diffusivity ratio NA is examined at the onset of convection. The results indicate that the convection commences easily with an increase in the value of Y, Le, and NA but opposite in the case with a decrease in the value of E, αL, η and d for both the two configurations. The parameter Rn advances the onset of convection when the layer is heated from below, while delays the onset of convection when the layer is heated from above.

Description: This article presents the results of tests on the energy properties of sedimentary rocks in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. The rocks were tested both in an air-dry state and in a water saturation state. Samples of sedimentary rocks were collected from boreholes drilled in the underground workings of coal mines located within the area of the city of Jastrzębie, in the areas of the Chwałowice Trough and Rybnik Trough (south-western part of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin) and in the Main Trough. Influence of saturation condition on the values of the tested energy parameters was observed. The values of elastic energy and dissipated energy obtained for the samples tested in water saturation were lower compared to the values obtained for samples tested in air-dry state. As observed, an increase in the values of the given types of specific energy corresponds to an increase in the uniaxial compression strength in air-dry state and in water saturation state. Results of the tests are original and they can be applied while analysing the possibility of the occurrence of some dynamic phenomena and hazards in mine workings in Carboniferous rock mass in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, caused by mining operations.

Description: Different types of foundations are used in steel, above-ground cylindrical storage tanks for liquids. If a sand-gravel foundation is used under the entire bottom of the tank or only in the central part of the tank, settlement can be expected, and it increases after many years of operation. The paper presents the typical kinds and types of soil settlements under the bottoms of the tanks, in which different types of foundations were used. Numerical analyses of the effect of the soil settlement on the state of deformations and stresses in steel sheets of the bottom under one of the real tanks, in which different types of foundations and different cases of settlement were assumed. The results of numerical analyses indicated the possibility of evaluating the state of the soil settlement and bottom sheet deformations on the basis of simple measurements of deformations of the lower part of the tank cylinder. These measurements can be very useful in assessing the possible risk of failure of the tank bottom during each period of its operation, as measurements of settlement of the bottom of a filled tank are not feasible in practice. It has been proposed that in each steel tank, the deformation of the cylinder’s sheets should be measured even before the beginning of exploitation, and that in subsequent periodical measurements, the influence of the soil settlement under the tank on the state of the cylinder deformation and bottom’s strain should be assessed more accurately.

Description: Sands reinforced by hydraulic binders (cement) have constituted in recent decades a major asset for the expansion of several areas of engineering. The mechanical behavior of sand-cement mixtures has undergone some controversies studied on the Chlef sand. In this paper, we present an experimental study to investigate the mechanical behavior of a sandy soil reinforced by a hydraulic binder (cement), using the direct shear apparatus emphasizing on the shear strength characteristics and the vertical deformation variation of cemented reinforced sand. The parameters used in this study are mainly: relative density (Dr = 80%), normal stress (σn = 100, 200, 400 kPa), water content (3, 7 and 10%), cement content (2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 %) and cure time (7, 14 and 28 days). The experimental results show that the mechanical characteristics in terms of internal cohesion (C) and internal frication angle (φ) give a better mechanical performance with the binder inclusion, and the cure conditions play an effective role on the improvement of the shear strength. This result also showed that 10% of the cement content gave us a maximum value of shear strength and an optimal influence on the mechanical characteristics. The addition of cement not only improves the shear strength of soil, but also provides diversity in the resistance against the deformations imposed load, which can be established by a dilatant character.

Description: Extractive industries often use explosives to destroy rocks, and productivity requirements tend to increase the charges of the explosives. The blasts induce vibrations, which result in a potential damage of the surrounding structures. Therefore, the prediction of vibrations should be described with accuracy, in order to ensure the safety of engineered structures. However, the prediction of vibrations’ levels remain a complicated issue, because it involves numerous parameters correlated to the quarry site. In this paper, statistical analysis based on the peak particle velocity (PPV) and the attenuation law has been carried out to assess the safety charges (Q) for different distances (R) between the blast and the considered structure to secure. Moreover, the experimental investigations were conducted on the quarry site of “Sococim”, which is located on the south coast of Senegal. To ensure the safety of the “Conveyor belt” and “Panel 1 (Upper exploitation level)” sites, the PPV should be less than 10 mm/s. In fact, the attenuation model has been used to assess the safe charge weights of the explosive (Q) to be used at the “Conveyor belt” site and at the “Panel 1 (Upper exploitation level)” site. Therefore, the safe charge weights per delay (Q) were respectively 116 kg and 13.75 kg.

Description: This work presents the geotechnical problems occurring in the interaction area between road embankments and the bridge structures in case a subsoil characterised by complex and complicated geological and engineering conditions. These significant problems that occur during the design, performance and exploitation of the abutment structures, are illustrated on the example of engineering practice in Lower Silesia, concerning a road embankment that constitutes access to the bridge. The results of numerical analyses concerning the process of consolidation of low-strength soils and their impact on the settlements of road embankment indicate the need to carry out such analyses also in the cases, when the soft soils occur in the direct geotechnical layer under the designed embankment. The Authors included in this article a discussion regarding other effective actions and solutions that can be used in the design and performance phase, leading to the elimination or reduction of problems concerning the connection of engineering structures with road embankments, which have been recurring for years, ultimately resulting in the improvement of quality, comfort and safety of road exploitation.

Description: Understanding the quality of intact rock is one of the most important parts of any engineering projects in the field of rock mechanics. The expression of correlations between the engineering properties of intact rock has always been the scope of experimental research, driven by the need to depict the actual behaviour of rock and to calculate most accurately the design parameters. To determine the behaviour of intact rock, the value of important mechanical parameters such as Young’s modulus (E), Poisson’s ratio (ν) and the strength of rock (σcd) was calculated. Recently, for modelling the behaviour of intact rock, the crack initiation stress (σci) is another important parameter, together with the strain (σ). The ratio of Young’s modulus and the strength of rock is the modulus ratio (MR), which can be used for calculations. These parameters are extensively used in rock engineering when the deformation of different structural elements of underground storage, caverns, tunnels or mining opening must be computed. The objective of this paper is to investigate the relationship between these parameters for Hungarian granitic rock samples. To achieve this goal, the modulus ratio (MR = E/σc) of 50 granitic rocks collected from Bátaapáti radioactive waste repository was examined. Fifty high-precision uniaxial compressive tests were conducted on strong (σc 〉100 MPa) rock samples, exhibiting the wide range of elastic modulus (E = 57.425–88.937 GPa), uniaxial compressive strength (σc = 133.34–213.04 MPa) and Poisson’s ratio (ν = 0.18–0.32). The observed value (MR = 326–597) and mean value of MR = 439.4 are compared with the results of similar previous researches. Moreover, the statistical analysis for all studied rocks was performed and the relationshipbetween MR and other mechanical parameters such as maximum axial strain $left( {{varepsilon }_{ext{a,},ext{max}}} ight)$for studied rocks was discussed.

Description: Waste material such as used tires is increasing every year, which poses environmental problems. However, such material has been used in several geotechnical applications as alternative lightweight backfill in highway embankments and/or behind retaining walls, providing environmental, economic and technical benefits. These applications require knowledge of engineering properties of soil-tire rubber mixtures. The present study aims to show the possibility of tire rubber usage in sand by evaluating the shear strength and deformability of sand mixed with granulated rubber, in weight percentages between 0 and 50%. The tire rubber content was found to influence the stress-strain and deformation behavior of the mixtures. The shear strength of sand mixed with 10% or 20% tire rubber was higher than that measured for sand only. However, the trend for TRC = 30–50% was different. Samples with a rubber content of 30-50% exhibited a rapid decrease in the stress ratio compared with that of sand. The major principal strain at maximum stress ratio was found to increase with increasing tire rubber content. However, it was observed that the lateral strains (minor and intermediate principal strains) of samples reduced significantly with the addition of tire rubber to the sand.

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉The investigation of using a novel radial basis function-based meshfree method for forward modelling magnetotelluric data is presented. The meshfree method, which can be termed radial basis function-based finite difference (RBF-FD), uses only a cloud of unconnected points to obtain the numerical solution throughout the computational domain. Unlike mesh-based numerical methods (for example, grid-based finite difference, finite volume and finite element), the meshfree method has the unique feature that the discretization of the conductivity model can be decoupled from the discretization used for numerical computation, thus avoiding traditional expensive mesh generation and allowing complicated geometries of the model be easily represented. To accelerate the computation, unstructured point discretization with local refinements are employed. Maxwell’s equations in the frequency domain are re-formulated using $\mathbf {A}$-ψ potentials in conjuction with the Coulomb gauge condition, and are solved numerically with a direct solver to obtain magnetotelluric responses. A major obstacle in applying common meshfree methods in modelling geophysical electromagnetic data is that they are incapable of reproducing discontinuous fields such as the discontinuous electric field over conductivity jumps, causing spurious solutions. The occurrence of spurious, or non-physical, solutions when applying standard meshfree methods is removed here by proposing a novel mixed scheme of the RBF-FD and a Galerkin-type weak-form treatment in discretizing the equations. The RBF-FD is applied to the points in uniform conductivity regions, whereas the weak-form treatment is introduced to points located on the interfaces separating different homogeneous conductivity regions. The effectiveness of the proposed meshfree method is validated with two numerical examples of modelling the magnetotelluric responses over three-dimensional conductivity models.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉Receiver functions are sensitive to sharp seismic velocity variations with depth and are commonly used to constrain crustal thickness. The H-κ stacking method of Zhu and Kanamori (〈span〉2000〈/span〉) is often employed to constrain both the crustal thickness (H) and ${V_P}$/${V_S}$ ratio ($\kappa $) beneath a seismic station using P-to-s converted waves (Ps). However, traditional H-κ stacks require an assumption of average crustal velocity (usually ${V_P}$). Additionally, large amplitude reverberations from low velocity shallow layers, such as sedimentary basins, can overprint sought-after crustal signals, rendering traditional H-$\ \kappa $ stacking uninterpretable. We overcome these difficulties in two ways. When S-wave reverberations from sediment are present, they are removed by applying a resonance removal filter allowing crustal signals to be clarified and interpreted. We also combine complementary Ps receiver functions, Sp receiver functions, and the post-critical P wave reflection from the Moho (SP〈sub〉m〈/sub〉p) to remove the dependence on an assumed average crustal ${V_P}$. By correcting for sediment and combining multiple data sets, the crustal thickness, average crustal P-wave velocity, and crustal ${V_P}$/${V_S}$ ratio is constrained in geologic regions where traditional H-$\ \kappa $ stacking fails, without making an initial P-wave velocity assumption or suffering from contamination by sedimentary reverberations.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉In the original version of this article the author, Adrian Flores Orozco, was incorrectly listed. This has now been corrected and the publisher apologises for the error.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉The evolution of the Philippine Sea Plate (PSP) since Jurassic is one of the key issues in the dynamics of lithosphere and mantle. The related studies benefited mostly from seismic tomography which provides velocity structures in the upper mantle. However, the upper-mantle structure is not well resolved compared to the continental areas due to the lack of seismic data in the Philippine Sea. We employ a 3-D gravity inversion constrained by an initial model based on the 〈span〉S〈/span〉-wave tomography (SL2013sv; Schaeffer & Lebedev 2013) to image the density structure of the upper mantle of the PSP and adjacent region. The resulting model shows a three-layer pattern of vertical high-low-high density variation in the upper mantle under the PSP. The thin high-density layer evidences for strong oceanic lithosphere in the West Philippine Sea. The relatively low dense mantle located below the PSP possibly originates from the asthenosphere. The PSP differs from the Pacific and the Indian-Australian plates in the whole depth range, while its structure is similar to the eastern Eurasian and Sunda plates. In the depth range, 200–300 km, the relative high-density zone beneath PSP extends to the Sunda Plate and to the eastern Eurasian Plate. We further estimated the conversion factor of our density model and the velocity model (SL2013sv; Schaeffer & Lebedev 2013) in order to locate the changes of compositional effects in the upper mantle. The negative conversion factor indicates that the compositional changes primarily affect the density anomalies beneath the PSP. We, therefore, describe the layered density structures as ‘sandwich’ pattern, which is unique and different from adjacent regions.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Low-velocity layers within the crust can indicate the presence of melt and lithologic differences with implications for crustal composition and formation. Seismic wave conversions and reverberations across the base of the crust or intracrustal discontinuities, analysed using the receiver function method, can be used to constrain crustal layering. This is commonly accomplished by inverting receiver functions jointly with surface wave dispersion. Recently, the proliferation of model-space search approaches has made this technique a workhorse of crustal seismology. We show that reverberations from shallow layers such as sedimentary basins produce spurious low-velocity zones when inverted for crustal structure with surface wave data of insufficiently high frequency. Therefore, reports of such layers in the literature based on inversions using receiver function data should be re-evaluated. We demonstrate that a simple resonance-removal filter can suppress these effects and yield reliable estimates of crustal structure, and advocate for its use in receiver-function based inversions.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉We present a numerical method for simulating both single-event dynamic ruptures and earthquake sequences with full inertial effects in antiplane shear with rate-and-state fault friction. We use the second-order form of the wave equation, expressed in terms of displacements, discretized with high-order-accurate finite difference operators in space. Advantages of this method over other methods include reduced computational memory usage and reduced spurious high frequency oscillations. Our method handles complex geometries, such as non-planar fault interfaces and free surface topography. Boundary conditions are imposed weakly using penalties. We prove time stability by constructing discrete energy estimates. We present numerical experiments demonstrating the stability and convergence of the method, and showcasing applications of the method, including the transition in rupture style from crack-like ruptures to slip pulses for strongly rate-weakening friction and the simulation of earthquake sequences in a viscoelastic solid with a fully dynamic coseismic phase.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉We derive a theoretical relationship between the cross correlation of ambient Rayleigh waves (seismic ambient noise) and the attenuation parameter α associated with Rayleigh-wave propagation. In particular, we derive a mathematical expression for the multiplicative factor relating normalized cross correlation to the Rayleigh-wave Green’s function. Based on this expression, we formulate an inverse problem to determine α from cross correlations of recorded ambient signal. We conduct a preliminary application of our algorithm to a relatively small instrument array, conveniently deployed on an island. In our setup, the mentioned multiplicative factor has values of about 2.5 to 3, which, if neglected, could result in a significant underestimate of α. We find that our inferred values of α are reasonable, in comparison with independently obtained estimates found in the literature. Allowing α to vary with respect to frequency results in a reduction of misfit between observed and predicted cross correlations.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Global phases, viz. seismic phases that travel through the Earth’s core, can be used to locally image the crust by means of seismic interferometry. This method is known as Global Phase Seismic Interferometry (GloPSI). Traditionally, GloPSI retrieves low-frequency information (up to 1 Hz). Recent studies, however, suggest that there is high-frequency signal present in the coda of strong, distant earthquakes. This research quantifies the potential of these high-frequency signals, by analysing recordings of a multitude of high-magnitude earthquakes (≥6.4 〈span〉M〈/span〉〈sub〉w〈/sub〉) and their coda on a selection of permanent USArray stations. Nearly half of the 〈span〉P, PKP〈/span〉 and PKIKP phases are recorded with a signal-to-noise ratio of at least 5 dB at 3 Hz. To assess the viability of using the high-frequency signal, the second half of the paper highlights two case studies. First, a known sedimentary structure is imaged in Malargüe, Argentina. Secondly, the method is used to reveal the structure of the Midcontinent Rift below the SPREE array in Minnesota, USA. Both studies demonstrate that structural information of the shallow crust (≤5 km) below the arrays can be retrieved. In particular, the interpreted thickness of the sedimentary layer below the Malargüe array is in agreement with earlier studies in the same area. Being able to use global phases and direct 〈span〉P〈/span〉-phases with large epicentral distances (〉80°) to recover the Earth’s sedimentary structure suggests that GloPSI can be applied in an industrial context.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉The localization of passive seismic sources in form of microseismic tremors as well as large-scale earthquakes is a key issue in seismology. While most previous studies are assuming fairly good knowledge of the underlying velocity model, we propose an automatic spatial localization and joint velocity model building scheme that is independent of detailed 〈span〉a priori〈/span〉 information. The first step is a coherence analysis, estimating so-called wavefront attributes to locally describe the wavefield in terms of slopes and curvatures. In a similar fashion, we also obtain an initial guess of the source excitation times of the recorded events. The wavefront attributes constitute the input for wavefront tomography which represents the next step of the workflow and allows for a refinement of the previously evaluated source excitation times while simultaneously approximating the velocity distribution. In a last step, we use the final estimate of the velocity distribution and compute the respective image function by reverse time modelling to gain the source locations. This paper introduces the theoretical concept of our proposed approach for the general 3-D case. We analyse the feasibility of our strategy and the influences of different acquisition settings by means of a synthetic 2-D data example. In a final 3-D field data example we use the workflow to localize a deep earthquake without relying on a given velocity model. The approach can deal with high levels of noise and low signal amplitudes, respectively, as well as sparse geophone sampling. The workflow generally delivers good approximations of the long-wavelength velocity variations along with accurate source locations.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉The 2017 July 20, 〈span〉M〈/span〉〈sub〉w〈/sub〉6.6 Bodrum–Kos earthquake occurred in the Gulf of Gökova in the SE Aegean, a region characterized by N–S extension in the backarc of the easternmost Hellenic Trench. The dip direction of the fault that ruptured during the earthquake has been a matter of controversy where both north- and south-dipping fault planes were used to model the coseismic slip in previous studies. Here, we use seismic (seismicity, main shock modelling, aftershock relocations and aftershock mechanisms using regional body and surface waves), geodetic (GPS, InSAR) and structural observations to estimate the location, and the dip direction of the fault that ruptured during the 2017 earthquake, and the relationship of this event to regional tectonics. We consider both dip directions and systematically search for the best-fitting locations for the north- and south-dipping fault planes. Comparing the best-fitting planes for both dip directions in terms of their misfit to the geodetic data, proximity to the hypocenter location and Coulomb stress changes at the aftershock locations, we conclude that the 2017 earthquake ruptured a north-dipping fault. We find that the earthquake occurred on a 20–25 km long, ∼E–W striking, 40° north-dipping, pure normal fault with slip primarily confined between 3 and 15 km depth, and the largest slip exceeding 2 m between depths of 4 and 10 km. The coseismic fault, not mapped previously, projects to the surface within the western Gulf, and partly serves both to widen the Gulf and separate Kos Island from the Bodrum Peninsula of SW Anatolia. The coseismic fault may be an extension of a mapped, north-dipping normal fault along the south side of the Gulf of Gökova. While all of the larger aftershocks are consistent with N–S extension, their spatially dispersed pattern attests to the high degree of crustal fracturing within the basin, due to rapid trenchward extension and anticlockwise rotation within the southeastern Aegean.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉The harmonic electromagnetic noise produced by anthropic electrical structures is a critical component of the global noise affecting geophysical signals and increasing data uncertainty. It is composed of a series of harmonic signals whose frequencies are multiple integers of the fundamental frequency specific to the electrical noise source. To date, most model-based noise removal strategies assume that the fundamental frequency constraining the harmonic noise is single and constant over the duration of the geophysical record. In this paper, we demonstrate that classical harmonic processing methods lose efficacy when these assumptions are not valid. We present several surface nuclear magnetic resonance field data sets, which testify the increasing probability of recording the harmonic noise with such multiple or unstable frequency content. For each case (multiple frequencies or unstable frequency) we propose new processing strategies, namely, the 〈span〉2-D grid-search〈/span〉 and the 〈span〉segmentation〈/span〉 approach, respectively, which efficiently manage to remove the harmonic noise in these difficult conditions. In the process, we also apply a fast frequency estimator called the Nyman, Gaiser and Saucier estimation method, which shows equivalent performance as classical estimators while allowing a reduction of the computing time by a factor of 2.5.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Combinatorial methods are used to determine the spatial distribution of earthquake magnitudes on a fault whose slip rate varies along strike. Input to the problem is a finite sample of earthquake magnitudes that span 5 kyr drawn from a truncated Pareto distribution. The primary constraints to the problem are maximum and minimum values around the target slip-rate function indicating where feasible solutions can occur. Two methods are used to determine the spatial distribution of earthquakes: integer programming and the greedy-sequential algorithm. For the integer-programming method, the binary decision vector includes all possible locations along the fault where each earthquake can occur. Once a set of solutions that satisfy the constraints is found, the cumulative slip misfit on the fault is globally minimized relative to the target slip-rate function. The greedy algorithm sequentially places earthquakes to locally optimize slip accumulation. As a case study, we calculate how earthquakes are distributed along the megathrust of the Nankai subduction zone, in which the slip rate varies significantly along strike. For both methods, the spatial distribution of magnitudes depends on slip rate, except for the largest magnitude earthquakes that span multiple sections of the fault. The greedy-sequential algorithm, previously applied to this fault (Parsons et al., 2012), tends to produce smoother spatial distributions and fewer lower magnitude earthquakes in the low slip-rate section of the fault compared to the integer-programming method. Differences in results from the two methods relate to how much emphasis is placed on minimizing the misfit to the target slip rate (integer programming) compared to finding a solution within the slip-rate constraints (greedy sequential). Specifics of the spatial distribution of magnitudes also depend on the shape of the target slip-rate function: that is, stepped at the section boundaries versus a smooth function. This study isolates the effects of slip-rate variation along a single fault in determining the spatial distribution of earthquake magnitudes, helping to better interpret results from more complex, interconnected fault systems.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉The southcentral Hikurangi subduction margin (North Island, New Zealand) has a wide, low-taper accretionary wedge that is frontally accreting a 〉3-km-thick layer of sediments, with deformation currently focused near the toe of the wedge. We use a geological model based on a depth-converted seismic section, together with physically realistic parameters for fluid pressure, and sediment and décollement friction based on laboratory experiments, to investigate the present-day force balance in the wedge. Numerical models are used to establish the range of physical parameters compatible with the present-day wedge geometry and mechanics. Our analysis shows that the accretionary wedge stability and taper angle require either high to moderate fluid pressure on the plate interface, and/or weak frictional strength along the décollement. The décollement beneath the outer wedge requires a relatively weaker effective strength than beneath the inner (consolidated) wedge. Increasing density and cohesion with depth make it easier to attain a stable taper within the inner wedge, while anything that weakens the wedge—such as high fluid pressures and weak faults—make it harder. Our results allow a near-hydrostatic wedge fluid pressure, sublithostatic fluid overpressure at the subduction interface, and friction coefficients compatible with measurements from laboratory experiments on weak clay minerals.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉We present a new methodology to compute the gravitational fields generated by tesseroids (spherical prisms) whose density varies with depth according to an arbitrary continuous function. It approximates the gravitational fields through the Gauss–Legendre Quadrature along with two discretization algorithms that automatically control its accuracy by adaptively dividing the tesseroid into smaller ones. The first one is a preexisting 2-D adaptive discretization algorithm that reduces the errors due to the distance between the tesseroid and the computation point. The second is a new density-based discretization algorithm that decreases the errors introduced by the variation of the density function with depth. The amount of divisions made by each algorithm is indirectly controlled by two parameters: the distance-size ratio and the delta ratio. We have obtained analytical solutions for a spherical shell with radially variable density and compared them to the results of the numerical model for linear, exponential, and sinusoidal density functions. The heavily oscillating density functions are intended only to test the algorithm to its limits and not to emulate a real world case. These comparisons allowed us to obtain optimal values for the distance-size and delta ratios that yield an accuracy of 0.1 per cent of the analytical solutions. The resulting optimal values of distance-size ratio for the gravitational potential and its gradient are 1 and 2.5, respectively. The density-based discretization algorithm produces no discretizations in the linear density case, but a delta ratio of 0.1 is needed for the exponential and most sinusoidal density functions. These values can be extrapolated to cover most common use cases, which are simpler than oscillating density profiles. However, the distance-size and delta ratios can be configured by the user to increase the accuracy of the results at the expense of computational speed. Finally, we apply this new methodology to model the Neuquén Basin, a foreland basin in Argentina with a maximum depth of over 5000 m, using an exponential density function.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉The dynamics of dyke emplacement are typically modeled by assuming an elastic rheology for the host rock. However, the resulting stress field predicts significant shear failure in the region surrounding the dyke tip. Here, we model the dyking process in an elastic-perfectly plastic host rock in order to simulate distributed shear fracturing and subsequent frictional slip on the fracture surfaces. The fluid mechanical aspects of the magma are neglected as we are interested only in the fracture mechanics of the process. Magma overpressure in dykes is typically of the same order of magnitude as the yield stress of the host rock in shear, especially when the pressure effect of volatiles exsolving from the magma is taken into account. Under these conditions, the plastic deformation zone has spatial dimensions that approach the length of the dyke itself, and concepts based on linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) no longer apply. As incremental plasticity is path dependent, we describe two geologically meaningful endmember cases, namely dyke propagation at constant driving pressure, and gradual inflation of a pre-existing crack. For both models, we find that plastic deformation surrounding the fracture tip enhances dyke opening, and thus increases the energy input into the system due to pressure work integrated over the fracture wall. At the same time, energy is dissipated by plastic deformation. Dissipation in the propagation model is greater by about an order of magnitude than it is in the inflation model because the propagating dyke tip leaves behind it a broad halo of deformation due to plastic bending and unbending in the relict process zone. The net effect is that plastic deformation impedes dyke growth in the propagation model, while it enhances dyke growth in the inflation model. The results show that, when the plastic failure zone is large, a single parameter such as fracture toughness is unable to capture the physics that underpin the resistance of a fracture or dyke against propagation. In these cases, plastic failure has to be modeled explicitly for the given conditions. We provide analytical approximations for the propagation forces and the maximum dyke aperture for the two endmember cases, that is, the propagating dyke and the dyke formed by inflation of a crack. Furthermore, we show that the effect of plasticity on dyke energetics, together with an overestimate of magma pressure when interpreting dyke aspect ratios using elastic host rock models, offers a possible explanation for the long-standing paradox that laboratory measurements of fracture toughness of rocks consistently indicate values about two orders of magnitude lower than those derived from dyke observations.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Building geomechanical models for induced seismicity in complex reservoirs poses a major challenge, in particular if many faults need to be included. We developed a novel way of calculating induced stress changes and associated seismic moment response for structurally complex reservoirs with tens to hundreds of faults. Our specific target was to improve the predictive capability of stress evolution along multiple faults, and to use the calculations to enhance physics-based understanding of the reservoir seismicity. Our methodology deploys a mesh-free numerical and analytical approach for both the stress calculation and the seismic moment calculation. We introduce a high-performance computational method for high-resolution induced Coulomb stress changes along faults, based on a Green's function for the stress response to a nucleus of strain. One key ingredient is the deployment of an octree representation and calculation scheme for the nuclei of strain, based on the topology and spatial variability of the mesh of the reservoir flow model. Once the induced stress changes are evaluated along multiple faults, we calculate potential seismic moment release in a fault system supposing an initial stress field. The capability of the approach, dubbed as MACRIS (〈strong〉M〈/strong〉echanical 〈strong〉A〈/strong〉nalysis of 〈strong〉C〈/strong〉omplex 〈strong〉R〈/strong〉eservoirs for 〈strong〉I〈/strong〉nduced 〈strong〉S〈/strong〉eismicity) is proven through comparisons with finite element models. Computational performance and suitability for probabilistic assessment of seismic hazards are demonstrated though the use of the complex, heavily faulted Gullfaks field.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉We test the feasibility of GPS-based rapid centroid moment tensor (GPS CMT) methods for Taiwan, one of the most earthquake prone areas in the world. In recent years, Taiwan has become a leading developer of seismometer-based earthquake early warning systems, which have successfully been applied to several large events. The rapid determination of earthquake magnitude and focal mechanism, important for a number of rapid response applications, including tsunami warning, is still challenging because of the limitations of near-field inertial recordings. This instrumental issue can be solved by an entirely different observation system: a GPS network. Taiwan is well posed to take advantage of GPS because in the last decade it has developed a very dense network. Thus, in this research, we explore the suitability of the GPS CMT inversion for Taiwan. We retrospectively investigate six moderate to large (〈span〉M〈/span〉〈sub〉w〈/sub〉6.0 ∼ 7.0) earthquakes and propose a resolution test for our model, we find that the minimum resolvable earthquake magnitude of this system is ∼〈span〉M〈/span〉〈sub〉w〈/sub〉5.5 (at 5 km depth). Our tests also suggest that the finite fault complexity, often challenging for the near-field methodology, can be ignored under such good station coverage and thus, can provide a fast and robust solution for large earthquake directly from the near field. Our findings help to understand and quantify how the proposed methodology could be implemented in real time and what its contributions could be to the overall earthquake monitoring system.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Time-domain processing of seismic reflection data has always been an important engine that is routinely utilized to produce seismic images and to expeditiously construct subsurface models. The conventional procedure involves analysing parameters related to the derivatives of reflection traveltime with respect to offset including normal moveout (NMO) velocities (second-order derivatives) and quartic coefficients (fourth-order derivatives). In this study, we propose to go beyond the typical assumption of 1-D laterally homogeneous medium when relating those ‘processing’ parameters to the subsurface medium parameters and take into account the additional influences from lateral heterogeneity including curved interfaces and smoothly variable velocities. We fill in the theoretical gap from previous studies and develop a general framework for such connection in layered anisotropic media. We show that in general, the influences of lateral heterogeneity get accumulated from all layers via a recursive relationship according to the Fermat’s principle and can be approximately quantified in terms of the lateral derivatives of the layer interface surfaces and velocities. Based on the same general principle, we show that our approach can also be used to study the lateral heterogeneity effects on diffraction traveltime and its second-order derivative related to time-migration velocity. In this paper, we explicitly specify expressions for NMO and time-migration velocities with the influences from both types of heterogeneity suitable for 2-D data sets and also discuss possible extensions of the proposed theory to 3-D data sets and to parameters related to higher-order traveltime derivatives. Using numerical examples, we demonstrate that the proposed theory can lead to more accurate reflection and diffraction traveltime predictions in comparison with those obtained based on the 1-D assumption. Both the proposed theoretical framework and its numerical testing for forward traveltime computation presented in this study aid in understanding the effects from lateral heterogeneity on time-processing parameters and also serve as an important basis for designing an efficient technique to separate those influences in important processes such as Dix inversion for a more accurate subsurface model in the future.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Estimating shear wave velocity with depth from Rayleigh-wave dispersion data is limited by the accuracy of fundamental and higher mode identification and characterization. In many cases, the fundamental mode signal propagates exclusively in retrograde motion, while higher modes propagate in prograde motion. It has previously been shown that differences in particle motion can be identified with multicomponent recordings and used to separate prograde from retrograde signals. Here we explore the domain of existence of prograde motion of the fundamental mode, arising from a combination of two conditions: (1) a shallow, high-impedance contrast and (2) a high Poisson ratio material. We present solutions to isolate fundamental and higher mode signals using multicomponent recordings. Previously, a time-domain polarity mute was used with limited success due to the overlap in the time domain of fundamental and higher mode signals at low frequencies. We present several new approaches to overcome this low-frequency obstacle, all of which utilize the different particle motions of retrograde and prograde signals. First, the Hilbert transform is used to phase shift one component by 90° prior to summation or subtraction of the other component. This enhances either retrograde or prograde motion and can increase the mode amplitude. Secondly, we present a new time–frequency domain polarity mute to separate retrograde and prograde signals. We demonstrate these methods with synthetic and field data to highlight the improvements to dispersion images and the resulting dispersion curve extraction.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉We use seismic noise cross-correlations to obtain a 3-D tomography model of 〈span〉SV〈/span〉-wave velocities beneath the western Indian Ocean, in the depth range of the oceanic crust and uppermost mantle. The study area covers 2000 × 2000 km〈sup〉2〈/sup〉 between Madagascar and the three spreading ridges of the Indian Ocean, centred on the volcanic hotspot of La Réunion. We use seismograms from 38 ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs) deployed by the RHUM-RUM project and 10 island stations on La Réunion, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rodrigues, and Tromelin. Phase cross-correlations are calculated for 1119 OBS-to-OBS, land-to-OBS, and land-to-land station pairs, and a phase-weighted stacking algorithm yields robust group velocity measurements in the period range of 3–50 s. We demonstrate that OBS correlations across large interstation distances of 〉2000 km are of sufficiently high quality for large-scale tomography of ocean basins. Many OBSs yielded similarly good group velocity measurements as land stations. Besides Rayleigh waves, the noise correlations contain a low-velocity wave type propagating at 0.8–1.5 km s〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 over distances exceeding 1000 km, presumably Scholte waves travelling through seafloor sediments. The 100 highest-quality group velocity curves are selected for tomographic inversion at crustal and lithospheric depths. The inversion is executed jointly with a data set of longer-period, Rayleigh-wave phase and group velocity measurements from earthquakes, which had previously yielded a 3-D model of Indian Ocean lithosphere and asthenosphere. Robust resolution tests and plausible structural findings in the upper 30 km validate the use of noise-derived OBS correlations for adding crustal structure to earthquake-derived tomography of the oceanic mantle. Relative to crustal reference model CRUST1.0, our new shear-velocity model tends to enhance both slow and fast anomalies. It reveals slow anomalies at 20 km depth beneath La Réunion, Mauritius, Rodrigues Ridge, Madagascar Rise, and beneath the Central Indian spreading ridge. These structures can clearly be associated with increased crustal thickness and/or volcanic activity. Locally thickened crust beneath La Réunion and Mauritius is probably related to magmatic underplating by the hotspot. In addition, these islands are characterized by a thickened lithosphere that may reflect the depleted, dehydrated mantle regions from which the crustal melts where sourced. Our tomography model is available as electronic supplement.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Since the completion of the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer mission (GOCE), global gravity models of uniform quality and coverage are available. We investigate their potential of being useful tools for estimating the thermal structure of the continental lithosphere, through simulation and real-data test in Central-Eastern Europe across the Trans-European Suture Zone. Heat flow, measured near the Earth surface, is the result of the superposition of a complex set of contributions, one of them being the heat production occurring in the crust. The crust is enriched in radioactive elements respect to the underlying mantle and crustal thickness is an essential parameter in isolating the thermal contribution of the crust. Obtaining reliable estimates of crustal thickness through inversion of GOCE-derived gravity models has already proven feasible, especially when weak constraints from other observables are introduced. We test a way to integrate this in a geothermal framework, building a 3-D, steady state, solid Earth conductive heat transport model, from the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary to the surface. This thermal model is coupled with a crust-mantle boundary depth resulting from inverse modelling, after correcting the gravity model for the effects of topography, far-field isostatic roots and sediments. We employ a mixed space- and spectral-domain based forward modelling strategy to ensure full spectral coherency between the limited spectral content of the gravity model and the reductions. Deviations from a direct crustal thickness to crustal heat production relationship are accommodated using a subsequent substitution scheme, constrained by surface heat flow measurements, where available. The result is a 3-D model of the lithosphere characterised in temperature, radiogenic heat and thermal conductivity. It provides added information respect to the lithospheric structure and sparse heat flow measurements alone, revealing a satisfactory coherence with the geological features in the area and their controlling effect on the conductive heat transport.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉We investigate the possibility of passive monitoring of a salt-water disposal well in British Columbia, Canada, using continuously recorded ambient seismic noise. We find seismic velocity variations induced by a reduction of injection pressure in an effort to mitigate an elevated level of seismicity, most likely associated with the disposal of salt water. The relative velocity variations are derived from time-shifts measured between consecutive cross-correlation functions for each station pair in a surface array composed of five broad-band seismometers. The probable driving mechanisms responsible for the velocity changes are reduced pore pressures and/or lowered poroelastic stresses beyond the injection wellbore, respectively. Hydrologic data (e.g. snow and rainfall), noise energy trends and fluctuations in the incident direction of dominant noise sources do not correlate with the estimated relative velocity variations. Velocity variations are detected ahead of the zone of induced seismicity, thus indicating that seismic interferometry may aid in mitigation efforts to reduce the risk of induced seismicity by (1) providing verifiable and repeatable measurements of physical changes within the surrounding area and (2) providing hard constraints for modelling efforts to constrain how and where pore-pressure fronts change.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Electrical conductivity is one of the most commonly used geophysical method for reservoir and environmental studies. Its main interest lies in its sensitivity to key properties of storage and transport in porous media. Its quantitative use therefore depends on the efficiency of the petrophysical relationship to link them. In this work, we develop a new physically based model for estimating electrical conductivity of saturated porous media. The model is derived assuming that the porous media is represented by a bundle of tortuous capillary tubes with a fractal pore-size distribution. The model is expressed in terms of the porosity, electrical conductivity of the pore liquid and the microstructural parameters of porous media. It takes into account the interface properties between minerals and pore water by introducing a surface conductivity. Expressions for the formation factor and hydraulic tortuosity are also obtained from the model derivation. The model is then successfully compared with published data and performs better than previous models. The proposed approach also permits to relate the electrical conductivity to other transport properties such as the hydraulic conductivity.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Thinning of the lithosphere under continental collisional orogens is often attributed to delamination or convective thinning. Both processes remove part or all of the mantle lithosphere that has become denser and gravitationally unstable. Previous studies mostly focused on the different thermomagmatic consequences of these two processes; the dynamic links between them, and the critical conditions for one or the other process to dominate lithosphere thinning, remain uncertain. Here, we used high-resolution thermomechanical models with various rheology (linear viscous, power-law viscous and/or the extended Drucker–Prager plasticity) to systematically investigate the dynamics of delamination and convective thinning under collisional orogens. Our results show that convective thinning is favoured in models of linear (Newtonian) viscous rheology and low viscosity $({10^{19}}\!-\! {10^{20}}\,\,{\rm{Pa}} \, {\rm{s}})$. Power-law viscous rheology promotes strain localization, which reduces the effective viscosity and may lead to localized rising of the asthenosphere to the crustal base, thus triggering delamination. Further strain localization and stronger delamination are predicted with inclusion of plastic rheology in the model. These results indicate that convective thinning and delamination are dynamically linked and can occur in the same orogeny. Their relative dominance during orogenesis may be distinguished by the resulting spatiotemporal evolutions of thermal perturbation, magmatism and elevation changes. We applied the models to show that the evolution of the Central Anatolian Plateau is consistent with the dominance of convective thinning, whereas delamination played a major role in thinning the mantle lithosphere under central-northern Tibetan Plateau.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Developing a model for anthropogenic seismic hazard remains an open challenge whatever the geo-resource production. We analyse the (〈span〉M〈/span〉〈sub〉max〈/sub〉) largest reported magnitude on each site where (RTS) Reservoir Triggered Seismicity in documented (37 events, 1933–2008), for aftershocks of reservoir impoundment loading. We relate each reservoir impoundment to its magnitude-equivalent 〈span〉M〈/span〉*〈sub〉reservoir〈/sub〉 = 〈span〉M〈/span〉*(〈span〉L〈/span〉〈sub〉r〈/sub〉). We use (〈span〉L〈/span〉〈sub〉r〈/sub〉) the reservoir length as a proxy for a rupture length of the reservoir main shock-equivallent. This latter is derived from the empirical relationship that exists for tectonic earthquake among magnitude and rupture length. We resolve (i) 〈span〉M〈/span〉〈sub〉max〈/sub〉 for RTS are bounded by 〈span〉M〈/span〉*〈sub〉reservoir〈/sub〉 at a 95 per cent confidence level; (ii) in average 〈span〉M〈/span〉〈sub〉max〈/sub〉 are smaller than 〈span〉M〈/span〉*〈sub〉reservoir〈/sub〉 by 2.2 units (iii) 50 per cent of the 〈span〉M〈/span〉〈sub〉max〈/sub〉 occurrence is within 2 ± 1 yr from the reservoir impoundment. These triggering patterns support the signature of fluid driven seismicity during the slow reservoir impoundment emerges as a weaker efficiency (larger Δ〈span〉M〈/span〉 = 〈span〉M〈/span〉*〈sub〉reservoir〈/sub〉 – 〈span〉M〈/span〉〈sub〉max〈/sub〉) to trigger 〈span〉M〈/span〉〈sub〉max〈/sub〉 events than from earthquake interactions.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉The activities of frontal thrusts in the northern Qilian Shan are critical for understanding the deformation of the Qilian Shan and the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. In this study, we estimate the slip rate of the active Fodongmiao–Hongyazi thrust along the northern margin of the Qilian Shan. High-resolution satellite imagery interpretations and detailed field investigations suggest that the fault displaced late Pleistocene terraces and formed fresh prominent north-facing fault scarps. To quantify the slip rate of the fault, we measured the displacements along the fault scarps using an unmanned aerial vehicle system and dated the displaced geomorphic surfaces using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and 〈sup〉14〈/sup〉C methods. The vertical slip rate of the fault is estimated at 1.0 ± 0.3 mm yr〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 for the western segment. The slip rates for two branches in the eastern segment are 0.3 ± 0.1 and 0.6 ± 0.1 mm yr〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. Using a fault dip of 40 ± 10°, we constrain the corresponding shortening rates to 1.4 ± 0.5 and 1.2 ± 0.4 mm yr〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, respectively. The rates are consistent with values over different timescales, which suggests steady rock uplift and northeastward growth of the western Qilian Shan. Crustal shortening occurs mainly on the range-bounding frontal thrust.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉We present a numerical method for the simulation of earthquake cycles on a 1-D fault interface embedded in a 2-D homogeneous, anisotropic elastic solid. The fault is governed by an experimentally motivated friction law known as rate-and-state friction which furnishes a set of ordinary differential equations which couple the interface to the surrounding volume. Time enters the problem through the evolution of the ordinary differential equations along the fault and provides boundary conditions for the volume, which is governed by quasi-static elasticity. We develop a time-stepping method which accounts for the interface/volume coupling and requires solving an elliptic partial differential equation for the volume response at each time step. The 2-D volume is discretized with a second-order accurate finite difference method satisfying the summation-by-parts property, with boundary and fault interface conditions enforced weakly. This framework leads to a provably stable semi-discretization. To mimic slow tectonic loading, the remote side-boundaries are displaced at a slow rate, which eventually leads to earthquake nucleation at the fault. Time stepping is based on an adaptive, fourth-order Runge–Kutta method and captures the highly varying timescales present. The method is verified with convergence tests for both the orthotropic and fully anisotropic cases. An initial parameter study reveals regions of parameter space where the systems experience a bifurcation from period one to period two behaviour. Additionally, we find that anisotropy influences the recurrence interval between earthquakes, as well as the emergence of aseismic transients and the nucleation zone size and depth of earthquakes.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Palaeomagnetic constraints are essential factors in the reconstruction of the Mesozoic convergence of Eastern Asia blocks. As one of the key blocks, Indochina was constrained only by sedimentary-rocks-derived palaeomagnetic data. To evaluate whether the palaeomagnetic data used to restore the Late Triassic position of Indochina suffered inclination shallowing effects, we conducted a palaeomagnetic and geochronologic study on a coeval volcanic clastic rocks sequence in the western margin of the Khorat Basin, Thailand. The U-Pb SIMS dating on zircons indicates the age of the sampling section is between 205.1 ± 1.5 and 204.7 ± 1.4 Ma. Site mean directions are D〈sub〉g〈/sub〉/I〈sub〉g〈/sub〉 = 217.2°/−39.4° (κ〈sub〉g〈/sub〉 = 45.1, α〈sub〉95g〈/sub〉 = 10.1°) before and D〈sub〉s〈/sub〉/I〈sub〉s〈/sub〉 = 209.2°/−44.5° (κ〈sub〉s〈/sub〉 = 43.8, α〈sub〉95s〈/sub〉 = 10.2°) after tilt correction. The new data set indicates a positive reversal test result at ‘Category C’ level. The characteristic remanent magnetization recorded by the coexistent magnetite and hematite is interpreted to be primary remanence acquired during the initial cooling of the volcanic clastic rocks. The consistence of the corresponding palaeolatitudes derived from the volcanic clastic rocks and the former reported sedimentary rocks suggests that there is probably no significant inclination shallowing bias in the sedimentary-rocks-derived palaeomagnetic data. Therefore, the estimates of the Late Triassic position of Indochina are confirmed to be reliable. The Indochina Block had collided to the southern margin of Eurasia by the Late Triassic and played an important role in the Mesozoic convergence of the Eastern Asia blocks.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉We present a numerically exact method for calculating the internal and external gravitational potential of aspherical and heterogeneous planets. Our approach is based on the transformation of Poisson’s equation into an equivalent equation posed on a spherical computational domain. This new problem is solved in an efficient iterative manner based on a hybrid pseudospectral/spectral element discretization. The main advantage of our method is that its computational cost reflects the planet’s geometric and structural complexity, being in many situations only marginally more expensive than boundary perturbation theory. Several numerical examples are presented to illustrate the method’s efficacy and potential range of applications.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉In the case of long-range propagation of forward scattering, due to the accumulation of phase changes caused by the velocity perturbations, the validity of the Born approximation will be violated. In contrast, the phase-change accumulation can be handled by the Rytov approximation, which has been widely used for long-distance propagation with only forward scattering or small-angle scattering involved. However, the weak scattering assumption (i.e. small velocity perturbation) in the Rytov approximation limits its scope of application. To address this problem, we analyse the integral kernel of the Rytov transform using the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin-Jeffreys (WKBJ) approximation and we demonstrate that the integral kernel is a function of velocity perturbation and scattering angle. By applying a small scattering angle approximation, we show that the phase variation has a linear relationship with the slowness perturbation, no matter how strong the magnitude of perturbation is. Therefore, the new integral equation is then referred to as the generalized Rytov approximation (GRA) because it overcomes the weak scattering assumption of the Rytov approximation. To show the limitations of the Rytov approximation and the advantages of the proposed GRA method, first we design a two-layer model and we analytically calculate the errors introduced by the small scattering angle assumption using plane wave incidence. We show that the phase (traveltime) variations predicted by the GRA are always more accurate than the Rytov approximation. Particularly, the GRA produces accurate phase variations for the normal incident plane wave regardless of the magnitude of velocity perturbation. Numerical examples using Gaussian anomaly models demonstrate that the scattering angle has a crucial impact on the accuracy of the GRA. If the small scattering angle assumption holds, the GRA can produce an accurate phase approximation even if the velocity perturbation is very strong. On the contrary, both the first-order Rytov approximation and the GRA fail to get satisfying results when the scattering angle is large enough. The proposed GRA method has the potential to be used for traveltime modelling and inversion for large-scale strong perturbation media.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Estimating the location of geologic and tectonic features on a subducting plate is important for interpreting their spatial relationships with other observables including seismicity, seismic velocity and attenuation anomalies, and the location of ore deposits and arc volcanism in the over-riding plate. Here we present two methods for estimating the location of predictable features such as seamounts, ridges and fracture zones on the slab. One uses kinematic reconstructions of plate motions, and the other uses multidimensional scaling to flatten the slab onto the surface of the Earth. We demonstrate the methods using synthetic examples and also using the test case of fracture zones entering the Lesser Antilles subduction zone. The two methods produce results that are in good agreement with each other in both the synthetic and real examples. In the Lesser Antilles, the subducted fracture zones trend northwards of the surface projections. The two methods begin to diverge in regions where the multidimensional scaling method has its greatest likely error. Wider application of these methods may help to establish spatial correlations globally.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Microseismic monitoring is a primary tool for understanding and tracking the progress of mechanical processes occurring in active rock fracture systems. In geothermal or hydrocarbon fields or along seismogenic fault systems, the detection and location of microseismicity facilitates resolution of the fracture system geometry and the investigation of the interaction between fluids and rocks, in response of stress field perturbations. Seismic monitoring aims to detect locate and characterize seismic sources. The detection of weak signals is often achieved at the cost of increasing the number of false detections, related to transient signals generated by a range of noise sources, or related to instrumental problems, ambient conditions or human activity that often affect seismic records. A variety of fast and automated methods has been recently proposed to detect and locate microseismicity based on the coherent detection of signal anomalies, such as increase in amplitude or coherent polarization, at dense seismic networks. While these methods proved to be very powerful to detect weak events and to reduce the magnitude of completeness, a major problem remains to discriminate among weak seismic signals produced by microseismicity and false detections. In this work, the microseimic data recorded along the Irpinia fault zone (Southern Apennines, Italy) are analysed to detect weak, natural earthquakes using one of such automated, migration-based, method. We propose a new method for the automatic discrimination of real vs false detections, which is based on empirical data and information about the detectability (i.e. detection capability) of the seismic network. Our approach allows obtaining high performances in detecting earthquakes without requiring a visual inspection of the seismic signals and minimizing analyst intervention. The proposed methodology is automated, self-updating and can be tuned at different success rates.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉A multitaper estimator is proposed that accommodates time-series containing gaps without using any form of interpolation. In contrast with prior missing-data multitaper estimators that force standard Slepian sequences to be zero at gaps, the proposed missing-data Slepian sequences are defined only where data are present. The missing-data Slepian sequences are frequency independent, as are the eigenvalues that define the energy concentration within the resolution bandwidth, when the process bandwidth is $[ { - 1/2,\,\,\,1/2} )$ for unit sampling and the sampling scheme comprises integer multiples of unity. As a consequence, one need only compute the ensuing missing-data Slepian sequences for a given sampling scheme once, and then the spectrum at an arbitrary set of frequencies can be computed using them. It is also shown that the resulting missing-data multitaper estimator can incorporate all of the optimality features (i.e. adaptive-weighting, 〈span〉F〈/span〉-test and reshaping) of the standard multitaper estimator, and can be applied to bivariate or multivariate situations in similar ways. Performance of the missing-data multitaper estimator is illustrated using length of day, seafloor pressure and Nile River low stand time-series.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉The analysis of surface wave dispersion curves (DCs) is widely used for near-surface 〈span〉S〈/span〉-wave velocity (VS) reconstruction. However, a comprehensive characterization of the near-surface requires also the estimation of 〈span〉P〈/span〉-wave velocity (VP). We focus on the estimation of both VS and VP models from surface waves using a direct data transform approach. We estimate a relationship between the wavelength of the fundamental mode of surface waves and the investigation depth and we use it to directly transform the DCs into VS and VP models in laterally varying sites. We apply the workflow to a real data set acquired on a known test site. The accuracy of such reconstruction is validated by a waveform comparison between field data and synthetic data obtained by performing elastic numerical simulations on the estimated VP and VS models. The uncertainties on the estimated velocity models are also computed.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Seismic signal recognition can serve as a powerful auxiliary tool for analysing and processing ever-larger volumes of seismic data. It can facilitate many subsequent procedures such as first-break picking, statics correction, denoising, signal detection, events tracking, structural interpretation, inversion and imaging. In this study, I propose an automatic technique of seismic signal recognition taking advantage of unsupervised machine learning. In the proposed technique, seismic signal recognition is considered as a problem of clustering data points. All the seismic sampling points in time domain are clustered into two clusters, that is, signal or non-signal. The hierarchical clustering algorithm is used to group these sampling points. Four attributes, that is, two short-term-average-to-long-term-average ratios, variance and envelope are investigated in the clustering process. In addition, to quantitatively evaluate the performance of seismic signal recognition properly, I propose two new statistical indicators, namely, the rate between the total energies of original and recognized signals (RTE), and the rate between the average energies of original and recognized signals (RAE). A large number of numerical experiments show that when the signal is slightly corrupted by noise, the proposed technique performs very well, with recognizing accuracy, precision and RTE of nearly 1 (i.e. 100 per cent), recall greater than 0.8 and RAE about 1–1.3. When the signal is moderately corrupted by noise, the proposed technique can hold recognizing accuracy about 0.9, recognizing precision nearly to 1, RTE about 0.9, recall around 0.6 and RAE about 1.5. Applications of the proposed technique to real microseismic data induced from hydraulic fracturing and reflection seismic data demonstrate its feasibility and encouraging prospect.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Measurements of seismo-acoustic events by collocated seismic and infrasound arrays allow for studying the two wavefields that were produced by the same event. However, some of the scientific and technical constraints on the building of the two technologies are different and may be contradicting. For the case of a new station, an optimal design that will satisfy the constraints of the two technologies can be found. However, in the case of upgrading an existing array by adding the complementing technology, the situation is different. The site location, the array configuration and physical constraints are fixed and may not be optimal for the complementing technology, which may lead to rejection of the upgrade. The International Monitoring System (IMS) for the verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) includes 37 seismic arrays and 51 infrasound arrays. Although the CTBT verification regime is fixed in the treaty, an upgrade of the existing arrays by adding more technologies is possible.The Mount Meron seismic array (MMAI), which is part of the IMS, is composed of 16 sites. Microbarometers were installed at five MMAI sites to form the Mount Meron infrasound array. Due to regulation and physical constraints, it was not possible to relocate the sites nor to install analogue noise reduction filters (i.e. a pipe array). In this study, it is demonstrated that the installation of the MMAI infrasound array is beneficial despite the non-optimal conditions. It is shown that the noise levels of the individual array sites are between the high and median global noise levels. However, we claim that the more indicative measures are the noise levels of the beams of interest, as demonstrated by analysing the microbaroms originated from the Mediterranean Sea. Moreover, the ability to detect events relevant to the CTBT is demonstrated by analysing man-made events during 2011 from the Libya region.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Static and quasi-static Coulomb stress changes produced by large earthquakes can modify the probability of occurrence of subsequent events on neighbouring faults. This approach is based on physical (Coulomb stress changes) and statistical (probability calculations) models, which are influenced by the quality and quantity of data available in the study region. Here, we focus on the Wasatch fault zone (WFZ), a well-studied active normal fault system having abundant geological and palaeoseismological data. Palaeoseismological trench investigations of the WFZ indicate that at least 24 large, surface-faulting earthquakes have ruptured the fault's five central, 35–59-km long segments since ∼7 ka. Our goal is to determine if the stress changes due to the youngest palaeoevents have significantly modified the present-day probability of occurrence of large earthquakes on each of the segments. For each segment, we modelled the cumulative (coseismic + post-seismic) Coulomb stress changes (∆CFS〈sub〉cum〈/sub〉) due to earthquakes younger than the most recent event on the segment in question and applied the resulting values to the time-dependent probability calculations. Results from the Coulomb stress modelling suggest that the Brigham City, Salt Lake City, and Provo segments have accumulated ∆CFS〈sub〉cum〈/sub〉 larger than 10 bar, whereas the Weber segment has experienced a stress decrease of 5 bar, in the scenario of recent rupture of the Great Salt Lake fault to the west. Probability calculations predict high probability of occurrence for the Brigham City and Salt Lake City segments, due to their long elapsed times (〉1–2 ka) when compared to the Weber, Provo and Nephi segments (〈1 ka). The range of calculated coefficients of variation has a large influence on the final probabilities, mostly in the case of the Brigham City segment. Finally, when the Coulomb stress and the probability models are combined, our results indicate that the ∆CFS〈sub〉cum〈/sub〉 resulting from earthquakes post-dating the youngest events on each of the five segments substantially affects the probability calculations for three of the segments: Brigham City, Salt Lake City and Provo. The probability of occurrence of a large earthquake in the next 50 yr on these three segments may, therefore, be underestimated if a time-independent approach, or a time-dependent approach that does not consider ∆CFS, is adopted.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉Quantifying landslide activity in remote regions is difficult because of the numerous complications that prevent direct landslide observations. However, building exhaustive landslide catalogues is critical to document and assess the impacts of climate change on landslide activity such as increasing precipitation, glacial retreat and permafrost thawing, which are thought to be strong drivers of the destabilization of large parts of the high-latitude/altitude regions of the Earth. In this study, we take advantage of the capability offered by seismological observations to continuously and remotely record landslide occurrences at regional scales. We developed a new automated machine learning processing chain, based on the Random Forest classifier, able to automatically detect and identify landslide seismic signals in continuous seismic records. We processed two decades of continuous seismological observations acquired by the Alaskan seismic networks. This allowed detection of 5087 potential landslides over a period of 22 yr (1995–2017). We observe an increase in the number of landslides for the period and discuss the possible causes.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉To describe the energy transport in the seismic coda, we introduce a system of radiative transfer equations for coupled surface and body waves in a scalar approximation. Our model is based on the Helmholtz equation in a half-space geometry with mixed boundary conditions. In this model, Green’s function can be represented as a sum of body waves and surface waves, which mimics the situation on Earth. In a first step, we study the single-scattering problem for point-like objects in the Born approximation. Using the assumption that the phase of body waves is randomized by surface reflection or by interaction with the scatterers, we show that it becomes possible to define, in the usual manner, the cross-sections for surface-to-body and body-to-surface scattering. Adopting the independent scattering approximation, we then define the scattering mean free paths of body and surface waves including the coupling between the two types of waves. Using a phenomenological approach, we then derive a set of coupled transport equations satisfied by the specific energy density of surface and body waves in a medium containing a homogeneous distribution of point scatterers. In our model, the scattering mean free path of body waves is depth dependent as a consequence of the body-to-surface coupling. We demonstrate that an equipartition between surface and body waves is established at long lapse-time, with a ratio which is predicted by usual mode counting arguments. We derive a diffusion approximation from the set of transport equations and show that the diffusivity is both anisotropic and depth dependent. The physical origin of the two properties is discussed. Finally, we present Monte Carlo solutions of the transport equations which illustrate the convergence towards equipartition at long lapse-time as well as the importance of the coupling between surface and body waves in the generation of coda waves.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉In the profile analysis of faults, the distribution of GNSS sites directly affects the accuracy of the results of slip rate and locking depth. This paper discusses strategies for designing the layout of GNSS stations perpendicular to strike-slip faults in terms of site spacing and the Minimum Effective Distance, which is 20 times the locking depth of the fault. Three layout models are proposed considering the complexity of strike-slip faults: (1) Equal spacing layout, in which many stations are deployed in the far field, only a few are deployed in the near field. (2) Equal deformation layout, in which stations are densely arranged in the near field and sparsely arranged in the far field according to the frequency of deformation curve. (3) Equal slope spacing layout, in which stations are arranged according to the nonlinear degree of the deformation curve, with dense distribution in regions with high nonlinearity and sparse distribution in approximately linear regions. The three models were used to redistribute the sites in the Qiaojia to Dongchuan segment of the Xiaojiang fault profile, and their performances were compared with that of the current sites distribution of the segment. The results showed that model 1 is optimal for fitting the accuracy of slip rate and model 3 is optimal for the accuracy of locking depth. Overall, model 3 appears to be the best choice, considering that the accuracy of the locking depth is more difficult to control. One of the main purposes of deployment is to identify the seismogenic depth of the fault. With the locking depth of the fault gradually approaching the depth of the seismogenic layer during an interseismic period, the accuracy of observations of sites deployed at a preset value of historical seismogenic depth of the fault would improve.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉SUMMARY〈/div〉HY-2A is China's first satellite altimeter mission, launched in Aug. 2011. Its geodetic mission (GM) started from 2016 March 30 till present, collecting sea surface heights for about five 168-d cycles. To test how the HY-2A altimeter performs in marine gravity derivation, we use the least-squares collocation method to determine marine gravity anomalies on 1′ × 1′ grids around the South China Sea (covering 0°–30°N, 105°E–125°E) from the HY-2A/GM-measured geoid gradients. We assess the qualities of the HY-2A/GM-derived gravity over different depths and areas using the bias and tilt-adjusted ship-borne gravity anomalies from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and the Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) of P. R. China. The RMS difference between the HY-2A/GM-derived and the NCEI ship-borne gravity is 5.91 mGal, and is 5.33 mGal when replacing the HY-2A value from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) V23.1 value. The RMS difference between the HY-2A/GM-derived and the MNR ship-borne gravity is 2.90 mGal, and is 2.76 mGal when replacing the HY-2A value from the SIO V23.1 value. The RMS difference between the HY-2A and SIO V23.1 value is 3.57 mGal in open sea areas at least 20 km far away from the coast. In general, the difference between the HY-2A/GM-derived gravity and ship-borne gravity decreases with decreasing gravity field roughness and increasing depth. HY-2A results in the lowest gravity accuracy in areas with islands or reefs. Our assessment result suggests that HY-2A can compete with other Ku-band altimeter missions in marine gravity derivation.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉Virtual Deep Seismic Sounding (VDSS) has emerged as a novel method to image the crust-mantle-boundary (CMB) and potentially other lithospheric boundaries. In Part 1 (Liu et al., 2018), we showed that the arrival time and waveform of post-critical 〈span〉SsPmp〈/span〉, the post-critical reflection phase at the CMB used in VDSS, is sensitive to several different attributes of the crust and upper mantle. Here, we synthesize our methodology of deriving Moho depth, average crustal 〈span〉Vp〈/span〉 and uppermost-mantle 〈span〉Vp〈/span〉 from single-station observations of post-critical 〈span〉SsPmp〈/span〉 under a 1D assumption. We first verify our method with synthetics and then substantiate it with a case study using the Yellowknife and POLARIS arrays in the Slave Craton, Canada. We show good agreement of crustal and upper-mantle properties derived with VDSS with those given by previous active-source experiments and our own P receiver functions (PRF) in our study area. Finally, we propose a PRF-VDSS joint analysis method to constrain average crustal 〈span〉Vp〈/span〉/〈span〉Vs〈/span〉 ratio and composition. Our PRF-VDSS joint analysis shows that the southwest Slave Craton has an intermediate crustal composition, most consistent with a Mesoarchean age.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉The variation of temperature in the crust is difficult to quantify due to the sparsity of surface heat flow observations and lack of measurements on the thermal properties of rocks at depth. We examine the degree to which the thermal structure of the crust can be constrained from Curie depth and surface heat flow data in Southeastern Australia. We cast the inverse problem of heat conduction within a Bayesian framework and derive its adjoint so we can efficiently find the optimal model that best reproduces the data and prior information on the thermal properties of the crust. Efficiency gains obtained from the adjoint method facilitates a detailed exploration of thermal structure in SE Australia, where we predict high temperatures within Precambrian rocks of 650 〈sup〉○〈/sup〉C due to relatively high rates of heat production (0.9–1.4 μW m〈sup〉−3〈/sup〉). In contrast, temperatures within dominantly Phanerozoic crust reach only 520 〈sup〉○〈/sup〉C at the Moho due to the low rates of heat production in Cambrian mafic volcanics. A combination of Curie depth and heat flow data are required to constrain the uncertainty of lower crustal temperatures to ± 73 〈sup〉○〈/sup〉C. We also show that parts of the crust are unconstrained if either dataset is omitted from the inversion.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉The mantle transition zone is the region between the globally observed major seismic velocity discontinuities around depths of 410 and 660 km and is important for determining the style of convection and mixing between the upper and the lower mantle. In this study, P-to-S converted waves, or receiver functions, are used to study these discontinuities beneath the Alaskan subduction zone, where the Pacific plate subducts underneath the North American plate. Previous tomographic models do not agree on the depth extent of the subducting slab, therefore improved imaging of the Earth structure underneath Alaska is required. We use 27,800 high quality radial receiver functions to make common conversion point stacks. Upper mantle velocity anomalies are accounted for by two recently published regional tomographic S-wave velocity models. Using these two tomographic models, we show that the discontinuity depths within our CCP stacks are highly dependent on the choice of velocity model, between which velocity anomaly magnitudes vary greatly. We design a quantitative test to show whether the anomalies in the velocity models are too strong or too weak, leading to over- or under-corrected discontinuity depths. We also show how this test can be used to rescale the 3D velocity corrections in order to improve the discontinuity topography maps. After applying the appropriate corrections, we find a localised thicker mantle transition zone and an uplifted 410 discontinuity, which show that the slab has clearly penetrated into the mantle transition zone. Little topography is seen on the 660 discontinuity, indicating that the slab has probably not reached the lower mantle. In the southwest, P410s arrivals have very small amplitudes or no significant arrival at all. This could be caused by water or basalt in the subducting slab, reducing the strength at the 410, or by topography on the 410 discontinuity, preventing coherent stacking. In the southeast of Alaska, a thinner mantle transition zone is observed. This area corresponds to the location of a slab window, and thinning of the mantle transition zone may be caused by hot mantle upwellings.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉We present an iterative classification scheme using inter-event cross-correlation to update an existing earthquake catalogue with similar events from a list of automatic seismic event detections. The algorithm automatically produces catalogue quality events, with improved hypocentres and reliable P and S arrival time information. Detected events are classified into four event categories with the purpose of using the top category, with the highest assessed event quality and highest true-to-false ratio, directly for local earthquake tomography without additional manual analysis. The remaining categories have varying proportions of lower quality events, quality being defined primarily by the number of observed phase onsets, and can be viewed as different priority groups for manual inspection to reduce the time spent by a seismic analyst. A list of 3348 event detections from the geothermally active volcanic region around Hengill, southwest Iceland, produced by our migration and stack detector (Wagner et al. 2017), was processed using a reference catalogue of 1108 manually picked events from the same area. P and S phase onset times were automatically determined for the detected events using correlation time lags with respect to manually picked phase arrivals from different multiple reference events at the same station. A significant improvement of the initial hypocentre estimates was achieved after re-locating the detected events using the computed phase onset times. The differential time dataset resulting from the correlation was successfully used for a double-difference re-location of the final updated catalogue. The routine can potentially be implemented in real-time seismic monitoring environments in combination with a variety of seismic event/phase detectors.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉To describe the energy transport in the seismic coda, we introduce a system of radiative transfer equations for coupled surface and body waves in a scalar approximation. Our model is based on the Helmholtz equation in a half-space geometry with mixed boundary conditions. In this model, Green’s function can be represented as a sum of body waves and surface waves, which mimics the situation on Earth. In a first step, we study the single-scattering problem for point-like objects in the Born approximation. Using the assumption that the phase of body waves is randomized by surface reflection or by interaction with the scatterers, we show that it becomes possible to define, in the usual manner, the cross-sections for surface-to-body and body-to-surface scattering. Adopting the independent scattering approximation, we then define the scattering mean free paths of body and surface waves including the coupling between the two types of waves. Using a phenomenological approach, we then derive a set of coupled transport equations satisfied by the specific energy density of surface and body waves in a medium containing a homogeneous distribution of point scatterers. In our model, the scattering mean free path of body waves is depth dependent as a consequence of the body-to-surface coupling. We demonstrate that an equipartition between surface and body waves is established at long lapse-time, with a ratio which is predicted by usual mode counting arguments. We derive a diffusion approximation from the set of transport equations and show that the diffusivity is both anisotropic and depth dependent. The physical origin of the two properties is discussed. Finally, we present Monte-Carlo solutions of the transport equations which illustrate the convergence towards equipartition at long lapse-time as well as the importance of the coupling between surface and body waves in the generation of coda waves.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉In planetary fluid cores, the density depends on temperature and chemical composition, which diffuse at very different rates. This leads to various instabilities, bearing the name of double-diffusive convection. We investigate rotating double-diffusive convection (RDDC) in fluid spheres. We use the Boussinesq approximation with homogeneous internal thermal and compositional source terms. We focus on the finger regime, in which the thermal gradient is stabilising whereas the compositional one is destabilising. First, we perform a global linear stability analysis in spheres. The critical Rayleigh numbers drastically drop for stably stratified fluids, yielding large-scale convective motions where local analyses predict stability. We evidence the inviscid nature of this large-scale double-diffusive instability, enabling the determination of the marginal stability curve at realistic planetary regimes. In particular, we show that in stably stratified spheres, the Rayleigh numbers 〈span〉Ra〈/span〉 at the onset evolve like 〈span〉Ra〈/span〉 ∼ 〈span〉Ek〈/span〉〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, where 〈span〉Ek〈/span〉 is the Ekman number. This differs from rotating convection in unstably stratified spheres, for which 〈span〉Ra〈/span〉 ∼ 〈span〉Ek〈/span〉〈sup〉−4/3〈/sup〉. The domain of existence of inviscid convection thus increases as 〈span〉Ek〈/span〉〈sup〉−1/3〈/sup〉. Second, we perform nonlinear simulations. We find a transition between two regimes of RDDC, controlled by the strength of the stratification. Furthermore, far from the RDDC onset, we find a dominating equatorially anti-symmetric, large-scale zonal flow slightly above the associated linear onset. Unexpectedly, a purely linear mechanism can explain this phenomenon, even far from the instability onset, yielding a symmetry breaking of the nonlinear flow at saturation. For even stronger stable stratification, the flow becomes mainly equatorially-symmetric and intense zonal jets develop. Finally, we apply our results to the early Earth core. Double diffusion can reduce the critical Rayleigh number by four decades for realistic core conditions. We suggest that the early Earth core was prone to turbulent RDDC, with large-scale zonal flows.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉Time-domain processing of seismic reflection data has always been an important engine that is routinely utilized to produce seismic images and to expeditiously construct subsurface models. The conventional procedure involves analyzing parameters related to the derivatives of reflection traveltime with respect to offset including normal moveout (NMO) velocities (second-order derivatives) and quartic coefficients (fourth-order derivatives). In this study, we propose to go beyond the typical assumption of 1D laterally homogeneous medium when relating those ‘processing’ parameters to the subsurface medium parameters and take into account the additional influences from lateral heterogeneity including curved interfaces and smoothly variable velocities. We fill in the theoretical gap from previous studies and develop a general framework for such connection in layered anisotropic media. We show that in general, the influences of lateral heterogeneity get accumulated from all layers via a recursive relationship according to the Fermat’s principle and can be approximately quantified in terms of the lateral derivatives of the layer interface surfaces and velocities. Based on the same general principle, we show that our approach can also be used to study the lateral heterogeneity effects on diffraction traveltime and its second-order derivative related to time-migration velocity. In this paper, we explicitly specify expressions for NMO and time-migration velocities with the influences from both types of heterogeneity suitable for 2D datasets and also discuss possible extensions of the proposed theory to 3D datasets and to parameters related to higher-order traveltime derivatives. Using numerical examples, we demonstrate that the proposed theory can lead to more accurate reflection and diffraction traveltime predictions in comparison with those obtained based on the 1D assumption. Both the proposed theoretical framework and its numerical testing for forward traveltime computation presented in this study aid in understanding the effects from lateral heterogeneity on time-processing parameters and also serve as an important basis for designing an efficient technique to separate those influences in important processes such as Dix inversion for a more accurate subsurface model in the future.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉H-κ stacking is used routinely to infer crustal thickness and bulk-crustal V〈sub〉〈span〉P〈/span〉〈/sub〉/V〈sub〉〈span〉S〈/span〉〈/sub〉 ratio from teleseismic receiver functions. The method assumes that the largest amplitude P-to-S conversions beneath the seismograph station are generated at the Moho. This is reasonable where the crust is simple and the Moho marks a relatively abrupt transition from crust to mantle, but not if the crust-mantle transition is gradational and/or complex intra-crustal structure exists. We demonstrate via synthetic seismogram analysis that H-κ results can be strongly dependent on the choice of stacking parameters (the relative weights assigned to the Moho P-to-S conversion and its subsequent reverberations, the choice of linear or phase-weighted stacking, input crustal P-wave velocity) and associated data parameters (receiver function frequency content and the sample of receiver functions analyzed). To address this parameter sensitivity issue, we develop an H-κ approach in which cluster analysis selects a final solution from 1000 individual H-κ results, each calculated using randomly-selected receiver functions, and H-κ input parameters. Ten quality control criteria that variously assess the final numerical result, the receiver function dataset, and the extent to which the results are tightly clustered, are used to assess the reliability of H-κ stacking at a station. Analysis of synthetic datasets indicates H-κ works reliably when the Moho is sharp and intra-crustal structure is lacking but is less successful when the Moho is gradational. Limiting the frequency content of receiver functions can improve the H-κ solutions in such settings, provided intra-crustal structure is simple. In cratonic Canada, India and Australia, H-κ solutions generally cluster tightly, indicative of simple crust and a sharp Moho. In contrast, on the Ethiopian plateau, where Paleogene flood-basalts overlie marine sediments, H-κ results are unstable and erroneous. For stations that lie on thinner flood-basalt outcrops, and/or in regions where Blue Nile river incision has eroded through to the sediments below, limiting the receiver function frequency content to longer periods improves the H-κ solution and reveals a 6–10 km gradational Moho, readily interpreted as a lower-crustal intrusion layer at the base of a mafic (V〈sub〉〈span〉P〈/span〉〈/sub〉/V〈sub〉〈span〉S〈/span〉〈/sub〉=1.77–1.87) crust. Moving off the flood-basalt province, H-κ results are reliable and the crust is thinner and more felsic (V〈sub〉〈span〉P〈/span〉〈/sub〉/V〈sub〉〈span〉S〈/span〉〈/sub〉=1.70–1.77), indicating the lower crustal intrusion layer is confined to the region covered by flood-basaltic volcanism. Analysis of data from other tectonically-complex settings (e.g., Japan, Cyprus) shows H-κ stacking results should be treated cautiously. Only in regions of relatively simple crust can H-κ stacking analysis be considered truly reliable.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉The 280-km-long San Cristobal Trough (SCT), created by the tearing of the Australia plate as it subducts under the Pacific plate near the Solomon and Vanuatu subduction zones, has hosted strike-slip earthquake sequences in 1993 and 2015. Both sequences, which likely represent a complete seismic cycle, began along the oldest section of the SCT—the portion farthest from the tear that has experienced the most cumulative displacement—and migrated to the younger sections closer to the tear. The SCT's abundant seismicity allows us to study transform boundary development—a process rarely observed along a single fault system—through observations of earthquake rupture properties. Using the spectral ratio method based on empirical Green's functions (EGFs), we calculate the corner frequencies of three M〈sub〉w〈/sub〉 ∼7 2015 earthquakes and co-located smaller earthquakes. We utilize two different spectral ratio stacking methods and fit both Brune and Boatwright models to the stacked spectral ratios. Regardless of stacking methods and spectral models, we find that the corner frequencies of the 2015 M〈sub〉w〈/sub〉 ∼7 earthquakes decrease slightly with distance from the tear. Assuming a constant rupture velocity and an omega-square spectral model, this corner frequency decrease may be due to an increase in rupture length with distance from the tear. The spectrum of the 2015 earthquake farthest from the tear also deviates from the omega-square model, which may indicate rupture complexity. Stress drop estimates from the corner frequencies of the 2015 M〈sub〉w〈/sub〉 ∼7 earthquakes range between 1 and 7 MPa, whereas stress drop estimates of their EGFs range from ∼0.05 to 10 MPa with most values between 0.1 to 1 MPa. Independent evidence from a second moments analysis of the 2015 earthquake sequence also indicates a possible increase in rupture length with distance from the tear, confirming the results from the spectral ratio analysis. We also observe an increase in normalized centroid time-delay values, a first-order proxy for rupture behavior, with distance from the tear for the 2015 sequence. A similar trend for the 1993 sequence suggests that earthquake rupture varies systematically along the SCT. Since distance from the tear corresponds to cumulative fault displacement, these along-strike rupture variations may be due to a displacement-driven fault maturation process.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉Thickness of cover over crystalline basement is an important consideration for mineral exploration in covered regions. It can be estimated from a variety of geophysical data types using a variety of inference methods. A robust method for combining such estimates to map the cover-basement interface over a region of interest is needed. Due to the large uncertainties involved, these need to be a probabilistic maps. Predominantly, interpolation methods are used for this purpose, but these are built on simplifying assumptions about the inputs which are often inappropriate. Bayesian estimate fusion is an alternative capable of addressing that issue by enabling more extensive use of domain knowledge about all inputs. This study is intended as a first step towards making Bayesian estimate fusion a practical tool for cover thickness uncertainty mapping. The main contribution is to identify the types of data assumptions that are important for this problem, to demonstrate their importance using synthetic tests, and to design a method that enables their use without introducing excessive tedium. We argue that interpolation methods like kriging often cannot achieve this goal and demonstrate that Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling can. This paper focuses on development of statistical methodology and presents synthetic data tests designed to reflect realistic exploration scenarios on an abstract level. Intended application is for the early stages of exploration where some geophysical data is available while drill hole coverage is poor.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉The uneven distribution of earthquakes and stations in seismic tomography leads to slower convergence of nonlinear inversions and spatial bias in inversion results. Including dense regional arrays, such as USArray or Hi-Net, in global tomography causes severe convergence and spatial bias problems, against which conventional preconditioning schemes are ineffective. To save computational cost and reduce model bias, we propose a new strategy based on a geographical weighting of sources and receivers. Unlike approaches based on ray density or Voronoi tessellation, this method scales to large full-waveform inversion problems and avoids instabilities at the edges of dense receiver or source clusters. We validate our strategy using a 2D global waveform inversion test and show that the new weighting scheme leads to a nearly two-fold reduction in model error and much faster convergence relative to a conventionally-preconditioned inversion. We implement this geographical weighting strategy for global adjoint tomography.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉S-wave spectral amplitudes from 312 crustal earthquakes recorded at the Iranian National Broadband Seismic Network in the Alborz region between 2005 and 2017 are analysed in order to evaluate earthquake source parameters, path attenuation and site amplification functions using the nonparametric generalized inversion technique (GIT). We exploit a total number of 1117 seismograms with M〈sub〉L〈/sub〉 3–5.6 in the frequency range 0.3–20 Hz. The evaluated nonparametric attenuation functions decay uniformly with distance for the entire frequency range and the estimated S-wave quality factor shows low Q values with relatively strong frequency dependence. We assume the omega-square source model to retrieve earthquake source parameters from the inverted source spectra. The obtained stress drops range from 0.02 to 16 MPa with a mean value of 1.1 MPa. Stress drop and radiated energy show fairly self-similar scaling with seismic moment over the available magnitude range; however, the magnitude range of this study is too narrow to draw a definite conclusion on source scaling characteristics. The obtained moment magnitude M〈sub〉W〈/sub〉 and the local magnitude M〈sub〉L〈/sub〉 are linearly correlated and approximately equivalent in the range of M〈sub〉W〈/sub〉 3–4. For larger events, M〈sub〉W〈/sub〉 generally underestimates M〈sub〉L〈/sub〉 by about 0.1–0.5 magnitude units. The estimated site amplification functions for horizontal component (GIT H) are nearly flat with no obvious predominant frequency peaks for most stations, as expected for the sites of permanent broadband seismic stations located on rock, though a few stations show amplification peaks from 1 to 8 Hz, with a maximum amplification of about a factor of 7 with respect to the reference site. The evaluated site responses for the vertical components present remarkable amplification or deamplification, leading to differences of the H/V amplitude levels in comparison with the GIT H amplification curves. The results of this study provide a valuable basis for predicting appropriate ground motions in a context of seismic hazard assessment.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉We introduce a new relative moment tensor (MT) inversion method for clusters of nearby earthquakes. The method extends previous work by introducing constraints from S-waves that do not require modal decomposition and by employing principal component analysis to produce robust estimates of excitation. At each receiver, P- and S-waves from each event are independently aligned and decomposed into principal components. P-wave constraints on MTs are obtained from a ratio of coefficients corresponding to the first principal component, equivalent to a relative amplitude. For S-waves we produce constraints on MTs involving three events, where one event is described as a linear combination of the other two, and coefficients are derived from the first two principal components. Non-linear optimization is applied to efficiently find best-fit tensile-earthquake and double-couple solutions for relative MT systems. Using synthetic data, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the P and S constraints both individually and in combination. We then apply the relative MT inversion to a set of 16 earthquakes from southern Alaska, at ∼125 km depth within the subducted Yakutat terrane. Most events are compatible with a stress tensor dominated by down-dip tension, however, we observe several pairs of earthquakes with nearly antiparallel slip implying that the stress regime is heterogeneous and/or faults are extremely weak. The location of these events near the abrupt down-dip termination of seismicity and the low-velocity zone suggest that they are caused by weakening via grain-size and volume reduction associated with eclogitization of the lower-crustal gabbro layer.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉The complete part of the earthquake frequency-magnitude distribution, above the completeness magnitude 〈span〉mc〈/span〉, is well described by the Gutenberg-Richter law. On the other hand, incomplete data does not follow any specific law, since the shape of the frequency-magnitude distribution below max(〈span〉mc〈/span〉) is function of 〈span〉mc〈/span〉 heterogeneities that depend on the seismic network spatiotemporal configuration. This paper attempts to solve this problem by presenting an asymmetric Laplace mixture model, defined as the weighted sum of Laplace (or double exponential) distribution components of constant 〈span〉mc〈/span〉, where the inverse scale parameter of the exponential function is the detection parameter κ below 〈span〉mc〈/span〉, and the Gutenberg-Richter β-value above 〈span〉mc〈/span〉. Using a variant of the expectation maximization algorithm, the mixture model confirms the ontology proposed by Mignan [2012, 〈a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JB009347"〉https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JB009347〈/a〉], which states that the shape of the earthquake frequency-magnitude distribution shifts from angular (in log-linear space) in a homogeneous space-time volume of constant 〈span〉mc〈/span〉 to rounded in a heterogeneous volume corresponding to the union of smaller homogeneous volumes. The performance of the proposed mixture model is analysed, with encouraging results obtained in simulations and in 8 real earthquake catalogues that represent different seismic network spatial configurations. We find that 〈span〉k〈/span〉 = κ/ln(10) ≈ 3 in most earthquake catalogues (compared to 〈span〉b〈/span〉 = β/ln(10) ≈ 1), suggesting a common detection capability of different seismic networks. Although simpler algorithms may be preferred on pragmatic grounds to estimate 〈span〉mc〈/span〉 and the 〈span〉b〈/span〉-value, other methods so far fail to model the angular distributions observed in homogeneous space-time volumes. Mixture modelling is a promising strategy to model the full earthquake magnitude range, hence potentially increasing seismicity data availability tenfold, since c. 90 per cent of earthquake catalogue events are below max(〈span〉mc〈/span〉).〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉Full waveform inversion (FWI) is a nonlinear waveform matching procedure, which suffers from cycle skipping when the initial model is not kinematically-accurate enough. To mitigate cycle skipping, wavefield reconstruction inversion (WRI) extends the inversion search space by computing wavefields with a relaxation of the wave equation in order to fit the data from the first iteration. Then, the subsurface parameters are updated by minimizing the source residuals the relaxation generated. Capitalizing on the wave-equation bilinearity, performing wavefield reconstruction and parameter estimation in alternating mode decomposes WRI into two linear subproblems, which can solved efficiently with the alternating-direction method of multiplier (ADMM), leading to the so-called iteratively refined wavefield reconstruction inversion (IR-WRI). Moreover, ADMM provides a suitable framework to implement bound constraints and different types of regularizations and their mixture in IR-WRI. Here, IR-WRI is extended to multiparameter reconstruction for VTI acoustic media. To achieve this goal, we first propose different forms of bilinear VTI acoustic wave equation. We develop more specifically IR-WRI for the one that relies on a parametrisation involving vertical wavespeed and Thomsen’s parameters δ and ε. With a toy numerical example, we first show that the radiation patterns of the virtual sources generate similar wavenumber filtering and parameter cross-talks in classical FWI and IR-WRI. Bound constraints and TV regularization in IR-WRI fully remove these undesired effects for an idealized piecewise constant target. We show with a more realistic long-offset case study representative of the North Sea that anisotropic IR-WRI successfully reconstruct the vertical wavespeed starting from a laterally homogeneous model and update the long-wavelengths of the starting ε model, while a smooth δ model is used as a passive background model. VTI acoustic IR-WRI can be alternatively performed with subsurface parametrisations involving stiffness or compliance coefficients or normal moveout velocities and η parameter (or horizontal velocity).〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉Seismic signal recognition can serve as a powerful auxiliary tool for analyzing and processing ever-larger volumes of seismic data. It can facilitate many subsequent procedures such as first-break picking, statics correction, denoising, signal detection, events tracking, structural interpretation, inversion and imaging. In this study, I propose an automatic technique of seismic signal recognition taking advantage of unsupervised machine learning (ML). In the proposed technique, seismic signal recognition is considered as a problem of clustering data points. All the seismic sampling points in time domain are clustered into two clusters, i.e. signal or non-signal. The hierarchical clustering (HC) algorithm is used to group these sampling points. Four attributes, i.e. two short-term-average-to-long-term-average ratios (STA/LTAs), variance and envelope are investigated in the clustering process. In addition, to quantitatively evaluate the performance of seismic signal recognition properly, I propose two new statistical indicators, namely the rate between the total energies of original and recognized signals (RTE), and the rate between the average energies of original and recognized signals (RAE). A large number of numerical experiments show that, when the signal is slightly corrupted by noise, the proposed technique performs very well, with recognizing accuracy, precision and RTE of nearly 1 (i.e., 100%), recall greater than 0.8 and RAE about 1-1.3. When the signal is moderately corrupted by noise, the proposed technique can hold recognizing accuracy about 0.9, recognizing precision nearly to 1, RTE about 0.9, recall around 0.6 and RAE about 1.5. Applications of the proposed technique to real micro-seismic data induced from hydraulic fracturing and reflection seismic data demonstrate its feasibility and encouraging prospect.〈/span〉

Description: 〈span〉〈div〉Summary〈/div〉Mantle plumes may play a major role in the transport of heat and mass through the Earth, but establishing their existence and structure using seismology has proven challenging and controversial. Previous studies have mainly focused on imaging plumes using waveform modelling and inversion (i.e. tomography). In this study we investigate the potential visibility of mantle plumes using array methods, and in particular whether we can detect seismic scattering from the plumes. By combining geodynamic modelling with mineral physics data we compute ‘seismic’ plumes whose shape and structure correspond to dynamically-plausible thermochemical plumes. We use these seismic models to perform a full-waveform simulation, sending seismic waves through the plumes, in order to generate synthetic seismograms. Using velocity spectral analysis and slowness-backazimuth plots, we are unable to detect scattering. However at longer dominant periods (25 seconds) we see several arrivals from outside the plane of the great circle path, that are consistent with an apparent bending of the wavefront around the plume conduit. At shorter periods (15 seconds), these arrivals are less obvious and less strong, consistent with the expected changes in the waves' behaviour at higher frequencies. We also detect reflections off the iron-rich chemical pile which serves as the plume source in the D'' region, indicating that D'' reflections may not always be due to a phase transformation. We suggest that slowness-backazimuth analysis may be a useful tool to locate mantle plumes in real array datasets. However, it is important to analyse the data at different dominant periods since, depending on the width of the plume, there is probably an optimum frequency band at which the plume is most visible. Our results also show the importance of studying the incoming energy in all directions, so that any apparently out-of-plane arrivals can be correctly interpreted.〈/span〉