Shallow Structure of the Longmen Shan Fault Zone from a High-Density, Short-Period Seismic Array

2019 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuting Zhang ◽  
Hongyi Li ◽  
Yafen Huang ◽  
Min Liu ◽  
Yong Guan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The Longmen Shan fault zone that was shocked by the 12 May 2008 M 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake acts as the boundary between the western edge of the Sichuan basin and the steep eastern margin of the Songpan-Ganze block. In this study, continuous seismic data recorded by 176 temporary short-period seismic stations between 22 October and 20 November 2017 are used to study the shallow crustal structure of the Longmen Shan fault zone by applying ambient-noise tomography and horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) analysis. From ambient-noise analysis, fundamental-mode Rayleigh-wave dispersion curves between 0.25 and 1 Hz are extracted. Then, the direct surface-wave tomographic method is used to invert surface-wave dispersion data for the 3D shallow shear-wave velocity structure. Our results show that low shear-wave velocities are mainly distributed around the surface rupture trace of the Wenchuan earthquake at least down to 2 km. From the HVSR method, the sites are sorted into two types according to the pattern of HVSR curves with single peak or double peak. By converting frequency to depth, the results show that the sediments are thicker near the surface rupture. The low-velocity zone based on ambient-noise tomography agrees well with the distribution of sedimentary cover estimated from HVSR, which are generally consistent with geological information. Our results provide high-resolution shallow crustal velocity structure for future detailed studies of the Longmen Shan fault.

2020 ◽  
Vol 222 (3) ◽  
pp. 1639-1655
Author(s):  
Xin Zhang ◽  
Corinna Roy ◽  
Andrew Curtis ◽  
Andy Nowacki ◽  
Brian Baptie

SUMMARY Seismic body wave traveltime tomography and surface wave dispersion tomography have been used widely to characterize earthquakes and to study the subsurface structure of the Earth. Since these types of problem are often significantly non-linear and have non-unique solutions, Markov chain Monte Carlo methods have been used to find probabilistic solutions. Body and surface wave data are usually inverted separately to produce independent velocity models. However, body wave tomography is generally sensitive to structure around the subvolume in which earthquakes occur and produces limited resolution in the shallower Earth, whereas surface wave tomography is often sensitive to shallower structure. To better estimate subsurface properties, we therefore jointly invert for the seismic velocity structure and earthquake locations using body and surface wave data simultaneously. We apply the new joint inversion method to a mining site in the United Kingdom at which induced seismicity occurred and was recorded on a small local network of stations, and where ambient noise recordings are available from the same stations. The ambient noise is processed to obtain inter-receiver surface wave dispersion measurements which are inverted jointly with body wave arrival times from local earthquakes. The results show that by using both types of data, the earthquake source parameters and the velocity structure can be better constrained than in independent inversions. To further understand and interpret the results, we conduct synthetic tests to compare the results from body wave inversion and joint inversion. The results show that trade-offs between source parameters and velocities appear to bias results if only body wave data are used, but this issue is largely resolved by using the joint inversion method. Thus the use of ambient seismic noise and our fully non-linear inversion provides a valuable, improved method to image the subsurface velocity and seismicity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 641-652
Author(s):  
Feng Liang ◽  
Zhihui Wang ◽  
Hailong Li ◽  
Kai Liu ◽  
Tao Wang

Urban geophysics ups the ante in the world of applied geophysics, which requires innovative thinking and seemingly off-the-wall approaches, if for no other reason than the settings. Ambient-noise-tomography (ANT) can play a pivotal role in yielding subsurfa2ce information in urban areas, which is capable of dealing with challenges related to these scenarios ( e.g., human activities and low signal-to-noise ratio). In this study, the ANT was conducted to investigate the near-surface shear-velocity structure in the surrounding area of the Baotu Spring Park in downtown Jinan, Shandong Province, China. Quiet clear Rayleigh waves have been obtained by the cross-correlation, which indicates that strong human activities, such as moving vehicles and municipal engineering constructions, can produce approximately isotropic distribution of noise sources for high-frequency signals. The direct surface-wave tomographic method with period-dependent ray-tracing was used to invert all surface-wave dispersion data in the period band 0.2-1.5 s simultaneously for 3D variations of shear-velocity (Vs) structure. Our results show a good correspondence to the geological features with thinner Quaternary sediments, the geological structural characteristic of the limestone surrounded by the igneous which has the highest velocity than that of the limestone in the study area, and several concealed faults of which specific location has been detected at depth. The results demonstrate that it is possible to successfully use ANT with high-frequency signal in an urban environment provided a detailed planning and execution is implemented.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achmad F. N. Sarjan ◽  
Zulfakriza Zulfakriza ◽  
Andri D. Nugraha ◽  
Shindy Rosalia ◽  
Shengji Wei ◽  
...  

We have successfully conducted the first ambient noise tomography on the island of Lombok, Indonesia using local waveform data observed at 20 temporary stations. Ambient noise tomography was used to delineate the seismic velocity structure in the upper crust. The waveform data were recorded from August 3rd to September 9th, 2018, using short-period and broadband sensors. There are 185 Rayleigh waves retrieved from cross-correlating the vertical components of the seismograms. We used frequency-time analysis (FTAN) to acquire the interstation group velocity from the dispersion curves. Group velocity was obtained for the period range of 1 s to 6 s. The group velocity maps were generated using the subspace inversion method and Fast Marching Method (FMM) to trace ray-paths of the surface waves through a heterogeneous medium. To extract the shear wave velocity (Vs) from the Rayleigh wave group velocity maps, we utilize the Neighborhood Algorithm (NA) method. The 2-D tomographic maps provide good resolution in the center and eastern parts of Lombok. The tomograms show prominent features with a low shear velocity that appears up to 4 km depth beneath Rinjani Volcano, Northern Lombok, and Eastern Lombok. We suggest these low velocity anomalies are associated with Quaternary volcanic products, including the Holocene pyroclastic deposits of Samalas Volcano (the ancient Rinjani Volcano) which erupted in 1257. The northeast of Rinjani Volcano is characterized by higher Vs, and we suggest this may be due to the presence of igneous intrusive rock at depth.


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