Application of Seismic Interferometry by Multidimensional Deconvolution to Earthquake Data Recorded in Malargüe, Argentina

Seismic interferometry (SI) refers to the principle of generating new seismic responses using crosscorrelations of existing wavefield recordings. In this study, we report on the use of a specific interferometric approach, called seismic interferometry by multidimensional deconvolution (SI by MDD), for the purpose of retrieving surface-wave responses. In theory, SI by MDD suffers less from irregularities in the distribution of (passive) sources than conventional SI. Here, we confirm this advantage for the application to surface waves originating from regional earthquakes close to Central Chile. For that purpose, we use the Malargüe seismic array in Argentina. This T-shaped array consists of two perpendicular lines of stations, which makes it rather suitable for the application of SI by MDD. Comparing the responses retrieved through SI by MDD to the responses retrieved using conventional SI, we find that the application of SI by MDD results in surface-wave responses that are both more accurate and more stable than surface-wave responses that are retrieved using conventional SI. That is, our results demonstrate that SI by MDD suffers less from non-uniformly distributed earthquakes and differences in the power spectra of earthquake responses. In addition, we show that SI by MDD mitigates the effect of site amplification on the retrieved surface waves.

Permanent, seasonal, and episodic seismic sources around Vatnajökull, Iceland, from the analysis of correlograms

In this study, we locate and characterise the main seismic noise sources in the region of the Vatnajökull icecap (Iceland). Vatnajökull is the largest Icelandic icecap, covering several active volcanoes. The seismic context is very complex, with glacial and volcanic events occurring simultaneously and the classification between the two can become cumbersome. Using seismic interferometry on continuous seismic data (2011–2019), we calculate the propagation velocities and locate the main seismic sources by using hyperbolic geometry and a grid-search method. We identify and characterise permanent oceanic sources, seasonal glacial-related sources, and episodic volcanic sources. These results give a better understanding of the background seismic noise sources in this region and could allow the identification of seismic sources associated with potentially threatening events in real-time.

Seismic Interferometry from Correlated Noise Sources

It is a well-established principle that cross-correlating seismic observations at different receiver locations can yield estimates of band-limited inter-receiver Green’s functions. This principle, known as Green’s function retrieval or seismic interferometry, is a powerful technique that can transform noise into signals which enable remote interrogation and imaging of the Earth’s subsurface. In practice it is often necessary and even desirable to rely on noise already present in the environment. Theory that underpins many applications of ambient noise interferometry assumes that the sources of noise are uncorrelated in time. However, many real-world noise sources such as trains, highway traffic and ocean waves are inherently correlated in space and time, in direct contradiction to the these theoretical foundations. Applying standard interferometric techniques to recordings from correlated energy sources makes the Green’s function liable to estimation errors that so far have not been fully accounted for theoretically nor in practice. We show that these errors are significant for common noise sources, always perturbing or entirely obscuring the phase one wishes to retrieve. Our analysis explains why stacking may reduce the phase errors, but also shows that in commonly encountered circumstances stacking will not remediate the problem. This analytical insight allowed us to develop a novel workflow that significantly mitigates effects arising from the use of correlated noise sources. Our methodology can be used in conjunction with already existing approaches, and improves results from both correlated and uncorrelated ambient noise. Hence, we expect it to be widely applicable in ambient noise studies.

Near-surface structure of the Sodankylä area in Finland, obtained by passive seismic interferometry

Controlled-source seismic exploration surveys are not always possible in nature-protected areas. As an alternative, the application of passive seismic techniques in such areas can be proposed. In our study, we show results of passive seismic interferometry application for mapping the uppermost crust in the area of active mineral exploration in northern Finland. We utilize continuous seismic data acquired by the Sercel Unite wireless multichannel recording system along several profiles during XSoDEx (eXperiment of SOdankylä Deep Exploration) multidisciplinary geophysical project. The objective of XSoDEx was to obtain a structural image of the upper crust in the Sodankylä area of northern Finland in order to achieve a better understanding of the mineral system at depth. The key experiment of the project was a high-resolution seismic reflection experiment. In addition, continuous passive seismic data were acquired in parallel with reflection seismic data acquisition. Due to this, the length of passive data suitable for noise cross-correlation was limited from several hours to a couple of days. Analysis of the passive data demonstrated that dominating sources of ambient noise are non-stationary and have different origins across the XSoDEx study area. As the long data registration period and isotropic azimuthal distribution of noise sources are two major conditions for empirical Green function (EGF) extraction under the diffuse field approximation assumption, it was not possible to apply the conventional techniques of passive seismic interferometry. To find the way to obtain EGFs, we used numerical modelling in order to investigate properties of seismic noise originating from sources with different characteristics and propagating inside synthetic heterogeneous Earth models representing real geological conditions in the XSoDEx study area. The modelling demonstrated that scattering of ballistic waves on irregular shape heterogeneities, such as massive sulfides or mafic intrusions, could produce a diffused wavefield composed mainly of scattered surface waves. In our study, we show that this scattered wavefield can be used to retrieve reliable EGFs from short-term and non-stationary data using special techniques. One of the possible solutions is application of “signal-to-noise ratio stacking” (SNRS). The EGFs calculated for the XSoDEx profiles were inverted, in order to obtain S-wave velocity models down to the depth of 300 m. The obtained velocity models agree well with geological data and complement the results of reflection seismic data interpretation.