Brownian Noise and Temperature Sensitivity of Long-Period Lunar Seismometers

ABSTRACT As long-period ground motion holds the key to understanding the interior of the Earth’s Moon, reducing long-period noise sources will be an essential area of focus in the design of future lunar seismometers. For the proposed Lunar Geophysical Network (LGN), the International Lunar Network (ILN) Science Definition Team specifies that an LGN enabling seismometer will need to be more sensitive than any previous seismometer at frequencies below 1 Hz. In an effort toward lowering the seismometer noise floor for lunar geophysical missions, we evaluate the 1/f Brownian noise and the temperature sensitivity of a seismometer. Temperature sensitivity of a seismometer is related to an important component of the seismometer output noise that is proportional to the temperature noise in the environment. The implications of the ILN requirement are presented in the context of the state-of-the-art InSight Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) Very Broad Band (VBB) planetary seismometer. Brownian noise due to internal friction was estimated for future lunar operation after accounting for the rebalance of the product of mass and distance to the center of gravity of the pendulum for the SEIS-VBB sensor. We find that Brownian noise could be a limiting factor in meeting the ILN requirement for lunar seismometers. Further, we have developed a formalism to understand the temperature sensitivity of a seismometer, relating it quantitatively to the local gravity, the thermoelastic coefficient of the spring, change in center of gravity, and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the mechanical structures. We found that in general the temperature sensitivity of a seismometer is proportional to the local gravity, and so the temperature sensitivity can be reduced when operating on a planetary body with lower gravity. Our Brownian noise and temperature sensitivity models will be useful in the design of the next generation of planetary seismometers.

Response analysis of long-period seismic action in far field to long-span continuous beam bridge with isolated high piers

In order to study the influence of far-field long-period seismic waves on high-pier and long-span continuous beam bridge, taking a high-pier and long-span continuous beam bridge with span arrangement of (95+170+95) m as an example, a numerical analysis model is established based on finite element software. According to the established wave selection criterion, 10 far-field long-period seismic records and 10 ordinary seismic records are selected from the strong earthquake record database. Using nonlinear time history analysis method, the difference of seismic response of long-span continuous beam bridge with isolated high piers under the action of ordinary ground motion and far-field long-period ground motion is studied. The results show that compared with the ordinary ground motion, the seismic response of long-span continuous beam bridge with isolated high piers is obviously increased under the action of long-period ground motion in the far field. When building isolated long-span bridges in areas with great influence of long-period ground motion in the far field, attention should be paid to the adverse effects caused by the frequency spectrum characteristics of ground motion.

Long-period ground motion simulation using centroid moment tensor inversion solutions based on the regional three-dimensional model in the Kanto region, Japan

We conducted centroid moment tensor (CMT) inversions of moderate ( Mw 4.5–6.5) earthquakes in the Kanto region, Japan, using a local three-dimensional (3D) model. We then investigated the effects of our 3D CMT solutions on long-period ground motion simulations. Grid search CMT inversions were conducted using displacement seismograms for periods of 25–100 s. By comparing our 3D CMT solutions with those from the local one-dimensional (1D) catalog, we found that our 3D CMT inversion systematically provides magnitudes smaller than those in the 1D catalog. The Mw differences between 3D and 1D catalogs tend to be significant for earthquakes within the oceanic slab. By comparing ground motion simulations between 1D and 3D velocity models, we confirmed that observed Mw differences could be explained by differences in the rigidity structures around the source regions between 3D and 1D velocity models. The 3D velocity structures (especially oceanic crust and mantle) are important for estimating seismic moments in intraslab earthquakes, which are related to fault size estimation. A detailed discussion for intraslabe seismicity can be conducted by using the 3D CMT catalog. The seismic moments also directly affect the amplitudes of ground motions. The 3D CMT catalog allows us to directly conduct the precise forward and inverse modeling of long-period ground motion without adjusting source models, which have been typically applied in the cases using the 1D CMT catalog. We also conducted long-period ground motion simulations using our 3D CMT solutions to evaluate the reproducibility of long-period ground motions at stations within the Kanto Basin. The simulations of our 3D CMT solutions well-reproduced observed ground motions for periods longer than 10 s, even at stations within the Kanto Basin. The reproducibility of simulations was improved from those using solutions in the 1D catalog.

Long-period ground motion simulation using centroid moment tensor inversion solutions based on the regional three-dimensional model in the Kanto region, Japan

We conducted centroid moment tensor (CMT) inversions of moderate (Mw 4.5–6.5) earthquakes in the Kanto region, Japan, using a local three-dimensional (3D) model. We then investigated the effects of our 3D CMT solutions on long-period ground motion simulations. Grid search CMT inversions were conducted using displacement seismograms for periods of 25–100 s. By comparing our 3D CMT solutions with those from the local one-dimensional (1D) catalog, we found that our 3D CMT inversion systematically provides magnitudes smaller than those in the 1D catalog. The Mw differences between 3D and 1D catalogs tend to be significant for earthquakes within the oceanic slab. By comparing ground motion simulations between 1D and 3D velocity models, we confirmed that observed Mw differences could be explained by differences in the rigidity structures around the source regions between 3D and 1D velocity models. The 3D velocity structures (especially oceanic crust and mantle) are important for estimating seismic moments in intraslab earthquakes, which are related to fault size estimation. A detailed discussion for intraslabe seismicity can be conducted by using the 3D CMT catalog. The seismic moments also directly affect the amplitudes of ground motions. The 3D CMT catalog allows us to directly conduct the precise forward and inverse modeling of long-period ground motion without adjusting source models, which have been typically applied in the cases using the 1D CMT catalog. We also conducted long-period ground motion simulations using our 3D CMT solutions to evaluate the reproducibility of long-period ground motions at stations within the Kanto Basin. The simulations of our 3D CMT solutions well-reproduced observed ground motions for periods longer than 10 s, even at stations within the Kanto Basin. The reproducibility of simulations was improved from those using solutions in the 1D catalog.

Long-period ground motion simulation using centroid moment tensor inversion solutions based on the regional three-dimensional model in the Kanto region, Japan

We conducted centroid moment tensor (CMT) inversions of moderate (Mw 4.5–6.5) earthquakes in the Kanto region, Japan, using a local three-dimensional (3D) model. We then investigated the effects of our 3D CMT solutions on long-period ground motion simulations. Grid search CMT inversions were conducted using displacement seismograms for the periods of 25–100 s. By comparing our 3D CMT solutions with those from the local one-dimensional (1D) catalog, we found that our 3D CMT inversion systematically provides magnitudes smaller than those in the 1D catalog. The Mw differences between 3D and 1D catalogs tend to be significant for earthquakes within the oceanic slab. By comparing the ground motion simulations of the 1D and 3D velocity models, we confirmed that the observed Mw differences could be explained by the differences in the rigidity structures around the source regions in the two models. The 3D velocity structures (especially oceanic crust and mantle) are important for estimating seismic moments in intraslab earthquakes. The seismic moments directly affect the amplitudes of ground motions. Thus, 3D CMT solutions are essential for precise forward and inverse modeling of long-period ground motion. We also conducted long-period ground motion simulations using our 3D CMT solutions to evaluate the reproducibility of long-period ground motions at stations within the Kanto Basin. The simulations of our 3D CMT solutions well-reproduced observed ground motions for periods longer than 10 s, even at stations within the Kanto Basin. The reproducibility of simulations using our 3D CMT solutions was better than those based on the solutions in the 1D catalog.

Long-Period Ground Motion Simulation Based on Three-dimensional Centroid Moment Tensor Inversion Solutions in the Kanto Region, Japan

We conducted centroid moment tensor (CMT) inversions of moderate (Mw 4.5–6.5) earthquakes in the Kanto region, Japan, using a local three-dimensional (3D) model. We then investigated the effects of our 3D CMT solutions on long-period ground motion simulations. Grid search CMT inversions were conducted using displacement seismograms for periods of 25–100 s. By comparing our 3D CMT solutions with those from the local one-dimensional (1D) catalog, we found that our 3D CMT inversion systematically provides magnitudes smaller than those in the 1D catalog. The Mw differences between 3D and 1D catalogs tend to be significant for earthquakes within the oceanic slab. By comparing ground motion simulations between 1D and 3D velocity models, we confirmed that observed Mw differences could be explained by differences in the rigidity structures around the source regions between 3D and 1D velocity models. The 3D velocity structures (especially oceanic crust and mantle) are important for estimating seismic moments in intraslab earthquakes. The seismic moments directly affect the amplitudes of ground motions. Thus, 3D CMT solutions are essential for the precise forward and inverse modeling of long-period ground motion. We also conducted long-period ground motion simulations using our 3D CMT solutions to evaluate reproducibility of long-period ground motions at stations within the Kanto Basin. The simulations of our 3D CMT inversion well-reproduced observed ground motions for periods longer than 10 s, even at stations within the Kanto Basin.