Characteristics of microseisms recorded by the earthscope transportable array

• Main Author: Sufri, Oner
• Other Authors: College of Mines & Earth Sciences, Geology & Geophysics, University of Utah
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of Utah 2015
• Subjects: Ambient noise; Continuous seismic data; Earthscope; Microseisms; Transportable array; USArray; Gulf of Alaska; Pacific; Newfoundland; North Atlantic; Alaska
• Online Access: https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6g47zmj

dissertation I analyzed the characteristics of microseisms recorded in the United States by Earthscope Transportable Array (TA) broadband stations during the calendar year of 2009 and a 19-day period of October-November 2012. I used eigen-decomposition of spectral covariance matrices to extract power and polarization information for each hour of data recorded at each seismometer. For the continuous data from 2009, I generated array-averaged spectrograms and geographical animations to locate individual microseisms. Then, I grouped and cataloged those microseisms according to their initiation time, duration, peak power, average power, dominant period, variation in their period content, degree of polarization, and their azimuths obtained from polarization ellipsoids. Over 78 distinct microseismic events were identified and grouped into four different types. The longest duration microseismic signal occurred in the month of December, 2009, for more than 280 hours and was associated with the propagation of two storms: one from the Gulf of Alaska region and another from the Newfoundland region. The most powerful signal was also recorded in the same month with an average peak period near 6 -sec on December 28-31, 2009, and resulted from wave action associated with two different unnamed storms in the East-Central Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. The seismic observations were compared to excitation predictions computed with the power spectral density of the equivalent pressure generated by ocean gravity waves using the WAVEWATCH-III ocean wave model from the French Research Institue for Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer). Microseismic excitation predictions were calculated both with and without coastline reflections. I also processed continuous TA seismic data from 17 October-4 November, 2012, coinciding with the passage of Hurricane Sandy. I determined and tracked locations of microseisms as the hurricane propagated from South to North along the U.S. Atlantic coast. I found that the maximum microseismic power and degree of polarization occurred when Sandy made its westward turn towards New York on October 29, 2012. I also found two microseism source locations in the North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific oceans related to two different storms systems. The locations obtained from the seismic results were compared to the ocean wave models obtained from Ifremer.