Improving Airgun Signal Detection with Small-Aperture Seismic Array in Yunnan

Repeating airgun sources are eco-friendly sources for monitoring the changes in the physical properties of subsurface mediums, but their signals decay quickly and are buried in the noises soon after traveling short distances. Stacking waveforms from different airgun shots recorded by a single seismic station (shot stacking) is the most popular technique to detect weak signals from noisy backgrounds, and has been widely used to process the data of Fixed Airgun Signal Transmission Stations (FASTS) in China. However, shot stacking sacrifices the time resolution in monitoring to recover a qualified airgun signal by stacking many shots at distance stations, and also suffers from persistent local noises. In this paper, we carried out several small-aperture seismic array experiments around the Binchuan FAST Station (BCFASTS) in Yunnan Province,China, and applied the array technique to improve airgun signal detection. The results show that seismic array processing combining with shot stacking can suppress seismic noises more efficiently, and provide better signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and coherent airgun signals with less airgun shots. This work suggests that the array technique is a feasible and promising tool in FAST to increase the time resolution and reduce noise interference on routine monitoring.     

An Experimental Study on Modulating the Large Volume Airgun Array Signals through Asynchronous Excitation

Large volume airgun arrays have been widely used in exploring and monitoring underground structures for nearly a decade. Nowadays, large volume airgun arrays adopt the synchronous excitation mode, and source characteristics are controlled by the source signal of a single airgun, which to some extent limits its application. In order to realize the asynchronous excitation of the airgun array, we developed a new firing system for the airgun array, and carried out a field experiment in the Binchuan Fixed Airgun Signal Transmission station to study the influences of the asynchronous excitation on the source signal. The experimental results show that:the newly developed airgun array firing system can ignite the airguns according to the setting time series with high precision. By designing the excitation time series, the asynchronous excitation can enhance the energy of airgun source signal at 3-5Hz, and reduce the energy of pressure pulse wave at 6-18Hz. The signal detection capability of the asynchronous excitation with time series mode is equivalent to the synchronous excitation.     

Numerical Simulation of the Binchuan Airgun Source Affected by Water Body

The numerical simulation of the influence of a reservoir water body on the Binchuan airgun source could provide a theoretical basis to analyze the data obtained from the active source detection and inversion of regional interior medium structures. Based on a medium model containing limited water body, we use the finite different method to simulate the effect of the water level, excitation energy and focal depth. The results show that the influence on the waveform amplitude caused by the water level changing is very large near the water body, and that a high water level or large amplitude change can have a larger effect. However, for stations beyond a certain epicentral distance, the influence will be weakened and kept stable. As for the Binchuan airgun source, amplitude fluctuation caused by the water level changing becomes very small(±0.05 times) after propagating a certain distance, so we can remove the influence of the water level changing by referring to the numerical simulation result. Wave amplitude increases linearly with the excitation energy and focal depth, therefore, the greater the energy and the deeper the focal depth, the better the effect of the excitation, and is more conducive in detecting remote and deep penetration underground structures.     

Study on Azimuth Variation of Airgun Signal Propagation

Based on the data recorded by the observation network during the intensive excitation period from November to December 2015 at Binchuan Earthquake Signal Transmitting Seismic Station (BESTSS) in Yunnan Province,the noise in waveform recording is removed by S-transform template filtering method,and the azimuth of airgun signal propagation is calculated and analyzed from the horizontal waveform recordings. The results show that:① the azimuth angle of airgun signal after propagation is sensitive to stress change,and can clearly reflect the diurnal variation of tidal stress,which can be used to monitor the change of stress state in crustal medium;② the azimuth angle of airgun signal in some stations has changed abruptly after propagation on December 4,which may be related to the change of airgun source;③ five-shot superposition or fivepoint smoothing of azimuth angle of single shot are carried out for airgun signals in stations far away from epicenter,and results show that azimuth angle from superposition or smoothing is more stable and has clear diurnal variation characteristics after propagation.     

Attenuation Characteristics of Earthquake Ground Motion for Large Volume Airgun

In order to further deepen the understanding of seismic wave propagation characteristics induced by the large volume airgun source, experimental data from multiple fixed excitation points in Fujian Province were used to obtain the equivalent single excitation high signal-to-noise ratio velocity and displacement records through linear stacking and simulation techniques. Then the peak displacements of different epicentral distances were used to calculate the equivalent magnitude of the airgun source excitation at different fixed excitation points so as to establish the attenuation relationship between equivalent magnitude,epicenter distance and velocity peak. Our results show that:① Within 270 km of epicentral distance,for the large-volume airgun's single shot,the peak velocity range is about 700-4 nm/s,and the peak displacement range is about 200. 0-0. 2 nm;② The equivalent magnitude of the P-wave from the airgun source with a total capacity of 8,000 in 3 is 0. 181-0. 760,and the equivalent magnitude of the S-wave is 0. 294-0. 832. By contrast,the equivalent magnitude of the P-wave from the airgun source with a total capacity of 12,000 in 3 is 0. 533-0. 896,and the equivalent magnitude of the S-wave is 0. 611-0. 946. The S-wave energy is greater than the P-wave energy, and the excitation efficiency varies greatly with different excitation environment;③ The peak velocity increases with the equivalent magnitude,and decreases with the epicentral distance. The vertical component of the P-wave peak velocity is the largest among those three components,while the S-wave has the smallest vertical component and similar horizontal components. Hence,our research can provide an important basis for the quantitative judgment of the seismic wave propagation distance using the airgun and the design of the observation system in deep exploration or monitoring with airgun.     

A Comparative Study on the Excitation of Large Volume Airgun Source with Different Combinations in Hutubi, Xinjiang, China

In order to study the excitation of large-volume airgun source with different combinations in Hutubi, Xinjiang,China,we conducted a targeted experiment. The method of time-frequency analysis is used to study the signals recorded by a seismometer on the shore of the excited pool, and it is concluded that different gun combinations will lead to different frequency of bubble pulse signals. Besides, linear combination method is used to analyze the signal-to-noise ratios of signals excited by different gun combinations which was recorded by seismic stations around the airgun source. In order to improve the signal-to-noise ratios, it is more effective to increase the activation energy (the number of excited guns at the same time) than to stack the excited signals with smaller energy repeatedly.     

Regional Scale Seismological Investigation on the Continent Crust Using Airgun Sources——A Perspective Review

The investigations on the structure and temporal variations of the continent crust have been the long-lasting topics of seismology. The artificial sources play the most important role in these studies for their well-known locations and occur times among all the sources producing elastic waves, so that precise results are obtained. In past decades, we have successfully excited the airgun sources in on-land water bodies such as reservoirs, expanding their applications in marine seismology. Large volume airguns have been used to produce low frequency signals which can travel hundreds of kilometers after stacking, providing a source connecting the exploration seismology and traditional seismology at regional scale. In this review, we introduce the changes through which we turn the airgun into scientific instruments by experiments. We also present the advances on imaging the continental crust structure and monitoring the velocity variations using the highly repeatable signals emitted by airgun sources. The potential applications such as imaging the subsurface of urban areas and high resolution illuminating of mines are proposed and the challenges for further investigations are also discussed.     

Relocation of the Yushu M_S7.1 earthquake and its aftershocks in 2010 from HypoDD

After the Yushu M S 7.1 earthquake on April 14,2010,a large number of aftershocks were recorded by the surrounding permanent network and temporary seismic stations.Due to the distribution of stations,knowledge about velocity structure,the reliability of seismic phases,and so on,the location result from conventional method is usually of low precision,from which it is difficult to recognize the spatial and temporal distribution and the trends of aftershock activity.In this paper,by using teleseismic waveforms recorded by permanent station,the seismic velocity structure beneath the vicinity is obtained from receiver function stacking and inversion methods.And the Yushu earthquake sequences are relocated from seismic phase data by HypoDD.The results show that the Yushu M S 7.1 earthquake occurred at 13 km depth;the aftershock sequences were distributed mainly in the NWW along the Garzê-Yushu fault,and most aftershocks were concentrated in a 100 km length and 5-20 km depth.Combined with the velocity structure,it can be inferred that the earthquake mainly destroys the high-velocity layer of the upper crust.In the west of the seismic fault near(33.3°N,96.2°E),the aftershock sequences were distributed like a straight column,suggesting there was a comminuted break from 25km depth to the ground.     

Study on the Influence of Airgun Excitation Conditions on Airgun Signals and Travel Time Variation Measurements

Because of the different excitation conditions of the airgun source, there will be subtle differences in airgun signals. Travel time variation of airgun signals often mix into source information which can''t fully reflect the evolution of the medium. This article uses the airgun signals from the Binchuan Transmitting Seismic Station to analyze the airgun signal''s characteristics of phase and correlation. We conducted a comparative analysis of the effects of the pair difference method and the deconvolution method on eliminating the influence of the excitation conditions in travel time variation. The results show that:(1) The pressure pulse and its subsequent wave of airgun source wavelet are less affected by excitation conditions that we can use it to obtain high-precision excitation moments. (2) Deconvolution can improve the correlation of the airgun signal. (3) The pair difference method can''t eliminate the influence of excitation conditions in travel time variation. Deconvolution can reduce excitation condition interference and the influence of the excitation condition in the travel time variation after deconvolution of the vertical signal is significantly reduced.     

A Study on the Seismic Velocity Changes before and after the 2016 MS6.4 Menyuan Earthquake Using the Active Source Data in the Qilian Mountain

The Qilian Mountain active source network data was processed using the methods of stacking, cross-correlation and interpolation, and the airgun travel time variation characteristics of P and S waves around the January 21, 2016 M_S6.4 Menyua, Qinghai earthquake. The results show that about 6 months before the earthquake, the relative travel time of three stations near the epicenter showed a declined change (travel time decrease), and such a change of low value anomaly was recovered about 3 months before the earthquake. The travel time decrease then appeared again, and the earthquake occurred during the recovery process. The maximum decrease of the S-wave travel time was 18ms, and the change in travel time returned to normal after the earthquake. The variation trend of the 3 stations is consistent, including the S-wave travel time change of station ZDY38, which is nearest to the epicenter and changed obviously, and the variation range of the travel time is smaller at the stations afar. This variation pattern is related to the position of the seismic source. The shorter travel time means the velocity increase, which may be related to the regional stress accumulation.     

TEST RESULTS OF A NEW TYPE OF EFFICIENT SMALL AIRGUN ARRAY*

Recently the author developed and demonstrated (Safar 1980) an efficient method for operating the airgun. The method involves the generation of a short seismic pulse from the pressure bubble pulses radiated by an airgun when fired several times at the same optimum depth but with different chamber pressures. The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss the test results obtained when implementing the same method using a two-dimensional airgun array. The array consists of seven 0.65 liter airguns fired simultaneously at the same depth but with different chamber pressures. It is shown that the far-field pressure pulse radiated by the seven 0.65 liter airgun array is similar to that radiated by the Flexichoc seismic source. It is concluded that the proposed airgun array can be used as a subarray to form an extremely powerful super-long array suitable for deep seismic exploration. The author would like to thank the Chairman and Board of Directors of the British Petroleum Co. Ltd for permission to publish this paper. Thanks are also due to Mike Symes and Lovell Cox for carrying out the field tests and Seismograph Service (England) Ltd for providing the airguns.     

Influencing factors of seismic signals generated by un-tuned large volume airgun array in a land reservoir

Un-tuned large volume airgun array in a water reservoir is recently proposed as a new way to generate seismic waves on land. It can be used to explore the earth velocity structure and its temporal variations as well. However, the characteristics of seismic signals (especially far-field signals) from an airgun array in a reservoir and its affecting factors (firing pressure, airgun towing depth, water level of the reservoir, etc.) has not been adequately studied. We analyzed the seismic data collected from field experiments at Binchuan Transmitting Seismic Station in 2011 and 2013 and found that (1) The similarity of seismic signals decrease with distance, which is most likely induced by the decay of signal amplitude and signal to noise ratio (SNR); (2) The amplitudes of far-field airgun signals are almost linearly proportional to the firing pressure; (3) The towing depth of airgun has less effects on the far-field signals; (4) The amplitudes of far-field airgun signals are proportional to the water level of the reservoir.     

Amplitude variation characteristics of active source airgun signals at Qilian Mountain

In this study, Qilian Mountain active source airgun signals recorded at 79 stations were obtained after stacking waveforms from July 2015 to December 2016. Based on analysis of the amplitude variation characteristics of the airgun signals, the following conclusions were drawn:along the NW-SE fault distribution direction of the Qilian Mountain area, the decrease in amplitude of airgun signals was relatively slow in relation to the epicentral distance, while the decrease in amplitude in the direction perpendicular to the fault was relatively fast. This difference may be related to the energy loss of seismic waves reflecting and scattering by the regional faults mainly distributed along the NW-SE direction, which are caused by tectonic compression of the Qinghai-Tibet and Alxa blocks.     

Using an airgun array in a land reservoir as the seismic source for seismotectonic studies in northern China: experiments and preliminary results

This paper reports the field setup and preliminary results of experiments utilizing an airgun array in a reservoir in north China for a seismotectonic study. Commonly used in offshore petroleum resource exploration, the airgun source was found to be more useful than a traditional explosive source for large‐scale and long offset land seismic surveys. The airgun array, formed by four 1,500 in³ airguns (a total of 6,000 in³ in volume) was placed at a depth of 6–9 m into the reservoir to generate the pressure impulse. No direct evidence was found that the airgun source adversely affected the fish in the reservoir. The peak ground acceleration recorded on the top of the reservoir dam 100 m away was 17.8 gal in the horizontal direction; this is much less than the designed earthquake‐resistance threshold of 125 gal for this dam. The energy for one shot of this airgun array is about 6.68 MJ, equivalent to firing a 1.7 kg explosive. The seismic waves generated by the airgun source were recorded by receivers of the regional seismic networks and a temporary wide‐angle reflection and refraction profile formed by 100 short‐period seismometers with the maximum source‐receiver offset of 206 km. The seismic wave signature at these long‐offset stations is equivalent to that generated by a traditional blast source in a borehole with a 1,000–2,000 kg explosive. Preliminary results showed clear seismic phases from refractions from the multi‐layer crustal structures in the north China region. Forward modelling using numerical simulation confirms that the seismic arrivals are indeed from lower crustal interfaces. The airgun source is efficient, economical, environmentally friendly and suitable for being used in urbanized areas. It has many advantages over an explosive source for seismotectonic studies such as the high repeatability that is supreme for stacking to improve signal qualities. The disadvantage is that the source is limited to existing lakes or reservoirs, which may restrict experimental geometry.     

利用固定台站分析长江激发气枪信号特征

“地学长江计划”安徽实验是以气枪震源为核心的大型主动源探测实验。通过在长江安徽段20个固定点定点激发气枪震源,结合109个固定台站、11条流动测线组成的观测网络,首次利用主动源实现了对长江流域安徽段约6万km2面积的三维地下结构探测。本文利用固定台站对长江激发气枪信号进行了分析,结果表明,长江中气枪信号激发效果良好,固定台记录中气枪信号可识别的最远距离达300km。对气枪信号绝对振幅的研究结果表明：① 50km处的气枪信号约为10nm量级,200km处的气枪信号小于1 nm;② 气枪信号强度的空间分布存在一定的方位各向异性,可能与长江的几何形状有关;③ 台站背景噪声对于提取气枪信号至关重要,高质量的固定台网为识别nm量级气枪信号提供了可能。     

大容量气枪震源长江定点激发信号检测

地学长江计划“安徽段实验”是大容量气枪震源在长江的首次激发。本文针对布设在气枪固定激发点附近的流动台和周边固定台接收到的气枪信号进行线性叠加分析近场和远场信号的时频特性,利用叠加结果检测气枪信号的传播特性,分析不同环境因素对信号传播距离的影响。结果表明：①近岸首台可以接收到清晰的压力脉冲、气泡脉冲的体波和面波信号;②气枪信号主频为5Hz左右,随震中距的增加,压力脉冲信号衰减很快,信号主频频带变窄;③对信号传播距离进行初步检测,最近的传播距离为180km,最远共有3个激发点传播达到260km,夜晚激发信号传播距离较远。     

非纵弯线气枪震源陆地反射资料叠加成像

为探索大容量气枪震源在深部地震探测中的应用,2015年10月在安徽铜陵段开展气枪流动激发试验。该试验采用沿长江航道激发、岸边固定排列接收的工作方式,因受长江航道及江岸地形的影响,加上原始记录中干扰波发育、静校正问题突出等,基于常规的共中心点叠加的数据处理方法已不再适用。为此,开展了针对性的数据处理方法研究。本文采用初至波层析静校正、叠前多域多道集去噪以及非纵弯线共反射面元叠加等一系列处理技术,结果显示所获测线经过区域的深部构造叠加剖面较清晰。