On the application of fiber optic gyroscopes for detection of seismic rotations

In recent years, the measurement of rotational components of earthquake-induced ground motion became a reality due to high-resolution ring laser gyroscopes. As a consequence of the fact that they exploit the Sagnac effect, these devices are entirely insensitive to translational motion and are able to measure the rotation rate with high linearity and accuracy over a wide frequency band. During the last decade, a substantial number of earthquakes were recorded by the large ring lasers located in Germany, New Zealand, and USA, and the subsequent data analysis demonstrated reliability and consistency of the results with respect to theoretical models. However, most of the observations recorded teleseismic events in the far-field. The substantial mass and the size of these active interferometers make their near-field application difficult. Therefore, the passive counterparts of ring lasers, the fiber optic gyros can be used for seismic applications where the mobility is more important than extreme precision. These sensors provide reasonable accuracy and are small in size, which makes them perfect candidates for strong motion applications. The other advantage of fiber optic gyroscopes is that if the earthquake is local and shallow (like one occurred early this year at Canterbury, New Zealand), the large ring lasers simply do not have the dynamic range??the effect is far too large for these instruments. In this paper, we analyze a typical commercially available tactical grade fiber optic gyroscope (VG-951) with respect to the seismic rotation measurement requirements. The initial test results including translation and upper bounds of seismic rotation sensitivity are presented. The advantages and limitations of tactical grade fiber optic gyroscope as seismic rotation sensor are discussed.     

Rotational components of surface strong ground motion

Rotational components of seismic waves have been estimated using the strong motion array in Taiwan, SMART-1. The inner rings of accelerographs, covering an approximately circular area of 3 km², permit a decomposition of travelling waves with wavelengths in the range 0.5 to 5.0 km and frequencies from 0.1 to 5 Hz. Rotational components of the strain field, obtained from station pairs and averaged over the array using stacking techniques, were computed for five different earthquakes with M_s magnitude 5.7 to 7.8, and epicentral distances 6 to 84 km. The results indicate peak rotation values about a vertical axis on the order of 4 × 10^?5 rad at an approximately 2.5 s period. The measured values for pure rotation and rocking are in agreement with the spatial coherency structure observed in these earthquakes. For comparison, significant effects to engineered structures generally appear when curl u > 10^?4 rad. The estimates are important for design of scaled engineered models for soil-structure interaction experiments.     

光纤振动传感之一:旋转测量技术及其地震学应用

地震波场可分解为三分量平动和三分量旋转运动.旋转分量包含重要的波场梯度信息,是地震波场重建的关键要素,但过去由于缺乏稳定的高灵敏度旋转测量仪器,它在不同的地震学应用中常被忽略.光纤旋转地震仪是率先打破测量仪器缺乏困境、最先实现商业化的旋转地震仪,也是目前最有发展前景的地震波旋转直接测量设备.光纤旋转地震仪基于Sagnac效应,并依托成熟的光纤陀螺技术实现振动的旋转分量测量.它具有纯光电传感不受平动影响的测量优势;并且能够在高灵敏度和宽频带旋转测量的基础下实现设备的小型化,有利于旋转测量的应用推广.因此,光纤旋转地震仪和传统的地震仪将形成互补,实现旋转和平动六分量(6C)的观测,更好地提取地震波场特征,提高振动监测能力,有效改善震源过程反演、地下结构成像和地震破坏机理研究等应用.本文主要介绍光纤旋转测量的基本原理、旋转地震学的应用及其潜在应用前景.     

旋转运动在地震学中的应用概述

旋转地震学是研究由天然地震、爆破和周围环境振动引起的地面旋转运动的新兴学科。对于它的研究不仅有助于对质点运动(平移运动、旋转运动和形变)进行完整的描述,而且对广义地球物理学,如强地面运动地震学、地震工程学、地震物理学、地震仪器等的研究也有重要指导意义。本文系统介绍了旋转运动在地震学中4个方面的应用。首先,介绍基于平移运动和旋转运动的共同测量,得出了计算远震瑞利波和勒夫波相速度的理论公式,并以西伯利亚地震为例,得出台站附近的相速度结构;其次,利用环形激光仪仅对地震SH波敏感的特性,分离P波和S波,分辨海洋噪声和面波,确定海洋噪声的反方位角;然后,介绍利用旋转传感器对自由振荡的长周期环形模式的观测;最后,对包含旋转观测量的多参数反演问题的重要性和实用性进行了阐述,并分析了旋转地震学研究现存的问题。     

A stratified core motion inferred from geomagnetic secular variations

An examination of the westward drift of the geomagnetic field indicates that the drift velocity is almost independent of latitude, suggesting a uniform rigid rotation of spherical shape. When the geomagnetic field is separated into standing and drifting components and expressed in a spherical harmonic series, a lack of sectorial terms is noted in the standing field. It is shown that these features are well explained by a stratified core model.The core is supposed to be stratified near the surface where toroidal fluid motions are predominant. In the deeper part, the fluid motion is two-dimensional, forming Taylor columns. A simplified core model is assumed to represent these features, in which the core is divided into two parts, an outer spherical shell that rotates westwards at a uniform rate of 0.3° y^?1 and a central sphere in which the two-dimensional columnar motions reside. The toroidal motions in the outer spherical interact with the dipole field to induce the drifting field, whereas the columnar motions generate the standing field through interaction with a toroidal field. It follows that a small velocity as 5 × 10^?3 cm s^?1 for the stratified motion is sufficient to create the observed drifting field.     

AFORS autonomous fibre-optic rotational seismograph: Design and application

We outline the research leading to development of the Autonomous Fibre-Optic Rotational Seismograph (AFORS) and describe the final version of the instrument. The instrument with linear changes of sensitivity keeps accuracy from 5.1 × 10⁻⁹ to 5.5 × 10⁻⁸ rad/s in the detection bandpass 1.66–212.30 Hz; it is designed for a direct measurement of rotational components emitted during seismic events. The presented system is based on the optical part of the fibre optic gyro construction where a special autonomous signal processing unit (ASPU) optimizes its operation for the measurement of rotation motions instead of the angular changes. The application of a newly designed telemetric system based on the Internet allows for a remote system control, as shown in an example of the system’s operation in Książ (Poland) seismological observatory.     

Effects of rotation motions on strong-motion data

Rotation motion and its effects on strong-motion data, in most cases, are much smaller than that of translational motion and have been ignored in most analyses of strong-motion data. However, recent observations from near-fault and/or extreme large ground motions suggest that these effects might be underestimated and quantitative analyses seem to be necessary for improving our understating of these effects. Rotation motion-related effects include centrifugal acceleration, the effects of gravity and effects of the rotation frame. Detailed analyses of these effects based on the observed data are unavailable in the literature. In this study, we develop a numerical algorithm for estimating the effects of rotational motion on the strong-motion data using a set of six-component ground motions and apply it to a set of rotation rate-strong motion velocity data. The data were recorded during a magnitude 6.9 earthquake. The peak value of the derived acceleration and rotation rate of this dataset are about 186 cm/s/s and 0.0026 rad/s. Numerical analyses of data gives time histories of these rotational motion-related effects. Our results show that all the rotation angles are less than 0.01°. The maximum centrifugal acceleration, effect from gravity and effect of the rotation frame are about 0.03 and 0.14 cm/s/s, respectively. Both these two effects are much smaller than the peak acceleration 186 cm/s/s. This result might have been expected because our data are not near-field and wave motions are expected to be nearly plane waves. However, it is worth noticing that the centrifugal acceleration is underestimated and a small rotational effect can cause large waveform difference in acceleration data. The waveform difference before and after the correction for rotational motion can reach 16 cm/s/s (about 10 %).     

分布式光纤声波传感器及其在天然地震学研究中的应用

分布式光纤声波传感器(Distributed Acoustic Sensing,DAS)是近年来兴起的超密集地震观测系统,具有一系列观测密度高、观测成本低、耐受恶劣环境等优势,在油气行业得到了广泛应用,也引起了天然地震学界的关注.本文简要回顾了DAS系统的测量原理、发展历程、技术方案、介绍了测量原理及其响应特性,然后围绕多个观测实验,介绍浅部结构成像、深部结构探测和地震监测三个方向的典型应用实例,最后讨论了DAS系统在天然地震学研究中应用面临的挑战和发展趋势.     

Study on the effect of ground motion direction on the response of engineering structure

Due to the randomness of earthquake wave magnitude and direction, and the uncertain direction of strong axis and weak axis in the construction of engineering structures, the effect of the direction of ground motion on a structure are studied herein. Ground motion records usually contain three vertical ground motion data, which are obtained by sensors arranged in accordance with the EW(East-West) direction, NS(South- North) direction and perpendicular to the surface(z) direction, referring to the construction standard of seismic stations. The seismic records in the EW and NS directions are converted to Cartesian coordinates in accordance with the rotation of θ = 0°-180°, and consequently, a countless group of new ground motion time histories are obtained. Then, the characteristics of the ground motion time history and response spectrum of each group were studied, resulting in the following observations:(1) the peak and phase of ground motion are changed with the rotation of direction θ, so that the direction θ of the maximum peak ground motion can be determined;(2) response spectrum values of each group of ground motions change along with the direction θ, and their peak, predominant period and declining curve are also different as the changes occur; then, the angle θ in the direction of the maximum peak value or the widest predominant period can be determined; and(3) the seismic response of structures with different directions of ground motion inputs has been analyzed under the same earthquake record, and the results show the difference. For some ground motion records, such as the Taft seismic wave, these differences are significant. Next, the Lushan middle school gymnasium structure was analyzed and the calculation was checked using the proposed method, where the internal force of the upper space truss varied from 25% to 28%. The research results presented herein can be used for reference in choosing the ground motion when checking the actual damage to structures following earthquakes and explaining the seismic damage. Meanwhile, it also provides a reference value for research into the most severe ground motion.     

Models of solar differential rotation

Abstract

Models of a differentially rotating compressible convection zone are calculated, considering the inertial forces in the poloidal components of the equations of motion. Two driving mechanisms have been considered: latitude dependent heat transport and anisotropic viscosity. In the former case a meridional circulation is induced initially which in turn generates differential rotation, whereas in the latter case differential rotation is directly driven by the anisotropic viscosity, and the meridional circulation is a secondary effect.

In the case of anisotropic viscosity the choice of boundary conditions has a big influence on the results: depending on whether or not the conditions of vanishing pressure perturbation are imposed at the bottom of the convection zone, one obtains differential rotation with a fast (≥ 10 ms^?1) or a slow (～ 1 ms^?1) circulation. In the latter case the rotation law is mainly a function of radius and the rotation rate increases inwards if the viscosity is larger in radial direction than in the horizontal directions.

The models with latitude dependent heat transport exhibit a strong dependence on the Prandtl number. For values of the Prandtl number less than 0.2 the pole-equator temperature difference and the surface velocity of the meridional circulation are compatible with observations. For sufficiently small values of the Prandtl number the convection zone becomes globally unstable like a layer of fluid for which the critical Rayleigh number is exceeded.     

Investigation of ground rotational motions caused by direct and scattered P-waves from the 4 March 2008 TAIGER explosion experiment

High-frequency rotational motions of P-waves and coda waves were analysed using rotation rate sensors and strong motion array data from the 4 March 2008 TAiwan Integrated GEodynamics Research (TAIGER) explosion experiment in northeastern Taiwan. Theoretical and observational investigations focussed on the effects of this experiment on the free surface. The main goal of this study was to explore possible applications of combined measurements of artificial explosion-derived translational and rotational motions. Also investigated was the consistent ground rotation observed directly by rotation rate sensors and derived using translational seismic arrays. Common near-source high-frequency rotational motion observations and array-recorded translational motions from one shallow borehole explosion are analysed in this study. Using a half-space assumption of plane P-wave propagation across the recording site, we conclude that: (1) rotational motions induced by direct P-waves interacting with a free surface in theory can be used to estimate wave radial direction, velocity and anisotropic properties; (2) rotational motions derived from scattering are predominant among the observed rotations during the TAIGER explosion experiments and allow us to image the heterogeneous structure of the medium at the investigated site; and (3) rotation sensor measurements undertaken during TAIGER explosion experiments may be affected by cross-axis sensitivities, which need to be considered when using the data obtained during these experiments.     

Kinetics of Oxidation of Lower Aliphatic Amines and Pyridine Derivatives by the Dichromate Method

The kinetics of oxidation of lower aliphatic amines and pyridine derivatives by dichromate was studied. It has been found that lower aliphatic amines and pyridine derivatives are oxidized by dichromate in acid medium. However, the oxidation rates are very low so that within the reaction period of 2 h, prescribed by the standard dichromate method, only a part of a given compound is oxidized. The kinetics of oxidation can be approximately described by an equation of the first order reaction. The lowest values of rate constants, of the order of 10^?3 h^?1, were found for pyridine and methylamines. The rate constants of ethylamines and pyridine derivatives are much higher, of the order of 10^?1 h^?1. Propylamine and butylamine are oxidized easily with high rates. The rate of oxidation of pyridine derivatives increases with an increasing number of substituents on the ring. Dimethylpyridines are oxidized faster than methylpyridines but slower than 2,4,6-threemethylpyridine. Oxidation of methyl derivatives of pyridine proceeds in two steps. In the first, relatively fast one, methyl groups are oxidized to carboxylic groups. In the second one, originated pyridinecarboxylic acids are slowly oxidized to carbon dioxide and water.     

Anomalous cosmogenic 3He production and elevation scaling in the high Himalaya

The production rate of cosmogenic ³He in apatite, zircon, kyanite and garnet was obtained by cross-calibration against ¹⁰Be in co-existing quartz in glacial moraine boulders from the Nepalese Himalaya. The boulders have ¹⁰Be ages between 6 and 16 kyr and span elevations from 3200 to 4800 m. In all of these minerals ³He correlates with ¹⁰Be and is dominantly cosmogenic in origin. After modest correction for non-cosmogenic components, ³He/¹⁰Be systematics imply apparent sea-level high-latitude (SLHL) apparent production rates for ³He of 226 atoms g^? 1 yr^? 1 in zircon, 254 atoms g^? 1 yr^? 1 in apatite, 177 atoms g^? 1 yr^? 1 in kyanite, and 153 atoms g^? 1 yr^? 1 in garnet. These production rates are unexpectedly high compared with rates measured elsewhere in the world, and also compared with proposed element-specific production rates. For apatite and zircon, the data are sufficient to conclude that the ³He/¹⁰Be ratio increases with elevation. If this reflects different altitudinal scaling between production rates for the two isotopes then the SLHL production rates estimated by our approach are overestimates. We consider several hypotheses to explain these observations, including production of ³He via thermal neutron capture on ⁶Li, altitudinal variations in the energy spectrum of cosmic-ray neutrons, and the effects of snow cover. Because all of these effects are small, we conclude that the altitudinal variations in production rates of cosmogenic ³He and ¹⁰Be are distinct from each other at least at this location over the last ～ 10 kyr. This conclusion calls into question commonly adopted geographic scaling laws for at least some cosmogenic nuclides. If confirmed, this distinction may provide a mechanism by which to obtain paleoelevation estimates.     

Longshot experiments to study velocity anisotropy in the oceanic lithosphere of the northwestern Pacific

Several long-range explosion seismology experiments have been conducted in the northwestern Pacific basin, where one of the oldest oceanic lithospheres is postulated to exist. The experiments were conducted from 1974 to 1980. Highly sensitive ocean-bottom seismographs which had been developed for longshot experiments were used. The lengths of the profiles ranged from 1000 to 1800 km, and the directions were chosen to provide wide azimuthal coverage. One of the aims of this series of experiments was to test the existence of velocity anisotropy on a large, regional scale.The results show that the oceanic lithosphere has anisotropy wherein the velocity changes by 4–7%. The anisotropy extends from a depth of at least 40 to 140 km beneath the sea bottom; however, the magnitude of the anisotropy may vary with depth. The azimuth of the maximum velocity is 150–160° clockwise from north, and coincides with the “fossil” direction of spreading of the Pacific plate, whereas it differs from the present direction of plate motion by ～ 30°. The azimuth does not seem to depend on depth. In the direction of maximum velocity, the lithosphere is basically two-layered: 8.0–8.2 and 8.6 km s^?1. The depth of the interface is 50–60 km beneath the sea floor.     

Floodplain sedimentation rates in an alpine watershed determined by radionuclide techniques

Vertical profiles of the activities of ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb were measured on floodplain sediment cores and upland soil cores along the Soda Butte Creek and the Yellowstone River to determine floodplain sedimentation rates. The position of mine tailings from a 1950 impoundment failure was used as a stratigraphic marker to estimate the sedimentation rates and to make comparisons with rates provided by radionuclide‐based methods. Mass accumulation (sedimentation) rates calculated from the position of the mine tailings ranged from 0·00 to 0·17 g cm^?2 yr^?1 and were in good agreement with sedimentation rates calculated from the inventories of ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb. Sedimentation rates calculated from the position of the ¹³⁷Cs peak generally overestimated the sedimentation rates, probably because of increased downward migration of ¹³⁷Cs caused by the low pH of water moving through the mine tailings or the high permeability of floodplain sediments relative to upland reference soils. This study demonstrates that the ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb inventory methods for determining sedimentation rates can be applied to an alpine floodplain where sedimentation events are episodic and where orographic effects on precipitation generate strong downstream gradients in the delivery of atmospheric radionuclides. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An extrusion energy absorber suitable for the protection of structures during an earthquake

A structure moving under the influence of an earthquake is normally required to absorb its own energy of motion. However, in many cases it is possible to attach to the structure energy absorbing devices which absorb most of its energy of motion. One such device is an energy absorber which works by extruding lead back and forth through an orifice. On being extruded the deformed lead recrystallizes immediately, thereby recovering its original mechanical properties before the next extrusion or stroke. Accordingly, the amount of energy absorbed is not limited by work hardening or fatigue of the lead, but rather by the heat capacity of the device, the melting point of lead being the upper limit to the operating temperature. Furthermore, the device is able to absorb energy during a large number of earthquakes. A number of 20 kN × 2 cm stroke to 200 kN × 26 cm stroke extrusion energy absorbers have been tested at rates of 10^?6 to 3.6 × 10^?6 cm/min. They behaved as ‘plastic solids’ or ‘coulomb dampers’ with nearly rectangular hysteresis loops and little rate dependence.     

Convection in a rotating,laterally heated annulus transition to lower symmetry

Abstract

The radial temperature differences at which the transition from lower symmetry to the wave regime and the transition from the wave regime to lower symmetry occur have been measured for rotation rates ≦2rad/sec. It was found that the temperature differences at which the transitions occur differ for a fixed rotation rate, depending on whether the radial temperature difference is either increased or decreased with time. There is hysteresis in the transition at lower symmetry.     

Rapid Earthquake Information for Bucharest

Advances in sensor techniques, digital acquisition, communication and computing allowed establishment of the field of real-time seismology (Kanamori et al., 1997) and the design of earthquake information systems that provide rapid information on ground motion and potential damage in an area for which a ground motion estimation data base is available and where the inventory of buildings and infrastructure and its vulnerability to shaking is known. We discuss a system for the Romanian capital of Bucharest, where an early warning system with about 30 seconds lead time, shake maps and a sophisticated damage estimation tool for Bucharest have been developed in the frame of the Collaborative Research Center on Strong Earthquakes ().     

Initiation and Propagation of Compaction Bands in Dry and Wet Bentheim Sandstone

We investigated initiation and propagation of compaction bands (CB) in six wet and four dry Bentheim sandstone samples deformed in axial compression tests with strain rates ranging from 3.2 × 10^?8 s^?1 to 3.2 × 10^?4 s^?1. Circumferential notches with 0.8-mm width and 5-mm depth served to initiate CB at mid-sample length. Wet samples were saturated with distilled water and deformed at 195 MPa confining pressure and 10 MPa pore pressure. Dry samples were deformed at 185 MPa confining pressure. Twelve P-wave sensors, eight S-wave sensors and two pairs of orthogonally oriented strain-gages were glued to the sample surface to monitor acoustic emission (AE), velocities and local strain during the loading process. Nucleation of compaction bands is indicated by AE clusters close to the notch tips. With progressive loading, AE activity increased and AE hypocenters indicated propagation of a single CB normal to the sample axis. CB propagation from the sample periphery towards the centre was monitored. Microstructural analysis of deformed samples shows excellent agreement between location of AE clusters and CBs. In both dry and wet samples the lateral propagation of CBs was about 100 times faster than axial shortening rates. At the slowest displacement rate, AE activity during band propagation was reduced and CB nucleation in wet samples occurred at 20% lower stresses. This may indicate an increasing contribution of stress corrosion processes to the formation of the compaction bands. In dry and wet samples inelastic compaction energy per area ranged between 16 and 80 kJ m^?2. This is in good agreement with previous estimates from laboratory and field studies.