Application of the optical angular rate sensors for rotational measurements in seismology

The development of large ring lasers made it possible for accurate detection of rotational seismic waves over a wide range of amplitudes and frequencies. Due to their insensitivity to translational motion the optical angular rate sensors are very attractive for application in seismology, geodesy, and even fundamental physics. However, the operation of the large ring lasers in the near-field is difficult due to their mass, size and, environmental requirements. Hence, the fiber-optic gyros may be used for seismic applications, where the mobility is more important and where the high rotation rates are expected. This kind of sensors also can be used for correction of standard seismometers subjected to tilt. In this paper we present the current state of experimental research dedicated to application of fiber-optic gyros for seismology. The test results demonstrate that the tactical grade optical sensors are capable of successfully measuring small rotation fluctuations down to 10^?5 rad/s. However, the seismometer correction seems only feasible in the range of rotation rates about 10^?3 rad/s and higher. This limitation is caused by the excessive noise in the output of the fiber-optic gyro. The possible measures to overcome this problem are discussed as well as advantages of optical gyros for strong motion seismology.     

The Large Ring Laser G for Continuous Earth Rotation Monitoring

Ring Laser gyroscopes exploit the Sagnac effect and measure rotations absolute. They do not require an external reference frame and therefore provide an independent method to monitor Earth rotation. Large-scale versions of these gyroscopes promise to eventually provide a similar high resolution for the measurement of the variations in the Earth rotation rate as the established methods based on VLBI and GNSS. This would open the door to a continuous monitoring of LOD (Length of Day) and polar motion, which is not yet available today. Another advantage is the access to the sub-daily frequency regime of Earth rotation. The ring laser “G” (Grossring), located at the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell (Germany) is the most advanced realization of such a large gyroscope. This paper outlines the current sensor design and properties.     

RESEARCH ON PASSIVE SERVO SEISMIC ROTATIONAL ACCELERATION SENSOR WITH LARGE DAMPING

Many strong motion records show that under the strong seismic vibration of, the torsional disfigurement of building structures is a common and serious damage. At present, there are no special sensors for measuring seismic rotation in the world. Most of the experts obtain rotational components through observing deformation, theoretical analysis and calculation. The theory of elastic wave and source dynamics also prove the conclusion that the surface of the earth will rotate when an earthquake occurs. Based on a large number of investigations and experiments, a rotational acceleration sensor was developed for the observation of the rotational component of strong ground motions. This acceleration sensor is a double-pendulum passive servo large-damped seismic rotational acceleration sensor with the moving coil transducer. When an earthquake occurs, the seismic rotational acceleration acts on the bottom plate at the same time. The magnetic circuit system and the middle shaft fixedly connected to the bottom plate follow the bottom plate synchronous vibration, and the moving part composed of the mass ring, the swing frame and the moving ring produces relative corners to the central axis. The two working coils mounted on the two pendulums produce the same relative motion with respect to the magnetic gaps of the two magnetic circuits. Both working coils at this time generate an induced electromotive force by cutting magnetic lines of force in the respective magnetic gaps. The generated electromotive forces are respectively input to respective passive servo large damper dynamic ring transducer circuits and angular acceleration adjusting circuits, and the signals are simultaneously input to the synthesizing circuit after conditioning. Finally, the composite circuit outputs a voltage signal proportional to the seismic rotational acceleration to form a seismic rotational acceleration sensor. The paper presents the basic principles of the rotational acceleration sensor, including its mechanical structure diagram, circuit schematic diagram and mathematical models. The differential equation of motion and its circuit equation are derived to obtain the expressions of the main technical specifications, such as the damping ratio and sensitivity. The calculation shows that when the damping ratio is much larger than 1, the output voltage of the passive servo large damping dynamic coil transducer circuit is proportional to the ground rotation acceleration, and the frequency characteristic of bandpass is wider when the damping ratio is larger. Based on the calibration test, the dynamic range is greater than or equal to 100dB and the linearity error is less than 0.05%. The amplitude-frequency characteristics, the phase-frequency characteristics and their corresponding curves of the passive servo rotational acceleration sensor are acquired through the calculations. Based on the accurate measurement of the micro-vibration of the precision rotating vibration equipment, the desired result is obtained. The measured data are presented in the paper, which verify the correctness of the calculation result. The passive servo large damping rotational acceleration sensor has simple circuit design, convenient operation and high resolution, and can be widely applied to seismic acceleration measurement of earthquake or structure.     

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.     

Horizontal rotation signals detected by “G-Pisa” ring laser for the M w = 9.0, March 2011, Japan earthquake

We report the observation of the ground rotation induced by the M _w = 9.0, 11th of March 2011, Japan earthquake. The rotation measurements have been conducted with a ring laser gyroscope operating in a vertical plane, thus detecting rotations around the horizontal axis. Comparison of ground rotations with vertical accelerations from a co-located force balance accelerometer shows excellent ring laser coupling at periods longer than 100?s. Under the plane wave assumption, we derive a theoretical relationship between horizontal rotation and vertical acceleration for Rayleigh waves. Due to the oblique mounting of the gyroscope with respect to the wave direction of arrival, apparent velocities derived from the acceleration/rotation rate ratio are expected to be always larger than or equal to the true wave propagation velocity. This hypothesis is confirmed through comparison with fundamental mode, Rayleigh-wave phase velocities predicted for a standard Earth model.     

Modeling, synthetics and engineering applications of strong earthquake wave motion

State of the art in modeling, synthetics, statistical estimation, and engineering applications of strong ground motion is reported in this paper. In particular, models for earthquake wave motion are presented, in which uncertainties both in the earth medium and the seismic source are taken into consideration. These models can be used to synthesize realistic strong earthquake ground motion, specifically near-field ground motion which is quite often not well recorded in real earthquakes. Statistical estimation techniques are also presented so that the characteristics of spatially-correlated earthquake motion can be captured and consequently used in investigating the seismic response of such large scale structures as pipelines and long-span bridges. Finally, applications of synthesized strong ground motion in a variety of engineering fields are provided. Numerical examples are shown for illustration.     

Aspects Of Ring Lasers As Local Earth Rotation Sensors

Ring laser rotation sensors are best known from inertial navigation, wherethey have many advantages over mechanical gyroscopes. They have recentlybeen greatly improved, and show potential as fully independent length-of-daysensors. We discuss some important aspects of current limitations in theirperformance. In particular we demonstrate a novel scheme for thestabilisation of a large ring laser against frequency pulling effectsinduced by backscatter.     

Analysis of exceptionally large tremors in two gold mining districts of South Africa

An investigation of ground motion, recorded using broad-band, wide dynamic-range digital seismographs, of large mine tremors from two South African mining districts with different geologic settings, reveals some essential differences in both seismic source and ground motion parameters. In the Klerksdorp district where the strata are offset by major throughgoing normal faults, the largest tremors, with magnitudes ranging as high as 5.2, tend to be associated with slip on these pre-existing faults. Moreover, the seismic source and ground motion parameters are quite similar to those of natural crustal earthquakes. In the Carletonville district, by contrast, where substantial faults do not exist, the large-magnitude tremors appear to result from the failure of relatively intact rock and cause seismic stress drops and ground motion parameters higher than normally observed for natural shocks. Additionally, there appears to be an upper magnitude limit of about 4 in the Carletonville district. Detailed analyses of an exceptionally large event recorded locally from each of these districts serve to highlight these contrasts.Presented at the Fred Leighton Memorial Workshop on Mining Induced Seismicity, Montreal, Canada, August 30, 1987.     

Examining ambient noise using colocated measurements of rotational and translational motion

In the past decade, a number of studies have reported the observation of rotational motion associated with seismic events. We report a first observation of rotational motion in the microseismic ambient noise band. A striking feature of rotational motion measurements is that the information about the seismic phase velocity and source back azimuth is contained in the amplitude ratio of a point measurement of rotation rate and transverse acceleration. We investigate the possibility of applying this method to ambient noise measured with a ring laser and a broadband seismometer at the Wettzell Geodetic Observatory in Germany. Using data in the secondary microseismic band, we recover local phase velocities as well as the back azimuth of the strongest noise source for two different time periods. In order to confirm these findings, we additionally compare the results with classical array processing techniques of the Gr?fenberg array located nearby.     

Estimation of rocking and torsion associated with surface waves extracted from recorded motions

By exploiting the capability of identifying and extracting surface waves existing in a seismic signal, we can proceed to estimate the angular displacement (rotation about the horizontal axis normal to the direction of propagation of the wave; rocking) associated with Rayleigh waves as well as the angular displacement (rotation about the vertical axis; torsion) associated with Love waves.For a harmonic Rayleigh (Love) wave, rocking (torsion) would be proportional to the harmonic vertical (transverse horizontal) velocity component and inversely proportional to the phase velocity corresponding to the particular frequency of the harmonic wave (a fact that was originally exploited by Newmark (1969) [15] to estimate torsional excitation). Evidently, a reliable estimate of the phase velocity (as a function of frequency) is necessary. As pointed out by Stockwell (2007) [17], because of its absolutely referenced phase information, the S-Transform can be employed in a cross-spectrum analysis in a local manner. Following this suggestion a very reliable estimate of the phase velocity may be obtained from the recordings at two nearby stations, after the dispersed waves have been identified and extracted. Synthesis of the abovementioned harmonic components can provide a reliable estimate of the rocking (torsional) motion induced by an (extracted) Rayleigh (Love) wave.We apply the proposed angular displacement estimation procedure for two well recorded data sets: (1) the strong motion data generated by an aftershock of the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake and recorded over the Western Coastal Plain (WCP) of Taiwan, and (2) the strong motion data generated by the 2010 Darfield, New Zealand earthquake and recorded over the Canterbury basin. The former data set is dominated by basin-induced Rayleigh waves while the latter contains primarily Love waves.     

地震的应变张量观测与应用前景

地震发生时的动态应变场,在研究地震触发、地震破裂、地面破坏、水文和岩浆变化等方面都具有重要应用意义.地震的应变张量观测和现有的惯性地震仪观测的物理量不同.前者可以直接记录到地震发生时震源辐射的应变(应力)波,而后者记录到的是位移、速度或加速度.地震频率的应变测量在地震学中的应用前景主要表现在:①测量震源机制解理论预言的辐射4象限分布;②测量库仑应力变化;③换算成动态应力以评估地震烈度;④测量地震波的能量密度;⑤测量地震断层形变加速和形变局部化过程.用惯性地震仪的记录虽然在理论上也可以解算出动态应变值,然而种种原因导致计算结果的误差很大,往往不可接受.应变张量地震仪若能与现有的惯性地震仪配套起来,形成大规模台阵,则有可能推动应变地震学的诞生,在地震观测和地震学科领域引起重大革新.     

High-frequency noise caused by wind in large ring laser gyroscope data

The large ring laser gyroscope at the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell provides unique data of the rotational component of seismic waves. Wind has been identified as a major source of noise at short periods below 5?min. Strong winds increase the level of detected background noise either through surface friction or through wind load on hill slopes. Since our G ring laser demonstrated a routinely achieved sensitivity for rotations of 10?picorad/s when averaged over 30?s, very small effects become detectable. Using a local finite element model and applying a digital terrain model with 25?m spatial resolution, the effect of local wind forces on tilt and horizontal rotations at the ring laser site was calculated. The transfer of forces by wind ram pressure or surface friction is strongly controlled by the resolution of the terrain model or the land use, respectively. The maximum deformation caused by real wind fields reaches a few tenths of nanorads for both tilt and horizontal rotation. While the tilts are too small to affect the ring laser measurements by a change in its inclination, the horizontal rotations can be detected by the ring laser if the signal builds up within a few seconds or tens of seconds. The comparison of the modelled rotation rate time series with measured ring laser data shows a reasonable agreement in amplitude and waveform, however the correction of the ring laser time series is limited by the crude sampling of the wind measurements.     

Strong‐motion accelerographs: Early history

The structural design profession has long been interested in the design of structures to resist the strong horizontal shaking of the ground during potentially damaging earthquakes. Recordings of this ground motion have successfully provided the data on which building codes, design procedures and strong ground motion research are based. The object of this Historical Note is to chronicle the early development of strong ground motion accelerographs in the United States (the 1930s), Japan (the 1950s) and New Zealand (the 1960s)—accelerographs that recorded on photographic paper, waxed paper and film—and to describe the early processing of these analog records into digital form suitable for the emerging power of the digital computer. Ground accelerations and structural accelerations are now familiar concepts in seismic design and seismic engineering research, though many users may be unfamiliar with early efforts to identify them, record them and present them as useful data. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Large tectonic rotation of part of New Zealand in the last 5 Ma

Detailed paleomagnetic data from the Wairoa Syncline, a middle Miocene to the present forearc basin on the East Coast of the North Island, New Zealand, show that the rate of clockwise rotation for the last 5 Ma has been 7–8°/Ma of which less than 1.5°/Ma can be explained by apparent polar wander due to motion of the Australian or Pacific plates. This rotation is similar to a present-day rate of 7°/Ma determined from geodetic data. Between 5 and 20 Ma ago the rate of tectonic rotation is poorly determined and may be between 0° and 2°/Ma.

The change in the rate of rotation of the Wairoa Syncline around 5 Ma is probably related to a markedly different tectonic style in the New Zealand region within the last 5 Ma, associated with a change in position of the Euler poles of rotation for the Pacific-Australian plates.     

Performance of “G-Pisa” ring laser gyro at the Virgo site

The ring laser gyroscope ??G-Pisa?? has been taking data inside the Virgo interferometer central area with the aim of performing high sensitivity measurements of rotations in the vertical as well as in the horizontal orientation. We discuss the main characteristics of the instrument, describing its mechanical design and presenting the measured sensitivity limit. By applying a simple effective model for the laser gyroscope, we show that the stability of the sensor above 10?s of integration time is mainly limited by backscattering effects. The horizontal rotation rate signal is also compared with the signals recorded by the Virgo environmental monitoring system and by a biaxial mechanical tiltmeter rigidly fixed on top of the gyrolaser mounting frame.     

甘肃省测震台网地震台站地震计方位角检验与校正

利用2007年8月—2013年9月甘肃省测震台网记录的549个MS≥6远震事件的P波资料,对所属44个地震台站分量方位等问题进行检核计算。考虑到地震计维修、更换等因素,提供了甘肃省测震台网地震台站按时间序列计算的方位角偏差及方位校正变化情况,以保障测震台网数据的连续性与可靠性。研究结果表明,反演的方位偏差与文献[1]的结果基本一致,表明中国"十五"数字地震网络确实存在部分台站方位偏差较大等方面问题。因此,在进行现代地震学研究中应充分考虑台站地震计方位误差较大和研究时间段内方位角变动等因素的影响。     

New predictive equations for Arias intensity from crustal earthquakes in New Zealand

Arias Intensity (Arias, MIT Press, Cambridge MA, pp 438–483, 1970) is an important measure of the strength of a ground motion, as it is able to simultaneously reflect multiple characteristics of the motion in question. Recently, the effectiveness of Arias Intensity as a predictor of the likelihood of damage to short-period structures has been demonstrated, reinforcing the utility of Arias Intensity for use in both structural and geotechnical applications. In light of this utility, Arias Intensity has begun to be considered as a ground-motion measure suitable for use in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) and earthquake loss estimation. It is therefore timely to develop predictive equations for this ground-motion measure. In this study, a suite of four predictive equations, each using a different functional form, is derived for the prediction of Arias Intensity from crustal earthquakes in New Zealand. The provision of a suite of models is included to allow for epistemic uncertainty to be considered within a PSHA framework. Coefficients are presented for four different horizontal-component definitions for each of the four models. The ground-motion dataset for which the equations are derived include records from New Zealand crustal earthquakes as well as near-field records from worldwide crustal earthquakes. The predictive equations may be used to estimate Arias Intensity for moment magnitudes between 5.1 and 7.5 and for distances (both r_jb and r_rup) up to 300 km.     

Site-specific and spatially-distributed ground-motion intensity estimation in the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquakes

This paper presents site-specific and spatially-distributed ground-motion intensity estimates which have been utilized in the aftermath of the 2010–2011 Canterbury, New Zealand earthquakes. The methodology underpinning the ground motion intensity estimation makes use of both prediction models for ground motion intensity and its within-event spatial correlation. A key benefit of the methodology is that the estimated ground motion intensity at a given location is not a single value but a distribution of values. The distribution is comprised of both a mean and standard deviation, with the standard deviation being a function of the distance to nearby observations at strong motion stations.The methodology is illustrated for two applications. Firstly, maps of conditional peak ground acceleration (PGA) have been developed for the major events in the Canterbury earthquake sequence, which among other things, have been utilized for assessing liquefaction triggering susceptibility of land in residential areas. Secondly, the conditional distribution of response spectral ordinates is obtained at the location of the Canterbury Television building (CTV), which catastrophically collapsed in the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The conditional response spectra provide insight for the selection of ground motion records for use in forensic seismic response analyses of important structures at locations where direct recordings are absent.     

Stochastic characteristics of seismic excitations at a non-uniform (rock and soil) site

This study analyzes data recorded at the dense array in the Parkway Valley, Wainuiomata, New Zealand, a small alluvial valley surrounded by graywacke outcrops. The array consisted of stations on both the sediment basin and the surrounding soft rock, with station separation distances pertinent for earthquake engineering applications. The array's configuration renders itself uniquely for the study of the spatial variation of seismic ground motions at sites with irregular topography for bridge response evaluations: the locations of the soft-rock stations surrounding the valley may be viewed as the locations of the bridge's abutments, and the locations of the stations in the basin as those of the bridge's intermediate piers. A further-away station, north-east of the valley, provided information on firm-rock data.     

Near‐source seismic demand and pulse‐like records: A discussion for L'Aquila earthquake

Rupture directivity effects in ground motion are known since many years to both seismologists and earthquake engineers, i.e. in sites that are in a particular geometrical configuration with respect to the rupture, the velocity fault‐normal signals may show a large pulse which occurs at the beginning of the record and contains the most of energy. The results are waveforms different from ordinary ground motions recorded in the far field or in geometrical conditions not favorable with respect to directivity. Current attenuation laws are not able to capture such effect well, if at all, and current probabilistic seismic hazard analysis is not able to predict the resulting peculiar spectral shape. Moreover, it is believed that structures with dynamic behavior in a range of periods related to the pulse period may be subjected to underestimated seismic demand. In the paper this is investigated and increments in both elastic and inelastic seismic actions are quantified using a large dataset of records, from the next generation attenuation project (NGA), in which a fraction is comprised of velocity pulses identified in other studies. These analyses employ recently developed tools and procedures to assess directivity effects and to quantify the associated threat in terms of seismic action on structures. Subsequently, the same tools are used in one of the first attempts to identify near‐source effects in the data recorded during a normal faulting earthquake, the mainshock of the recent Abruzzo (central Italy) sequence, leading to conclude that pulse‐like effects are likely to have occurred in the event, that is (1) observation of pulse‐like records in some near‐source stations is in fair agreement with existing predictive models, (2) the increment in seismic demand shown by pulse‐like ground motion components complies with the results of the analysis of the NGA data, and (3) seismic demand in non‐impulsive recordings is generally similar to what expected for ordinary records. The results may be useful as a benchmark for inclusion of near‐source effect in design values of seismic action and structural risk analysis. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.