Rupture imaging of the 25 April 2015 MW7.9 Nepal earthquake from back-projection of teleseismic P waves

The M_W7.9 Nepal earthquake of 25 April 2015 had over 8, 500 fatalities and was the most destructive earthquake in Nepal since the Bihar-Nepal earthquake in 1934. In this study, we imaged the rupture process of this Nepal event by back-projecting the teleseismic P-wave energy recorded at the three regional networks in Alaska, Australia and Europe. The back-projection images of the three subarrays revealed that the Nepal earthquake propagated along the strike in a southeast direction over a distance of ~ 160–170 km with the duration of ~ 50–55 s. The rupture process was found to be a simple, unilateral event with a near constant velocity of 3.3 km/s. The beam power was mainly distributed in the geographic region just north of Kathmandu and the peak intensity for the source time function curve occurred at about 30 s. The earthquake was destructive due to its occurrence at shallow depth (~ 12–15 km) and the fact that the capital lies in a basin of soft sediment. Additionally, the resonance effect for the longer period waves that occurred in the Kathmandu valley led to destructive aggravation, impacting mainly the taller buildings.     

Modelling of a wave energy converter array with a nonlinear power take-off system in the frequency domain

This paper presents a nonlinear frequency domain model and uses this to assess the performance of a wave energy converter (WEC) array with a nonlinear power take-off (PTO). In this model, the nonlinear PTO forces are approximated by a truncated Fourier series, while the dynamics of the WEC array are described by a set of linear motion equations in the frequency domain, and the hydrodynamic coefficients are obtained with the boundary element method. A single heave absorber is firstly investigated to establish the accuracy of the new model in capturing the nonlinear behaviour of the pumping system. Subsequently, simulations of a 2D array with 18 WECs and a pillar in the centre (representing the tower of a wind turbine) are carried out to understand wave interference effects. Several optimisation strategies are proposed to improve the overall performance of the WEC array. These results demonstrate a computationally effective method for accounting for nonlinear effects in large WEC arrays. The proposed approach may potentially be applied for developing control algorithms for the adaptability of a 2D array to incoming wave excitation.     

Estimation of soil shear modulus softening during strong ground shaking using ground surface and downhole acceleration recordings

An algorithm for estimating the average shear modulus for a soil site containing a downhole accelerometer array is described. For distant or weak earthquakes, the usual procedure for estimating shear modulus is to perform time‐series correlation of two downhole records. The vertical distance between instruments divided by the peak correlation lag time gives the average shear wave velocity. The shear modulus follows easily. This method is not applicable for stronger earthquakes where non‐linear softening effects lead to progressively slower shear wave velocities. The method presented here overcomes the softening effect by compressing the time scale of the upper acceleration record. Time compression is accomplished in such a way that the peak correlation of the two records is maximized. The algorithm steps through the records, maximizing the correlation peak by adjusting the time scale within an active time interval. The resulting compressed upper record can be interpreted as the ground motion that would have occurred had softening not taken place. The summation of the various time scale adjustments shows both the amount of softening and the time at which it occurred. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The correlation of microtremors: empirical limits and relations between results in frequency and time domains

The use of the correlation of microtremor records is on its way to develop into a common tool to estimate local shear wave velocity structure. For this reason, the establishment of the conditions for the correct use of this method and its limitations when applied to real data is becoming increasingly important. In addition to the use of frequency domain spatial correlation technique [the Spatial Autocorrelation (SPAC) method], the use of time domain correlation to obtain the Green's function of the medium is rapidly gaining presence. We explore the use of microtremor correlation techniques in the time domain to determine local velocity structure and compare with previous results obtained with the same data using SPAC. Our data come from three experiments carried out in Parkway and Wainuiomata valleys in New Zealand, using broad-band portable stations. Interstation distances range from 5 m to 2.1 km, and our results are useful in the frequency band from 0.1 to 7 Hz. Frequency domain correlation requires an isotropic microtremor field, a condition that need not be satisfied in the time domain. Two station correlations provide useful results due to the temporal stationarity and isotropy, in average, of the microtremor wavefield. This manifests itself in the symmetry of the temporal correlation functions with respect to zero time. Our results show that the local velocity structure and the interstation distance are the key factors conditioning the frequency range where surface wave dispersion can be correctly measured either in frequency or time domains. We confirm that, when the interstation distance becomes much larger than the dominant wavelengths, only the correlation in time domain is useful. All our results indicate that the signal obtained in the correlation of vertical component microtremors is due to the fundamental mode of Rayleigh waves, which appears as the most stable propagation mode, without any indication of body waves.     

Inverse analysis of weak and strong motion downhole array data from the Mw7.0 Sanriku-Minami earthquake

A hybrid optimization scheme, comprising a genetic algorithm in series with a local least-squares fit operator, is used for the inversion of weak and strong motion downhole array data obtained by the Kik-Net Strong Motion Network during the M_w7.0 Sanriku-Minami Earthquake. Inversion of low-amplitude waveforms is first employed for the estimation of low-strain dynamic soil properties at five stations. Successively, the frequency-dependent equivalent linear algorithm is used to predict the mainshock site response at these stations, by subjecting the best-fit elastic profiles to the downhole-recorded strong motion. Finally, inversion of the mainshock empirical site response is employed to extract the equivalent linear dynamic soil properties at the same locations. The inversion algorithm is shown to provide robust estimates of the linear and equivalent linear impedance profiles, while the attenuation structures are strongly affected by scattering effects in the near-surficial heterogeneous layers. The forward and inversely estimated equivalent linear shear wave velocity structures are found to be in very good agreement, illustrating that inversion of strong motion site response data may be used for the approximate assessment of nonlinear effects experienced by soil formations during strong motion events.     

Characterization of regional and local scattering effects from small-aperture seismic array recordings

In 1998, four small-aperture arrays separated by 20 km have been deployed in the southern French Alps in order to record the natural seismicity during two consecutive months. One of the main objectives of this experiment was to characterize the heterogeneities that influence the wavefield propagation, by analysis of the coda characteristics recorded by each of the seismic arrays.The time-azimuth-velocity characteristics of the coda phases have been obtained using a high-resolution wavenumber decomposition method.A statistical analysis, using the coda characteristics of the whole data set (20 regional earthquakes) recorded by the four arrays has been performed and lead to the calculation of the density of scattered energy within the medium. Three regional heterogeneous areas (> 10 km) have been characterized, and are located in the N–NE, W and S directions from the four arrays. Scattered energy is also located at local distances (< 10 km) from the four arrays.The comparison of the waveforms recorded (i) with one of the array, for different groups of earthquakes, and (ii) with the four arrays, for one group of earthquakes, show that the geometrical configuration of the source–scattering area–recording site system can strongly influence the energetic distributions related to the secondary phases of the seismograms.In particular cases, we experimentally show that the interactions of the direct wavefield with the heterogeneous structures of the medium can be sufficiently energetic to induce secondary scattered phases that dominate the seismic motions recorded at a given site. In such case, these effects should be taken into account for the quantification of the expected ground motion recorded during an earthquake.     

Artificial Neural Network Approach for Reconstruction of Event Arrival-Direction in Wide-Angle Atmospheric Cerenkov Detector Arrays: A Feasibility Study

A feasibility study has been carried out to assess the potentialof an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for determiningthe direction of incidence of an Atmospheric Cerenkov Event(ACE) from the arrival-time information registered by aspaced-array of wide-angle Cerenkov detectors. Theresults obtained so far, using both, simulated and experimental data, indicate that a properly-trained net can yield a degree of accuracy which is comparable with what is achieved through the conventional ²-minimization, wavefront-fitting procedure.     

横向各向同性地层中倾斜线圈系响应特征的数值模拟

详细推导了模拟倾斜线圈系在横向各向同性地层中响应的垂向数值模式匹配方法,在轴对称模型下,该方法采用垂直本征模式描述三维激励源,使得三维问题可以在二维条件下快速解决,另外,本文引入的高阶基函数进一步提高了算法的计算速度.为了验证算法的可靠性与准确性,分别与均匀无限厚各向同性地层的解析解和横向各向同性地层的有限差分解进行对比,结果表明,模式匹配方法与它们吻合的较好.在此基础上,利用模式匹配方法模拟了倾斜线圈系和水平线圈系在横向各向同性地层的响应特征,计算结果表明:在横向各向同性地层中,倾斜线圈系的响应既受水平电导率的影响,也受垂直电导率的影响,而水平线圈系则只与水平电导率有关,由此,可以通过倾斜线圈系评价地层的各向异性特征.此外,本文还分析了钻铤对倾斜线圈系响应的影响,模拟结果表明,虽然钻铤没有改变相位值和幅度值的变化趋势,但对它们的绝对值有一定的影响,而且这种影响与不同法向角度也有关系,因此当组合不同倾斜线圈系进行地层评价时,需要对钻铤的影响进行校正.最后研究了不同法向角度线圈系在横向各向同性地层中的响应特征,得出不同法向角度线圈系的探测特性和对各向异性的敏感性都有较大的差异.本文的研究表明倾斜线圈系的响应与水平线圈系的响应不同,通过利用不同倾斜线圈系组合可以进行油气储层评价.     

Free‐field rotations during earthquakes: Relevance on buildings

Soil rotations around horizontal axes, during an earthquake, are studied through records collected by closely spaced arrays of strong motion accelerometers. The cross power spectrum of accelerations at nearby stations has been generally utilized to describe the spatial distribution of the motion. A number of cross spectra have been obtained during the training of these arrays. To take profit of these elaborations, a mathematical relation is established between the cross power spectrum and the power spectrum of the rotation. Rotation data presented by Liu et al, concerning 52 earthquake records collected at a single station in Taiwan, are compared with rotation data computed according to our procedure. The two series of data are suitably normalized to the peak horizontal acceleration. The data are shown in function of the distance from epicentre. The same ratio, computed according to our procedure, is in good agreement with the average value of these data. Direct measurements and the present approach have lead to evaluations of rotation higher than those predicted by mathematical investigations on the basis of the wave propagation theory, for comparable circumstances. The relevance of this input motion for relatively tall structures is examined, with reference to the structural effects that the horizontal motion concurrently provides. Meaningful will be ranked those effects of the order of magnitude of 20% or higher than those implied by the horizontal excitation. For understanding the relevance on building structures, the procedure has two areas of concern: 1) the coherence implicit in the cross power spectra, which depends on the interpolation process of the original records, collected in the arrays of instruments, and 2) the relative importance of the vertical to the horizontal input motion. As to the second item, the relevance of the rotation component on structures largely depends on the relative importance of the vertical to the horizontal input motion. When the records in an area a few km from the epicenter are considered, the response spectrum of vertical motion is comparable and in some records even higher, than that of horizontal motion, over the entire range of frequencies. This has been observed as well for the 2009 earthquake event of L'Aquila, Italy, and that at the Christchurch (New Zealand) 2011. When the response spectrum of vertical motion is comparable to that of horizontal motion, the effects of rotational motions on most engineering structures can be meaningful. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.