Seismic constraints on rock damaging related to a failing mountain peak: the Hochvogel,Allgäu

Large rock slope failures play a pivotal role in long-term landscape evolution and are a major concern in land use planning and hazard aspects. While the failure phase and the time immediately prior to failure are increasingly well studied, the nature of the preparation phase remains enigmatic. This knowledge gap is due, to a large degree, to difficulties associated with instrumenting high mountain terrain and the local nature of classic monitoring methods, which does not allow integral observation of large rock volumes. Here, we analyse data from a small network of up to seven seismic sensors installed during July–October 2018 (with 43 days of data loss) at the summit of the Hochvogel, a 2592 m high Alpine peak. We develop proxy time series indicative of cyclic and progressive changes of the summit. Modal analysis, horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio data and end-member modelling analysis reveal diurnal cycles of increasing and decreasing coupling stiffness of a 260,000 m³ large, instable rock volume, due to thermal forcing. Relative seismic wave velocity changes also indicate diurnal accumulation and release of stress within the rock mass. At longer time scales, there is a systematic superimposed pattern of stress increased over multiple days and episodic stress release within a few days, expressed in an increased emission of short seismic pulses indicative of rock cracking. Our data provide essential first order information on the development of large-scale slope instabilities towards catastrophic failure. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

A wavelet method for detecting S‐waves in seismic data

Seismic signals consist of several typically short energy bursts, called phases, exhibiting several patterns in terms of dominant frequency, amplitude and polarisation. We present a fast algorithm to detect the so‐called S‐phase in a three‐component seismic signal. This new approach combines traditional S‐phase detection methods and the discrete wavelet transform. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

关于地震科学实验场的一些思考——地下云图

由中国地震局和美国国家科学基金委、地质调查局合作建立的地震预报研究实验场为中国早期地震工作的发展起到了良好的推动作用。由于种种客观原因,地震预报实验场的多数预想目标未能达成,发展受到了阻碍。最近几年,实验场重新受到重视,并更名为"地震科学实验场"。结合目前地震学发展的前沿和防震减灾事业的实际需求,本文提出增加"地下云图"作为实验场的新方向。利用高重复性、环境友好、安全性高的气枪震源,持续激发地震信号,实现对地下介质速度变化的连续监测;结合背景噪声成像获得的高分辨率3维地壳结构,构建4维(三维空间+一维时间)地下结构成像。"地下云图"可以反映地下速度和应力变化,为全国范围的地震监测预测提供新的业务手段,推动地震预测从经验预测到物理预测的转换。     

Some Thoughts on the Earthquake Science Experimental Site——The Underground Cloud Map

The Western Yunnan Earthquake Predication Test Site set up jointly by the China Earthquake Administration, the National Science Foundation Commission of America, and United States Geological Survey has played an important role in development of early earthquake research work in China. Due to various objective reasons, most of the predicted targets in the earthquake prediction test site have not been achieved, and the development has been hindered. In recent years, the experiment site has been reconsidered, and renamed the “Earthquake Science Experimental Site”. Combined with the current development of seismology and the practical needs of disaster prevention and mitigation, we propose adding the “Underground Cloud Map” as the new direction of the experimental site. Using highly repeatable, environmentally friendly and safe airgun sources, we could send constant seismic signals, which realizes continuous monitoring of subsurface velocity changes. Utilizing the high-resolution 3-D crustal structure from ambient noise tomography, we could obtain 4-D (3-D space + 1-D time) images of subsurface structures, which we termed the “Underground Cloud Map”. The “Underground Cloud Map” can reflect underground velocity and stress changes, providing new means for the earthquake monitoring forecast nationwide, which promotes the conversion of experience-based earthquake prediction to physics-based prediction.     

《地震工程与工程振动》的办刊理念及质量控制

总结《地震工程与工程振动》32年来的办刊经验,分析期刊服务范畴,围绕期刊办刊理念定位。阐述了提高期刊质量的具体方法,要掌握学科前沿的发展,提高论文的时效性,保证文章创新,把好学术质量关,对科研特色人才群体进行追踪,积极组织约稿等,为学术交流搭建快捷、高效的平台。     

Spectral-element simulations of elastic wave propagation in exploration and geotechnical applications

We apply the spectral-element method (SEM), a high-order finite-element method (FEM) to simulate seismic wave propagation in complex media for exploration and geotechnical problems. The SEM accurately treats geometrical complexities through its flexible FEM mesh and accurately interpolates wavefields through high-order Lagrange polynomials. It has been a numerical solver used extensively in earthquake seismology. We demonstrate the applicability of SEM for selected 2D exploration and geotechnical velocity models with an open-source SEM software package SPECFEM2D. The first scenario involves a marine survey for a salt dome with the presence of major internal discontinuities, and the second example simulates seismic wave propagation for an open-pit mine with complex surface topography. Wavefield snapshots, synthetic seismograms, and peak particle velocity maps are presented to illustrate the promising use of SEM for industrial problems.     

Applications of Engineering Seismology for Site Characterization

We determined the seismic model of the soil column within a residential project site in Istanbul, Turkey. Specifically, we conducted a refraction seismic survey at 20 locations using a receiver spread with 484.5-Hz vertical geophones at 2-m intervals. We applied nonlinear tomography to first-arrival times to estimate the P-wave velocity-depth profiles and performed Rayleigh-wave inversion to estimate the S-wave velocity-depth profiles down to a depth of 30 m at each of the locations. We then combined the seismic velocities with the geotechnical borehole information regarding the lithology of the soil column and determined the site-specific geotechnical earthquake engineering parameters for the site. Specifically, we computed the maximum soil amplification ratio, maximum surface-bedrock acceleration ratio, depth interval of significant acceleration, maximum soil-rock response ratio, and design spectrum periods TA-TB. We conducted reflection seismic surveys along five line traverses with lengths between 150 and 300 m and delineated landslide failure surfaces within the site. We recorded shot gathers at 2-m intervals along each of the seismic line traverses using a receiver spread with 4 840-Hz vertical geophones at 2-m intervals. We applied nonlinear tomograpby to first-arrival times to estimate a P-wave velocity-depth model and analyzed the reflected waves to obtain a seismic image of the deep near-surface along each of the line traverses.     

加强区域数字地震台网建设推进数字地震学的应用研究

简要回顾了数字地震学诞生以来所取得的科学成果。结合我国地震观测系统大规模数字化改造的实践,着重阐述了区域数字化地震台网的观测优势,以及在台网建设目标、观测资料的充分利用和高素质人才培养方面存在的劣势和不足。还提出了对关于区域数字地震台网建设和发展过程中的指导思想、“软件”和“硬件”的关系、基础和应用研究与地震预报的关系、数字地震学的发展与高素质人才培养的关系等等问题的思考和建议。