Implication of seismic noise for determining the structure of the upper Earth Rock Mass

An assertion that the cross-correlation function of seismic noise, considered as a result of the superposition of the surface waves, excited by the sources, randomly distributed over the Earth’s surface, determines the Green function of the surface wave is verified by numerical modeling. The maximum wave periods, for which this assertion is correct, are estimated and the errors in determination of the phase and group velocity of the surface waves are evaluated. The procedure for the determination of the correlation function and estimation from it of the group velocity are tested thoroughly based on the example of the pair of the BJT and TLY stations in Asia. This procedure is used for obtaining the group and phase velocities of the Rayleigh waves on the traces between the OBN-ARU and PUL-ARU stations. The velocity sections of the transverse waves are built based on the dispersion curves of the phase and group velocities of averages along these traces. The region of the lowered velocity in the upper mantle at depths of 150–300 km is revealed on both traces. From the analysis of correlation functions, which are subjected to narrow-band filtering, it is shown that the frequency composition of noise varies from the East and from the West from the profiles between the stations: in the East (Siberia) the noise has an appreciably lower-frequency than in the West (Western Europe).