Improving Seismic Velocity Models with Constraints from Autocorrelation of Ambient Seismic Noise and Signal

Abstract

Accurate crustal models are an essential, first requirement for any aspect related to event characterization and yield estimation. With the goal of adding independent constraints to the crust-mantle boundary depth, we developed and tested a new application of seismic interferometry, consisting of extraction of the reflection component of Greens Functions (GFs) from ambient noise and signal autocorrelation stacks, to solve for crust and mantle reflector properties. The optimized technique is applied in three areas of the western and central USA, for a variety of crust-mantle boundary transition settings and depths. Observed waveforms are compared to synthetic estimates, using receiver function and available seismic velocity model information. We find that the method works well for crust with low anisotropy and high reflectivity; however, corrections through additional investigations are recommended in areas of dipping crust or unreflective Moho. Recommendations for improved efficiency of the method are made, including use of overlapping windows and of days with high seismic activity. Using additional geophysical information and synthetic waveforms is important for accurate phase identification, which was the main challenge in this study.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 24, 2016
Accession Number
AD1017436

Entities

People

  • David Von Seggern
  • Ileana M. Tibuleac
  • Marlon Ramos
  • Ryley Hill

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Ambient Noise
  • Anisotropy
  • Automatic Gain Control
  • Boundaries
  • Detectors
  • Energy Bands
  • Frequency Bands
  • Geography
  • Identification
  • Information Science
  • Reflectors
  • Seismic Velocity
  • Surface Waves
  • Three Dimensional
  • United States
  • Waves

Readers

  • Seismology