Infrasound as a Depth Discriminant
Abstract
The identification of a signature relating depth to a remotely recorded infrasound signal requires a dataset of earthquakes, recorded infrasonically, with well-constrained depths. Although the premise is simple, five significant complications arise: (1) Earthquakes can generate infrasound via a variety of processes, which have occasionally been confused in past studies due to the complexity of the process; (2) mining explosions are efficient infrasound generators and can be mistaken for earthquakes; (3) coherent noise on infrasound arrays can be confused with transient signals; (4) atmospheric path effects must be adequately accounted for; and (5) seismic estimates of depth trade-off with origin time without a measurement in the near-epicentral region. This study provides a comprehensive framework for addressing these limitations, building on a focused study of the Wells, Nevada earthquake sequence that was performed as part of the previous year of this research effort (Arrowsmith et al., 2009). Such an approach is necessary to robustly identify a depth signature within a signal that incorporates various source, path, and receiver effects. In addition, we outline a complementary seismo-acoustic modeling approach, also being explored as part of this study, which should provide insight into the physical basis of an infrasonic depth signature.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA569478
Entities
People
- Hans E. Hartse
- Richard J. Stead
- Rod W. Whitaker
- Stephen J. Arrowsmith
- Steven R. Taylor
Organizations
- Los Alamos National Laboratory