Sources of secondary microseisms in the Indian Ocean (original) (raw)
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The origin of the microseismic wavefield is associated with deep ocean and coastal regions where, under certain conditions, ocean waves can excite seismic waves that propagate as surface and body waves. Given that the characteristics of seismic signals generally vary with frequency, here we explore the frequency-and azimuth-dependent properties of microseisms recorded at a medium aperture (25 km) array in Australia. We examine the frequency-dependent properties of the wavefield, and its temporal variation, over two decades (1991–2012), with a focus on relatively high-frequency microseisms (0.325–0.725 Hz) recorded at the Warramunga Array, which has good slowness resolution capabilities in this frequency range. The analysis is carried out using the incoherently averaged signal Capon beamforming, which gives robust estimates of slowness and back azimuth and is able to resolve multiple wave arrivals within a single time window. For surface waves, we find that fundamental mode Rayleigh waves (R g) dominate for lower frequencies (<0.55 Hz) while higher frequencies (>0.55 Hz) show a transition to higher mode surface waves (L g). For body waves, source locations are identified in deep ocean regions for lower frequencies and in shallow waters for higher frequencies. We further examine the association between surface wave arrivals and a WAVEWATCH III ocean wave hindcast. Correlations with the ocean wave hindcast show that secondary microseisms in the lower-frequency band are generated mainly by ocean swell, while higher-frequency bands are generated by the wind sea, i.e., local wind conditions.
Polarized Earth's ambient microseismic noise
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 2011
We quantify, analyze, and characterize the frequency-dependent microseismic noise recorded by worldwide distributed seismic stations. Microseismic noise is generated through the interaction of ocean waves. It is the strongest ambient noise, and it is observed everywhere on Earth. We introduce a new approach which permits us to detect polarized signals in the time-frequency domain and which we use to characterize the microseismic noise. We analyze 7 years of continuous seismograms from the global GEOSCOPE network. Microseisms are dominated by Rayleigh waves, and we therefore focus on elliptically polarized signals. The polarized signals are detected in the time-frequency domain through a degree of polarization measure. We design polarization spectra and show that microseismic noise is more strongly polarized than noise in other frequency bands. This property is used to measure the directions of the polarized noise at individual stations as a function of time and frequency. Seasonal variations are found for the back azimuths and for the number of polarized signals at many stations. We show that the back azimuth directions are robust measurements that point toward the source areas computed from ocean wave models.
Ocean wave sources of seismic noise
Journal of Geophysical Research, 2011
Noise with periods 3 to 10 s, ubiquitous in seismic records, is expected to be mostly generated by pairs of ocean wave trains of opposing propagation directions with half the seismic frequency. Here we present the first comprehensive numerical model of microseismic generation by random ocean waves, including ocean wave reflections. Synthetic and observed seismic spectra are well correlated (r > 0.85). On the basis of the model results, noise generation events can be clustered in three broad classes: wind waves with a broad directional spectrum (class I), sea states with a significant contribution of coastal reflections (class II), and the interaction of two independent wave systems (class III). At seismic stations close to western coasts, noise generated by class II sources generally dominates, but it is intermittently outshined by the intense class III sources, limiting the reliability of seismic data as a proxy for storm climates. The modeled seismic noise critically depends on the damping of seismic waves. At some mid-ocean island stations, low seismic damping is necessary to reproduce the observed high level and smoothness of noise time series that result from a spatial integration of sources over thousands of kilometers. In contrast, some coastal stations are only sensitive to noise within a few hundreds of kilometers. This revelation of noise source patterns worldwide provides a wealth of information for seismic studies, wave climate applications, and new constraints on the possible directional distribution of wave energy.
Global oceanic microseism sources as seen by seismic arrays and predicted by wave action models
2010
Estimated locations of P-wave microseism generation obtained from seismic arrays analyses are combined with ocean wave-wave interaction models to improve the understanding of microseism generation. Source regions of likely microseism generation are found by combining data from three different networks located in the northern hemisphere. For each array, teleseismic P-wave arrivals are extracted from station-station correlations of ambient noise associated with the secondary microseism peak. Estimates of the slowness and azimuth of the teleseismic body waves are obtained and source location probabilities are constructed by projecting these beamforming results to patches on the Earth's surface that represent likely source regions. The application of Longuet-Higgins' (LH) microseism excitation theory to hindcast ocean wave-wave interaction spectra combined with bathymetry has shown that microseism can be excited very locally in the deep oceans as a consequence of nonlinear atmosphere-ocean-seafloor interactions. We utilize this approach to identify the source mechanism and location associated with the body wave arrivals, and compare projection results from seismic array processing to predictions from globally distributed ocean wave-wave interaction intensities. Based on this technique we observe a number of previously undocumented potential source regions, such as the oceans south of Madagascar, or the southern tip of Australia. We find that spatial patterns of strong excitation generally agrees with the inferred source projections based on 12-day averaging noise correlations. Details of the distributions depend, however, on averaging choices applied to the 3-hourly sampled oceanic excitation functions. We therefore focus on the sensitivity and stability of the resulting spatio temporal correlations to choices of averaging, considering the mapping of temporally variable excitations into results of the array beamforming analysis. More specifically, we investigate to what extend noise generated by spatially and temporally isolated, strong excitations associated with specific weather patterns, is detected and interpreted by the available network distribution; what is the required limited averaging time scale during noise correlations to resolve a confined source, considering their spatial relation; how well resolved are simultaneously acting, yet spatially separated sources by individual networks. A comprehensive comparison of available data with predictions of the LH theory precisely resolves strong and recurrent microseism source regions on a global scale, and describe their temporal pattern. This information is essential to assess and correct errors in noise based imaging introduced by the non-random source distribution. Discrepancies between observed and modeled regions will require the analysis of further seismic data sets, while simultaneously disclose inadequacies of the theoretical or modeling aspects.
Cyclone Signatures in the South-West Indian Ocean from Two Decades of Microseismic Noise
2021
Tropical Cyclones (TC) represent the most destructive natural disaster affecting the islands in the South-West Indian Ocean (SWIO) each year. Monitoring ocean activity is therefore of primary importance to secure lands, infrastructures and peoples, but the little number of oceanographic instruments makes it challenging, particularly in real time. Long-term seismological records provide a way to decipher and quantify the past cyclonic activity by analyzing microseisms, seismic waves generated by the ocean activity and propagating through the solid Earth. In the present study, we analyze this microseismic noise generated by cyclones that develop in the SWIO basin between 1999 and 2020, using broadband seismic stations in La Reunion. The power spectral density (PSD), together with the root mean square (RMS) analyses of continuous seismic data recorded by the permanent Geoscope RER seismic station, indicate the intensification of the microseismic noise amplitude in proportion to the cyc...
Tracking major storms from microseismic and hydroacoustic observations on the seafloor
Geophysical Research Letters, 2014
Ocean wave activity excites seismic waves that propagate through the solid earth, known as microseismic noise. Here we use a network of 57 ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) deployed around La Réunion Island in the southwest Indian Ocean to investigate the noise generated in the secondary microseismic band as a tropical cyclone moved over the network. Spectral and polarization analyses show that microseisms strongly increase in the 0.1-0.35 Hz frequency band as the cyclone approaches and that this noise is composed of both compressional and surface waves, confirming theoretical predictions. We infer the location of maximum noise amplitude in space and time and show that it roughly coincides with the location of maximum ocean wave interactions. Although this analysis was retrospectively performed, microseisms recorded on the seafloor can be considered a novel source of information for future real-time tracking and monitoring of major storms, complementing atmospheric, oceanographic, and satellite observations.
The near-coastal microseism spectrum: Spatial and temporal wave climate relationships
Journal of Geophysical Research, 2002
1] Comparison of the ambient noise data recorded at near-coastal ocean bottom and inland seismic stations at the Oregon coast with both offshore and nearshore buoy data shows that the near-coastal microseism spectrum results primarily from nearshore gravity wave activity. Low double-frequency (DF), microseism energy is observed at near-coastal locations when seas nearby are calm, even when very energetic seas are present at buoys 500 km offshore. At wave periods >8 s, shore reflection is the dominant source of opposing wave components for near-coastal DF microseism generation, with the variation of DF microseism levels poorly correlated with local wind speed. Near-coastal ocean bottom DF levels are consistently 20dBhigherthannearbyDFlevelsonland,suggestingthatRayleigh/Stoneleywaveswithmuchofthemodeenergypropagatinginthewatercolumndominatethenear−coastaloceanbottommicroseismspectrum.MonitoringthesouthwardpropagationofswellfromanextremestormconcentratedattheOregoncoastshowsthatnear−coastalDFmicroseismlevelsaredominatedbywaveactivityattheshorelineclosesttotheseismicstation.Microseismattenuationestimatesbetweenon−landnear−coastalstationsandseismicstations20 dB higher than nearby DF levels on land, suggesting that Rayleigh/Stoneley waves with much of the mode energy propagating in the water column dominate the near-coastal ocean bottom microseism spectrum. Monitoring the southward propagation of swell from an extreme storm concentrated at the Oregon coast shows that near-coastal DF microseism levels are dominated by wave activity at the shoreline closest to the seismic station. Microseism attenuation estimates between on-land near-coastal stations and seismic stations 20dBhigherthannearbyDFlevelsonland,suggestingthatRayleigh/Stoneleywaveswithmuchofthemodeenergypropagatinginthewatercolumndominatethenear−coastaloceanbottommicroseismspectrum.MonitoringthesouthwardpropagationofswellfromanextremestormconcentratedattheOregoncoastshowsthatnear−coastalDFmicroseismlevelsaredominatedbywaveactivityattheshorelineclosesttotheseismicstation.Microseismattenuationestimatesbetweenon−landnear−coastalstationsandseismicstations150 km inland indicate a zone of higher attenuation along the California coast between San Francisco and the Oregon border.
How moderate sea states can generate loud seismic noise in the deep ocean
2012
The location of oceanic sources of the micrometric ground displacement recorded at land stations in the 0.1-0.3 Hz frequency band ("double frequency microseisms") is still poorly known. Here we use one particularly strong noise event in the Pacific to show that small swells from two distant storms can be a strong deep-water source of seismic noise, dominating temporarily the signals recorded at coastal seismic stations. Our interpretation is based on the analysis of noise polarization recorded all around the source, and the good fit achieved for this event and year-round between observed and modeled seismic data. The model further suggests that this is a typical source of these infrequent loud noise bursts, which supports previous inconclusive evidences of the importance of such sources. This new knowledge based on both modeling and observations will expand today's limits on the use of noise for climate studies and seismic imaging.