Soft sediment layers can significantly amplify seismic waves from earthquakes. Large dynamic strains can trigger a nonlinear response of shallow soils with low strength, which is characterized by a shift of resonance frequencies, ground motion deamplification, and in some cases, soil liquefaction. We investigate the response of marine sediments during earthquake ground motions recorded along a fiber‐optic cable offshore the Tohoku region, Japan, with distributed acoustic sensing (DAS). We compute AutoCorrelation Functions (ACFs) of the ground motions from 105 earthquakes in different frequency bands. We detect time delays in the ACF waveforms that are converted to relative velocity changes (
We present a real-data test for offshore earthquake early warning (EEW) with distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) by transforming submarine fiber-optic cable into a dense seismic array. First, we constrain earthquake locations using the arrival-time information recorded by the DAS array. Second, with site effects along the cable calibrated using an independent earthquake, we estimate earthquake magnitudes directly from strain rate amplitudes by applying a scaling relation transferred from onshore DAS arrays. Our results indicate that using this single 50 km offshore DAS array can offer ∼3 s improvement in the alert time of EEW compared to onshore seismic stations. Furthermore, we simulate and demonstrate that multiple DAS arrays extending toward the trench placed along the coast can uniformly improve alert times along a subduction zone by more than 5 s.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1848166
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10497456
- Publisher / Repository:
- SSA
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Seismic Record
- Volume:
- 3
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 2694-4006
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 269 to 277
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
Abstract dv /v ).dv /v drops, which characterize soil nonlinearity, are observed during the strongest ground motions and exhibit a large variability along the cable. This study demonstrates that DAS can be used to infer the dynamic properties of the shallow Earth with an unprecedented spatial resolution. -
Abstract Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) is being explored in a variety of environments as a promising technology for the recording of seismic signals in dense array configurations. There is a particular interest for deploying DAS arrays on the ocean floor, presenting formidable challenges for conventional seismology. Taking advantage of the availability of a dark fiber on the Monterey Bay Accelerated Research System (MARS) 52 km offshore cable at Monterey Bay, California, in July 2022, we installed a DAS interrogator at the shore end of the cable with the intention of acquiring continuous data for a period of one year. Here, we describe the experiment and present examples of observations over the first six months of the deployment.more » « less
-
Distributed fiber-optic sensing technology coupled to existing subsea cables (dark fiber) allows observation of ocean and solid earth phenomena. We used an optical fiber from the cable supporting the Monterey Accelerated Research System during a 4-day maintenance period with a distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) instrument operating onshore, creating a ~10,000-component, 20-kilometer-long seismic array. Recordings of a minor earthquake wavefield identified multiple submarine fault zones. Ambient noise was dominated by shoaling ocean surface waves but also contained observations of in situ secondary microseism generation, post–low-tide bores, storm-induced sediment transport, infragravity waves, and breaking internal waves. DAS amplitudes in the microseism band tracked sea-state dynamics during a storm cycle in the northern Pacific. These observations highlight this method’s potential for marine geophysics.
-
Abstract Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) is a recently developed technique that has demonstrated its utility in the oil and gas industry. Here we demonstrate the potential of DAS in teleseismic studies using the Goldstone OpticaL Fiber Seismic experiment in Goldstone, California. By analyzing teleseismic waveforms from the 10 January 2018 M7.5 Honduras earthquake recorded on ~5,000 DAS channels and the nearby broadband station GSC, we first compute receiver functions for DAS channels using the vertical‐component GSC velocity as an approximation for the incident source wavelet. The Moho
P ‐to‐s conversions are clearly visible on DAS receiver functions. We then derive meter‐scale arrival time measurements along the entire 20‐km‐long array. We are also able to measure path‐averaged Rayleigh wave group velocity and local Rayleigh wave phase velocity. The latter, however, has large uncertainties. Our study suggests that DAS will likely play an important role in many fields of passive seismology in the near future. -
Geotechnical characterization of marine sediments remains an outstanding challenge for offshore energy development, including foundation design and site selection of wind turbines and offshore platforms. We demonstrate that passive distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) surveys offer a new solution for shallow offshore geotechnical investigation where seafloor power or communications cables with fiber-optic links are available. We analyze Scholte waves recorded by DAS on a 42 km power cable in the Belgian offshore area of the southern North Sea. Ambient noise crosscorrelations converge acceptably with just over one hour of data, permitting multimodal Scholte wave dispersion measurement and shear-wave velocity inversion along the cable. We identify anomalous off-axis Scholte wave arrivals in noise crosscorrelations at high frequencies. Using a simple passive source imaging approach, we associate these arrivals with individual wind turbines, which suggests they are generated by structural vibrations. While many technological barriers must be overcome before ocean-bottom DAS can be applied to global seismic monitoring in the deep oceans, high-frequency passive surveys for high-resolution geotechnical characterization and monitoring in coastal regions are easily achievable today.more » « less