Abstract
To study the characteristics of long period microtremor and applicability of microtremor survey, we have made microtremor observations using long period seismometers of the China’s mainland from coastal cities like Shanghai and Tianjin through Beijing, Xi’an, to the far inland cities of Lanzhou and Tianshui. The observation shows that the level of power spectrum of long period microtremors reduced rapidly from the coast to the inland area. However, the energy of long period microtremors in Beijing, Xi’an, Lanzhou and Tianshui area are only approximately ten-thousandth to thousandth of that in Shanghai. Aiming at the complexity of the underground structure in the far inland, a series of underground structure models with different distributions were assessed using three-dimensional, dynamic finite element method (FEM) analyses. The results were used to evaluate microtremor survey methods and their limitations with regard to aggregate variability and thickness determinations. Multiple-wave reflections between layers with the change of underground structure distribution occurred, which have significant effect on the performance of the different field approaches. Information over a broad spectrum from which velocity-depth profiles were produced via inversion approaches. Neither the thickness nor the shear wave Velocity V of the subsurface layer inversion results appeared over a large evaluation with increasing slope angle. In particular, when the angle of the model reached 45°, it could not be accurately evaluated using one-dimensional inversion methods. Finally, the array microtremor survey (AMS) was carried out in Shanghai City, China. Although AMS techniques do not have the layer sensitivity or accuracy (velocity and layer thickness) of borehole techniques, the obtained shear wave velocity structure is especially useful for earthquake disaster prevention and seismic analysis.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aki K (1957) Space and time spectra of stationary stochastic waves, with special reference to microtremors. Bulletin of the Earthquake Research Institute 35(3): 415–456.
Aki K, Richards PG (2002) Quantitative seismology, 2nd edn. University Science Book.
Apostolidis PI, Raptakis DG, Pandi KK, et al. (2006) Definition of subsoil structure and preliminary ground response in Aigion city (Greece) using microtremor and earthquakes. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 26: 922–940. DOI: 10.1016/j.soildyn.2006.02.001
Arai H, Tokimatsu K (2005) S-wave velocity profiling by joint inversion of microtremor dispersion curve and horizontal-tovertical (H/V) spectrum. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 95(5): 1766–1778. DOI: 10.1785/0120040243
Boore DM, Asten MW (2008) Comparison of shear-wave slowness in the Santa Clara Valley, California, using blind interpretations of data from invasive and noninvasive methods. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 98(4): 1983–2003. DOI: 10.1785/0120070277
Claprood M, Asten Michael W (2009) Initial results from spatially averaged coherency, frequency-wavenumber, and horizontal to vertical spectrum ratio microtremor survey methods for site hazard study at Launceston, Tasmania. Exploration Geophysics (Melbourne) 40(1): 132–142. DOI: 10.1071/EG08106
Dutta U, Satoh T, Kawase T, et al. (2007) S-wave velocity structure of sediments in Anchorage, Alaska, estimated with array measurements of microtremors. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 97(1B): 234–255. DOI: 10.1785/0120060001
Eldein Zaineh H, Yamanaka H, Dakkak R, et al. (2012) Estimation of Shallow S-Wave Velocity Structure in Damascus City, Syria, Using Microtremor Exploration. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 39: 88–99. DOI: 10.1016/j.soildyn.2012.03.003
Feng S, Sugiyama T, Yoshihiro S (2001) Estimating shear velocity using array-microtremor survey, Proceedings of The 4th international workshop on the application of geophysics to rock engineering, ISRM commission, pp 89–98.
Feng SK, Sugiyama T, Yoshihiro S (2005) Effectiveness of multimode surface wave inversion in shallow engineering site investigations. Butsuri-Tansa 58(1): 26–33. DOI: 10.1071/EG05026
Joyner WB (2000) Strong motion from surface waves in deep sedimentary basins. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 90(6B): 95–112. DOI: 10.1785/0120000505
Haskell NA (1953) The dispersion of surface waves on multilayered media. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 43: 17–34.
Horike M (1985) Inversion of phase velocity of long-period microtremors to the S-wave-velocity structure down to the basement in urbanized area. Journal of Physics of the Earth 33(2): 59–96. DOI: 10.4294/jpe1952.33.59
Huang RQ (2009) Research on development and distribution rules of geohazards induced by Wenchuan earthquake on 12th May 2008. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering 27(12): 2585–2592.
Kawase H, Satoh T, Iwata T, et al. (1998) S-wave velocity structures in the San Fernando and Santa Monica areas, Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Effects of Surface Geology on Seismic Motions, Yokohama, Japan, 1–3 (2): 733–740.
Knopoff L (1964) A matrix method for elastic wave problems, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 54(1): 431–438.
Li XJ, Zuo YL, Zhuang XY, et al. (2014) Estimation of fracture trace length distributions using probability weighted moments and L-moments. Engineering Geology 168: 69–85. DOI:10.1016/j.enggeo.2013.10.025
Matsushima T, Okada H (1990) Determination of deep geological structures under urban areas using long-period microtremors. Butsuri-Tansa 43: 21–33.
Margaryan S, Yokoi T, Hayashi K (2009) Experiments on the stability of the spatial autocorrelation method (SPAC) and linear array methods and on the imaginary part of the SPAC coefficients as an indicator of data quality. Exploration Geophysics 40(1): 121–131. DOI:10.1071/EG08101
Murphy JR, Shah HK (1988) An analysis of the effects of site geology on the characteristics of near-field Rayleigh waves. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 78(1): 64–82.
Mundepi A K, Gallana-Merino J, Kamal J,et al. (2010) Soil characteristics and site effect assessment in the city of Delhi (India) using H/V and f–k methods. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 30: 591–599. DOI: 10.1016/j.soildyn.2010.01.016
Nakamura Y (1989) A method for dynamic characteristics estimation of subsurface using micro tremor on the ground surface. Quarterly Report of RTRI 30: 25–33.
Okada H (2003) The Microtremor Survey method. Geophysical monograph series no 12. Society of Exploration Geophysicists with cooperation of Society of Exploration Geophysicists of Japan, Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists.
Parolai S, Picozzi, M, Richwalski SM et al. (2005) Joint inversion of phase velocity dispersion and H/V ratio curves from seismic noise recordings using a genetic algorithm, considering higher modes. Geophysical Research Letters 32(1): 67–106. DOI: 10.1029/2004GL021115.
Pilz, M., Parolai S, Picozzi M, et al. (2010) Shear wave velocity model of the Santiago de Chile basin derived from ambient noise measurements: a comparison of proxies for seismic site conditions and amplification. Geophysical Journal International 182(1): 355–367. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010. 04613.x
Rabczuk T, Areias PMA (2006) A new approach for modelling slip lines in geological materials with cohesive models. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Engineering 30(11): 1159–1172. DOI: 10.1002/nag.522
Ritzwoller MH, Shapiro NM, Le Vhin AL, et al. (2001) The structure of the crust and upper mantle beneath Antartica and the surroundings oceans. Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth 106(B12): 30645–30670.
Satoh T, Kawase H, Iwata T, et al. (2001a) Estimation of S-wave velocity structures in and around the Sendai basin, Japan, using array records of microtremors. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 91(2): 206–218. DOI: 10.1785/0119990148
Satoh T, Kawase H, Iwata T, et al. (2001b) S-wave velocity structure of the Taichung basin, Taiwan, estimated from array and single-station records of microtremors. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 91(5): 1267–1282. DOI: 10.1785/0120000706
Scherbaum F, Hinzen KG, Ohrnberger M (2003) Determination of shallow shear wave velocity profiles in the Cologne, Germany area using ambient vibrations. Geophysical Journal International 152(3): 597–612. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-246X. 2003.01856.x
Seht MI, Wohlenberg J (1999) Microtremor measurements used to map thickness of soft sediments. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 89(1): 250–259.
Shapiro NM, Ritzwoller MH (2002) Monte-Carlo inversion for a global shear-velocity model of the crust and upper mantle. Geophysical Journal International 151: 88–105. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-246X.2002.01742.x
Sugiyama T, Feng SK (2009) Characteristics of long period microtremor over China continent, Proceedings of 120th Society of Exploration Geophysicistsc of Japan conference, Sapporo, Japan (CD-Rom).
Wu CF, Huang HC (2012) Estimation of shallow S-wave velocity structure in the Puli basin, Taiwan, using array measurements of microtremors. Earth Planets Space 64(5): 389–403. DOI: 10.5047/eps.2011.12.002
Wu CF, Huang HC (2013) Near-surface shear-wave velocity structure of the Chiayi area, Taiwan. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 103(2a): 1154–1164. DOI: 10.1785/0120110245
Yamanaka H, Takemura M, Ishida H et al. (1994) Characteristics of long-period microtremors and their applicability in exploration of deep sedimentary layers. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 84(6): 1831–1841.
Yamanaka H, Motoki K, Fukumoto S, et al. (2005) Estimation of local site effects in Ojiya city using aftershock records of the 2004 Mid Niigata Prefecture earthquake and microtremors. Earth Planets Space 57: 539–544. DOI: 10.1186/BF03352589
Yu k, Che AL, Feng SK (2011) Application on deep stratum of soil investigation using long-period microtremor. Journal of Shanghai Jiaotong university 45(5): 701–705. (In Chinese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3523-2832
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5763-6400
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4171-9156
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Che, Al., Zhang, Ty. & Feng, Sk. Characteristics of long period microtremor and validation of microtremor array measurements in inland areas of China. J. Mt. Sci. 13, 1910–1922 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-016-3919-1
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-016-3919-1