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Measurement of seismometer misorientation based on P-wave polarization: application to permanent seismic network in South Korea

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Abstract

Reliable information on the horizontal orientation of a seismometer is crucial to seismological research utilizing three-component seismograms. In this study, we provide misorientation angles of broadband seismometers in three permanent networks in South Korea from 2003 to 2021 by using two methods, denoted as PPCA and PminT, both utilizing P-wave polarization characteristics. Our estimates show that 36% of the sensors have been aligned within 5° from the geographic north during their operation periods, while 40% of the sensors have been rotated by more than 10° at least once. The estimates are highly consistent for both methods, with 95% of the total showing uncertainty less than 10°. Moreover, we identified a significant number of temporal changes in misorientation by taking automatic change point detection and visual inspection. The procedure described here and misorientation angles can be useful reference for seismic data preprocessing for research utilizing horizontal-component seismograms for earthquake sciences.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by SNU Student-directed Education Undergraduate Research Program through the Faculty of Liberal Education, Seoul National University (2020). The authors thank W.-Y. Kim, H. Lim, H. Kang, and J.Y. Park in Seoul National University for assistance on data curation and constructive suggestions which improved the quality of the work. The authors acknowledge support from the Nuclear Safety Research Program through the Korea Foundation of Nuclear Safety (KoFONS), granted financial resource from the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC), Republic of Korea (No. 1705010). Y. Kim acknowledges support from Creative-Pioneering Researchers Program through Seoul National University (SNU SRnD 3345-20160014).

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  1. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea

    Young Oh Son, Min-Seong Seo & YoungHee Kim

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  1. Young Oh Son
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Correspondence to YoungHee Kim.

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Son, Y.O., Seo, MS. & Kim, Y. Measurement of seismometer misorientation based on P-wave polarization: application to permanent seismic network in South Korea. Geosci J 26, 235–247 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12303-021-0031-5

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