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Transient analysis of earthquake and explosion arrivals

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Summary

An electronic sound spectrograph has been used to analyze the transients in complicated earthquake and explosion signals. Transient analysis with a sound spectrograph gives a means for directly obtaining group velocity at each of the spectral frequencies for each of the separate arrival branches, for any type of transient signal. Compared to frequency analysis, it presents the fine spectral structure of the signal as it changes with time, not an average over a time that includes many parts of the seismic signal.

Dispersion as well as the body wave spectrum of theP wave has been observed by transient analysis of seismic signals. Dispersion has also possibly been observed in theS wave, and in the various multiply reflectedS waves, which have been found to increase in period from one arrival to the next. The dispersed pattern of arrival of fundamental and higher mode surface waves has been observed for oceanic, continental, and mixed paths. Among these signals is a clear indication of the continental second shear mode. The separation of surface waves for the direct and complementary paths has also been accomplished. Our results compare well with those obtained by standard techniques.

The dispersion of the fundamental and higher mode signals from explosive sources in shallow water may be easily studied by making sound spectrograms and amplitude sections of these seismic signals. These shallow water shots show bubble pulses and Airy phases, which are clearly defined on the spectrograms and sections.

Zusammenfassung

Ein elektronischer Schallspektrograph wurde benutzt, um die nichtstationären Vorgänge in komplizierten Erdbeben- und Explosionswellen zu analysieren. Die Analyse von nichtstationären Vorgängen mittels dieses Schallspektrographen ergibt unmittelbar die Gruppengeschwindigkeit jeder einzelnen Spektralfrequenz für die verschiedenen seismischen Wellenphasen, die ja solche nichtstationären Vorgänge darstellen. Verglichen mit einer gewöhnlichen Frequenzanalyse liefert diese Art von Analyse die Spektralfeinstruktur des zeitlich sich ändernden Signals und nicht ein Mittel über ein Zeitintervall, das einen grösseren Teil des seismischen Schwingungsablaufs umfasst.

Sowohl Dispersionserscheinungen in derP-Welle als auch deren diskretes Amplitudenspektrum wurden mit Hilfe dieser Analyse seismischer Signale festgestellt. Dispersion wurde mit ziemlicher Wahrscheinlichkeit auch bei derS-Welle beobachtet, und in den verschiedenen mehrfachreflektiertenS-Wellen zeigt sich in aufeinanderfolgenden Reflexionen eine Periodenzunahme. Das disperse Erscheinungsbild der Oberflächenwellen in ihrer Grundschwingungstype und den zugehörigen Schwingungstypen höherer Ordnung wurde für ozeanischen, kontinentalen und gemischten Weg aufgenommen. Unter diesen Wellentypen findet sich eine klare Andeutung der kontinentalen Scherschwingungsform zweiter Ordnung vom Rayleigh-Typus (Second Shear Mode). Die Aufspaltung von Oberflächenwellen für direkten und antipodalen Weg wurde ebenfalls erreicht. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen eine gute Übereinstimmung mit den von herkömmlichen Methoden stammenden Resultaten.

Die Dispersion von Wellentypen erster und höherer Ordnung, die durch Explosionen im Seichtwasser angeregt werden, kann leicht an Hand der Schallspektrogramme und momentanen Amplitudenspektren ihrer seismischen Signale untersucht werden. Solche Seichtwasserdetonationen zeigen Pulsationen und Airy-Phasen, die sich eindeutig auf den Spektrogrammen und Amplitudenbildern abzeichnen.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lamont Geological Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York, U.S.A.

    M. Ewing & M. Landisman

  2. Landes-Erdbebendienst Baden-Württemberg, Richard-Wagner-Strasse 15, Stuttgart-O, West Germany

    S. Mueller

  3. Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Y. Satô

Authors
  1. M. Ewing
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  2. S. Mueller
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  3. M. Landisman
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  4. Y. Satô
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With two plates: Figs. 6 & 17

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Ewing, M., Mueller, S., Landisman, M. et al. Transient analysis of earthquake and explosion arrivals. Geofisica Pura e Applicata 44, 83–118 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01997639

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