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Measurement of seismometer orientation using the tangential P-wave receiver function based on harmonic decomposition

Lim, H; Kim, YH; Song, TRA; Shen, XZ; (2018) Measurement of seismometer orientation using the tangential P-wave receiver function based on harmonic decomposition. Geophysical Journal International , 212 (3) pp. 1747-1765. 10.1093/gji/ggx515. Green open access

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Abstract

Accurate determination of the seismometer orientation is a prerequisite for seismic studies including, but not limited to seismic anisotropy. While borehole seismometers on land produce seismic waveform data somewhat free of human-induced noise, they might have a drawback of an uncertain orientation. This study calculates a harmonic decomposition of teleseismic receiver functions from the P and PP phases and determines the orientation of a seismometer by minimizing a constant term in a harmonic expansion of tangential receiver functions in backazimuth near and at 0 s. This method normalizes the effect of seismic sources and determines the orientation of a seismometer without having to assume for an isotropic medium. Compared to the method of minimizing the amplitudes of a mean of the tangential receiver functions near and at 0 s, the method yields more accurate orientations in cases where the backazimuthal coverage of earthquake sources (even in the case of ocean bottom seismometers) is uneven and incomplete. We apply this method to data from the Korean seismic network (52 broad-band velocity seismometers, 30 of which are borehole sensors) to estimate the sensor orientation in the period of 2005−2016. We also track temporal changes in the sensor orientation through the change in the polarity and the amplitude of the tangential receiver function. Six borehole stations are confirmed to experience a significant orientation change (10°−180°) over the period of 10 yr. We demonstrate the usefulness of our method by estimating the orientation of ocean bottom sensors, which are known to have high noise level during the relatively short deployment period.

Type: Article
Title: Measurement of seismometer orientation using the tangential P-wave receiver function based on harmonic decomposition
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1093/gji/ggx515
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggx515
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Body waves, Seismic anisotropy, Seismic instruments, Wave propagation, Crustal structure
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Earth Sciences
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10037976
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