Amidst the unique landscape of geothermal development in the Tohoku region, subtle seismic activities beneath the Earth's surface present a fascinating challenge for researchers.
Amidst the unique landscape of geothermal development in the Tohoku region, subtle seismic activities beneath the Earth's surface present a fascinating challenge for researchers. While earthquake warnings may intermittently alert us to seismic events, there exist numerous smaller quakes that have long intrigued resource engineers striving to detect and understand them.
Mathematical innovations from Tohoku University researchers are advancing detection of more types - and fainter forms - of seismic waves, paving the way for more effective earthquake monitoring and risk assessment.
The results of their study were published in IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing on January 15, 2024.
Collection of seismic data relies on the number and positioning of sensors called seismometers. Especially where only limited deployment of seismic sensors is possible, such as in challenging environments like the planet Mars or when conducting long-term monitoring of captured and stored carbon, optimizing data extraction from each and every sensor becomes crucial. One promising method for doing so is polarization analysis, which involves studying 3-D particle motion and has garnered attention for its ability to leverage three-component data, offering more information than one-component data. This approach enables the detection and identification of various polarized seismic waveforms, including S-waves, P-waves and others.
Read more at Tohoku University
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