Analysis of earthquakes recordings of tidal gravimeters in the period range of 10-1000 s

Abstract

The physical properties of tidal gravimetric instruments allow recording, not only tidal effects, but also waves generated by earthquakes. Three gravimetric stations with determined transfer functions and co-located seismic stations from the observatories in Western and Central Europe were selected for analysis. The observatories are equipped with almost all types of sensors available on the market, which allow for thorough analysis of earthquake recordings in the period range of 10–1000 s. In total, over 10,000 traces of worldwide earthquakes were investigated. The saturation levels of gravimeters as well as a correlation between the gravimetric and seismometric signals of an earthquake were carefully analysed. A simple processing scheme of gravimetric signal of earthquakes was adopted thanks to the probabilistic power spectral density analysis of continuous recordings. The detail analysis of transfer function of gravimeters allowed to define a period range when a sensitivity coefficient (calibration factor) and a time lag value only can be used to properly describe the properties of instruments. What’s more, it has been shown based on the calculated group-velocity dispersion curves of fundamental mode of Rayleigh waves, that the Earth’s mantle structure can be determined for greater depths from the recording of tidal gravimeters than from typical broad-band seismometers.