Automated microearthquake location using envelope stacking and robust global optimization

Abstract

Most earthquake location methods require phase identification and arrival-time measurements. These methods are generally fast and efficient but not always applicable to microearthquake data with low signal-to-noise ratios because the phase identification might be very difficult. The migration-based source location methods, which do not require an explicit phase identification, are often more suitable for such noisy data. Whereas some existing migration-based methods are computationally intensive, others are limited to a certain type of data or make use of only a particular phase of the signal. We have developed a migration-based source location method especially applicable to data with relatively low signal-to-noise ratios. We projected seismograms onto the ray coordinate system for each potential source-receiver configuration and subsequently computed their envelopes. The envelopes were time shifted according to synthetic P- and S-wavearrival times (computed using an eikonal solver) and stacked for a predefined time window centered on the arrival time of the corresponding phase. This was done for each component and phase individually, and the squared sum of the stacks was defined as the objective function. We applied a robust global optimization routine called differential evolution to maximize the objective function and thereby locate the seismic event. Our source location method provides a complete algorithm with only a few control parameters, making it suitable for automatic processing. We applied this method to single and multicomponent data using P and/or S phases. We conducted controlled tests using synthetic seismograms contaminated with a minimum of 30% white noise. The synthetic data were computed for a complex and heterogeneous model of the Pyhäsalmi ore mine in Finland. We also successfully applied the method to real seismic data recorded with the in-mine seismic network of the Pyhäsalmi mine.