Local-scale cross-correlation of seismic noise from the Calico fault experiment

Abstract

Most studies of seismic noise cross-correlation (NCC) have focused on regional/continental scale imaging using empirical surface-wave Green’s functions extracted from primary (0.05–0.08 Hz) and secondary (0.1–0.16 Hz) microseisms. In this work, we present the NCC results at higher frequencies (>0.5 Hz) from 6 months seismic noise recorded by a local array (~4 km aperture) deployed along the Calico fault in the Mojave Desert, California. Both fast and slow propagating waves are observed from the NCC record-sections. We compare the NCCs from sensor pairs that share a common sensor with the records of a borehole shot located very close to this common sensor. The result shows a good match of the slow surface-wave arrivals, indicating that the NCC method is able to recover unbiased surface-wave Green’s functions at local scales. The strong body-wave NCC component is caused by the P waves generated offshore California. Along a SW–NE profile across the fault, we observe apparent P-wave arrivals and their reflections, which can be explained by a low-velocity-zone (LVZ) along the Calico fault. We calculate the LVZ width to be ~ 2.3 km, and the P-wave velocity reduction within the LVZ to be ~35 %. These estimates are consistent with other evidence for a relatively wide LVZ along the Calico fault.