[1] We analyze coseismic and postseismic velocity variations caused by the June 13, 2008 Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku earthquake (M W = 6.9) using Passive Image Interferometry (PII). Seismic noise is correlated in order to reconstruct the Green's function between two sensors. Shear wave velocity changes are determined by relating the coda parts of the daily Green's functions to a long-term reference Green's function. Our study extends from January 2008 to August 2010 and includes the correlations for 190 station pairs in three different frequency ranges from 0.125 to 1.0 Hz. We show that combining the 9 different component cross-correlation functions stabilizes the velocity change estimation and increases analysis resolution. The observed velocity change curves can be fitted by model time series consisting of a coseismic velocity drop followed by logarithmic postseismic recovery and seasonal velocity variations. The coseismic velocity drops are stronger at higher frequencies and are concentrated in the southern part of the fault zone. A tomography algorithm was developed to reproject the observed velocity variations of the different sensor pairs onto the single sensors. The depth distribution of coseismic changes was modeled for the three stations with the largest velocity drops. At two stations, the coseismic velocity changes are located in the upper several hundred meters. The third station shows indications for deeper changes, in the order of kilometers. Postseismic recovery takes significantly longer than the analyzed two year period. Seasonal velocity variations with periods of one year are observed at all analyzed frequencies for most station pairs.

We introduce the single-station cross-correlation (SC) technique of processing ambient seismic noise and compare its results with the established cross-correlation (CC) and autocorrelation (AC) techniques. While CC is the correlation of the signals of two seismic stations with each other and AC is the correlation of a signal with itself, SC is the correlation of two different components of a single three-component seismic sensor. The comparison of the three different correlation techniques shows that CCs give the best results at frequencies below 0.5 Hz and that SCs give the best results at higher frequencies. In all three processing techniques, ambient seismic noise is correlated in order to reconstruct the Green's function describing the wave propagation between the first and the second sensor. By relating the coda parts of the daily Green's functions with the long-term reference Green's functions, shear wave velocity changes are determined. Here, we apply this technique to the data of 20 seismic stations in the surroundings of the fault zone of the Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku earthquake (M W = 6.9), which occurred on 2008 June 13, UTC (2008 June 14, Japan Standard Time) in the northern part of the Japanese island Honshu. The data range from 2008 January to 2011 June and therefore include the Tohoku earthquake (M W = 9.0), which occurred on 2011 March 11, off the coast of northern Honshu. The data are analysed in five different frequency ranges between 0.125 and 4.0 Hz. The data show coseismic velocity changes for both earthquakes followed by a postseismic velocity recovery. In general, the coseismic velocity changes increase with frequency. For the Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, the strongest velocity changes occur close to the fault zone. Quickly recovering coseismic velocity changes can be separated from changes not recovering during the study period. For the Tohoku earthquake, the complete area is affected by coseismic velocity changes. A modelling of the depth of the coseismic velocity changes indicates that the Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku earthquake can be explained either by large shallow velocity changes or by small, but deep changes. For one station, the observations can only be explained by assuming deeper changes. For the Tohoku earthquake, the modelling shows that different parts of the study area are affected in different ways, some showing shallow changes, others deeper changes. Furthermore, seasonal velocity variations occur, which are compatible for the different stations above 0.5 Hz, with velocity maxima in autumn.

Orbital and surface observations can shed light on the internal structure of Mars. NASA’s InSight mission allows mapping the shallow subsurface of Elysium Planitia using seismic data. In this work, we apply a classical seismological technique of inverting Rayleigh wave ellipticity curves extracted from ambient seismic vibrations to resolve, for the first time on Mars, the shallow subsurface to around 200 m depth. While our seismic velocity model is largely consistent with the expected layered subsurface consisting of a thin regolith layer above stacks of lava flows, we find a seismic low-velocity zone at about 30 to 75 m depth that we interpret as a sedimentary layer sandwiched somewhere within the underlying Hesperian and Amazonian aged basalt layers. A prominent amplitude peak observed in the seismic data at 2.4 Hz is interpreted as an Airy phase related to surface wave energy trapped in this local low-velocity channel.

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[1] Rayleigh wave ellipticity as a function of frequency is closely linked to underground structure, i.e., shear wave velocity profile and sediment thickness. The possibility to calculate these underground properties by inverting ellipticity curves has recently been shown. We propose a new technique enabling the Rayleigh wave ellipticity to be recovered over a wide frequency range by using ambient noise recordings. Based on the random decrement technique commonly used to characterize dynamic parameters of buildings, this method eliminates all wave types except Rayleigh waves. We apply the method to noise synthetics simulated for different underground structures and show its applicability to real seismic noise data. Citation: Hobiger, M., P.-Y. Bard, C. Cornou, and N. Le Bihan (2009), Single station determination of Rayleigh wave ellipticity by using the random decrement technique

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A series of investigations has been carried out over the last decade in Europe aimed at deriving quantitative information on site amplification from non-invasive techniques, based principally on surface wave interpretations of ambient noise measurements. The present paper focuses on their key outcomes regarding three main topics. First, methodological, hardware and software developments focusing on the acquisition and the processing of both single point and array microtremor measurements, led to an efficient tool with in situ control and processing, giving rise to robust and reproducible results. A special attention has been devoted to the derivation and use of the Rayleigh wave ellipticity. Second, the reliability of these new tools has been assessed through a thorough comparison with borehole measurements for a representative – though limited – set of sites located in Southern Europe, spanning from stiff to soft, and shallow to thick. Finally, correlations between the site parameters available from such non-invasive techniques, and the actual site amplification factors as measured with standard techniques, are derived from a comprehensive analysis of the Japanese KIKNET data. This allows to propose alternative, simple site characterization providing an improved variance reduction compared with the “classical” VS30 classification. While these results could pave the road for the next generation of building codes, they can also be used now for regulatory site classification and microzonation studies, in view of improved mapping and estimation of site amplification factors, and for the characterization of existing strong motion sites