Frequency dependent polarization analysis of ambient seismic noise recorded at a broadband seismometer in the central United States

Abstract

We present a new approach to polarization analysis of seismic noise recorded by three-component seismometers. It is based on statistical analysis of frequency-dependent particle motion properties determined from a large number of time windows via eigenanalysis of the 3-by-3, Hermitian, spectral covariance matrix. We applied the algorithm to continuous data recorded in 2009 by the seismic station SLM, located in central North America. A rich variety of noise sources was observed. At low frequencies (<0.05 Hz) we observed a tilt-related signal that showed some elliptical motion in the horizontal plane. In the microseism band of 0.05-0.25 Hz, we observed Rayleigh energy arriving from the northeast, but with three distinct peaks instead of the classic single and double frequency peaks. At intermediate frequencies of 0.5-2.0 Hz, the noise was dominated by non-fundamental-mode Rayleigh energy, most likely P and Lg waves. At the highest frequencies (>3 Hz), Rayleigh-type energy was again dominant in the form of Rg waves created by nearby cultural activities. Analysis of the time dependence of noise power shows that a frequency range of at least 0.02-1.0 Hz (much larger than the microseism band) is sensitive to annual, meteorologically induced sources of noise. © 2010 The Seismological Society of China and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.