The impact of seismic noise produced by wind turbines on seismic borehole measurements

Abstract

Seismic signals produced by wind turbines can have an adverse effect on seismological measurements up to distances of several kilometres. Based on numerical simulations of the emitted seismic wave field, we study the effectivity of seismic borehole installations as a way to reduce the incoming noise. We analyse the signal amplitude as a function of sensor depth and investigate effects of seismic velocities, damping parameters and geological layering in the subsurface. Our numerical approach is validated by real data from borehole installations affected by wind turbines. We demonstrate that a seismic borehole installation with an adequate depth can effectively reduce the impact of seismic noise from wind turbines in comparison to surface installations. Therefore, placing the seismometer at greater depth represents a potentially effective measure to improve or retain the quality of the recordings at a seismic station. However, the advantages of the borehole decrease significantly with increasing signal wavelength.