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USGS SmartSolo Seismometer Arrays in the Upper Mississippi Embayment

Description: 

We present early results from two seismic arrays utilizing SmartSolo three-component, 5-Hz seismometers in the upper Mississippi Embayment. SmartSolo seismometers are self-contained units that can record GPS locations and ground motions for up to 30 days. The arrays operated in the summer and fall of 2022, and data will be available soon to the scientific community. The first array is an 18-km-long East–West-trending array of 60 seismometers (recording at 500 samples/second) deployed west of Memphis, Tennessee, for 30 days in July and August. The second array is a 285-km-long, East–West-trending array to the north at about 36-degrees latitude spanning the entire embayment. It consisted of 64 seismometers recording at 250 samples/second for about 30 days in September and October. We present preliminary results from these arrays. Initial analyses show signals from local earthquakes beneath and near the arrays, and a strong peak in the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios, presumably due to the significant impedance contrast at the top of basement rocks. The peak frequency (f_Peak), ranging from about 0.25 Hz to 38 Hz, decreases with increasing sediment thickness (h), and there is distinct structure in f_Peak vs. h, suggesting some lateral and/or depth variability in velocity structure. We expect these datasets to be a valuable resource for the seismology community, with the aim of improving characterization of earthquake ground motions in the upper Mississippi Embayment.

Session: From Sensors and Networks to Site Characterization and Site Response: Coming Full Circle

Type: Oral

Date: 4/18/2023

Presentation Time: 02:30 PM (local time)

Presenting Author: Oliver S. Boyd

Student Presenter: No

Invited Presentation: 

Authors