Use of Distributed Acoustic Sensing as a Tool for Monitoring Geohazards at Mt. Rainier
Description:
Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) is a new and expanding technology used to monitor seismic events with optical fiber cables as a distributed array of one-dimensional strain sensors. In this work, we investigate the potential of using a dark fiber, an optical fiber deployed for telecommunications purposes, to monitor seismic activity in and around Mt. Rainier, a glaciated, active stratovolcano in the Cascades Volcanic Arc, USA, and is monitored by the Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) and the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN). Mt. Rainier hosts a broad spectrum of geohazards such as earthquakes, debris flows, landslides, and various cryospheric hazards such as icequakes or avalanches that present a risk to nearby urban areas.
In this study, we use DAS recording on a 48 km long cable, with more than ∼ 4,000 channels, buried under the road between Ashford, Washington and Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center on the flank of Mount Rainier.
We apply template matching to the DAS data, using events in the PNSN earthquake and surface-event catalog to search for events not detected by the permanent monitoring network. We use the USGS catalog to select a big magnitude event and then search for it on DAS data; after that, we process that event as a template to do the continuous search on the data. In addition to the activity at the volcano, our dark fiber experiment recorded a tectonic earthquake swarm in August 2023, located in the Western Rainier Seismic Zone. This more complete earthquake catalog will be used to perform double-difference relocation and tomography to improve our understanding of fault structures within the Western Rainier Seismic Zone. We also perform preliminary analysis to detect and identify other event types, including surface events, volcano tectonic earthquakes, and other volcanic events. Our study presents the groundwork for the use of DAS to monitor volcanoes in near real time.
Session: Advancing Seismology with Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing [Poster Session]
Type: Poster
Date: 5/3/2024
Presentation Time: 08:00 AM (local time)
Presenting Author: Veronica
Student Presenter: Yes
Invited Presentation:
Authors
Veronica Gaete Elgueta Presenting Author Corresponding Author velgueta@uw.edu University of Washington |
Bradley Lipovsky bpl7@uw.edu University of Washigton |
Marine Denolle mdenolle@uw.edu University of Washington |
Weston Thelen wthelen@usgs.gov U.S. Geological Survey |
Akash Kharita ak287@uw.edu University of Washington |
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Use of Distributed Acoustic Sensing as a Tool for Monitoring Geohazards at Mt. Rainier
Category
Advancing Seismology with Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing