Using the three-station interferometry method to improve urban DAS ambient noise tomography

Abstract

Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) is a novel seismological observation technology based on the fiber-optic sensing method, and can transform existing urban fiber-optic cables into ultra-dense array for urban seismological researches, thus opening abundant opportunities for resolving fine details of near surface structures. While high frequency ambient noise recorded on DAS has been applied in surface wave tomography, it is often difficult to extract a clear dispersion curve for the data recorded by urban internet cable because of the effect of precursor signals on noise correlation functions due to uneven distribution of noise sources, and weak coupling between the cable and the solid earth. In this study, we investigate the performance of the three-station interferometry method for improving the noise cross-correlation functions of the linear array. We applied this method to a DAS dataset acquired in an urban area, suppressed the precursor signal, improved the measurement of the dispersion curve, and constructed a 2D S-wave profile that reveals the hidden fault beneath the city. We also observed that the convergence of noise cross-correlation functions with weak coupling was significantly accelerated using this method. We employed this method to improve the signal quality of surface waves at far offset for the long segment, thus obtaining a more accurate dispersion curve. In conclusion, the three-station interferometry is an effective method to enhance the surface wave signal and suppress the precursor signal retrieved from the data recorded by urban internet cable, which could help in providing high resolution images of shallow structures in built-up areas.