Analysis of the ground vibration produced by debris flows and other torrential processes at the Rebaixader monitoring site (Central Pyrenees, Spain)

Abstract

Abstract. The use of ground vibration sensors for debris-flow monitoring has increased in the last two decades. However, the correct interpretation of the seismic signals produced by debris flows still presents many uncertainties. In the Rebaixader monitoring site (Central Pyrenees, Spain) two different ground vibration stations with different characteristics in terms of recording systems and site-specific factors have been compared. The shape of the time series has been recognised as one of the key parameters to identify events and to distinguish between different types of torrential processes. The results show that the site-specific factors strongly influence on the ground vibration registered at each geophone. The attenuation of the signal with the distance has been identified as linear to exponential. In addition, the assembly of the geophones to the terrain also has an important effect on the amplification of the signal. All these results highlight that the definition of ground vibration thresholds for debris-flow detection or warning purposes is a difficult task which is clearly influenced by site-specific conditions of the geophones.