LONG‐PERIOD SIGNAL PROCESSING RESULTS FOR THE LARGE APERTURE SEISMIC ARRAY

Abstract

The results of a series of off‐line signal processing experiments are presented for long‐period data obtained from the Large Aperture Seismic Array (LASA) located in eastern Montana. The signal‐to‐noise ratio gains obtained with maximum‐likelihood processing, as well as other simpler forms of processing, are presented for body‐wave as well as surface‐wave phases. A discussion of the frequency‐wavenumber characteristics of the noise which led to these results is also given. On the basis of these experiments, several recommendations are made concerning optimum long‐period array configurations and on‐line or off‐line processing methods. The usefulness of maximum‐likelihood processing in suppressing an interfering teleseism is demonstrated. An experiment is given in which maximum‐likelihood processing achieved about 20 db suppression of an interfering teleseism, while simpler forms of processing such as beam‐forming obtained about 11 db. The matched filtering of surface waves using chirp waveforms is shown to be highly effective. A useful discriminant for distinguishing between natural seismic events and underground nuclear explosions, using both the long‐period and short‐period data, was found to be the relationship between the surface‐wave and body‐wave magnitudes. Measurements of this discriminant made on events from four tectonic regions of the earth are presented. It is shown that 60 and 100 percent detectability of surface waves for natural seismic events from the Central Asian‐Kurile Islands‐Kamchatka region occurs at about LASA body‐wave magnitudes 4.5 and 4.9, respectively.