Vol 54, No 4 (2018)

The paper describes the principles and techniques used to detect signals propagating in the atmosphere in the infrasonic frequency range. Such signals can be generated by different sources: ground and atmospheric explosions, as well as objects moving in the atmosphere at supersonic speed (aircraft, rockets, bolides, fragments of spent stages of launch vehicles). Portable infrasound monitoring stations are described, each of which includes three spaced infrasonic microphones. Each such station makes it possible to determine three basic parameters of the detected infrasound signal, which are subsequently used to solve the direction- finding problem: the time of arrival of an infrasonic wave, the azimuth to the source in the horizontal plane, and the wave approach angle from the source of infrasonic waves to the Earth’s surface in the vertical plane. An acoustic detector used to extract useful signals against a noise background is described. The detector is based on an algorithm similar to the STA/LTA detection algorithm known in seismology. Examples of the operation of an acoustic detector with data obtained during real measurements are given. Passive infrasound direction-finding technology is described. It is based on mathematical modeling of the of infrasonic wave propagation in the atmosphere, which are generated by objects moving along possible trajectories; comparison of theoretical signals with real ones recorded by monitoring stations; and determination of the realized trajectories. The paper gives examples of experimental verification of the effectiveness of passive infrasound direction-finding technology for determining the impact points of the first and second stages of launch vehicles. It is shown that infrasound direction-finding systems makes it possible to reduce the estimated search area for launch vehicle fragments that fall to the Earth, significantly decrease the time and costs for their search and utilization, and mitigate the negative environmental impact of the rocket and space industry.

A large number of events with sources in the immediate vicinity of an array are usually detected during seismological observations with seismic arrays. These events should be detected and correctly interpreted during processing of seismic array records in order to avoid clogging up the event catalog. This problem can be solved by classifying records of local events by genetic features and creating a databank with the most representative samples. The present paper considers local events recorded using a unique scientific setup, the Mikhnevo small aperture seismic array. Epicenters of local seismic events are located less than 5 km from the center of the array. Seismic responses of acoustic shock waves are also examined. Seismic events caused by anthropogenic sources are identified and classified using cluster, cross-correlation, and wavelet analysis. Events accompanied only by the arrival of surface waves, as well as events represented by body, surface, and acoustic waves, are identified. Shock wave events are classified as a separate category. A small group of supposedly natural weak events is also found. As a result, a databank of waveforms of local seismic events for the Mikhnevo seismic array is established. In the future, this will make it possible to automate their identification when investigating the seismicity of the East European Platform.

The study analyzes data from high-precision measurements of the apparent resistivity by a stationary multielectrode vertical electric sounding (VES) system including 12 current and 4 potential lines spaced 2–650 m apart. Observations had been being carried out at the Garm test area on a daily basis for 12 years in an earthquake prediction experiment. The use of special technical methods during measurements ensured an instrumental error of about 0.01%. The virtual error of each individual measurement of apparent resistivity (taking into account all possible noise) was 0.1–0.2%. The availability of more than 3000 VES curves measured in different seasons allows us to propose a new approach to constructing a geoelectric section model. To solve the inverse VES problem, a set of 36 averaged 10-day VES curves was analyzed, each of which was obtained by averaging approximately 100 individual VES curves accumulated in the same 10-day period of the annual (seasonal) cycle in different years. Comparative analysis of these curves made it possible to calculate and include corrections for stationary geological noise in the model. As a result, it was possible to substantially reduce (by an order of magnitude) the discrepancies in fitting the curves and dramatically narrow the equivalence domain. Based on the results of our analysis, we have constructed a model of a four-layer horizontally layered geoelectric section of the Khazor-Chashma depression to adequately describe not only the averaged section, but also its seasonal variations throughout the year. The stability in estimating the model parameters is studied. To further reduce the equivalence domain, we propose that the layer thicknesses be fixed. This model can be used not only to study the aforementioned characteristics of the section, but also to monitor time variations of resistivity in individual layers of the section. This will significantly improve the resolving power of systems for detecting time variations in geoelectric sections, including when searching for earthquake precursors.

At the beginning of the 21st century, a series of great earthquakes were recorded in northeastern Tibet, along the periphery of the Bayan Hara lithospheric block. An earthquake with M_S = 8.1 occurred within the East Kunlun fault zone in the Kunlun Mountains, which caused an extended surface rupture with left-lateral strike slip. An earthquake with M_S = 8 occurred in Wenchuan (China) on May 12, 2008, giving rise to an extended overthrust along the Lunmanshan fault zone. An earthquake with M_S = 7.1 occurred in Yushu (China) on April 14, 2010; its epicenter was on the Grazze–Yushu–Funchuoshan fault; a left-lateral strikeslip offset was observed on the surface. An earthquake with M_S = 7 occurred in the vicinity of Lushan on April 20, 2013; its epicenter was within the Lunmanshan fault zone, 103 km southwest of the zone of the catastrophic Wenchuan earthquake. An earthquake with M_S = 8.2 occurred in Nepal on April 25, 2015. Based on the CSN seismic catalog, the energy of all earthquakes in eastern Tibet at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries was estimated. It was found that Tibet was seismically quiet from 1980 to 2000. The beginning of the 21st century has been marked by seismic activation with earthquake sources migrating southward to surround the Bayan Hara lithospheric block from every quarter. Therefore, this block can be regarded as one of the most seismically active regions of China.

The paper presents the method and results of calculating the increment of macroseismic intensity at seismic stations of Kamchatka. Calculation is based on measurement of the relative level of maximum accelerations of intense earth vibrations in the phase of S-waves of comparatively strong regional earthquakes and the root-mean-square deviation of acceleration in the phase of P-waves of a strong distant earthquake. In the latter case, records of an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1, which occurred in Japan on March 11, 2011, were used. The Petropavlovsk seismic station was used as the reference station. At the foundation of this station rests on rocky soil composed of siliceous shales. An estimate of the increment for the majority of digital stations is presented. Anomalously high intensity values were noted at a number of stations. The data obtained are used to assess the properties of soils in the investigated area. At several stations, the intensity of the horizontal component of soil vibrations above the intensity of the vertical component is much greater than the corresponding design value, which is probably due to the presence of resonant soil layers under these stations. The discrepancy in the incremental intensity estimates from records of intense oscillations from regional earthquakes and from records of a very strong remote earthquake obtained from sensors located in basements of heavy-frame concrete structures is revealed. To avoid distortion in recording ground vibrations, it is desirable to place seismic instruments far from such structures. The results obtained in the study can be used for seismic microzoning of construction sites in the investigated territory.