skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Discovering new events beyond the catalogue—application of empirical matched field processing to Salton Sea geothermal field seismicity

Journal Article · · Geophysical Journal International
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggv260· OSTI ID:1377782
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Australian National Univ., Canberra, ACT (Australia)
  2. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  3. Deschutes Signal Processing, LLC, Maupin, OR (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Using empirical matched field processing (MFP), we compare 4 yr of continuous seismic data to a set of 195 master templates from within an active geothermal field and identify over 140 per cent more events than were identified using traditional detection and location techniques alone. In managed underground reservoirs, a substantial fraction of seismic events can be excluded from the official catalogue due to an inability to clearly identify seismic-phase onsets. Empirical MFP can improve the effectiveness of current seismic detection and location methodologies by using conventionally located events with higher signal-to-noise ratios as master events to define wavefield templates that could then be used to map normally discarded indistinct seismicity. Since MFP does not require picking, it can be carried out automatically and rapidly once suitable templates are defined. In this application, we extend MFP by constructing local-distance empirical master templates using Southern California Earthquake Data Center archived waveform data of events originating within the Salton Sea Geothermal Field. We compare the empirical templates to continuous seismic data collected between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2011. The empirical MFP method successfully identifies 6249 additional events, while the original catalogue reported 4352 events. The majority of these new events are lower-magnitude events with magnitudes between M0.2–M0.8. Here, the increased spatial-temporal resolution of the microseismicity map within the geothermal field illustrates how empirical MFP, when combined with conventional methods, can significantly improve seismic network detection capabilities, which can aid in long-term sustainability and monitoring of managed underground reservoirs.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1377782
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-663217
Journal Information:
Geophysical Journal International, Vol. 203, Issue 1; ISSN 0956-540X
Publisher:
Oxford University PressCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 11 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (23)

Low-frequency earthquakes in Shikoku, Japan, and their relationship to episodic tremor and slip journal July 2006
Earthquake Monitoring in Southern California for Seventy-Seven Years (1932-2008) journal March 2010
Application of the Multichannel Wiener Filter to Regional Event Detection Using NORSAR Seismic-Array Data journal December 2011
Use of calculated sound fields and matched‐field detection to locate sound sources in shallow water journal February 1976
Waveform Relocated Earthquake Catalog for Southern California (1981 to June 2011) journal October 2012
Migration of early aftershocks following the 2004 Parkfield earthquake journal November 2009
Time-frequency representation of digital signals and systems based on short-time Fourier analysis journal February 1980
Fault Slip Rates at Depth from Recurrence Intervals of Repeating Microearthquakes journal July 1999
An Autonomous System for Grouping Events in a Developing Aftershock Sequence journal March 2011
Distribution of postseismic slip on the Calaveras fault, California, following the 1984 M6.2 Morgan Hill earthquake journal January 2009
The detection and location of low magnitude earthquakes in northern Norway using multi-channel waveform correlation at regional distances journal March 2007
Superresolution with seismic arrays using empirical matched field processing: Superresolution with matched field processing journal July 2010
Source geometry from exceptionally high resolution long period event observations at Mt Etna during the 2008 eruption journal January 2009
An overview of matched field methods in ocean acoustics journal January 1993
Seismicity rate changes in the Salton Sea Geothermal Field and the San Jacinto Fault Zone after the 2010 Mw 7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake journal April 2014
Array analysis and precise source location of deep tremor in Cascadia journal January 2010
Lateral inhomogeneities of the upper mantle journal December 1965
Locating hydrothermal acoustic sources at Old Faithful Geyser using Matched Field Processing: Old Faithful viewed through array processing journal August 2011
A seismic refraction survey of the Imperial Valley Region, California journal February 1984
The detection of low magnitude seismic events using array-based waveform correlation journal April 2006
Crustal structure and seismicity distribution adjacent to the Pacific and North America plate boundary in southern California journal June 2000
Applying a three-dimensional velocity model, waveform cross correlation, and cluster analysis to locate southern California seismicity from 1981 to 2005 journal January 2007
Automated detection and location of Cascadia tremor journal January 2008

Cited By (2)

Enhanced detection and estimation of regional S-phases using the 3-component ARCES array journal December 2018
Recent Advances and Challenges of Waveform‐Based Seismic Location Methods at Multiple Scales journal January 2020

Similar Records

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
58 GEOSCIENCES