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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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While wavelet transforms have been used in the analysis of seismic signals, the methods used for the compression of seismic signals have been limited to Linear Predictive Coding and Transform Coding.
The 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was the first earthquake tsunami of its magnitude to occur since the advent of both digital seismometry and satellite radar altimetry. Both have independently recorded the event from different physical aspects. The seismic data has then been used to estimate the earthquake fault parameters, and a three-dimensional ocean-general-circulation-model (OGCM) coupled with the fault information has been used to simulate the satellite-observed tsunami waves. Here we show that these two datasets consistently provide the tsunami source using independent methodologies of seismic waveform inversion and ocean modeling. Cross-examining the two independent results confirms that the slip function is the most important condition controlling the tsunami strength, while the geometry and the rupture velocity of the tectonic plane determine the spatial patterns of the tsunami.
On Earth, mass wasting events such as rock falls and landslides are well known consequences of seismic activity. Here we investigate the regional effects of seismicity in planetary environments with the goal of determining whether such surface features on the Moon, Mars, and Mercury could be triggered by fault motion.
Significant advancements in the development of sensors to enable rotational seismic measurements have been achieved. Prototypes are available now to support experiments that help validate the utility of rotational seismic measurements.
Presentation of a 3-D seismic-attribute framework model that will allow better and more precise modeling of seismic wave propagation from source physics experiments in and around Yucca Flat, thus helping improve nuclear test monitoring efforts.
In the past several years, induced microearthquakes (MEQs) related to energy development projects have garnered public attention. Large-scale fluid injection in geoengineering activities, such as enhanced geothermal reservoir stimulation, geological storage of CO2, shale reservoir stimulation, and deep disposal of wastewater can generate significant fluid overpressures and induce microearthquakes by reactivating preexisting faults and fractures that are widely distributed throughout the upper crust. The monitoring of fluid-injection-induced microearthquakes can provide significant information (e.g., timing, special distribution, and moment magnitude) in evaluating reservoir development (e.g., fracture distribution and reservoir hydraulic conductivity evolution), in informing production strategies (e.g., accommodation of production wells), and in assessing the risks of fluid injection activities (e.g., caprock integrity of CO2 reservoir). The following questions are addressed in this study: (1) what are the mechanisms and implications of in-situ feedbacks (e.g., monitored fluid-injection-induced MEQs distribution, seismic moment magnitudes, and fracture behaviors) in geothermal stimulation? (2) What information can be derived from MEQs to inform geothermal reservoir stimulation strategies? (3) Are there any potential relationships between induced seismic or aseismic slip and permeability evolution of fractures in such unconventional reservoirs and caprocks? (4) What factors play an important role in controlling these relationships? These questions are addressed in the five individual chapters of this thesis.
Large (high voltage) power transformers (LPT), and more specifically, their bushings, are known to be susceptible to seismic failure. With bushing failure, a transformer will have to be replaced, which has a considerable lead time, adding to the power outage duration. Cost-efficient, proven solutions are not currently available to mitigate this risk, which can persist for the more than 30-year life of a particular transformer. This work will focus on developing and demonstrating a hardware solution to address seismic vulnerabilities and reduce outage risks from LPT failure. Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) is a specialty gas with excellent electrical insulation properties which has been used extensively in the power industry. This gas is unfortunately also one of the most potent greenhouse gases known to humanity. A 2014 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that SF6 has a global warming potential (GWP) 23,000 times higher than Carbon Dioxide, and has the highest GWP of all gases assessed (Myhre 2013). SF6 is almost exclusively man-made and is produced for use as an insulator in high voltage electrical equipment. This makes the production and use of SF6 one of the leading sources of anthropogenic climate change. To fully eliminate the environmental impacts of SF6, alternative technology is needed. The ideal replacement would be a technology that can fulfil the same role as SF6, at the same cost or cheaper, but without adverse environmental effects. Currently, no technology fits this description, however several promising technologies have begun to enter the market. An industry scan was performed to assess the state of industry adoption and manufacturing capability for SF6-free alternative technologies for use at the high-voltage level, and the primary barriers to broader adoption.
The MARVEL reactor design requirements are currently listed within TFR-2576. Several MARVEL subsystems are required to be designed to seismic criteria of IBC 2015. This Engineering Analysis (EA) report documents the accelerations that need to be used in an equivalent-static method seismic analysis to satisfy this requirement.
This is 2D and 3D seismic reflection data from Utah FORGE reprocessed during Phase 2c. The readme file containing an explanation of the data including data formats, software that can be used, processing, and projection and datum used. The Reprocessing document gives the rationale for reprocessing and shows examples of the improvements that were obtained. For all 3D and 2D data the following datasets were created and output in SEG-Y format: - Unmigrated Time - Prestack Time Migration (PSTM), Unenhanced (UnEnh) and Enhanced (Enh) - Prestack Depth Migration (PSDM), Unenhanced (UnEnh) and Enhanced (Enh) - Velocity Model used for Migration
This is a CSV spreadsheet containing UTM and Latitude and Longitude coordinates and elevations for Wells 78-32, 58-32, and 16A(78)-32 and BOR1, BOR2, BOR3, FOR2, FOR5, FORK, FORU, and FORW seismic stations. These are from a GPS survey conducted by the Utah Geological Survey in June, 2021.
This catalog describes the seismicity associated with the 2019 stimulation at Utah FORGE. Containing both matched-filter detections (Dzubay et al., 2022) and Schlumberger-recorded events (detected with a 12-level geophone string), the final combined catalog contains a total of 534 microseismic events spanning -2.0 Mw to -0.1 Mw. Users may differentiate between SLB and MF events using the fact that SLB event magnitudes are recorded to a higher level of precision (MF mags determined using relative amplitude ratios). Users should be wary of locations and depths (measured from sea level) for MF events, as all detections were assigned the same locations as their template events.
Abstract We investigate the merits of the more recently developed finite‐frequency approach to tomography against the more traditional and approximate ray theoretical approach for state of the art seismic models developed for western North America. To this end, we employ the spectral element method to assess the agreement between observations on real data and measurements made on synthetic seismograms predicted by the models under consideration. We check for phase delay agreement as well as waveform cross‐correlation values. Based on statistical analyses on S wave phase delay measurements, finite frequency shows an improvement over ray theory. Random sampling using cross‐correlation values identifies regions where synthetic seismograms computed with ray theory and finite‐frequency models differ the most. Our study suggests that finite‐frequency approaches to seismic imaging exhibit measurable improvement for pronounced low‐velocity anomalies such as mantle plumes.
Using an updated data set of ballistic PKIKP travel time data at antipodal distances, we test different models of anisotropy in the Earth's innermost inner core (IMIC) and obtain significantly better fits for a fast axis aligned with Earth's rotation axis, rather than a quasi-equatorial direction, as proposed recently. Reviewing recent results on the single crystal structure and elasticity of iron at core conditions, we find that an hcp structure with the fast c axis parallel to Earth's rotation is more likely but a body-centered cubic structure with the [111] axis aligned in that direction results in very similar predictions for seismic anisotropy. These models are therefore not distinguishable based on current seismological data. In addition, to match the seismological observations, the inferred strength of anisotropy in the IMIC (6–7%) implies almost perfect alignment of iron crystals, an intriguing, albeit unlikely situation, especially in the presence of heterogeneity, which calls for further studies. Fast axis of anisotropy in the central part of the inner core aligned with Earth's axis of rotation Lastly, the structure of iron in the inner core is most likely hcp, not bcc Not currently possible to distinguish between hcp and bcc structures from seismic observations
Subsea ice-bearing permafrost (IBPF) and associated gas hydrate in the Arctic have been subject to a warming climate and saline intrusion since the last transgression at the end of the Pleistocene. The consequent degradation of IBPF is potentially associated with significant degassing of dissociating gas hydrate deposits. Previous studies interpreted the distribution of subsea permafrost on the U.S. Beaufort continental shelf based on geographically sparse data sets and modeling of expected thermal history. The most cited work projects subsea permafrost to the shelf edge (~100 m isobath). This study uses a compilation of stacking velocity analyses from ~100,000 line-km of industry-collected multichannel seismic reflection data acquired over 57,000 km 2 of the U.S. Beaufort shelf to delineate continuous subsea IBPF. Gridded average velocities of the uppermost 750 ms two-way travel time range from 1475 to 3110 m s -1 . The monotonic, cross-shore pattern in velocity distribution suggests that the seaward extent of continuous IBPF is within 37 km of the modern shoreline at water depths < 25 m. These interpretations corroborate recent Beaufort seismic refraction studies and provide the best, margin-scale evidence that continuous subsea IBPF does not currently extend to the northern limits of the continental shelf.
Here, we conducted an experiment in Pahrump, Nevada, in June 2017, where artificial seismic signals were created using a seismic hammer, and the possibility of detecting them from their acoustic signature was examined. In this work, we analyze the pressure signals recorded by highly sensitive barometers deployed on the ground and on tethers suspended from balloons. Our signal processing results show that wind noise experienced by a barometer on a free-flying balloon is lower compared to one on a moored balloon. This has never been experimentally demonstrated in the lower troposphere. While seismoacoustic signals were not recorded on the hot air balloon platform owing to operational challenges, we demonstrate the detection of seismoacoustic signals on our moored balloon platform. Our results have important implications for performing seismology in harsh surface environments such as Venus through atmospheric remote sensing.
Iron-rich silicate melts play an important role in the magmatic history of the Earth and the 16 Moon. However, their elastic properties at high pressures, especially the sound velocity, are poorly 17 understood. Here we determined the ultrasonic sound velocity for the first time of a hedenbergite 18 (Hd, CaFeSi2O6) melt and a melt mixture of 50 mol% hedenbergite + 50 mol% diopside (Hd50Di50) 19 at high pressure and temperature conditions up to 6 GPa and 2329 K, using high-pressure ultrasonic 20 technique combined with synchrotron radiation in a multi-anvil apparatus. Our results show that 21 Fe can significantly reduce the sound velocity while increase the density of silicate melts. 22 Comparing the Di, Hd, and Hd50Di50 melts, we find that the sound velocity does not mix linearly 23 2 for melts in the Hd-Di join, whereas the density for Hd-Di melts at high pressures can be well-24 described by linear mixing. Combined with melt geometry and melt compaction models, we 25 applied our results to study the stability and seismic signature of Fe-rich silicate melts in the Earth’s 26 upper mantle. For the low-velocity zone (LVZ) in mantle asthenosphere, although the degree of 27 seismic velocity reduction can be explained by the presence of a small amount of partial melt 28 distributed in film/band geometry along grain boundaries, Fe-rich melts formed at this depth are 29 unlikely to be gravitationally stable, but may be dynamically unextractable if the melt supply is 30 continuous. For the low-velocity layer (LVL) above the mantle transition zone, the presence of Fe-31 rich melts (with FeO>~10 wt%) distributed in textural equilibrium with the ambient mantle is a 32 plausible explanation.
For characterizing geothermal systems, it is important to have clear images of steeply-dipping fault zones because they may confine the boundaries of geothermal reservoirs and influence hydrothermal flow. Elastic reverse-time migration (ERTM) is the most promising tool for subsurface imaging with multicomponent seismic data. However, conventional ERTM usually generates significant artifacts caused by the cross correlation of undesired wavefields and the polarity reversal of shear waves. In addition, it is difficult for conventional ERTM to directly image steeply-dipping fault zones. We develop a new ERTM imaging method in this paper to reduce these artifacts and directly image steeply-dipping fault zones. In our new ERTM method, forward-propagated source wavefields and backward-propagated receiver wavefields are decomposed into compressional (P) and shear (S) components. Furthermore, each component of these wavefields is separated into left- and right-going, or downgoing and upgoing waves. The cross correlation imaging condition is applied to the separated wavefields along opposite propagation directions. For converted waves (P-to-S or S-to-P), the polarity correction is applied to the separated wavefields based on the analysis of Poynting vectors. Numerical imaging examples of synthetic seismic data demonstrate that our new ERTM method produces high-resolution images of steeply-dipping fault zones.
Relying primarily on 3D-seismic data, an assessment of the major structural elements of the Miocene section, northern Gulf of Mexico (Texas and Louisiana), was initiated here to identify prospective subsurface areas for permanent geologic storage of anthropogenic CO 2 . Identifying and mapping fault planes and key stratigraphic surfaces in the seismic data helped identify several areas that may be suitable for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects of scale. Prospective sites that included proximity to anthropogenic sources of CO 2 , RMS amplitude intervals that indicate confining zones that greatly retard vertical migration of buoyant CO 2 , and structural closures were ranked on a regional scale. Local site (Site 1) assessment used hydrocarbon-based and volumetric-based methods to estimate the amount of CO 2 that can be safely injected into a prospective site’s permanent storage reservoirs.