# S-wave attenuation of the shallow sediments in the North China basin based on borehole seismograms of local earthquakes

S-wave attenuation of the shallow sediments in the North China basin based on borehole... Summary S-wave velocity and attenuation structures of shallow sediments play important roles in accurate prediction of strong ground motion. However, it is more difficult to investigate the attenuation than velocity structures. In this study, we developed a new approach for estimating frequency-dependent S-wave attenuation ($$Q_S^{ - 1}$$) structures of shallow sediments based on multiple time window analysis of borehole seismograms from local earthquakes. Multiple time windows for separating direct and surface-reflected S-waves in local earthquake waveforms at borehole stations are selected with a global optimization scheme. With respect to different time windows, the transfer functions between direct and surface-reflected S-waves are achieved with a weighted averaging scheme, based on which frequency dependent $$Q_S^{ - 1}$$ values are obtained. Synthetic tests suggest that the proposed method can restore robust and reliable$$Q_S^{ - 1}$$ values, especially when the dataset of local earthquakes is not abundant. We utilize this method for local earthquake waveforms at 14 borehole seismic stations in the North China basin, and obtain $$Q_S^{ - 1}$$ values in 2 ∼ 10 Hz frequency band, as well as average $${V_P}$$, $${V_S}$$ and $${V_P}/{\rm{\;}}{V_S}$$ ratio for shallow sediments deep to a few hundred meters. Results suggest that $$Q_S^{ - 1}$$ values are to 0.01∼0.06, and generally decrease with frequency. The average attenuation structure of shallow sediments within the depth of a few hundred meters beneath 14 borehole stations in the North China basin can be modeled as $$Q_S^{ - 1} = 0.056{f^{ - 0.61}}$$. It is generally consistent with the attenuation structure of sedimentary basins in other areas, such as Mississippi Embayment sediments in the United States and Sendai basin in Japan. Seismic attenuation, Earthquake ground motions, Sedimentary basin processes, Time series analysis © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal Astronomical Society. This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/about_us/legal/notices) http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Geophysical Journal International Oxford University Press

# S-wave attenuation of the shallow sediments in the North China basin based on borehole seismograms of local earthquakes

, Volume Advance Article – Jun 7, 2018
32 pages

/lp/ou_press/s-wave-attenuation-of-the-shallow-sediments-in-the-north-china-basin-0ZKqT6n7hb
Publisher
The Royal Astronomical Society
ISSN
0956-540X
eISSN
1365-246X
D.O.I.
10.1093/gji/ggy223
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

### Abstract

Summary S-wave velocity and attenuation structures of shallow sediments play important roles in accurate prediction of strong ground motion. However, it is more difficult to investigate the attenuation than velocity structures. In this study, we developed a new approach for estimating frequency-dependent S-wave attenuation ($$Q_S^{ - 1}$$) structures of shallow sediments based on multiple time window analysis of borehole seismograms from local earthquakes. Multiple time windows for separating direct and surface-reflected S-waves in local earthquake waveforms at borehole stations are selected with a global optimization scheme. With respect to different time windows, the transfer functions between direct and surface-reflected S-waves are achieved with a weighted averaging scheme, based on which frequency dependent $$Q_S^{ - 1}$$ values are obtained. Synthetic tests suggest that the proposed method can restore robust and reliable$$Q_S^{ - 1}$$ values, especially when the dataset of local earthquakes is not abundant. We utilize this method for local earthquake waveforms at 14 borehole seismic stations in the North China basin, and obtain $$Q_S^{ - 1}$$ values in 2 ∼ 10 Hz frequency band, as well as average $${V_P}$$, $${V_S}$$ and $${V_P}/{\rm{\;}}{V_S}$$ ratio for shallow sediments deep to a few hundred meters. Results suggest that $$Q_S^{ - 1}$$ values are to 0.01∼0.06, and generally decrease with frequency. The average attenuation structure of shallow sediments within the depth of a few hundred meters beneath 14 borehole stations in the North China basin can be modeled as $$Q_S^{ - 1} = 0.056{f^{ - 0.61}}$$. It is generally consistent with the attenuation structure of sedimentary basins in other areas, such as Mississippi Embayment sediments in the United States and Sendai basin in Japan. Seismic attenuation, Earthquake ground motions, Sedimentary basin processes, Time series analysis © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal Astronomical Society. This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/about_us/legal/notices)

### Journal

Geophysical Journal InternationalOxford University Press

Published: Jun 7, 2018

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