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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seismometer | 6/6 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seismometer | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:43:56.624148+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Interconnected seismometers === Seismometers spaced in a seismic array can also be used to precisely locate, in three dimensions, the source of an earthquake, using the time it takes for seismic waves to propagate away from the hypocenter, the initiating point of fault rupture (See also Earthquake location). Interconnected seismometers are also used, as part of the International Monitoring System to detect underground nuclear test explosions, as well as for Earthquake early warning systems. These seismometers are often used as part of a large-scale governmental or scientific project, but some organizations such as the Quake-Catcher Network, can use residential size detectors built into computers to detect earthquakes as well. In reflection seismology, an array of seismometers image sub-surface features. The data are reduced to images using algorithms similar to tomography. The data reduction methods resemble those of computer-aided tomographic medical imaging X-ray machines (CAT-scans), or imaging sonars. A worldwide array of seismometers can actually image the interior of the Earth in wave-speed and transmissivity. This type of system uses events such as earthquakes, impact events or nuclear explosions as wave sources. The first efforts at this method used manual data reduction from paper seismograph charts. Modern digital seismograph records are better adapted to direct computer use. With inexpensive seismometer designs and internet access, amateurs and small institutions have even formed a "public seismograph network". Seismographic systems used for petroleum or other mineral exploration historically used an explosive and a wireline of geophones unrolled behind a truck. Now most short-range systems use "thumpers" that hit the ground, and some small commercial systems have such good digital signal processing that a few sledgehammer strikes provide enough signal for short-distance refractive surveys. Exotic cross or two-dimensional arrays of geophones are sometimes used to perform three-dimensional reflective imaging of subsurface features. Basic linear refractive geomapping software (once a black art) is available off-the-shelf, running on laptop computers, using strings as small as three geophones. Some systems now come in an 18" (0.5 m) plastic field case with a computer, display and printer in the cover. Small seismic imaging systems are now sufficiently inexpensive to be used by civil engineers to survey foundation sites, locate bedrock, and find subsurface water.
=== Fiber optic cables as seismometers === A new technique for detecting earthquakes has been found, using fiber optic cables. In 2016 a team of metrologists running frequency metrology experiments in England observed noise with a wave-form resembling the seismic waves generated by earthquakes. This was found to match seismological observations of an Mw6.0 earthquake in Italy, ~1400 km away. Further experiments in England, Italy, and with a submarine fiber optic cable to Malta detected additional earthquakes, including one 4,100 km away, and an ML3.4 earthquake 89 km away from the cable. Seismic waves are detectable because they cause micrometer-scale changes in the length of the cable. As the length changes so does the time it takes a packet of light to traverse to the far end of the cable and back (using a second fiber). Using ultra-stable metrology-grade lasers, these extremely minute shifts of timing (on the order of femtoseconds) appear as phase-changes. The point of the cable first disturbed by an earthquake's p wave (essentially a sound wave in rock) can be determined by sending packets in both directions in the looped pair of optical fibers; the difference in the arrival times of the first pair of perturbed packets indicates the distance along the cable. This point is also the point closest to the earthquake's epicenter, which should be on a plane perpendicular to the cable. The difference between the P wave/S wave arrival times provides a distance (under ideal conditions), constraining the epicenter to a circle. A second detection on a non-parallel cable is needed to resolve the ambiguity of the resulting solution. Additional observations constrain the location of the earthquake's epicenter, and may resolve the depth. This technique is expected to be a boon in observing earthquakes, especially the smaller ones, in vast portions of the global ocean where there are no seismometers, and at much lower cost than ocean-bottom seismometers.
=== Deep-Learning === Researchers at Stanford University created a deep-learning algorithm called UrbanDenoiser which can detect earthquakes, particularly in urban cities. The algorithm filters out the background noise from the seismic noise gathered from busy cities in urban areas to detect earthquakes.
== Recording ==
Today, the most common recorder is a computer with an analog-to-digital converter, a disk drive and an internet connection; for amateurs, a PC with a sound card and associated software is adequate. Most systems record continuously, but some record only when a signal is detected, as shown by a short-term increase in the variation of the signal, compared to its long-term average (which can vary slowly because of changes in seismic noise), also known as a STA/LTA trigger. Prior to the availability of digital processing of seismic data in the late 1970s, the records were done in a few different forms on different types of media. A "Helicorder" drum was a device used to record data into photographic paper or in the form of paper and ink. A "Develocorder" was a machine that record data from up to 20 channels into a 16-mm film. The recorded film can be viewed by a machine. The reading and measuring from these types of media can be done by hand. After the digital processing has been used, the archives of the seismic data were recorded in magnetic tapes. Due to the deterioration of older magnetic tape medias, large number of waveforms from the archives are not recoverable.
== See also == Accelerometer Galitzine, Boris Borisovich Geophone Inge Lehmann IRIS Consortium John Milne Pacific Northwest Seismic Network Plate tectonics Quake-Catcher Network Wood-Anderson seismometer
== References ==
== External links ==
The history of early seismometers The Lehman amateur seismograph, from Scientific American Archived 2009-02-04 at the Wayback Machine- not designed for calibrated measurement. Sean Morrisey's professional design of an amateur teleseismograph Also see Keith Payea's version Both accessed 2010-9-29 Morrissey was a professional seismographic instrument engineer. This superior design uses a zero-length spring to achieve a 60-second period, active feedback and a uniquely convenient variable reluctance differential transducer, with parts scavenged from a hardware store. The frequency transform is carefully designed, unlike most amateur instruments. Morrisey is deceased, but the site remains up as a public service. SeisMac Archived 2010-03-06 at the Wayback Machine is a free tool for recent Macintosh laptop computers that implements a real-time three-axis seismograph. The Development Of Very-Broad-Band Seismography: Quanterra And The Iris Collaboration Archived 2016-08-10 at the Wayback Machine discusses the history of development of the primary technology in global earthquake research. Video of seismograph at Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – on Flickr – retrieved on 2009-06-15. Seismoscope – Research References 2012 Iris EDU – How Does A Seismometer Work? Seismometers, seismographs, seismograms – what's the difference? How do they work? – USGS