Perspectives on transportable array Alaska background noise levels

By: , and 
Edited by: Natalia G. RuppertM. Jadamec, and Jeffery T. Freymueller

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Abstract

Background seismic noise fundamentally sets a lower bound on our ability to record signals arising from earthquakes. The background noise spectrum at a station is a combination of cultural noise, ocean-generated microseism noise, intrinsic instrument self-noise, and the sensitivity of the instrument to nonseismic noise sources. The USArray-Transportable Array Alaska deployed 195 stations across Alaska and parts of Canada (Yukon, British Columbia, and Northwest Territories). These stations were all installed using similar techniques and made use of instruments with similar self-noise levels. As such, this network provides an opportunity to look at how geographic location influences seismic background. Using these broadband stations, we report background noise levels from 0.2 to 75 s period in six discrete bands. By constructing “noise maps,” we depict both spatial and temporal changes in the background noise field. Using these maps, combined with targeted analysis, we infer sources and contributing factors to noise levels in these different period bands. These include cultural noise, the formation of sea ice, seasonal changes in permafrost and wave activity in the Gulf of Alaska, and magnetic field variability. We use this study as an opportunity to review several previous studies examining seismic noise in Arctic regions.

Publication type Book chapter
Publication Subtype Book Chapter
Title Perspectives on transportable array Alaska background noise levels
Chapter 2
DOI 10.1002/9781394195947.ch2
Publication Date December 13, 2024
Year Published 2025
Language English
Publisher American Geophysical Union
Contributing office(s) Geologic Hazards Science Center - Seismology / Geomagnetism
Description 30 p.
Larger Work Type Book
Larger Work Subtype Monograph
Larger Work Title Tectonics and seismic structure of Alaska and northwestern Canada: EarthScope and beyond
First page 15
Last page 44
Additional publication details