Identification of blasting sources in the Dobrogea seismogenic region, Romania using seismo-acoustic signals

Publication date: Available online 20 May 2016 Source:Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C Author(s): Daniela Ghica, Bogdan Grecu, Mihaela Popa, Mircea Radulian In order to discriminate between quarry blasts and earthquakes observed in the Dobrogea seismogenic region, a seismo-acoustic analysis was performed on 520 events listed in the updated Romanian seismic catalogue from January 2011 to December 2012. During this time interval, 104 seismo-acoustic events observed from a distance between 110 and 230 km and backazimuth interval of 110 to 160 degrees from the IPLOR infrasound array were identified as explosions by associating with infrasonic signals. WinPMCC software for interactive analysis was applied to detect and characterize infrasonic signals in terms of backazimuth, speed and frequency content. The measured and expected values of both backazimuths and arrival times for the study events were compared in order to identify the sources of infrasound. Two predominant directions for seismo-acoustic sources’ aligning were observed, corresponding to the northern and central parts of Dobrogea, and these directions are further considered as references in the process of discriminating explosions from earthquakes. A predominance of high-frequency detections (above 1 Hz) is also observed in the infrasound data. The strong influence of seasonally dependent stratospheric winds on the IPLOR detection capability limits the efficiency of the discrimination proc...
Source: Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts ABC - Category: Science Source Type: research