Rotation, Strain, and Translation Sensors Performance Tests with Active Seismic Sources

Area of Science:

• Geophysics
• Seismology
• Instrument Science

Background:

• Growing interest in measuring displacement gradients like rotation and strain in geophysics.
• Urgent demand for reliable, field-deployable instruments for these measurements.
• Need to establish high-quality standards for rotation and strain measurements in seismology.

Purpose of the Study:

• Organize a comparative sensor test experiment.
• Establish a high-quality standard for rotation and strain measurements.
• Evaluate performance of various geophysical sensors.

Main Methods:

• Comparative sensor test experiment at a Geophysical Observatory.
• Involved over 24 diverse sensors (rotational seismometers, strong-motion sensors, ring laser gyroscopes, DAS).
• Two-part experiment: co-located huddle test and field array deployment with explosion and Vibroseis sources.

Main Results:

• Detailed experimental setup and first performance comparison.
• Focus on sensor self-noise, signal-to-noise ratios, and waveform similarities for rotation rate sensors.
• Most sensors exhibited high coherency and waveform similarity between 10-20 Hz for explosion signals.

Conclusions:

• Critical assessment of sensor and experiment design.
• Revealed a significant need for reliable reference sensors in geophysical measurements.
• Identified a narrow frequency range (10-20 Hz) of high sensor performance.