Source

mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic

Source mechanisms and direction of rupture

events

Ernest C. Lötter

Overview propagation for microseismic events

Time domain
potency tensor

Rupture Models
Ernest C. Lötter
Wave Field
Imaging
ISS International Limited
Future work

25 November 2009

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Contents

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
1 Overview
events

Time domain potency tensor

Ernest C. Lötter
2
Overview

Rupture Models
Time domain
potency tensor 3
Rupture Models

Wave Field Imaging

Wave Field
Imaging 4
Future work

5 Future work

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Objectives of ISSI research

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events

Ernest C. Lötter
Improve modelling and quantication of seismic sources.
Overview Using accelerometer data close to sources, derivation of
Time domain
potency tensor
the direction of rupture propagation.
Rupture Models Does rupture propagate away from or towards stopes
Wave Field and other underground openings?
Imaging

Future work

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Source
Recent work, reported on at RaSiM 7, has led to an
mechanisms and
direction of
implementation of a time-domain potency tensor
rupture
propagation for
routine.
Allows solution of asynchronous point sources from
microseismic
events

Ernest C. Lötter geophone and accelerometer recordings.

Allows simultaneous solution of multiple asynchronous
point sources - extended sources consisting of a small
Overview

number of point sources.

Time domain
potency tensor

Rupture Models

Wave Field A linear system is constructed after linearisation of the

Imaging
near, intermediate and far-eld terms of the Green's
Future work
function convolution u (x , t ) = Ppq (t ) ∗ Gnp,q for a
homogeneous medium.
Why potency P instead of seismic moment M = µP ?
Ampuero & Dahlen (2005)
Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for
 Example #1
Synthetic Haskell Strike-Slip Source (SDR = 0, 90, 0)

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events

Ernest C. Lötter

Overview

Time domain
potency tensor

Rupture Models

Wave Field
Imaging

Future work

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Example #1
Synthetic Haskell Strike-Slip Source(SDR = 0, 90, 0)

Source
mechanisms and
Time-dependent Potency Tensor Components
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events
0.4 Pxx
Ernest C. Lötter
Pxy
Pxz
Potency [m ]

Overview 0.3
3

Time domain
potency tensor
Pyy
0.2 Pyz
Rupture Models

Wave Field Pzz

Imaging 0.1
Future work

0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02

Time [s]

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Example #1
Synthetic Haskell Strike-Slip Source (SDR = 0, 90, 0)

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events

Ernest C. Lötter

Overview

Time domain
potency tensor

Rupture Models

Wave Field
Imaging

Future work

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Example #1
Synthetic Haskell Strike-Slip Source (SDR = 0, 90, 0)

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events

Ernest C. Lötter
Negligible isotropic component present
Overview Dierence in plateau level for inverted Pxy (∞) and
Time domain expected source is small enough to be explained by
directivity of the source
potency tensor

Rupture Models

Wave Field Dierence in strike angle is negligible.

Imaging

Future work

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Example #2
Event (log P = 1.9 × 10−1 ) at Australian mine

Source
mechanisms and
direction of 100
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events
Potency Rate [m /s]
Ernest C. Lötter
0
3

Overview

Time domain
potency tensor
-100 Pxx
Rupture Models
Pxy
Wave Field
Imaging Pxz
Future work
Pyy
-200 Pyz
Pzz

0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02

Time [s]
Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for
 Example #2
Event (log P = 1.9 × 10−1 ) at Australian mine

Source
mechanisms and
direction of 0.05
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events

Ernest C. Lötter
0
Potency [m ]
3

Overview

Time domain
potency tensor

-0.05
Rupture Models

Wave Field
Imaging

Future work
-0.1

0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025

Time [s]

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Example #2
Event (log P = 1.9 × 10−1 ) at Australian mine

Source
mechanisms and
Synthetics vs Observed
direction of

Ground Motion (Acceleration) [m/s^2]

rupture
propagation for Observed South
microseismic
events
1 Observed West
Observed Down
Ernest C. Lötter
Synthetic South
Overview 0.5 Synthetic West
Time domain
Synthetic Down
potency tensor

Rupture Models 0
Wave Field
Imaging

Future work -0.5

-1

0 0.02 0.04 0.06

Time Relative to P arrival [s]
Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for
 Objectives

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events

Ernest C. Lötter
An initial aim was to nd identiable stopping phases in
high-frequency accelerometer traces.
This would allow location of the starting and stopping
Overview

phases of rupture, yielding directivity.

Time domain
potency tensor

Unfortunately, no clear cases could be found - potential

Rupture Models

candidates often occurred during blasting sequences.

Wave Field
Imaging

Future work

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Implementation
Example of blasting sequence with multi-phase picks

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events

Ernest C. Lötter

Overview

Time domain
potency tensor

Rupture Models

Wave Field
Imaging

Future work

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Example Event
Australian Mine, m=0.5 event triggering 25 stations

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events

Ernest C. Lötter

Overview

Time domain
potency tensor

Rupture Models

Wave Field
Imaging

Future work

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Pulse widths
Using pulse widths of initial P and S pulses to derive properties of source
directivity

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture

For a circular crack rupturing at a constant velocity Vr

propagation for
microseismic

from its center radially outwards (disregarding Q )

events

Ernest C. Lötter

L L
4 T0 = + sin θ
Overview

Time domain
potency tensor
Vr V
Rupture Models
where 4T0 is the observed pulse width, L the nal
Wave Field
Imaging
crack radius, V the phase velocity and θ the take-o
Future work angle between the crack surface and the site direction
vector.

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Pulse widths
Unilateral rupture for Example Event A, various Vr

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture

Unilateral rupture from a known point of initiation for a

propagation for
microseismic

nite length L.
events

Ernest C. Lötter

The resulting pulse width is

Overview

L L
4 T W ,i = − cos ψi + Tr
Time domain

Vr V
potency tensor

Rupture Models

Wave Field
Imaging where V is either the P or S-wave velocity, Tr the rise
Future work time and ψi is the angle between the hypocentral
direction to center and rupture direction.

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Pulse widths
Unilateral rupture for Example Event A, various Vr

Source
mechanisms and
direction of

Using the reciprocal of corner frequency as proxy for Tr

rupture
propagation for

and estimating L from the Brune circular fault model,

microseismic
events

Ernest C. Lötter
we can dene the cost function
L L 1 
Overview
 
C (χ) = ∑ ∑ 4TW ,i − + cos ψi − W  ,

Time domain
potency tensor
W i V r V f0
Rupture Models

Wave Field summing over both W = P and W = S .

Imaging

Future work
This can be applied after automatically or manually
picking pulse widths (single periods) of the P- and
S-wave arrivals.

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Pulse widths
Unilateral rupture for Example Event, various Vr

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events
For each rupture velocity so that Vr /VS ∈ [0.4, 0.95],
Ernest C. Lötter
the resulting slip vector is parallel to within a few
Overview degrees of a strike of 225 degrees and a plunge angle of
Time domain
potency tensor
73 degrees, corresponding to predominantly upwards
Rupture Models
rupture in a northeasterly direction.
Wave Field This corresponds reasonably with one of the fault planes
obtained using P-wave rst motions.
Imaging

Future work

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Pulse widths
Focal mechanism for Event A, with candidate fault plane at strike=207,
dip = 84

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events

Ernest C. Lötter

Overview

Time domain
potency tensor

Rupture Models

Wave Field
Imaging

Future work

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Kirchho Reconstruction

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events

Ernest C. Lötter
The so-called brightness method is a reverse-time
Overview imaging method that illuminates points in space and
Time domain time for which future observations at recording sites are
potency tensor
coherent (i.e. correlate well).
Rupture Models

Wave Field
For references, see Kao & Shan (2004)
Imaging

Future work

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Kirchho Reconstruction

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
We dene
1 N
events

K (x, t ) = Wi (t + τ (x, si ))
N i∑
Ernest C. Lötter

Overview =1

where
Time domain
potency tensor

Rupture Models
the sum is over the N recording sites,
Wave Field
τ (x, si ) is the travel time from the point in space x to
the i th sensor site at si , and
Imaging

Wi (t ) is an enveloped, normalised non-negative

Future work

amplitude of the i th seismogram at time t .

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Kirchho Reconstruction

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events
In our implementation of the brightness function, we
Ernest C. Lötter
superimpose KP (x, t ) and KS (x, t ), the brightnesses
Overview using respectively P- and S-wave velocities.
Time domain
potency tensor Also, averaging in the expression for KW (x, t ) is
Rupture Models replaced by calculating medians, and a minimum
Wave Field number of individual wave amplitudes exceeding a given
threshold (say 0.01) - thus reducing computational cost.
Imaging

Future work

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Kirchho Reconstruction
Application to Example Event

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events
After locating the 25 station event only using P arrivals,
we choose a 256m x 256m x 256m cube with center at
Ernest C. Lötter

Overview the obtained event hypocenter.

Time domain
potency tensor Using 2m resolution in each axial direction, we generate
Rupture Models snapshots of the brightness eld at 10 ms intervals,
Wave Field starting 0.01 seconds before t0 , and ending 0.03
seconds after t0 .
Imaging

Future work

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Kirchho Reconstruction
Application to Example Event

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
Colour Scheme
Red : P-wave brightness
microseismic
events

Ernest C. Lötter
Blue : S-wave brightness
Overview Green-White : P- and/or S-wave brightness exceeding
Time domain
potency tensor
threshold of 0.75.

2D Projections
Rupture Models

Wave Field
Imaging
South-West (XY)
Future work

South-Down (XZ)
West-Down (YZ)

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Kirchho Reconstruction
Application to Example Event

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events

Ernest C. Lötter
No noticable direction of rupture visible on the
horizontal (XY) plane.
Overview

Time domain
Upwards direction of rupture visible in XZ and YZ
potency tensor
planes.
This corresponds well with the result obtained using
Rupture Models

pulse widths for this event.

Wave Field
Imaging

Future work

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Kirchho Reconstruction
Application to Example Event, 3D Principal Component Analysis

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events
Considering all spatial points which exceeded a
Ernest C. Lötter brightness of 0.75 at some time during the source
history:
We perform a 3D PCA, obtaining a dominant
Overview

eigenvalue 4 times as large as the second largest

Time domain
potency tensor

Rupture Models
eigenvalue
Wave Field Dominant eigenvector (E,N,U)=(-0.249,0.187,0.950)
Imaging
Indicates a mostly vertical source geometry, as
Future work
expected.

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Kirchho Reconstruction
Application to Example Event, 4D Principal Component Analysis

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events Considering all spatial-temporal points which exceed a
Ernest C. Lötter brightness of 0.75:
We perform a 4D PCA, obtaining a dominant
eigenvalue more than 4 times as large as the second
Overview

largest eigenvalue.
Time domain
potency tensor

Rupture Models Dominant eigenvector (E,N,U,t)=(-0.258, 0.177, 0.949,

Wave Field 60.651×10−6 ).
Imaging
Indicates a mostly vertical source geometry and
Future work
direction of rupture propagation.

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for

 Avenues for Future Work

Source
mechanisms and
direction of
rupture
propagation for
microseismic
events

Ernest C. Lötter
Using Brightness/Kirchho reconstruction should be
Overview applied to more cases, and be compared to results from
Time domain higher-order moment/potency tensor solutions.
potency tensor

Rupture Models
Availability of a higher-order moment/potency tensor
Wave Field
implementation for routine microseismic applications.
Imaging

Future work

Ernest C. Lötter Source mechanisms and direction of rupture propagation for