Source separation on seismic data : application in a geophysical setting

Abstract

This article gives a brief description of the Degenerate Unmixing Estimation Technique (DUET) and applies it in a geophysical setting. Source separation has not been fully addressed by geophysicists and is a crucial first step to locating simultaneous sources, which in turn helps with understanding the dynamics of the sources and their source mechanisms. DUET is applied to synthetic seismic signals. The source separation method works successfully to separate two contemporary explosive sources, and two simultaneous oblique tensile cracks in a 3D structural model of Mt Etna. The method is also applied to field recordings on Mt Etna from 2008. The method separates Long Period events from tremor, Long Period events from Volcano Tectonic events and different sources of tremor from each other.