Earth's free oscillations recorded by free-fall OBS ocean-bottom seismometers at the Lesser Antilles subduction zone

Type Article
Date 2011-12
Language English
Author(s) Becel A.1, 2, Laigle Mireille1, Diaz J.2, Montagner J. -P.1, Hirn A.1
Affiliation(s) 1 : Seismology, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, UMR 7514 CNRS, Paris, France
2 : Institute of Earth Sciences ‘Jaume Almera,’ CSIC, Barcelona, Spain
Source Geophysical Research Letters (0094-8276), 2011-12 , Vol. 38 , N. 24 , P. L24305
DOI 10.1029/2011GL049533
WOS© Times Cited 8
Keyword(s) Lesser Antilles, broadband seismology, free oscillations, ocean bottom seismometers
Abstract Three unburied ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) equipped with Trillium 240 s broad-band seismometers recorded spheroidal free oscillations of the Earth out to periods over 1000 s period, for the M = 8.1, April 1, 2007 Solomon Islands earthquake. In contrast to broadband observatories of the global network that operate in quiet continental locations, these instruments were dropped on the several-km thick layer of sediments of the forearc and accretionary wedge of the Lesser Antilles subduction zone. Furthermore, a high ambient noise level due to the ocean surface infragravity waves is expected to cover the frequency band of Earth's normal modes band when recorded at these sites. In spite of these hostile environmental conditions, the frequency of clearly defined peaks of the Earth's normal modes were measured after the earthquake. This suggests that the recording of normal modes and long period waves can be extended to parts of the hitherto inaccessible ocean with currently available OBS technology.
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