Laser-Interferometric Broadband Seismometer for Epicenter Location Estimation

Sensors (Basel). 2017 Oct 23;17(10):2423. doi: 10.3390/s17102423.

Abstract

In this paper, we suggest a seismic signal measurement system that uses a laser interferometer. The heterodyne laser interferometer is used as a seismometer due to its high accuracy and robustness. Seismic data measured by the laser interferometer is used to analyze crucial earthquake characteristics. To measure P-S time more precisely, the short time Fourier transform and instantaneous frequency estimation methods are applied to the intensity signal ( I y ) of the laser interferometer. To estimate the epicenter location, the range difference of arrival algorithm is applied with the P-S time result. The linear matrix equation of the epicenter localization can be derived using P-S time data obtained from more than three observatories. We prove the performance of the proposed algorithm through simulation and experimental results.

Keywords: STA/LTA; epicenter localization; laser interferometer; range difference of arrival; seismic wave.