SPIN · Seismological Parameters and INstrumentation

Seismological Parameters and INstrumentation

We now understand that seismic wavefields alter the material when they pass through it and that these changes are measurable. Traditional seismic sensors - seismometer networks - provide us with high time resolution, but sparse spatial resolution. Right now, new sensing technologies (DAS, large N arrays, rotation sensors) are emerging that can give us much more detailed spatial information about how the seismic wavefield behaves. This means that we can study changes in local material properties, and investigate complex behaviour of materials as they deform under small strain. These sensing technologies open a new era of observations for which new skills need to be developed. In SPIN, we train a new generation of scientists to develop novel views about the dynamic behaviour of Earth materials, and in particular how to observe them with the revolutionary new sensing systems at hand. This research and training will impact the way we understand solid Earth processes, how we interrogate the Earth’s geomechanical behavior, and the way we forecast natural hazards. The new instrumentation and their application are important, because dynamic material behaviour affects our societies: geomaterial alterations are associated with many natural hazards, such as volcanic eruptions, landslides, earthquakes, and the changing health status of civil structures such as bridges and buildings. The overarching goal of the SPIN network is to make a major advance in Earth science by fully integrating the latest ground-motion sensing technology and training a new generation of unique researchers who can incorporate new sensor types into widespread, societally-relevant applications. Broken down into work packages the SPIN research objectives are ■ Implement high-quality complete ground motion measurements with new sensing technology for the full range of seismological applications (WP1) ■ Develop models of wave propagation that extend to the nonlinear and transient elastic properties of micro-inhomogeneous materials under low strain, and characterize these nonclassical effects (WP2) ■ Develop novel theory to design experiments and hazard monitoring systems using the new sensing technologies, optimizing ‘heterogeneous’ sensor networks that combine different instrumentation types (WP3) ■ Demonstrate the full impact of the new concepts for observation, instrumentation and interpretation on applications in different hazard settings in volcanology, earthquake physics, structural health monitoring, hazard early warning and permafrost monitoring (WP4)

Data: CORDIS, © European Union