Simon C. Stähler

Monitoring stress changes in a concrete bridge with coda wave interferometry

Coda wave interferometry is a recent analysis method now widely used in seismology. It uses the increased sensitivity of multiply scattered elastic waves with long travel-times for monitoring weak changes in a medium. While its application for structural monitoring has been shown to work under laboratory conditions, the usability on a real structure with known material changes had yet to be proven. This article presents experiments on a concrete bridge during construction. The results show that small velocity perturbations induced by a changing stress state in the structure can be determined even under adverse conditions. Theoretical estimations based on the stress calculations by the structural engineers are in good agreement with the measured velocity variations.

On-demand custom broadband synthetic seismograms

ABSTRACT We present a new webservice, Syngine, running at the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Data Management Center (IRIS‐DMC), that offers on‐demand and custom‐tailored seismograms served over HTTP. The free service produces full seismic waveforms, including effects like attenuation and anisotropy, that are calculated in commonly used spherically symmetric Earth models (preliminary reference Earth model [PREM], ak135‐f, IASP91). Users can freely adjust sources and receivers, retrieve seismograms from finite sources, convolve with arbitrary source time functions, and download Green’s functions suitable for moment tensor inversions. Syngine extracts and processes seismograms in as fast as fractions of a second, making it suitable for applications demanding short iteration times and a large number of waveforms. For the first time, researchers without large computational resources or specialized knowledge can easily access high‐quality, custom, broadband seismograms. In this article, we present the rational and basic principles of our method, including its limitations. Additionally, we demonstrate the features of Syngine and the included Earth models, showcase several applications, and discuss future possibilities.

Structural monitoring of a highway bridge using passive noise recordings from street traffic.

Structural damage on bridges presents a hazard to public safety and can lead to fatalities. This article contributes to the development of an alternative monitoring system for civil structures, based on passive measurements of seismic elastic waves. Cross-correlations of traffic noise recorded at geophone receiver pairs were found to be sufficiently stable for comparison and sensitive to velocity changes in the medium. As such velocity variations could be caused by damage, their detection would be valuable in structural health monitoring systems. A method, originally introduced for seismological applications and named Passive Image Interferometry, was used to quantify small velocity fluctuations in the medium and thereby observe structural changes. Evaluation of more than 2 months of continuous geophone recordings at a reinforced concrete bridge yielded velocity variations Δv/v in the range of -1.5% to +2.1%. The observed fluctuations correlate with associated temperature time series with a striking resemblance which is remarkable for two completely independent data sets. Using a linear regression approach, a relationship between temperature and velocity variations of on average 0.064% °C(-1) can be identified. This value corresponds well to other studies on concrete structures.

Geophysical Investigations of Habitability in Ice‐Covered Ocean Worlds

Geophysical measurements can reveal the structure of icy ocean worlds and cycling of volatiles. The associated density, temperature, sound speed, and electrical conductivity of such worlds thus characterizes their habitability. To explore the variability and correlation of these parameters, and to provide tools for planning and data analyses, we develop 1-D calculations of internal structure, which use available constraints on the thermodynamics of aqueous MgSO

Seismic Wave Propagation in Icy Ocean Worlds

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Expected seismicity and the seismic noise environment of Europa

, NaCl (as seawater), and NH

Vital Signs: Seismology of Icy Ocean Worlds

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A Self‐Noise Model for the German DEPAS OBS Pool

, water ices, and silicate content. Limits in available thermodynamic data narrow the parameter space that can be explored: insufficient coverage in pressure, temperature, and composition for end-member salinities of MgSO

Requirements Engineering for Computational Seismology Software

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AxiSEM: broadband 3-D seismic wavefields in axisymmetric media

and NaCl, and for relevant water ices; and a dearth of suitable data for aqueous mixtures of Na-Mg-Cl-SO