David Wilson
Science and Products
Using component ratios to detect metadata and instrument problems of seismic stations: Examples from 18 years of GEOSCOPE data
Replacement or deterioration of seismic instruments and the evolution of the installation conditions and sites can alter the seismic signal in very subtle ways, so it is notoriously difficult to monitor the signal quality of permanent seismic stations. We present a simple tool, energy ratios between each pair of the three recorded components,...
Pedersen, Helle A.; Leroy, Nicolas; Zigone, Dimitri; Vallée, Martin; Ringler, Adam T.; Wilson, David C. Calibration analysis and noise estimates of WWSSN Station ALQ (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
World-Wide Standardized Seismograph Network (WWSSN) records contain daily calibration pulses that can be used to retrieve the magnification as well as the response of the instrument for a given day record. We analyze a select number of long-period vertical (LPZ) records from WWSSN station ALQ (Albuquerque, New Mexico). While we find that the...
Ringler, Adam T.; Wilson, David C.; Wolin, Emily; Storm, Tyler; Sandoval, L. D. Improvements in seismic resolution and current limitations in the Global Seismographic Network
Station noise levels play a fundamental limitation in our ability to detect seismic signals. These noise levels are frequency-dependent and arise from a number of physically different drivers. At periods greater than 100 s, station noise levels are often limited by the self-noise of the instrument as well as the sensitivity of the instrument to...
Ringler, Adam T.; Steim, J.; Wilson, David C.; Widmer-Schnidrig, R.; Anthony, Robert E. Rapid station and network quality analysis for temporary deployments
Seismic station data quality is commonly defined by metrics such as data completeness or background seismic noise levels in specific frequency bands. However, for temporary networks such as aftershock deployments or induced seismicity monitoring, the most critical metric is often how well the station performs when recording events of interest. A...
Wilson, David C.; Ringler, Adam T.; Storm, Tyler; Anthony, Robert E. Rayleigh wave ellipticity measurement uncertainty across the IRIS/USGS and New China Digital Seismograph Networks
Long-period Rayleigh wave horizontal to vertical amplitude (H/V) ratios at a station provide information about local earth structure that is complementary to phase velocity. However, a number of studies have observed that significant scatter appears in these measurements making it difficult to use H/V ratio measurements to resolve earth structure...
Ringler, Adam T.; Wilson, David C.; Zürn, Walter; Anthony, Robert E. Do low-cost seismographs perform well enough for your network? An overview of laboratory tests and field observations of the OSOP Raspberry Shake 4D
Seismologists have recently begun utilizing low-cost nodal sensors in dense deployments to sample the seismic wavefield at unprecedented spatial resolution. Earthquake Early Warning Systems (EEWS) and other monitoring networks (e.g. wastewater injection) would additionally benefit from network densification; however, current nodal systems lack...
Anthony, Robert E.; Ringler, Adam T.; Wilson, David C.; Wolin, Emily Observations of rotational motions from local earthquakes using two temporary portable sensors in Waynoka, Oklahoma
Characterizing rotational motions from earthquakes at local distances has the potential to improve earthquake engineering and seismic gradiometry by better characterizing the complete seismic wavefield. Applied Technology Associates (ATA) has developed a proto‐seismic magnetohydrodynamic (SMHD) three‐component rotational rate sensor. We deploy two...
Ringler, Adam T.; Anthony, Robert E.; Holland, A.A.; Wilson, David C.; Lin, C.-J. Sensor suite: The Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory Instrumentation Testing Suite
To standardize parameters used in seismometer testing and calibration and to make these algorithms accessible to the seismological community, we have developed a new seismometer testing software package called Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory (ASL) Sensor Test Suite. This software is written in Java and makes use of Seismological Exchange for...
Kearns, A.; Ringler, Adam T.; Holland, James; Storm, Tyler; Wilson, David C.; Anthony, Robert E. Seismic sensors record a hurricane’s roar
The instruments installed at Global Seismographic Network (GSN) stations were designed to record Earth’s vibrations, but they sometimes pick up sound waves from unexpected sources. For example, newly installed infrasound sensors at a station on Puerto Rico recorded the passage of Hurricane Maria on 20 September 2017.
Wilson, David C.; Davis, Peter; Ebeling, Carl; Hutt, Charles R.; Hafner, Katrin Laboratory tests of three Z‐Land Fairfield Nodal 5‐Hz, three‐component sensors
We conduct a number of laboratory tests at the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory to verify the self‐noise and fidelity in which 3 three‐component Fairfield Nodal Z‐Land, Generation 2, 5‐Hz sensors are able to record seismic signals. In addition to the incoherent self‐noise of the sensors, we estimate the sensitivity of the units in digital...
Ringler, Adam T.; Anthony, Robert E.; Karplus, M.S; Holland, Austin; Wilson, David C. The widespread influence of Great Lakes microseisms across the United States revealed by the 2014 polar vortex
During the winter of 2014, a weak polar vortex brought record cold temperatures to the north‐central (“Midwest”) United States, and the Great Lakes reached the highest extent of ice coverage (92.5%) since 1979. This event shut down the generation of seismic signals caused by wind‐driven wave action within the lakes (termed “lake microseisms”),...
Anthony, Robert E.; Ringler, Adam T.; Wilson, David C. Improvements in absolute seismometer sensitivity calibration using local earth gravity measurements
The ability to determine both absolute and relative seismic amplitudes is fundamentally limited by the accuracy and precision with which scientists are able to calibrate seismometer sensitivities and characterize their response. Currently, across the Global Seismic Network (GSN), errors in midband sensitivity exceed 3% at the 95% confidence...
Anthony, Robert E.; Ringler, Adam T.; Wilson, David C.