Relationships Between Noise and mb Bias Applied to Seismic Station Site Selection and Performance Evaluation.

摘要

An analysis of forty-six stations with known m sub b bias, noise amplitude, and tectonic structure showed that a relationship exists among these three parameters. A wide range of slopes in the relationship of noise magnitude and bias were examined. A slope of one applied to several normal groupings of noise levels provided a precise means of predicting the performance of seismic stations within large geographical areas. This interpretation resulted in three distinct noise zones within interior continental areas, and very high coastal noise zones in other areas. The zones are believed to extend over large geographical areas of the earth, but are not as closely correlated with tectonic province as magnitude bias. This model and others for describing relationships between noise levels and bias were statistically tested with positive results at the 95% or 99% level of confidence. The results of the models and measurements of noise and bias were used to evaluate hypothetical 100 station networks in terms of detection and location capability and bias of network magnitude determinations.