Improvement of coda phase detectability and reconstruction of global seismic data using frequency-wavenumber methods

Abstract

Due to uneven earthquake source and receiver distributions, our abilities to isolate weak signals from interfering phases and reconstruct missing data are fundamental to improving the resolution of seismic imaging techniques. In this study, we introduce a modified frequency- wavenumber (fk) domain based approach using a 'Projection Onto Convex Sets' (POCS) algorithm. POCS takes advantage of the sparsity of the dominating energies of phase arrivals in the fk domain, which enables an effective detection and reconstruction of the weak seismic signals. Moreover, our algorithm utilizes the 2-D Fourier transform to perform noise removal, interpolation and weak-phase extraction. To improve the directional resolution of the reconstructed data, we introduce a band-stop 2-D Fourier filter to remove the energy of unwanted, interfering phases in the fk domain, which significantly increases the robustness of the signal of interest. The effectiveness and benefits of this method are clearly demonstrated using both simulated and actual broadband recordings of PP precursors from an array located in Tanzania. When used properly, this method could significantly enhance the resolution of weak crust and mantle seismic phases.