Project Info
Imaging with correlated random sources
Eileen Martin
eileenrmartin@mines.edu
Project Goals and Description:
Seismologists often use strong sources of mechanical vibration energy (e.g. earthquakes, manmade explosions or controlled vibration sources) to generate data that can be used to image the Earth's subsurface. A newer technique, known as ambient seismic noise interferometry has enabled seismologists to use long recordings of vibrations generated by random vibration sources (following certain assumptions about uniformity and independence) as a source of energy to image the Earth. However, in populated areas and around machinery, we often encounter non-ideal source distributions, including ones with spatially or temporally correlated vibration sources. This can cause artifacts in the ambient noise interferometry results, which ideally should be similar to Green's functions of the wave equation without the presence of these artifacts. Can we still use these non-ideal noises? Can we recover the true Green's function of the wave equation? If so, how?
More Information:
Grand Challenge: Restore and improve urban infrastructure.
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/2015JB011870
https://library.seg.org/doi/full/10.1190/1.3457445
Primary Contacts:
Eileen Martin, eileenrmartin@mines.edu
Student Preparation
Qualifications
Prior coursework or reading required to begin this project: an introduction to probability, a course in partial differential equations, a course involving programming
TIME COMMITMENT (HRS/WK)
4
SKILLS/TECHNIQUES GAINED
Improved understanding of stochastic processes, partial differential equations, and ability to model these computationally.
MENTORING PLAN
I meet weekly with the full research group (we do round table discussions and informal presentations), meet weekly with each undergrad researcher, and assign a grad student co-mentor to provide a secondary perspective (and near-to-peer mentoring perspective about grad student experience)
PREFERRED STUDENT STATUS
Junior
Senior