Distributed Acoustic Sensing Based on Microtremor Survey Method for Near-Surface Active Faults Exploration: A Case Study in Datong Basin, China

Abstract

Active fault detection has an important significance for seismic disaster prevention and mitigation in urban areas. The high-density station arrays have the potential to provide a microtremor survey solution for shallow seismic investigations. However, the resolution limitation of the nodal seismometer and small-scale lateral velocity being inhomogeneous hinder their application in near-surface active fault exploration. Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) has been developed rapidly in the past few years; it takes an optical fiber as the sensing medium and signal transmission medium, which can continuously detect vibration over long distances with high spatial resolution and low cost. This paper tried to address the issue of near-surface active fault exploration by using DAS. We selected a normal fault in the southern Datong basin, a graben basin in the Shanxi rift system in north China, to carry out the research. Microtremor surveys across the possible range of the active fault were conducted using DAS and nodal seismometers, so as to obtain a shallow shear wave velocity model. Meanwhile, we applied a Brillouin optical time domain reflectometer (BOTDR) and distributed temperature sensing (DTS) to monitor the real-time fluctuation of ground temperature and strain. Our results show that the resolution of the deep structures of the fault via the microtremor survey based on DAS is lower than that via the seismic reflection; whereas, their fault location is consistent, and the near-surface structure of the fault can be traced in the DAS results. In addition, both the BOTDR and DTS results indicate an apparent consistent change in ground temperature and strain across the fault determined by the DAS result, and the combination of surface monitoring and underground exploration will help to accurately avoid active faults and seismic potential assessment in urban areas.