Earth-shaking J. LEAGUE supporters

Abstract

We conducted temporary seismic observations at the Hitachi-Kashiwa Soccer Stadium on a J. LEAGUE game day to obtain unique seismic records due to the collective action (i.e., jumping) of supporters, which were also recorded in a permanent Metropolitan Seismic Observation network (MeSO-net) station. This study investigated seismic wave excitation as well as seismic wave propagation from the stadium to its surroundings. The rhythms of the jumps of the supporters were characterized by analyzing audio data recorded in the stadium, which were compared with the characteristic frequencies observed in the seismic records. The characteristic frequencies in the seismic records are integer multiples of the jumping rhythms, which is consistent with the loading model of jumping people proposed in earlier studies. This implies that seismometers could be useful for monitoring collective human activity. Travel times were studied using deconvolved waveforms because seismic waves generated by the supporters are sinusoidal with vague onset. Polarization analysis was performed to measure the amplitude and polarization azimuths. The observed seismic wave propagation was compared with synthetic waveforms calculated using one-dimensional physical properties based on the Japan Seismic Hazard Information Station (J-SHIS). The synthetic waveforms calculated with the shallow and deep layer combined model are more consistent with observations of travel times and amplitude decay than those calculated with the only deep layer model, although a part of the observations cannot be explained by both models. This result suggests that the subsurface structure of J-SHIS is good in this region, although a more detailed three-dimensional structure and topography must be considered to fully explain the observations. As human-induced seismic signals are expected to be generated in various situations, this study shows that such unique seismic waves can be used as an artificial seismic source for validating and improving local shallow subsurface structural models in urban environments. Graphical Abstract