Partitioning of Seismoacoustic Energy and Estimation of Yield and Height-of-Burst/Depth-of-Burial for Near-Surface Explosions

Abstract

Research Article| March 25, 2014 Partitioning of Seismoacoustic Energy and Estimation of Yield and Height‐of‐Burst/Depth‐of‐Burial for Near‐Surface Explosions Sean R. Ford; Sean R. Ford aAtmospheric, Earth and Energy Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California [e-mail] Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Arthur J. Rodgers; Arthur J. Rodgers aAtmospheric, Earth and Energy Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California [e-mail] Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Heming Xu; Heming Xu aAtmospheric, Earth and Energy Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California [e-mail] *Now at High Performance Geocomputing Laboratory, San Diego Supercomputer Center, La Jolla, California 92093. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Dennise C. Templeton; Dennise C. Templeton aAtmospheric, Earth and Energy Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California [e-mail] Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Philip Harben; Philip Harben aAtmospheric, Earth and Energy Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California [e-mail] Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar William Foxall; William Foxall aAtmospheric, Earth and Energy Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California [e-mail] †Now at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94583. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Robert E. Reinke Robert E. Reinke bDefense Threat Reduction Agency, Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87117 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Sean R. Ford aAtmospheric, Earth and Energy Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California [e-mail] Arthur J. Rodgers aAtmospheric, Earth and Energy Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California [e-mail] Heming Xu *Now at High Performance Geocomputing Laboratory, San Diego Supercomputer Center, La Jolla, California 92093. aAtmospheric, Earth and Energy Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California [e-mail] Dennise C. Templeton aAtmospheric, Earth and Energy Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California [e-mail] Philip Harben aAtmospheric, Earth and Energy Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California [e-mail] William Foxall †Now at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94583. aAtmospheric, Earth and Energy Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California [e-mail] Robert E. Reinke bDefense Threat Reduction Agency, Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87117 Publisher: Seismological Society of America First Online: 14 Jul 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-3573 Print ISSN: 0037-1106 Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (2014) 104 (2): 608–623. https://doi.org/10.1785/0120130130 Article history First Online: 14 Jul 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Sean R. Ford, Arthur J. Rodgers, Heming Xu, Dennise C. Templeton, Philip Harben, William Foxall, Robert E. Reinke; Partitioning of Seismoacoustic Energy and Estimation of Yield and Height‐of‐Burst/Depth‐of‐Burial for Near‐Surface Explosions. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 2014;; 104 (2): 608–623. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/0120130130 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyBulletin of the Seismological Society of America Search Advanced Search Abstract Explosions near the Earth’s surface excite both seismic ground motions and atmospheric overpressure. The energy transferred to the ground and atmosphere from a near‐surface explosion depends on yield (W) as well as the height‐of‐burst/depth‐of‐burial (HOB/DOB) for above/belowground emplacements. We report analyses of seismic and overpressure motions from the Humble Redwood series of low‐yield, near‐surface chemical explosions with the aim of developing quantitative models of energy partitioning and a methodology to estimate W and HOB/DOB. The effects of yield, HOB, and range on amplitudes can be cast into separable functions of range and HOB scaled by yield. We find that displacement of the initial P wave and the integral of the positive overpressure (impulse) are diagnostic of W and HOB with minimal scatter. An empirical model describing the dependence of seismic and air‐blast measurements on W, HOB/DOB, and range is determined and model parameters are found by regression. We find seismic amplitudes for explosions of a given yield emplaced at or above the surface are reduced by a factor of 3 relative to fully contained explosions below ground. Air‐blast overpressure is reduced more dramatically, with impulse reduced by a factor of 100 for deeply buried explosions relative to surface blasts. Our signal models are used to invert seismic and overpressure measurements for W and HOB and we find good agreement (W errors <30%, HOB within meters) with ground‐truth values for four noncircular validation tests. Although there is a trade‐off between W and HOB for a single seismic or overpressure measurement, the use of both measurement types allows us to largely break this trade‐off and better constrain W and HOB. However, both models lack resolution of HOB for aboveground explosions. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.