Discrimination of natural and anthropogenic events by the joint analysis of seismic and infrasound data

The ARISE project is a collaborative infrastructure Design Study project funded by the H2020 European Commission. More than 25 institutes and universities are involved in the project. The CSFK GGI has been an associate member since 2016. The MTA awarded the institute 88 MFt to create research infrastructure by deploying the first infrasound array in Hungary. The Piszkés-tető infrasound array, being the first such station in Hungary represents a vital contribution to the European infrasound network. So far no infrasound research has been carried out in Hungary. One of the objectives of this proposal is to introduce this new discipline to Hungary. Supporting a PhD work and collaboration with leading experts from the Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, France will help us to establish expertise in the field, thus increasing the competitiveness of Hungarian science.
Some 35% of the seismicity in Hungary consists of m an-made events. Thus, to study the geodynamic processes and the tectonics of the country and provide accurate seismic hazard estimates, it is essential to distinguish natural events from anthropogenic ones. Quarry blast and explosions not only generate seismic waves, but also acoustic waves that propagate in the atmosphere as infrasound signals. Such infrasonic waves can travel to large distances. Infrasound arrays are designed to detect such signals, therefore their records, together with the seismic recordings, can be used to identify explosions. The objective of the proposal is to develop new methodologies for the automatic discrimination between earthquakes and explosions by the joint analysis of seismic and infrasound data.