Earth-shaking J. LEAGUE supporters.

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.

Two-step seismic noise reduction caused by COVID-19 induced reduction in social activity in metropolitan Tokyo, Japan.

The COVID-19 pandemic that started at the end of 2019 forced populations around the world to reduce social and economic activities; it is believed that this can prevent the spread of the disease. In this paper, we report an analysis of the seismic noise during such an induced social activity reduction in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Japan. Using seismic data obtained from 18 stations in the Metropolitan Seismic Observation Network (MeSO-net), a two-step seismic noise reduction was observed during the timeline of COVID-19 in Tokyo. The first noise reduction occurred at the beginning of March 2020 in the frequency band of 20-40 Hz. This corresponded with the request by the Prime Minister of Japan for a nationwide shutdown of schools. Although social activity was not reduced significantly at this juncture, local reduction of seismic wave excitation in the high-frequency band, 20-40 Hz, was recorded at some MeSO-net stations located in school properties. The second reduction of seismic noise occurred at the end of March to the beginning of April 2020 in a wider frequency band including lower frequency bands of 1-20 Hz. This timing corresponds to when the Governors of the Tokyo metropolitan area requested citizens to stay home and when the state of emergency was declared for the Tokyo metropolitan area by the government, respectively. Since then, the estimated population at train stations abruptly dropped, which suggests that social activity was severely reduced. Such large-scale changes in social activity affect the seismic noise level in low-frequency bands. The seismic noise level started to increase from the middle of May correlating with increase in population at the train stations. This suggests that social activity restarted even before the state of emergency was lifted at the end of May. The two-step seismic noise reduction observed in this study has not been reported in other cities around the world. Unexpected reduction of social activity due to COVID-19 provided a rare opportunity to investigate the characteristics of seismic noise caused by human activities.

Ambient seismic wave field.

The ambient seismic wave field, also known as ambient noise, is excited by oceanic gravity waves primarily. This can be categorized as seismic hum (1-20 mHz), primary microseisms (0.02-0.1 Hz), and secondary microseisms (0.1-1 Hz). Below 20 mHz, pressure fluctuations of ocean infragravity waves reach the abyssal floor. Topographic coupling between seismic waves and ocean infragravity waves at the abyssal floor can explain the observed shear traction sources. Below 5 mHz, atmospheric disturbances may also contribute to this excitation. Excitation of primary microseisms can be attributed to topographic coupling between ocean swell and seismic waves on subtle undulation of continental shelves. Excitation of secondary microseisms can be attributed to non-linear forcing by standing ocean swell at the sea surface in both pelagic and coastal regions. Recent developments in source location based on body-wave microseisms enable us to estimate forcing quantitatively. For a comprehensive understanding, we must consider the solid Earth, the ocean, and the atmosphere as a coupled system.

Global fast-traveling tsunamis driven by atmospheric Lamb waves on the 2022 Tonga eruption.

On 15 January 2022, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted, producing tsunamis worldwide including first waves which arrived more than 2 hours earlier than what is expected for conventional tsunamis. We investigated the generation and propagation mechanisms of the tsunami "forerunner," and our simulation found that fast-moving atmospheric Lamb waves drove the leading sea height rise whereas the scattering of the leading waves related to bathymetric variations in the Pacific Ocean produced subsequent long-lasting tsunamis. Tsunamis arriving later than the conventionally expected travel time are composed of various waves generated from both moving and static sources, which makes the tsunami, due to this eruption, much more complex and longer-lasting than ordinary earthquake-induced tsunamis.

Atmospheric waves and global seismoacoustic observations of the January 2022 Hunga eruption, Tonga.

The 15 January 2022 climactic eruption of Hunga volcano, Tonga, produced an explosion in the atmosphere of a size that has not been documented in the modern geophysical record. The event generated a broad range of atmospheric waves observed globally by various ground-based and spaceborne instrumentation networks. Most prominent was the surface-guided Lamb wave (≲0.01 hertz), which we observed propagating for four (plus three antipodal) passages around Earth over 6 days. As measured by the Lamb wave amplitudes, the climactic Hunga explosion was comparable in size to that of the 1883 Krakatau eruption. The Hunga eruption produced remarkable globally detected infrasound (0.01 to 20 hertz), long-range (~10,000 kilometers) audible sound, and ionospheric perturbations. Seismometers worldwide recorded pure seismic and air-to-ground coupled waves. Air-to-sea coupling likely contributed to fast-arriving tsunamis. Here, we highlight exceptional observations of the atmospheric waves.

Teleseismic S wave microseisms.

Although observations of microseisms excited by ocean swells were firmly established in the 1940s, the source locations remain difficult to track. Delineation of the source locations and energy partition of the seismic wave components are key to understanding the excitation mechanisms. Using a seismic array in Japan, we observed both P and S wave microseisms excited by a severe distant storm in the Atlantic Ocean. Although nonlinear forcing of an ocean swell with a one-dimensional Earth model can explain P waves and vertically polarized S waves (SV waves), it cannot explain horizontally polarized S waves (SH waves). The precise source locations may provide a new catalog for exploring Earth's interior.

Global surface wave tomography using seismic hum.

The development of global surface wave tomography using earthquakes has been crucial to exploration of the dynamic status of Earth's deep. It is naturally believed that only large earthquakes can generate long-period seismic waves that penetrate deep enough into Earth for such exploration. The discovery of seismic hum, Earth's background free oscillations, which are randomly generated by oceanic and/or atmospheric disturbances, now provides an alternative approach. We present results of global upper-mantle seismic tomography using seismic hum and without referring to earthquakes. At periods of 100 to 400 seconds, the phase-velocity anomalies of Rayleigh waves are measured by modeling the observed cross-correlation functions between every pair of stations from among 54 globally distributed seismic stations. The anomalies are then inverted to obtain the three-dimensional S-wave velocity structure in the upper mantle. Our technique provides a new means for exploring the three-dimensional structure of the interior of terrestrial planets with an atmosphere and/or oceans, particularly Mars.