Method for restoring the orientation of ocean bottom seismometers using distant earthquakes records

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method for accurately restoring the vertical orientation of ocean bottom seismometers using distant earthquake records, validated across multiple seismic events and applicable to various sensor types.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel approach based on the linear relationship between vertical acceleration and pressure variations, validated with real data and compared favorably to existing methods.

Findings

Discrepancies within 1 degree for most stations

Applicable to both accelerometers and velocimeters

Validated with multiple seismic events

Abstract

A method is presented for determining the vertical direction relative to the axes of seismometers installed in seafloor observatories. The method is based on the linear relationship between the vertical component of seafloor acceleration and pressure variations at the ocean bottom, which follows directly from Newton's second law and holds within the frequency range of forced oscillations. The method's performance was validated using data from ocean bottom seismometers (accelerometers) and pressure gauges of six S-net stations during three seismic events: Gulf of Alaska Mw 7.9 (23.01.2018), Chignik Mw 8.2 (29.07.2021) and Noto Mw 7.5 (01.01.2024). The results were compared with an independent alternative method, showing discrepancies within 1 degree for most stations. A key advantage of the proposed method is its applicability not only to accelerometers but as well to velocimeters.