Characterization of S-waves Generated from Aboveground and Underground Explosions in Alluvium

The source of S-waves from explosions is debated within the nuclear explosion monitoring community. The HUMBLE REDWOOD III (HRIII) experiment series in 2012 located in New Mexico provides a unique dataset to further our understanding of the generation of S-waves in alluvium by comparing and contrasting co-located aboveground and underground explosions. Two 91 kg explosions were detonated in alluvium at the same location, but HRIII-1 was detonated at 2 m aboveground and HRIII-2 was detonated at 7 m belowground and was fully coupled. A semicircular seismic network of 21 stations was deployed at 1 km to record the explosions. We determined that the belowground HRIII-2 explosion generated P-waves that were 2.4x larger than the aboveground HRIII-1 shot, thus we scaled the aboveground signals by this factor. Visual inspection of the waveforms after scaling showed similar P-wave, higher mode (HM) Rayleigh-wave, and fundamental mode Rayleigh-wave amplitudes for both shots on the vertical and radial components; however the largest differences were observed on the transverse components. Additional Love wave (or SH) energy is generated by the underground explosion that is not accounted for in the P-wave scaling factor. Spectral ratios confirm that the increased SH generation occurs at frequencies between 10-100 Hz. Future work includes modeling of these waveforms to explain the larger SH waves as well as analysis of S-wave generation from a similar set of above- and below-ground explosions in limestone.