Improved earthquake detection as a probe for active fault structures in New Zealand's central Southern Alps

This thesis concerns the detection and analysis of micro-seismicity and low-frequency earthquakes in New Zealand's central Southern Alps. We make use of the 6.5 year continuous seismic dataset collected using the Southern Alps Microearthquake Borehole Array (SAMBA), alongside other temporary and permanent seismic deployments nearby. The small station spacing of this deployment allows for high resolution seismic studies near the Alpine Fault, a dextral-transpressive plate boundary fault between the Pacific and Australian plates. Using this dataset we have documented the rst evidence of low-frequency earthquakes on or near the deep extent of the Alpine Fault. By using a network based crosscorrelation detection method we have generated a 3 year catalogue of 14 low-frequency earthquake families. These low-frequency earthquake families locate close to other indicators and models of the deep extent of the Alpine Fault, and we interpret these low-frequency earthquakes to represent shear failure on or near the deep extent of the Alpine Fault. These low-frequency earthquakes highlight a near-continuous background rate of deformation, punctuated by short periods of tremor. We also observe higher rates of low-frequency earthquake generation after large regional earthquakes. The magnitudes of our low-frequency earthquakes range from Mʟ‒0.8‒1.8, and appear to follow an exponential distribution, implying that there might be a characteristic length-scale of failure. We have extended the catalogue of low-frequency earthquake templates using the full 6.5 year dataset and an objective synthetic detection methodology. We developed a new methodology for template detection after other methods failed, or were not feasible. This method employs simple synthetic template events, which, rather than trying to capture all of the complexities of the body waves we try to detect, approximate a simple waveform that does not correlate well with background noise. To undertake this method we have developed a multi-parallel Python package, which is highly portable (we have run this on computers ranging from dual-core, 8GB RAM laptops to a 393 node, 6349 CPU cluster computer) and distributed via an open-source model. This package was run through the 6.5 year dataset on the New Zealand E-Science PAN cluster to e fficiently (<48 hours clock-time) generate a spatially and temporally continuous catalogue of low-frequency earthquake templates. Using this method to detect an initial suite of over 25,000 detections grouped into 600 families we have generated 600 good quality, discrete stacked waveforms for use in further matched-filter detection routines. We have shown that, for templates with both P and S-phase picks, these templates locate near to our previously determined low-frequency earthquake family locations. Using a network matched- filter detection technique we have generated a catalogue of micro-seismicity in a region of low-seismicity near the Whataroa Valley, motivated by the Deep-Fault Drilling Project; Phase-2. We detected 300 earthquakes that include a selection of near-repeating earthquakes. We find that most detected events are not similar enough to be termed repeating. For 106 earthquakes we are able to generate high-precision magnitudes calculated by singular-value decomposition of similar waveforms. We find a high b-value of 1.44 for these earthquakes, with no earthquakes above Mʟ1.6. By generating high precision cross-correlation derived picks for individual detections and employing a double-difference location methodology we show that seismicity does not delineate a single structure; rather we interpret the detected seismicity as temporally-limited earthquake sequences on small asperities adjacent to the Alpine Fault. Focal mechanisms for the best recorded events show dominantly strike-slip mechanisms, with lesser reverse and normal components. During the drilling of the Deep-Fault Drilling Project: Phase-2 borehole we operated a real-time earthquake detection system around the drill-site. This was a multi-national effort involving 16 seismologists in three countries monitoring the automatic detections in shifts. During the 5 month real-time monitoring period we detected and located 493 earthquakes, none of which occurred within 3km of the drill-site, nor required changes to the drilling operations. We undertook this monitoring using open-source software, which employed a standard energy based detection scheme. This thesis has contributed four complementary earthquake catalogues, a further three years of continuous seismic data from the central Southern Alps, and an opensource Python package for detection and analysis of earthquakes using cross-correlation techniques. The characteristics of these catalogues highlight deformation modes on and near one of the world's major strike-slip plate boundaries, both at depth, and at the upper extent of the seismogenic zone

Petrophysical, Geochemical, and Hydrological Evidence for Extensive Fracture-Mediated Fluid and Heat Transport in the Alpine Fault's Hanging-Wall Damage Zone

International audienceFault rock assemblages reflect interaction between deformation, stress, temperature, fluid, and chemical regimes on distinct spatial and temporal scales at various positions in the crust. Here we interpret measurements made in the hanging‐wall of the Alpine Fault during the second stage of the Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP‐2). We present observational evidence for extensive fracturing and high hanging‐wall hydraulic conductivity (∼10−9 to 10−7 m/s, corresponding to permeability of ∼10−16 to 10−14 m2) extending several hundred meters from the fault's principal slip zone. Mud losses, gas chemistry anomalies, and petrophysical data indicate that a subset of fractures intersected by the borehole are capable of transmitting fluid volumes of several cubic meters on time scales of hours. DFDP‐2 observations and other data suggest that this hydrogeologically active portion of the fault zone in the hanging‐wall is several kilometers wide in the uppermost crust. This finding is consistent with numerical models of earthquake rupture and off‐fault damage. We conclude that the mechanically and hydrogeologically active part of the Alpine Fault is a more dynamic and extensive feature than commonly described in models based on exhumed faults. We propose that the hydrogeologically active damage zone of the Alpine Fault and other large active faults in areas of high topographic relief can be subdivided into an inner zone in which damage is controlled principally by earthquake rupture processes and an outer zone in which damage reflects coseismic shaking, strain accumulation and release on interseismic timescales, and inherited fracturing related to exhumation

Bedrock geology of DFDP-2B, central Alpine Fault, New Zealand

<p>During the second phase of the Alpine Fault, Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP) in the Whataroa River, South Westland, New Zealand, bedrock was encountered in the DFDP-2B borehole from 238.5–893.2 m Measured Depth (MD). Continuous sampling and meso- to microscale characterisation of whole rock cuttings established that, in sequence, the borehole sampled amphibolite facies, Torlesse Composite Terrane-derived schists, protomylonites and mylonites, terminating 200–400 m above an Alpine Fault Principal Slip Zone (PSZ) with a maximum dip of 62°. The most diagnostic structural features of increasing PSZ proximity were the occurrence of shear bands and reduction in mean quartz grain sizes. A change in composition to greater mica:quartz + feldspar, most markedly below c. 700 m MD, is inferred to result from either heterogeneous sampling or a change in lithology related to alteration. Major oxide variations suggest the fault-proximal Alpine Fault alteration zone, as previously defined in DFDP-1 core, was not sampled.</p

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

Improved earthquake detection as a probe for active fault structures in New Zealand's central Southern Alps

This thesis concerns the detection and analysis of micro-seismicity and low-frequency earthquakes in New Zealand's central Southern Alps. We make use of the 6.5 year continuous seismic dataset collected using the Southern Alps Microearthquake Borehole Array (SAMBA), alongside other temporary and permanent seismic deployments nearby. The small station spacing of this deployment allows for high resolution seismic studies near the Alpine Fault, a dextral-transpressive plate boundary fault between the Pacific and Australian plates. Using this dataset we have documented the rst evidence of low-frequency earthquakes on or near the deep extent of the Alpine Fault. By using a network based crosscorrelation detection method we have generated a 3 year catalogue of 14 low-frequency earthquake families. These low-frequency earthquake families locate close to other indicators and models of the deep extent of the Alpine Fault, and we interpret these low-frequency earthquakes to represent shear failure on or near the deep extent of the Alpine Fault. These low-frequency earthquakes highlight a near-continuous background rate of deformation, punctuated by short periods of tremor. We also observe higher rates of low-frequency earthquake generation after large regional earthquakes. The magnitudes of our low-frequency earthquakes range from Mʟ‒0.8‒1.8, and appear to follow an exponential distribution, implying that there might be a characteristic length-scale of failure. We have extended the catalogue of low-frequency earthquake templates using the full 6.5 year dataset and an objective synthetic detection methodology. We developed a new methodology for template detection after other methods failed, or were not feasible. This method employs simple synthetic template events, which, rather than trying to capture all of the complexities of the body waves we try to detect, approximate a simple waveform that does not correlate well with background noise. To undertake this method we have developed a multi-parallel Python package, which is highly portable (we have run this on computers ranging from dual-core, 8GB RAM laptops to a 393 node, 6349 CPU cluster computer) and distributed via an open-source model. This package was run through the 6.5 year dataset on the New Zealand E-Science PAN cluster to e fficiently (<48 hours clock-time) generate a spatially and temporally continuous catalogue of low-frequency earthquake templates. Using this method to detect an initial suite of over 25,000 detections grouped into 600 families we have generated 600 good quality, discrete stacked waveforms for use in further matched-filter detection routines. We have shown that, for templates with both P and S-phase picks, these templates locate near to our previously determined low-frequency earthquake family locations. Using a network matched- filter detection technique we have generated a catalogue of micro-seismicity in a region of low-seismicity near the Whataroa Valley, motivated by the Deep-Fault Drilling Project; Phase-2. We detected 300 earthquakes that include a selection of near-repeating earthquakes. We find that most detected events are not similar enough to be termed repeating. For 106 earthquakes we are able to generate high-precision magnitudes calculated by singular-value decomposition of similar waveforms. We find a high b-value of 1.44 for these earthquakes, with no earthquakes above Mʟ1.6. By generating high precision cross-correlation derived picks for individual detections and employing a double-difference location methodology we show that seismicity does not delineate a single structure; rather we interpret the detected seismicity as temporally-limited earthquake sequences on small asperities adjacent to the Alpine Fault. Focal mechanisms for the best recorded events show dominantly strike-slip mechanisms, with lesser reverse and normal components. During the drilling of the Deep-Fault Drilling Project: Phase-2 borehole we operated a real-time earthquake detection system around the drill-site. This was a multi-national effort involving 16 seismologists in three countries monitoring the automatic detections in shifts. During the 5 month real-time monitoring period we detected and located 493 earthquakes, none of which occurred within 3km of the drill-site, nor required changes to the drilling operations. We undertook this monitoring using open-source software, which employed a standard energy based detection scheme. This thesis has contributed four complementary earthquake catalogues, a further three years of continuous seismic data from the central Southern Alps, and an opensource Python package for detection and analysis of earthquakes using cross-correlation techniques. The characteristics of these catalogues highlight deformation modes on and near one of the world's major strike-slip plate boundaries, both at depth, and at the upper extent of the seismogenic zone

EQcorrscan: EQcorrscan v 0.1.3

A Python package for the detection and analysis of repeating and near-repeating seismicity. This release is mostly a feature release, with a few minor bug-fixes. For this release we add a subspace detector. The following is the change-log for this release: Now testing on OSX (python 2.7 and 3.5) - also added linux python 3.4; Add lag-calculation and tests for it; Change how lag-calc does the trace splitting to reduce memory usage; Added pick-filtering utility to clean up tutorials; Change template generation function names for clarity (wrappers for depreciated names); Add more useful error messages when picks are not associated with waveforms; Add example plots for more plotting functions; Add subspace detector including docs and tutorial. Add delayed option to all template_gen functions, set to True by default which retains old behaviour

Detecting Real Earthquakes Using Artificial Earthquakes: On the Use of Synthetic Waveforms in Matched-Filter Earthquake Detection

©2018. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Matched-filters are an increasingly popular tool for earthquake detection, but their reliance on a priori knowledge of the targets of interest limits their application to regions with previously documented seismicity. We explore an extension to the matched-filter method to detect earthquakes and low-frequency earthquakes on local to regional scales. We show that it is possible to increase the number of detections compared with standard energy-based methods, with low false-detection rates, using suites of synthetic waveforms as templates. We apply this to a microearthquake swarm and an aftershock sequence, and to detect low-frequency earthquakes. We also explore the sensitivity of detections to the synthetic source's location and focal mechanism. Source-receiver geometry has a first-order control on how sensitive matched-filter detectors are to variations in source location and focal mechanism, and this likely applies to detections made using both synthetic and real templates

RT-EQcorrscan: Near-real-time matched-filtering for rapid development of dense earthquake catalogs

Matched-filtering (template-matching) is an effective method for detecting clustered seismicity such as aftershocks, low-frequency earthquakes, repeating earthquakes, and tectonic and volcanic swarms. Several groups have developed efficient codes implementing matched-filter methods and demonstrated that earthquake catalogs can be substantially expanded using these methods. Here, we present a near-real-time implementation of the matched-filter method, designed to be used in response to ongoing seismicity. Its near-real-time capabilities enable dense catalogs of seismicity to be constructed rapidly, providing input into real-time seismic hazard and forecasting and thus informing the earthquake response and scientific understanding. Such rapid development of detailed earthquake catalogs has similar application in volcano monitoring, monitoring of induced seismicity, and for online construction of slow-earthquake catalogs. Our software package, RT-EQcorrscan, is an open-source extension of the EQcorrscan Python package. The package can either be deployed to apply near-realtime matched-filters to a specific geographic region or sequence on a continuous basis, or configured to respond to large earthquakes or high-rate sequences by automatically starting a matched-filter run in response to these events. The system relies on, and maintains, a constantly updated template database of waveforms and event metadata, which is then queried for the specific target region. This template database can be updated while the matched-filter is running to enable the set of templates to expand in response to previous results. Multiple region-specific matched-filters can be run in parallel, allowing the system to respond to distinct trigger events