Equidistant Spectral Lines in Train Vibrations

Research Article| November 08, 2017 Equidistant Spectral Lines in Train Vibrations Florian Fuchs; Florian Fuchs aDepartment of Meteorology and Geophysics, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, UZA 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria, florian.fuchs@univie.ac.at Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Götz Bokelmann; Götz Bokelmann aDepartment of Meteorology and Geophysics, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, UZA 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria, florian.fuchs@univie.ac.at Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar the AlpArray Working Group the AlpArray Working Group Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Florian Fuchs aDepartment of Meteorology and Geophysics, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, UZA 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria, florian.fuchs@univie.ac.at Götz Bokelmann aDepartment of Meteorology and Geophysics, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, UZA 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria, florian.fuchs@univie.ac.at the AlpArray Working Group Publisher: Seismological Society of America First Online: 08 Nov 2017 Online Issn: 1938-2057 Print Issn: 0895-0695 © Seismological Society of America Seismological Research Letters (2018) 89 (1): 56–66. https://doi.org/10.1785/0220170092 Article history First Online: 08 Nov 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Florian Fuchs, Götz Bokelmann, the AlpArray Working Group; Equidistant Spectral Lines in Train Vibrations. Seismological Research Letters 2017;; 89 (1): 56–66. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/0220170092 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietySeismological Research Letters Search Advanced Search ABSTRACT We analyze in detail the seismic vibrations generated by trains, measured at distance from the track with high sensitivity broadband sensors installed for the AlpArray project. The geometrical restrictions of the network resulted in a number of instruments deployed in the vicinity of railway lines. On seismic stations within 1.5 km of a railway, we observe characteristic seismic signals that we can relate to the passage of trains. All train signals share a characteristic feature of sharp equidistant spectral lines in the entire 2–40 Hz frequency range. For a site located 300 m from a busy track, frequency spacing is between 1 and 2 Hz and relates to train speed. The spectrograms of individual trains show acceleration and deceleration phases that match well with the expected driving profile for different types of trains. We discuss possible mechanisms responsible for the strikingly equidistant spectral lines. We search for Doppler effects and compare the observations with theoretically expected values. Based on cepstrum analysis, we suggest quasi‐static axle load by consecutive bogies as the dominant mechanism behind the 1–2 Hz line spacing. The striking feature of the equidistant spectral lines within the train vibrations renders them outstanding seismic sources which may have potential for seismic imaging and attenuation studies. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.