A Comparative Study on the Characteristics of Background Noise Recorded by Collocated Accelerometers and Seismometers
AN Quan
ZHANG Ronglian
JIA Peng
HASI Tana
Abstract：This study utilizes observational data from collocated accelerometers and seismometers at 61 earthquake early warning reference stations in Inner Mongolia.Under the assumption of negligible seismometer self-noise,a comparative analysis was performed using the probability density function(PDF)method to investigate the characteristics of background noise in terms of root mean square(RMS),power spectral density(PSD),and PDF.The results indicate that in the high-frequency band,variations in accelerometer RMS are strongly correlated with instrument models,whereas seismometer RMS variations are more closely linked to local environmental conditions.Moreover,accelerometer RMS values consistently exceed those of seismometers at the same station,which is primarily attributable to the higher intrinsic self-noise of accelerometers.In the mid-to-low frequency bands,seismometers demonstrate a superior capability in recording background noise,while accelerometers lack such capacity;both instruments exhibit relatively concentrated PSD distributions in the mid-frequency range.In the low-frequency band,seismometer performance is significantly affected by the velocity measurement principle,whereas accelerometers,which measure acceleration,remain unaffected.Analysis of instrument self-noise reveals a hierarchical pattern,with TDA-33M accelerometers exhibiting the lowest self-noise,followed by JS-A2,and QA-2g showing the highest noise levels.Consequently,this study recommends that future accelerometer designs prioritize the reduction of self-noise.
Keywords：AccelerometerSeismometerRMSPSDBackground noise
Publication Date：2025-12-30
Online Publishing Date：2025-12-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：8( 34-41 )