Automated classification of seismic signals recorded on the Åknes rock slope, Western Norway, using a convolutional neural network

A convolutional neural network (CNN) was implemented to automatically classify 15 years of seismic signals recorded by an eight-geophone network installed around the back scarp of the & Aring;knes rock slope in Norway. Eight event classes could be identified and are adapted from the typology proposed by Provost et al. (2018), of which five could be directly related to movements on the slope. Almost 60 000 events were classified automatically based on their spectrogram images. The performance of the classifier is estimated to be near 80 %. The statistical analysis of the results shows a strong seasonality of the microseismic activity at & Aring;knes with an annual increase in springtime when snow melts and the temperature oscillates around the freezing point, mainly caused by events within classes of low-frequency slope quakes and tremors. The clear link between annual temperature variations and microseismic activity could be confirmed, supporting thawing and freezing processes as the origins. Other events such as high-frequency and successive slope quakes occur throughout the year and are potentially related to the steady creep of the sliding plane. The huge variability in the annual event number cannot be solely explained by average temperatures or varying detectability of the network. Groundwater recharge processes and their response to precipitation episodes are known to be a major factor of sliding at & Aring;knes, but the relationship with microseismic activity is less obvious and could not be demonstrated.

Automated summary

A CNN was used to automatically classify 15 years of seismic signals recorded by a geophone network in Norway, identifying eight event classes related to slope movements. About 60,000 events were classified based on spectrogram images, with an estimated classifier performance of around 80%. The results showed a strong seasonality of microseismic activity at the study site, with a clear link between annual temperature variations and activity, while the relationship with groundwater recharge processes could not be demonstrated.