Insolation Cycles Control the Timing and Pattern of Resonance Frequency Drifts at a Natural Rock Tower, Utah, USA

Resonance frequency monitoring can detect structural changes during progressive rock slope failure; however, reversible environmentally-driven frequency drifts may inhibit identification of permanent changes. Frequency drifts are commonly correlated with air temperature, lagging temperature changes...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jeffrey Moore, Erin Jensen, Brendon Quirk, Guglielmo Grechi, Alex Dzubay
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: McGill University 2024-11-01
Series:Seismica
Online Access:https://seismica.library.mcgill.ca/article/view/1375
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850267899559673856
author Jeffrey Moore
Erin Jensen
Brendon Quirk
Guglielmo Grechi
Alex Dzubay
author_facet Jeffrey Moore
Erin Jensen
Brendon Quirk
Guglielmo Grechi
Alex Dzubay
author_sort Jeffrey Moore
collection DOAJ
description Resonance frequency monitoring can detect structural changes during progressive rock slope failure; however, reversible environmentally-driven frequency drifts may inhibit identification of permanent changes. Frequency drifts are commonly correlated with air temperature, lagging temperature changes by zero to 35–60 days. Here we report observations from two years of monitoring at a rock tower in Utah, USA where annual resonance frequency changes appear to precede air temperature cycles by ~35 days. Using correlations with meteorological data supplemented by numerical modeling, we identify changes in insolation as the primary driver of annual frequency drifts, giving rise to the negative lag time. Sparse in-situ insolation data show that the daily frequency increase lags sunrise by several hours, while frequencies decrease at sunset, responses we attribute to the west facing aspect of the tower. Modeled daily insolation patterns match frequency data for months when in-situ measurements are not available. Numerical models offer the advantage of predicting insolation patterns for different aspects of the rock tower, such as the west facing cliff where measurements would be challenging. Our study highlights the value of long-term datasets in identifying mechanisms driving environmentally associated frequency drifts, understanding that is crucial to facilitate detection of permanent changes during progressive failure.
format Article
id doaj-art-eeda8a75b6054571853cb5dd1a49f8e4
institution OA Journals
issn 2816-9387
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher McGill University
record_format Article
series Seismica
spelling doaj-art-eeda8a75b6054571853cb5dd1a49f8e42025-08-20T01:53:36ZengMcGill UniversitySeismica2816-93872024-11-013210.26443/seismica.v3i2.1375Insolation Cycles Control the Timing and Pattern of Resonance Frequency Drifts at a Natural Rock Tower, Utah, USAJeffrey Moore0Erin Jensen1Brendon Quirk2Guglielmo Grechi3Alex DzubayDepartment of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USADepartment of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USADepartment of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USADepartment of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy Resonance frequency monitoring can detect structural changes during progressive rock slope failure; however, reversible environmentally-driven frequency drifts may inhibit identification of permanent changes. Frequency drifts are commonly correlated with air temperature, lagging temperature changes by zero to 35–60 days. Here we report observations from two years of monitoring at a rock tower in Utah, USA where annual resonance frequency changes appear to precede air temperature cycles by ~35 days. Using correlations with meteorological data supplemented by numerical modeling, we identify changes in insolation as the primary driver of annual frequency drifts, giving rise to the negative lag time. Sparse in-situ insolation data show that the daily frequency increase lags sunrise by several hours, while frequencies decrease at sunset, responses we attribute to the west facing aspect of the tower. Modeled daily insolation patterns match frequency data for months when in-situ measurements are not available. Numerical models offer the advantage of predicting insolation patterns for different aspects of the rock tower, such as the west facing cliff where measurements would be challenging. Our study highlights the value of long-term datasets in identifying mechanisms driving environmentally associated frequency drifts, understanding that is crucial to facilitate detection of permanent changes during progressive failure. https://seismica.library.mcgill.ca/article/view/1375
spellingShingle Jeffrey Moore
Erin Jensen
Brendon Quirk
Guglielmo Grechi
Alex Dzubay
Insolation Cycles Control the Timing and Pattern of Resonance Frequency Drifts at a Natural Rock Tower, Utah, USA
Seismica
title Insolation Cycles Control the Timing and Pattern of Resonance Frequency Drifts at a Natural Rock Tower, Utah, USA
title_full Insolation Cycles Control the Timing and Pattern of Resonance Frequency Drifts at a Natural Rock Tower, Utah, USA
title_fullStr Insolation Cycles Control the Timing and Pattern of Resonance Frequency Drifts at a Natural Rock Tower, Utah, USA
title_full_unstemmed Insolation Cycles Control the Timing and Pattern of Resonance Frequency Drifts at a Natural Rock Tower, Utah, USA
title_short Insolation Cycles Control the Timing and Pattern of Resonance Frequency Drifts at a Natural Rock Tower, Utah, USA
title_sort insolation cycles control the timing and pattern of resonance frequency drifts at a natural rock tower utah usa
url https://seismica.library.mcgill.ca/article/view/1375
work_keys_str_mv AT jeffreymoore insolationcyclescontrolthetimingandpatternofresonancefrequencydriftsatanaturalrocktowerutahusa
AT erinjensen insolationcyclescontrolthetimingandpatternofresonancefrequencydriftsatanaturalrocktowerutahusa
AT brendonquirk insolationcyclescontrolthetimingandpatternofresonancefrequencydriftsatanaturalrocktowerutahusa
AT guglielmogrechi insolationcyclescontrolthetimingandpatternofresonancefrequencydriftsatanaturalrocktowerutahusa
AT alexdzubay insolationcyclescontrolthetimingandpatternofresonancefrequencydriftsatanaturalrocktowerutahusa