Urban exploration using Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS)

In contrast to traditional point-like seismometers, Distributed Accoustic Sensing (DAS) can probe the seismic wavefield along a one-dimensional trajectory at unprecedented spatial density over very long arc lengths and at very high temporal sampling rates. From onshore hydrocarbon exploration the technology has spread into numerous other applications ranging from vertical seismic profiling over onshore and offshore seismic monitoring to exploration and site characterization in dense urban agglomerations using dark telecommunication fibers. As telecommunication grids are dense, particularly the latter has the potential to facilitate urban exploration at a lowered cost and thus to shed light on the often insufficiently known local geology with advantageous consequences for the quantification not only of natural risks but also of financial risks for instance during geothermal project development. Furthermore, the durability and low-maintenance requirements of fiber cables make them ideal instruments to monitor CO2 and nuclear waste storage sites. In this session we invite recent studies that apply or evaluate DAS particularly but not solely in the exploration of urban areas. These may include for instance the instrumentation and geo-referencing of fibers, theoretical description of their coupling with the underground, active or passive seismic experiments and monitoring. We also encourage contributions on data analysis techniques.