Using a Deep Neural Network and Transfer Learning to Bridge Scales for
Seismic Phase Picking
Abstract
The important task of tracking seismic activity requires both sensitive
detection and accurate earthquake location. Approximate earthquake
locations can be estimated promptly and automatically; however, accurate
locations depend on precise seismic phase picking, which is a laborious
and time-consuming task. We adapted a deep neural network (DNN) phase
picker trained on local seismic data to meso-scale hydraulic fracturing
experiments. We designed a novel workflow, transfer-learning aided
double-difference tomography, to overcome the three orders of magnitude
difference in both spatial and temporal scales between our data and data
used to train the original DNN. Only 3,500 seismograms (0.45% of the
original DNN data) were needed to re-train the original DNN model
successfully. The phase picks obtained with transfer-learned model are
at least as accurate as the analyst’s, and lead to improved event
locations. Moreover, the effort required for picking once the DNN is
trained is a small fraction of the analyst’s.