Wavelet Analysis for Processing of Earthquake Records

Wavelet analysis is a new mathematical technique and in the recent years enormous interest in application of engineering has been observed. This new technique is particularly suitable for non-stationary processes as in contrast to the Fourier transform (FT). The wavelet transform (WT) allows exceptional localization, both in time and frequency domains. The application of the WT to earthquake engineering is rare. In this paper the WT capability to give a full time–frequency representation of the earthquake record is demonstrated. In this method, the time series of the earthquake record, breaking at the tropical coral reefs and mechanically generated waves in the wave flume demonstrates the ability of the wavelet transform technique to detect a complex variability of these signals in the time–frequency domain. Various spectral representations resulting from the wavelet transform are discussed and their application for earthquake record is shown.