Dispersion patterns of the ground roll in eastern Saudi Arabia

Geophysics ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moujahed I. Al‐Husseini ◽  
Jon B. Glover ◽  
Brian J. Barley
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Rayleigh Wave ◽  
Wavelength Range ◽  
Noise Analysis ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
P Wave ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Wave Velocities ◽  
Ground Roll ◽  
P Wave Velocities

Seismic surveys on land must be designed so that the source‐generated noise, such as ground roll, is preferentially attenuated before P‐wave signal amplification and recording. The correct specification of spatial and frequency filters requires prior knowledge of the noise properties in the area. We show that the strong Rayleigh wave component of source‐generated noise has a wavelength range which is predictable on a regional scale, using widespread P‐wave velocity measurements in shallow upholes. This predictive capability decreases the number of noise analyses required to map the boundaries between areas with different Rayleigh wave properties. The case history presented is for northeastern Saudi Arabia, an area of roughly [Formula: see text]. The data comprise 80 noise analyses and a data base of over 10,000 up‐hole measurements of P‐wave velocities, supplemented by maps of topography and geologic outcrops. Examples show that the frequency‐wavenumber transforms of time‐offset records can be interpreted in detail in terms of Rayleigh wave dispersion and air wave coupling, dictated by the elastic properties of the very shallow layers. P‐wave velocities, measured in shallow upholes at noise analysis sites, are used to form initial estimates of the corresponding shear‐wave velocities and subsequently refined by matching the observed and predicted dispersion curves. Even without this refinement process, the initial S‐wave velocities can be used to estimate Rayleigh wave velocities at frequencies which typify the top and bottom of current vibrator sweeps (10 and 80 Hz). These velocities are mapped for the area and used to determine the wavelength range of Rayleigh waves. An effort is also made to map regions where Rayleigh wave scattering from surface topography is likely to occur.

scholarly journals Evidence for deep icequakes in an Alpine glacier

2000 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 85-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Deichmann ◽  
J. Ansorge ◽  
F. Scherbaum ◽  
A. Aschwanden ◽  
F. Bernard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rayleigh Wave ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Focal Depth ◽  
Vertical Component ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
P Wave ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
Simultaneous Inversion ◽  
Wave Velocities

AbstractTo obtain more reliable information about the focal-depth distribution of icequakes, in April 1997 we operated an array of seven portable digital seismographs on Unteraargletscher, central Swiss Alps. Over 5000 events were detected by at least two instruments during the 9 day recording period. P-wave velocities (3770 m f) were determined from several calibration shots detonated at the glacier surface as well as in a 49 m deep borehole, whereas S-wave velocities (1860 ms–1) were derived from a simultaneous inversion for Vp/Vs6 applied to 169 icequakes. So far, hypocentral locations have been calculated for over 300 icequakes. Besides confirming the occurrence of shallow events associated with the opening of crevasses, our results show that a small but significant fraction of the hypocenters are located at or near the glacier bed. One event was found at an intermediate depth of about 120 m. Three-dimensional particle-motion diagrams of both explosions and icequakes clearly demonstrate that all vertical component seismograms from shallow sources are dominated by the Rayleigh wave. On the other hand, for events occurring at depths greater than about 40 m, the Rayleigh wave disappears almost entirely. Therefore, a qualitative analysis of the signal character provides direct information on the focal depth of an event and was used as an independent check of the locations obtained from traditional arrival-time inversions. Thus, our results demonstrate that deep icequakes do occur and that simple rheological models, according to which brittle deformation is restricted to the uppermost part of a glacier, may need revision.

Delineation of geologic contacts by seismic refraction with application to the fault zone between the Thompson nickel belt and the Churchill Tectonic Province

1980 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 1141-1151 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. Green
Keyword(s):  
Fault Zone ◽  
Delay Time ◽  
Wave Attenuation ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
P Wave ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Wave Velocities ◽  
P Wave Velocities ◽  
A New Technique ◽  
The Times

Refracted P-wave and S-wave arrivals are studied from a fourfold multicoverage seismic experiment that has been conducted across a region that spans the contact between the Thompson nickel belt and the Churchill Province in northern Manitoba. A new technique for the calculation of accurate delay times and basement velocities for unreversed multicoverage data is introduced. In this technique, the times of rays between selected shots and receivers are combined to give initial delay time corrections and a subsequent iterative least-squares analysis yields the final delay time corrections and estimates of the basement P-wave velocities. The P-wave velocities correlate well with the basement geology and have been used to refine the location of the contact between the Moak Lake gneisses of the Thompson nickel belt and the Kisseynew gneisses of the Churchill Province. From the P-wave velocities and S-wave attenuation it is concluded that this contact is a fault zone.

S-wave velocity measurements in deep soil deposit and bedrock by means of an elaborated down-hole method

1980 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 363-377
Author(s):  
Y. Ohta ◽  
N. Goto ◽  
F. Yamamizu ◽  
H. Takahashi
Keyword(s):  
Wave Velocity ◽  
Earthquake Engineering ◽  
Underground Structure ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Velocity Measurements ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Deep Soil ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan Area ◽  
Wave Velocities ◽  
P Wave Velocities

abstract Deep S-wave velocity measurements were planned at two separate sites in the Tokyo area from the earthquake engineering point of view, and actually carried out down to 2 to 3 km in depth using geophysical observation wells. S-waves were produced by means of ordinary small explosions and a specially designed SH-wave generator. A set of three component seismometers was installed in a capsule having a device that is clamped to the borehole wall. Measurements to the bottom of the wells were conducted at about 15 different depths at intervals of 100 to 500 m. The S-wave velocities are around 0.8 km/sec in Pleistocene soils, 1.2 to 1.6 km/sec in Miocene soils, and 2.5 to 2.7 km/sec in Cambrian rocks. The corresponding P-wave velocities are 2.0 to 2.3 km/sec, 2.6 to 3.0 km/sec, and 4.7 to 4.9 km/sec, respectively. These data show both S- and P-wave velocities in deep soil deposit increasing with depth. The greatest velocity difference is at the boundary above the pre-Tertiary rocks. The velocity structures completely agree with the known data such as sonic logs, density distributions, and geological sections. A comparison with velocity profiles at two separate sites was also made as the first step to visualize the three-dimensional underground structure in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The seismological and earthquake engineering importance of shear-wave velocity measurements for thick soil deposits was demonstrated by approximate calculations of the amplification of seismic waves between ground surface and bedrock.

Local and global fluid effects on sonic wave modes

Geophysics ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. D369-D381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliot J. H. Dahl ◽  
Kyle T. Spikes
Keyword(s):  
Rayleigh Wave ◽  
Wave Velocity ◽  
Fluid Pressure ◽  
Wave Mode ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Stoneley Wave ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Local Pressure ◽  
Wave Velocities ◽  
Wave Modes

Most subsurface formations of value to exploration contain a heterogeneous fluid-filled pore space, where local fluid-pressure effects can significantly change the velocities of passing seismic waves. To better understand the effect of these local pressure gradients on borehole wave propagation, we combined Chapman’s squirt-flow model with Biot’s poroelastic theory. We applied the unified theory to a slow and fast formation with permeable borehole walls containing different quantities of compliant pores. These results are compared with those for a formation with no soft pores. The discrete wavenumber summation method with a monopole point source generates the wavefields consisting of the P-, S-, leaky-P, Stoneley, and pseudo-Rayleigh waves. The resulting synthetic wave modes are processed using a weighted spectral semblance (WSS) algorithm. We found that the resulting WSS dispersion curves closely matched the analytical expressions for the formation compressional velocity and solutions to the period equation for dispersion for the P-wave, Stoneley-wave, and pseudo-Rayleigh wave phase velocities in the slow and fast formations. The WSS applied to the S-wave part of the waveforms, however, did not correlate as well with its respective analytical expression for formation S-wave velocity, most likely due to interference of the pseudo-Rayleigh wave. To separate changes in formation P- and S-wave velocities versus fluid-flow effects on the Stoneley-wave mode, we computed the slow-P wave dispersion for the same formations. We found that fluid-saturated soft pores significantly affected the P- and S-wave effective formation velocities, whereas the slow-P wave velocity was rather insensitive to the compliant pores. Thus, the large phase-velocity effect on the Stoneley wave mode was mainly due to changes in effective formation P- and S-wave velocities and not to additional fluid mobility.

Pore pressure prediction from S‐wave, C‐wave, and P‐wave velocities

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Ebrom ◽  
Phil Heppard ◽  
Mike Mueller ◽  
Leon Thomsen
Keyword(s):  
Pore Pressure ◽  
P Wave ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Wave Velocities ◽  
Pore Pressure Prediction ◽  
P Wave Velocities

Numerical and Theoretical Investigation on the Origin of the Multiple Peaks of the H/V Ratio Curve

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanbo Xiao ◽  
Siqi Lu ◽  
Yanbin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Rayleigh Wave ◽  
Wave Velocity ◽  
Subsurface Layer ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Theoretical Formula ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Multiple Peaks ◽  
Ratio Curve ◽  
Multiple Layer ◽  
Wave Resonance

<p>Despite the popularity of the horizontal to vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) method in site effect studies, the origin of the H/V peaks has been controversial since this method was proposed. Many previous studies mainly focused on the explanation of the first or single peak of the H/V ratio, trying to distinguish between the two hypotheses — the S-wave resonance and ellipticity of Rayleigh wave. However, it is common both in numerical simulations and practical experiments that the H/V ratio exhibits multiple peaks, which is essential to explore the origin of the H/V peaks.</p><p>The cause for the multiple H/V peaks has not been clearly figured out, and once was simply explained as the result of multi subsurface layers. Therefore, we adopted numerical method to simulate the ambient noise in various layered half-space models and calculated the H/V ratio curves for further comparisons. The peak frequencies of the H/V curves accord well with the theoretical frequencies of S-wave resonance in two-layer models, whose frequencies only depend on the S wave velocity and the thickness of the subsurface layer. The same is true for models with varying model parameters. Besides, the theoretical formula of the S-wave resonance in multiple-layer models is proposed and then supported by numerical investigations as in the cases of two-layer models. We also extended the S-wave resonance to P-wave resonance and found that its theoretical frequencies fit well with the V/H peaks, which could be an evidence to support the S-wave resonance theory from a new perspective. By contrast, there are obvious differences between the higher orders of the H/V ratio peaks and the higher orders of Rayleigh wave ellipticity curves both in two-layer and multiple-layer models. The Rayleigh wave ellipticity curves are found to be sensitive to the Poisson’s ratio and the thickness of the subsurface layer, so the variation of the P wave velocity can affect the peak frequencies of the Rayleigh wave ellipticity curves while the H/V peaks show slight change. The Rayleigh wave ellipticity theory is thus proved to be inappropriate for the explanation of the multiple H/V peaks, while the possible effects of the Rayleigh wave on the fundamental H/V peak still cannot be excluded.</p><p>Based on the analyses above, we proposed a new evidence to support the claim that the peak frequencies of the H/V ratio curve, except the fundamental peaks, are caused by S-wave resonance. The relationship between the P-wave resonance and the V/H peaks may also find further application.</p>

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