Nomenclature of Acids

Úniversité Franco-Azerbaidjanaise
BS C G EOSCIENCE E NGINEERING - L2S4 Date: 2018-2019

G EOPHYSICS 1 - S EISMOLOGY AND SEISMICS - Segment 05
Delay times τ (p)

The triplications that we see in standard T (X) travel-time tell us that there are sharp velocity
increases in the Earth. However, they are difficult to invert for Earth structure because they
are multi-valued. The functions X(p) and T (p) are better behaved, as they are both single-
valued (the lines do not cross themselves), but their inverses p(X) and T (p) are again multi-
valued if there are triplications (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Travel-time curve T (X) and the function X(p) for a structure with a sharp velocity
increase. Image taken from Shearer (2009), Figure 4.5.
In this segment, we will introduce a new function τ (p) that is singled-valued even if we
invert it.
Page 1 / 9 M
c AGGI Alessia
Figure 2: The delay time, τ (p) = T − pX, is given by the intercept of the tangent to the
travel-time curve. Image taken from Shearer (2009), Figure 4.7.
1 Delay time
The delay time derived from a given travel-time curve T (X) is given by
τ (p) ≡ T (p) − p X(p). (1)
We can understand it graphically as the time at which the tangent to the travel-time curve
intercepts the T axis (Figure 2). The equation of the straight line tangent to the travel-time
curve is t = T + p(x − X). At x = 0, t = T − pX ≡ τ (p). The gradient of the tangent to the
travel-time curve is the ray-parameter p; the intercept of the tangent line is the delay-time τ .
We can obtain an analytical expression for τ (p) from the parametric expressions for T (p) and
X(p):
Z zp " #
n2 p2
τ (p) = 2 p −p dz (2)
0 n2 − p2 n2 − p2
Z zp p
=2 n(z)2 − p2 dz. (3)
0
For a simple layered medium we have

Xq
τ (p) = 2 n2i − p2 ∆zi , (4)
i
for ni > p.
If we take the gradient of the τ (p) function, we obtain
Z zp p Z zp
dτ d 2 2
dz
= 2 n(z) − p dz = −2 p = −X(p) (5)
dp dp 0 0 n2 − p2
Page 2 / 9 M
c AGGI Alessia
Figure 3: The τ (p) function unfolds triplications in the travel-time curves. Prograde branches
turn into concave upward portions of the τ (p) curve; retrograde branches turn into concave
downward portions of the τ (p) curve. Image taken from Shearer (2009), Figure 4.8.
Because X(p) ≥ 0, the τ (p) curve is monotonically decreasing, even if the X(T ) curve has a
triplication. It curves upward for a prograde branch and downward for a retrograde branch
(Figure 3).
Page 3 / 9 M
c AGGI Alessia
2 Inverting for Earth structure using τ (p)
Last week, we saw that it can be hard to distinguish pulses in waveforms that arrive after
the first-arrival. This means that we often have only first-arrival data to work with.
For simple structures, these data can be approximated by a series of straight lines, which
we can turn into an approximate layered model using what we know about the slope of
the travel-time curve (dT /dX = p = slowness in a constant velocity layer) and the intercept
obtained by prolonging this slope (equation 4).
2.1 Try your hand at a simple inversion
Given the first-arrival travel-time curve in Figure 4, solve for a homogenous layer model.
The curve has three straight line segments. First find the ray parameters p and the delay
times τ (p) from the graph (note that the travel-times are reduced by 6 km/s). Then use
equation (4) to solve for the layer thicknesses.
Figure 4: First arrival travel-time curve for inversion exercise. Image taken from Shearer
(2009), page 108.
Page 4 / 9 M
c AGGI Alessia
Figure 5: Each of the velocity models on the left produces identical first arrivals (thick lines);
the differences only appear in the secondary branches of the travel-time curves (thin lines).
Image taken from Shearer (2009), Figure 5.3.
3 The inversion problem for first arrivals is non-unique
Unfortunately, there many alternative models that can produce identical first-arrival times,
even though they produce different secondary branches (see Figure 5). If you loose the
information from the later arrivals because of noise, then your inverted model might be
very far from the real Earth structure, despite fitting your data perfectly.
This problem is called non-uniqueness and is a very common problem in the geosciences, as
we often do not have enough high quality data to resolve between several models.
The problem gets even worse if you have a low-velocity layer that is not pronounced enough
to produce a shadow zone on the travel-time curve. As you can see from Figure 6, no rays
are refracted back upwards directly from the low velocity layer (layer 1), but there is no gap
Page 5 / 9 M
c AGGI Alessia
Figure 6: The travel-time curve corresponding to a 3-layer above a half-space Earth model
with one low velocity layer (v1 < v0 ). Image taken from Stein and Wysession (2012), Figure
3.2-8.
on the travel-time curve. If you were to invert the travel-time curve, you would obtain a 2-
layer over a half-space model when in fact there are 3 layers, and you would obtain incorrect
thicknesses for all layers.
Page 6 / 9 M
c AGGI Alessia
4 Inverting for Earth structure using the τ (p) curve
You can improve on the structure inversions – also called velocity-depth inversions – by using
more of the travel-time curve, and by transforming the curve from T (X) to τ (p) so as to
unravel the triplications. This will help you diminish the non-uniqueness of the inversion,
but will not resolve the problem of weak low velocity layers.
4.1 Obtaining a τ (p) curve from a record-section
If seismic data arrived as perfect, clean, non-noisy record sections that could be directly
interpreted as travel-time curves, then it would be a simple matter to transform a record
section to a τ (p) curve by drawing tangent lines through each of the points of the travel-time
curve and recording their slopes p and intercept values τ .
In reality, however, it is extremely hard to see (and therefore pick) pulses behind the first
arrivals. One solution to this problem is to perform a slant stack, also known as a Radon
transform.
We know that point on the τ (p) curve is generated by a line in the T (X) travel-time curve.
We therefore generate each point in a τ (p) slant-stack image by summing stacking the data
points from the T (X) record section along a series of straight lines with different slopes and
intercepts (see Figure 7).
If the record section contains data that aligns along a line with a particular slope and inter-
cept, then the corresponding point on the slant-stack image will have a strong amplitude.
Any seismic noise that is uncorrelated between the seismograms that make up the traces
will not sum constructively along the straight lines, and will not pollute the slant-stack im-
age. The final τ (p) curve can be traced through the maximum amplitudes of the slant-stack
image.
Slant-stacking allows us to extract a τ (p) curve even from data contaminated by some level
of seismic noise.
4.2 Inverting a τ (p) curve
Let us go back to the parametric integral for τ (p):

Z zp p
τ (p) = 2 n(z)2 − p2 dz. (6)
0
If the velocity increases monotonically with depth within the Earth, then u(z) will be a mono-
tonically decreasing function. In these conditions, it is possible to change the integration
variable in the above expression from z to n, to obtain
Page 7 / 9 M
c AGGI Alessia
Figure 7: Stacking seismograms along lines defind by a slope and a delay time can be used
to map a T (X) image into a τ (p) image (also known as a slant-stack). Image taken from
Shearer (2009), Figure 5.5.
Z ntp =p p dz
τ (p) = 2 n(z)2 − p2 dn, (7)
n0 dn
where n0 is the slowness at the surface, and the slowness at the turning point, ntp , is equal
to the ray parameter p. If we integrate by parts, we obtain
Z p Z n0
h p ip n z(n) n
τ (p) = 2 z(n) n2 − p2 −2 p dn =2 p z(n) dn, (8)
n0 n0 n(z)2 − p2 p n(z)2 − p2
which is linear with respect to changes in z(n). Thanks to this linearity, we can apply many
of the techniques from linear inverse theory to solve for the velocity-depth profile1 .
In this inversion, we know τ and p from the τ (p) curve, we know the slowness values at the
turning depths of the rays ntd = p, so all we need to find are the values of z at which the rays
with ray-parameters p bottom out and turn back up.
As a simple example, let’s say we know t(p) at a discrete set of N values of the ray param-
eter pi and we decide to parameterize our model as a series of homogeneous layers with
1
Linear inverse theory merits its own full-length course. I will not go into details here. You will see more
on the subject during the Geophysical imaging course by Jérôme Vergne.
Page 8 / 9 M
c AGGI Alessia
a discrete set of M values of slowness nj and thickness hj . The integral equation above
becomes X q
τ (pi ) = 2 hj n2j − p2i , (9)
j
where the sum is carried out when nj > pi . This sum can be written in matrix form as
τ = G h, (10)
where τ = [τ (p1 ), τ (p2 ), . . . , τ (pN )]T is a column vector containing the known values of τ (pi ),
(h) = [h1 , h2 , . . . , hM ]T is a column vector containing the unknown values of the layer thick-
nesses hj , and the matrix G is made up of terms of the form
q
Gij = 2 n2j − p2i , (11)
if nj > pi and Gij = 0 otherwise.
If the number of layers is less than the number of measured τ values (M < N ), then the
inverse problem is said to be overdetermined and can be solved with a least-squares inversion
method,
h = (GT G)−1 GT τ. (12)
If the number of layers is greater than the number of measured τ values (M > N ), then
the inverse problem is said to be underdetermined, and some form of regularization will be
necessary.
References
Shearer, P. (2009). Introduction to Seismology. Cambridge University Press.

Stein, S. and M. Wysession (2012). An introduction to seismology, earthquakes and Earth struc-
ture. Blackwell.
Page 9 / 9 M
c AGGI Alessia

Nomenclature of Acids

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Nomenclature of Acids

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Úniversité Franco-Azerbaidjanaise

BS C G EOSCIENCE E NGINEERING - L2S4 Date: 2018-2019

Delay times τ (p)

For a simple layered medium we have

2 Inverting for Earth structure using τ (p)

2.1 Try your hand at a simple inversion

3 The inversion problem for first arrivals is non-unique

4 Inverting for Earth structure using the τ (p) curve

4.1 Obtaining a τ (p) curve from a record-section

4.2 Inverting a τ (p) curve

Let us go back to the parametric integral for τ (p):

if nj > pi and Gij = 0 otherwise.

Shearer, P. (2009). Introduction to Seismology. Cambridge University Press.

You might also like