Geophysical and

Mathematical
Background
Lecture 02
Jan 16, 2023

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Basic Geophysical Theory
• The theory upon which seismic exploration for oil is based comes from a branch
of physics called classical mechanics that was developed by the late 17th to the
early 18th century.
• Of particular interest to us is the development of the wave equation.

Where u is the wavefield; x, y, and z are the three coordinates of a three

dimensional coordinate system (for example, x may be distance along some
particular direction, y is distance at right angles to x, and z is vertical depth or
altitude); t is time; and V is propagation velocity or rate at which the wave
progresses.
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• Solutions of the wave equation are facilitated if certain simplifying assumptions are
made about the medium through which the seismic waves are propagating. These
assumptions usually are that the medium is perfectly elastic, homogeneous, and
isotropic.

• An elastic solid is one in which stress is proportional to strain. Stress is a force

applied perpendicular or parallel to a surface of a body divided by the area of that
surface.

• Strain is the ratio of change in dimension(s) caused by an applied stress to the original
dimension(s). Different constants of proportionality are used depending on the type
of stress applied.

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• Young’s modulus (E) is defined as the force per unit area divided by the ratio of change
in length to original length.
• Bulk modulus (k) used to relate stress to volumetric strain. Bulk modulus is defined as
the force per unit area acting on a surface divided by the ratio of change in volume to
the original volume. In figure, it can be seen that a stress applied vertically changes
the vertical dimension of a cube from d to (d - h), but the two horizontal dimensions
are changed from d to (d + d). Thus, a stress applied in one direction results in strains
not only in the direction of the stress but in the orthogonal direction as well. It can be
seen that the compression in the vertical direction decreases the vertical dimension
while increasing the horizontal dimensions.
• The ratio of the strain in an orthogonal direction to the strain collinear with the stress
is called Poisson’s ratio (σ) and can be seen in Figure 3–1c. Poisson’s ratio varies from 0
to 0.5.
• The drawing in Figure 3–1d illustrates the shear modulus (μ).The stress in this case is
across, rather than perpendicular to, the surface on which it acts. The deformation is
in shape rather than volume or linear dimension.
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• Shear modulus is defined as the force per unit area acting on a surface divided by the angle through which one dimension is
rotated.

• A homogeneous body is identical throughout. If a homogeneous body were divided into pieces, then every piece would be
chemically and physically identical, no matter how small the pieces.

• This, of course, cannot be realized in the rocks through which seismic waves propagate. Rocks are usually made of fragments
or interlocking crystals. If such rocks were cut into very small pieces, differences in pieces would be observed. Thus, rocks are
inhomogeneous—not homogenous.

• An isotropic medium has the same physical properties in all directions. Of particular concern are the propagation velocities of
the medium—the time rate at which seismic waves travel through the medium. In an anisotropic (not isotropic) medium,
propagation velocity does depend on direction of propagation. There are many types of anisotropy. One type, called
transverse isotropy, behaves as though it were composed of thin isotropic layers. As a result, there is a difference between
horizontal and vertical propagation velocities. Another type of anisotropy is found in rocks that have cracks running through
them. In such cases, the velocity parallel to the cracks differs from velocity orthogonal to the cracks.

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Wave propagation
• Solutions of the wave equation for perfectly elastic, homogenous
and isotropic media describe four different types of waves. Two of
these propagate through the body of the medium and are called body
waves. One is called a P-wave and the other is called an S-wave.

• While P-waves can propagate in solids or fluids, S-waves can propagate in solids only.
• P-wave velocity is always faster than S-wave velocity.

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S-wave motion can be resolved onto vertical and horizontal components, called SV and SH. In some anisotropic
media, the S-wave train becomes separated into separate SV and SH wave trains because the two have different
propagation velocities. Figure illustrates SV- and SH-wave motion.

• The other two solutions of the wave equation are called surface
waves. These are restricted to the surface of solid media. There are
two kinds of surface waves.

• One is called a Rayleigh wave, in honor of Lord Rayleigh, a 19th

century British natural scientist who first developed the theory.
Rayleigh wave motion is described as retrograde elliptical. That is,
as the wave passes, a ground particle describes an ellipse, starting
at point A in Figure 3–4. This is actually a combination of vertical
and radial motion. Radial is horizontal motion in the direction of
propagation.

• Ground roll, a frequently encountered type of noise observed on

exploration seismic records, is a Rayleigh wave. Ground roll can be
the largest amplitude event on a seismic record and mask the
reflected events that are desired.

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• The second type of surface wave is called a Love wave. Love waves are also named for a British scientist who
developed the theory for them. As shown in Figure 3–5, Love wave motion is essentially SH motion but is restricted
to the surface of the medium.

• Love wave propagation velocity is slightly slower than Rayleigh wave velocity. Love waves are not usually a
problem on exploration seismic records. However, if special energy sources are used to generate SH-waves, Love
waves can be a severe problem because of their high amplitudes.

• Much theoretical work in, or applicable to, seismic exploration is based on ray theory. Rays are simply lines (not
necessarily straight) that show the paths waves take between two points. A very important concept in ray theory is
Fermat’s Principle (Fig. 3–7). This principle can be stated many ways. In Sheriff’s Encyclopedic Dictionary of
Exploration Geophysics, the first statement is, “The seismic raypath between two points is that for which the first-
order variation of travel time with respect to all neighboring paths is zero.” Further on, Sheriff states, “If the
intervening media have different speeds, the path will not be straight but will be such that the overall traveltime is
minimized (usually).” The resulting raypath is also called the least time path or brachistochrone.

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• Seismic exploration is normally conducted in areas called
sedimentary basins. There, rocks exist as thick sequences
called strata.

• Strata differ not only in rock type but also in geophysical

parameters such as propagation velocity and bulk density.

• When a seismic wave is incident on the boundary between two

strata or layers, the normal circumstance is that some of the
incident energy is reflected in the first layer and some is
transmitted into the second layer. Whether a P-wave or an SV-
wave is incident on the boundary, there will usually be reflected
P- and S-waves and transmitted P- and S-waves.

• Snell’s Law (Fig. 3–8) predicts the resulting ray paths for the
waves generated at the interface. In each of the four cases, a P-
wave is incident on the interface at an angle 0—the angle
between the ray and perpendicular to the boundary. P- and S-
wave velocities in layer 1 are VP1 and VS1, respectively. P- and S-
wave velocities in layer 2 are VP2 and VS2, respectively.
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• In Figure 3–8a, the P-wave and S-wave velocities in the second layer are faster than the P-wave velocity in the first
layer. Consequently, the transmitted P- and SV-waves are bent, or refracted, at angles greater than the incident
angle. That is, they are bent toward the horizontal. In the first layer, the angle of reflection for the P-wave equals the
incident angle, but the angle of reflection for the reflected SV-wave is smaller. This is because the S-wave velocity is
slower than the P-wave velocity. The refraction angle of the SV-wave in the second layer is also smaller than that of
the refracted P-wave.

• In Figure 3–8b, the P-wave velocity in the second layer is still the fastest but the S-wave velocity in the second layer
is slower than the P-wave velocity in the first layer. Thus, the angle of refraction for the SV-wave is now smaller than
the angle of incidence.

• In Figure 3–8c, the P-wave velocity in the first layer is faster than the P-wave velocity in the second layer so the
angle of refraction for the P-wave is less than the angle of incidence—bent toward the vertical). Since the S-wave
velocity in layer 2 is faster than the S-wave velocity in layer 1, the angle of refraction for the SV-wave is greater than
the angle of reflection for the SV-wave.

• In Figure 3–8d, the P-wave velocity in the first layer is faster than the P-wave velocity in the second layer and the S
wave velocity in the first layer is also faster than the S-wave velocity in the second layer. As a result, the angle of
refraction for the Pwave is less than the angle of incidence, and the angle of refraction for the SV-wave is less than
the angle of reflection for the SV-wave.

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The first two terms of Equation 3.7 correspond to reflection in the upper layer and since the velocities are the
same, sinp= sin0. This is the Law of Reflection.

Generalizing from the first, fourth, and fifth terms, the Law of Refraction can be written as sin2 = V2 V1 sin 1, where 2 is
the angle of refraction, V2 is velocity in the lower layer for the refracted wave, 1 is the angle of incidence, and V1 is
velocity in the upper layer for the incident wave.

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Exceptions
• There are two exceptions to the preceding discussion. The first is the case of an incident SH-wave. In this case,
no P-waves or SV-waves are generated so only reflected and refracted SH- waves result.

• The second exception is when the angle of incidence exceeds the critical angle. The critical angle is the angle of
incidence at which the angle of refraction is 90°. Actually, there are two critical angles, one for P-waves and one
for S-waves. In the first case:

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The existence of a critical angle requires that the layer into which transmission occurs have a higher velocity than
in the incident layer. That is, VP2 > VP1 for critical P-waves and VS2 > VP1, for critical S-waves. If the angle of
incidence is larger than the critical angle, then no energy is transmitted into the lower layer.

From the ray theory point of view, a critically refracted wave travels along the interface between layers and is
refracted back into the upper layer at the critical angle, as shown in Figure 3–9. The waves refracted back into
the upper layer are called head waves or sometimes first-break refractions because at certain distances from a
source they are the first-arriving energy.

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1. The problem with ray theory is that a ray is one dimensional, showing only direction and only an infinitesimal
amount of energy can be transmitted along a ray.

2. To explain phenomena involving finite amounts of energy requires use of wavefronts.

3. A wave front can be defined as the locus of all points reached at the same time by a wave.

4. It turns out that rays intersect wavefronts at right angles. Figure 3–10 illustrates the relationship between
wavefronts and rays.

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 Figure 3–11 shows wavefronts corresponding to the time required for energy to be reflected from the bottom of the
first layer and return to the surface at the energy source point.

 Since a constant velocity is assumed, the direct and reflected wavefronts are spherical. The refracted wavefront,
however, is not spherical because it does not come from a single point. The figure also shows that the head wave
energy does not penetrate the lower layer. Its wavefront, which has the shape of a truncated cone, results from a
coupling between the reflected and refracted wavefronts.

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