Introduction Seismic Methods

Introduction Seismic Methods
- Refraction Seismic
COURSE CONTENT:
• Introduction
• Seismic Waves
• Refraction Seismic
• Time-Distance Plot
• Seismic and Rocks Properties
Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 1

Introduction
 Seismic methods are used to map the velocities of
sound waves in soils and rocks and to map the
location of interfaces that reflect or refract sound
waves.
 In air, or in a liquid, sound propagates as a compression

wave. A disturbance like a shout moves through the medium
by alternately compressing and expanding the air which
depends only on the compressibility and density of the gas or
liquid.

 In a solid the propagation of an initial stress also depends on
density and compressibility, but it also depends on other elastic
parameters that describe the stress-strain relationships when
shear forces as well as compressive forces are involved.
 To understand the different types of seismic waves that can

propagate through the ground away from a seismic source some
elementary concepts of stress and strain need to be considered.
 An external force F is applied across an area A of a surface of a

body. The ratio of force to area (F/A) is known as stress. Stress
can be resolved into two components:
– a) one at right angles to the surface (normal or dilatational stress)
– b) one in the plane of the surface (shear stress)
A body subjected to stress undergoes a change of shape and/or size known as
strain.
(i.e.) !!!
 It was observed that there were two impulsive waves
from an earthquake, a first arrival called the
primary, P, and a secondary arrival the S. It was
later realized that these were the arrivals of the
compressional wave and the slower shear wave
(leading to the useful classification of P for pressure
wave and S for shear wave).

 The earliest work on seismic methods was the study
of earthquakes and earthquake location.
 This work in the late 1800s and early 1900s showed

that elastic waves from earthquakes propagated
throughout the earth.
 A detailed study of the arrival times at different

points on the surface led to the first understanding of
the internal velocity structure of the earth.

Waves in a mass- spring system
 A simple physical model that is useful for describing the motion
of a sound wave in a gas or fluid is shown in the following
cartoon.
 The density of the medium is represented by the distributed

masses, and the compressibility is represented by the
distributed springs.
 The masses and springs should be envisioned as lying in a

frictionless ‘track’ which confines any motion to the x
coordinate direction.

 In this thought experiment the first mass is displaced to the right by an
external impulsive force F. The mass accelerates to the right,
compressing the spring and transmitting the force to the second
mass.
 Meanwhile the external force is removed and the compressed first spring
returns the first mass towards its initial position while acting on the
second mass to transmit the forces to the right essentially initiating a
continuous sequence of mass displacements along the chain of
masses.
 Examined in time, any individual mass would be observed to undergo a
short oscillatory movement in the x direction as the disturbance moved
along the chain.
 Successive snapshots in time of the whole chain would show the
disturbance progressing from left to right as a wave.
 A particular state of, say, compression, called a point of constant phase
of the wave, propagates to the right with the phase velocity, V ph.

 The phase velocity is equal to the square root of the ratio of the
bulk modulus to the density.
 Denser fluids thus have lower velocity than lighter fluids. Gases
follow the same formula.
 The distance at a given time between two successive points of

equal phase on the wave is the wavelength, λ, and the time
between two successive points of equal displacement at a
given position on the x axis is the period, T, of the wave.
 The velocity, frequency, period and wavelength are all related as

can be seen in the following figure.

The velocity, frequency, period and wavelength are all
related as can be seen in the following figure.

 According to Hooke's law, stress and strain are linearly
dependent and the body behaves elastically until the yielding
point is reached.
 This elastic strain is reversible so that removal of stress leads to
removal of strain.
 At stresses beyond the yield point, the body behaves in a plastic
or ductile manner, and permanent damage results. If further stress
is applied, the body is strained until it fractures.
A typical stress-strain curve for a solid body .
→ Earthquake occurs when rocks are

strained until fracture.
→ In exploration seismology the

amounts of stress and strain lie well within
the elastic behavior of natural materials.

 The linear relationship between stress and strain in the elastic
field is specified by its various elastic module.
a) Young modulus E
b) Bulk modulus K

c) Shear modulus
d) Axial modulus

Types of Seismic Waves
 Seismic waves are parcels of elastic strain energy that
propagate from a seismic source such as an earthquake or an
explosion.
 The strains associated with the passage of a seismic pulse may

be assumed to be elastic (except in the vicinity of the source!)
 The propagation of seismic pulses is determined by the elastic

moduli and densities of the materials through which they pass.
 There are two groups of seismic waves: body waves and

surface waves.

Body waves
● P-wave ● S-wave
 (longitudinal, primary  (transverse, secondary or

or compressional shear wave)
wave)
 Material particles oscillate  Particle motion is at right

about a fixed point in the angles to the direction of
direction of wave propagation by wave propagation and
compressional and dilatational occurs by pure strain.
strain.

Elastic deformations and ground particle motions associated with the passage of
body waves. (A) Is a P-wave, and (B) an S-wave.

The people wave
16
Compressional Wave (P-Wave) Animation
Deformation propagates. Particle motion consists of alternating compression

and dilation. Particle motion is parallel to the direction of propagation
(longitudinal). Material returns to its original shape after wave passes.
17
Shear Wave (S-Wave) Animation
Deformation propagates. Particle motion consists of alternating transverse motion.

Particle motion is perpendicular to the direction of propagation (transverse). Transverse
particle motion shown here is vertical but can be in any direction. However, Earth’s
layers tend to cause mostly vertical (SV; in the vertical plane) or horizontal (SH) shear
motions. Material returns to its original shape after wave passes.
18
Rayleigh wave
Direction of propagation
19
Rayleigh Wave (R-Wave) Animation
Deformation propagates. Particle motion consists of elliptical motions

(generally retrograde elliptical) in the vertical plane and parallel to the
direction of propagation. Amplitude decreases with depth. Material returns to
its original shape after wave passes..
20
Seismic waves in a solid:
 The derivation of the equation of motion for an element in a solid

is basically the same as that outlined above but it is much more
complicated to the fact that the restoring elastic forces include
shear as well as compression.
 The detailed analysis, done very well for example in Telford et al.,
shows that there exists a compressional wave with particle motion
in the direction of wave propagation and also a shear wave with
particle motion in the plane perpendicular to the direction of
propagation.
 The velocities of these waves are given in terms of the bulk and
shear module, K ,μ and density, ρ, viz.:

 It is clear from these expressions that the P-wave velocity is always larger
than the S-wave velocity and that the S-wave is not viable in a medium with
no shear strength.
 Why the shear modulus is involved in the P-wave velocity is not intuitively
obvious. The above derivation for the wave motion in a fluid is based on the
fact that the bulk modulus K relates the volumetric strain to a hydrostatic
pressure field.
 Although not depicted in the cross section the volume element is deformed
equally in each coordinate direction – the moving pressure field does not
change the shape of the element.
 In a solid the pressure disturbance is not hydrostatic and the shape of the
element changes under deformation. It is the difference in deformation in
different directions that brings the shear modulus into play in the resulting
equations of motion.

 The particle velocity in a shear wave can be in any direction in the
plane perpendicular to the propagation direction and it has become
conventional to describe a shear wave by a component whose
particle movement is in the horizontal direction, the SH wave and a
component whose particle motion is in a vertical plane, the SV
wave.
 Any S-wave propagating in any direction can always be represented

by a superposition of SH and SV waves.
 The elastic constants are all interrelated and a consequence that is

very useful in the study of soils and rocks is that Poisson’s ratio (ν)
can be determined from the P and S wave velocities via the
following equation;

 Poisson’s ratio is theoretically bounded between 0 and 0.5 and
for most rocks lies around 0.25, so typically VP/VS is about
1.7.
 The values of P wave velocities in representative crustal rocks
are shown in the following Figure:

Surface Waves
 On the surface between a solid or liquid and air the deformation of an
element is unconstrained in the direction normal to the surface.
This changes the equation of motion for elements or particles adjacent

to the surface and gives rise to another wave type commonly called the
surface wave.
Water waves are familiar and are readily seen as having a much lower
velocity than a sound wave propagating through the bulk of the medium.
Further a particle moves up and down vertically as well as in the

direction of the wave.
(In Fluid) In detail a particle traces an ellipse with a prograde rotation

as shown in the sketch below.

 The surface wave on an isotropic half -space is known as a Rayleigh
wave and it is similar in form to the surface wave on a liquid half-
space except that the particle motion is retrograde.
 Rayleigh waves carry a large amount of energy away from surface

sources and are the noticeable, or ‘felt’, ground motion when one is
standing near a seismic source.

 In exploration seismology Rayleigh wave are known as ground roll.
 The velocity of a Rayleigh wave, VR, is tied to the S-wave velocity and
Poisson’s ratio (and hence to VP) through the solution to the following
equation (White, 1983).

 The two plots below are taken from Mavko et al., 1998. They show
that for typical values of Poisson’s ratio. The Rayleigh wave velocity
varies only from 0.91 to 0.93 VS.

 The amplitude of the particle displacement for surface waves decreases
exponentially beneath the surface and the exponent is proportional to the
frequency as well as the elastic constants and density of the medium.
 Since it is observed that velocity generally increases with depth, Rayleigh waves
of high frequency penetrate to shallow depth and have low velocity whereas
Rayleigh waves of low frequency penetrate to greater depth and have high
velocity.
 The change in velocity with frequency is known as dispersion.
 For a typical surface source of Rayleigh waves the initiating disturbance has a
broad frequency spectrum so the observed surface motion at some distance from
the source is spread out in time, with low frequencies coming first and high
frequencies coming later.
 Measured Rayleigh wave dispersion can be used to invert for the vertical velocity
profile.

 Finally, where the shear wave velocity increases with depth from the
surface, Love showed that a horizontally polarized surface wave could
exist.
 This wave, now called a Love wave, is also dispersive, and

measurements of it’s dispersion can also be inverted to find the
distribution of shear wave velocity with depth.
 Love waves require a distinct shear component in the source stress field
so they are not a strong component of the disturbance propagated from
the explosive or surface impact sources used in seismic exploration.
 They can be, and are, generated by special horizontal shear sources.
 For many shallow earthquakes they may be the dominant surface wave.
 This is a major factor used in discriminating between underground

nuclear explosions and shallow earthquakes.

Remember Wave Types !!!

Wavefronts, rays and geometrical attenuation:
 Until now we have concentrated on the physics of stress-strain fields
and their propagation in homogeneous solids and liquids. The fields
arising from actual natural or artificial sources and what happens to such
waves when they encounter in homogeneities in density or elastic
module is the real subject of interest.
 These are the properties that we wish to extract from measurements of

the waves that have propagated into the earth.
 To begin, an assumption is made that a point source is responsible for

the resulting seismic wave. In the case of an explosive source it is
assumed that an impulse of radial directed compressive force is created
at a point. Similarly a hammer hitting a small steel plate on the surface
is considered a point source of vertical compressive force.
 Such simple concepts immediately run into practical limitations (what if

the ground surrounding the explosive is itself inhomogeneous, or the
charge is close to the free surface? The stress field of the steel plate is
not hemispherical and there is, in practice a strong component of shear
stress along the edges of the plate.).
 Considering the ideal compressive source at point O on a homogeneous half-
space,
space the resulting seismic P-wave propagates such that all the points of constant
phase lie on a hemisphere centered at O.
 The surface of all points of the same phase is called a wave front although the
inferred meaning is that the phase in question is associated with some identifiable
first arrival of the wave. A more rigorous definition is that the wave front is the
surface of all equal travel times from the source.
source A cross section of such a
hemispherical spreading wave is shown in the following cartoon for two
successive time steps, t1 and 2t1.
t1 2t1

 The wave in this cartoon is really a wavelet,
wavelet the impulsive short wave
train generated by the first compression of the source region, region its
subsequent recovery and perhaps a few highly damped oscillations. (The
source deformation is large, not infinitesimal, and non-linear.)
 Energy is dissipated in irreversible deformation (damage) to the

surroundings, and the pulse dies quickly as suggested by the cartoon
‘source function’).
 For convenience is describing wave propagation, the vector

perpendicular to a wave front is defined as a ray. The ray in the cartoon
is directed along a radius from the source, but this is not always the case.
 Rays are useful for describing what happens to waves when they pass
through an interface and we will use them later to describe reflecting and
refracting waves in layered media.

 A numerical simulation of a seismic P-wave propagating away from a
point source is shown in the following movie.
In the movie the amplitude of the wavelet is contoured and color-coded.
The high amplitude values are in red and the low amplitude in blue in this
plot.
 The zero of the wavelet is the color of the undistorted background half-
space.
 The time traces of geophones located in a well in the right hand side of
the section are shown in the graph on the right of the figure.
This is the fundamental form of the traces recorded in the vertical

seismic profiling (VSP) method that we will return to later in the course.
C:\Documents and Settings\aboezo\Desktop\Seismic course\movie.avi

Amplitude and Energy:
 The energy imparted to the wave is proportional to the square of the
amplitude of the resulting propagated wavelet. Barring actual non-
elastic losses in the medium, the energy is conserved but is spread
over the hemispherical shell that contains the wavelet.
 The energy in a volume element of this shell at radius r is roughly

the total energy of the disturbance, E0,
E0 divided by the area of the
hemisphere, 2/3πr2.
r2 The energy in the wavelet thus falls off, or
attenuates, as 1/r2.
r2 The energy in the wavelet is proportional to the
square of the amplitude of the wavelet, so the amplitude of the
spherically spreading wave falls off as 1/r.
 The second wave front at 2t1 in the above cartoon is twice as far
from the source as the first and so the amplitude of the wavelet is
reduced by half. This is called the geometric attenuation and it is
separate from any other attenuation due to loss mechanisms in the
medium.

continue: Amplitude and energy ……..:
 Surface waves spread in circular patterns from a point source

(think water waves spreading from the impact point of a stone)
and in this case the energy decays as 1/r from the source and
the amplitude consequently falls as 1/√r.
 At very large distances from the source, the curvature of the

wave front becomes small and in some situations it is possible
to neglect the curvature and assume that the wave front is a
plane. Such a wave is then known as a plane wave.

Acoustic Impedance
 The acoustic impedance of a rock is the product of its density and its
compression wave velocity.
 Acoustic impedance is closely analogous to electrical impedance, just as the

maximum transmission of electrical energy requires a matching of electrical
impedances, so the maximum transmission of seismic energy requires a
matching of acoustic impedance.
Z=ρv acoustic impedance
Z is the acoustic impedance , ρ is the density, v is the seismic phase velocity.
The smaller the contrast in acoustic impedance across the rock interface the
greater is the portion of energy transmitted through the interface.
 The reflection coefficient R is the ratio of the amplitude A I of

the reflected ray to the amplitude Ao of the incident ray.

Reflection Coefficients
 The more energy is reflected the greater the contrast.
R=A1/A0 reflection coefficient
 A negative value of R signifies a phase change of 180° in

the reflected ray.
T=A2/A0 transmission coefficient

Reflection and refraction of
obliquely incident rays
 In the case of incident waves reflected and transmitted waves

are generated as described in the case of normal incidence.
incidence
 When a P-wave is incident at an oblique angle on a plane

surface, four types of waves are generated:
– reflected and transmitted P-waves
– reflected and transmitted S-waves
 Snell´s Law:
Sin θ1 = Sin θ1’
, and Sin θ1/ V1 = Sin θ2 /V2
Figure shows: Geometry of
rays associated with a P-
wave (shown as ray)
incident obliquely on a
plane interface, and
converted vertically
polarized S-waves (SV;
shown as ray). Vp and Vs
are the respective P-and
S-wave velocities. Suffixes
1 and 2 depict the layer
number.²

Critical refraction
 When the velocity in the upper layer is higher than in the
underlying layer, there is a particular angle of incidence, for
which the angle of refraction is 90°.

Seismic Energy Propagation MOVIE !!!
movie.avi

Seismic data acquisition systems
 The fundamental purpose of seismic surveys is to
accurately record ground motion caused by known
sources in a known location.
 The record of ground motion with time constitutes a

seismogram.
 The essential instrumental requirements are to:

– generate a seismic pulse with a suitable source
– detect the seismic waves in the ground with a suitable
transducer.
– record and display seismic wave forms on a suitable
seismograph.
Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 44
Figure shows: Seismic field work: Source, geophone spread and terminal

Seismic Sources
Seismic sources on land
Impact Impulse Explosives

Sledge hammer Air gun Dynamite
Drop weight & Vibroseis
Accelerated weight

Impact Sources:
Sources that generate seismic energy by impacting the surface of the Earth
(most common type employed). Although impact sources can be rather
sophisticated in their construction, but most commonly used is a simple
sledgehammer.
In this case, an operator does nothing more than swing the sledgehammer
downward onto the ground. Instead of striking the ground directly, it is
most common to strike a metal plate lying on the ground.
The sledgehammer is usually connected to the recording system by a wire. The

moment the sledgehammer strikes the plate, the recording system begins
recording ground motion from the geophones.

Impact Sources:
The principle advantages to using a sledgehammer source are primarily:

1. Low Cost and
2. Simple to operate and maintain.
The principle disadvantages of this source are

1. It can be difficult to assure that the source is operated in a repeatable
fashion,
2. Operation is manually strenuous,
3. Produce relatively small amounts of seismic energy. Therefore, it can be
difficult to record reliable observations at great distances,
4. and Source outputs seismic energy that tends to be low frequency in
nature (i.e. this source generates a lot of surface waves).

Gun Sources:
Like impact sources, gun sources generate seismic energy by transferring the
kinetic energy of a moving object into seismic energy. In this case, the
moving object is a bullet or shot-gun slug. Some sources use blanks instead
of bullets or slugs. In this case, energy is transferred from the column of air
in the gun's barrel that is set in motion by the blank to the ground.
Most gun sources are more compact than the source shown to the left. Like the
sledgehammer, gun sources must also be connected to the recording system
so that you can begin recording ground motion from the geophones at the
instant the slug or shell hits the ground.

Gun Sources:
The principle advantages of gun sources are

1. Highly repeatable source,
2. Energy imparted into the ground is larger than is possible from a
sledgehammer,
3. Gun sources generally output higher-frequency energy. This helps to
minimize surface wave generation.
The principle disadvantages of gun sources are

1. Safety,
2. Equipment is more bulky and expensive than simple impact sources, and
3. Getting permission (permitting) to use this source may be more difficult.

Explosive Sources:
Explosive sources can impart a large amount of seismic energy into the ground
given their relatively small size.
These sources can vary in size and type from small blasting caps to larger, two-
phase explosives.
All explosive sources are triggered remotely by a devise known as a blasting

box which is connected to both the explosive and the recording system to
record ground motion from the geophones.

Explosive Sources:
The principle advantages of explosive sources are:

1. Pound for pound, these types of sources impart the most amount of seismic
energy into the ground of any of the sources described here,
2. The energy tends to be very high frequency, and because the explosives are
usually placed in a shallow borehole, it tends not to be contaminated by
surface waves, and
3. Explosive sources are very repeatable.
The principle disadvantages of explosive sources are:

1. Safety,
2. Permitting. Landowners tend to be nervous about allowing the use of
explosives on their property,
3. Data acquisition using explosive sources is much slower than using impact or
gun sources. This is primarily because boreholes must be drilled within which
the explosives are to be placed, and
4. Explosives tend to be expensive to acquire and maintain.

Transducers (seismometers or geophones)
 Conversion of the ground motion to an electrical signal requires a transducer
which is sensitive to ground motion. Devices used on land to detect seismic
ground motions are known as seismometers or geophones.
 The relative movement of the magnet with respect to the coil results in a small
voltage.
Figure shows:
Field geophone

Transducers (seismometers or geophones)
Schematic cross-section through a moving-coil geophone.

Now for the part that really consider
clever. Wrapped around the mass is a
strand of wire. Surrounding the wire
wrapped mass is a magnet that is fixed to
the Earth.
As the Earth moves, the magnet moves
up and down around the mass. The
magnetic field of this moving magnet
produces an electrical voltage in the wire.
This voltage can be amplified and

recorded by a simple voltmeter.
It is relatively easy to show that the

voltage recorded by the voltmeter is
proportional to the velocity (speed) at
which the ground is moving.

Different styles of geophone cases are
available for use in different environments.
Several examples are shown to the right. The
geophone shown to the far right (the one
without the spike), for example, is designed
for use on hard surfaces into which spikes
can not be pushed.

Problems:

Refraction Seismic

Seismic refraction surveying
 The seismic refraction surveying method uses seismic energy
that returns to the surface after traveling through the ground
along refracted ray paths.
 The most commonly derived geophysical parameter is the

seismic velocity of the layers present.
 A number of geotechnical parameters can be derived from

seismic velocity. In addition to the more conventional
engineering applications of foundation studies for dams and
major buildings, seismic refraction is increasingly being
used in hydrogeological investigations to determine
saturated aquifer thickness, weathered fault zones.

 Time average equation to estimate rock porosity
 Elastic wave velocity as a function of geological age and depth

General Principles
in Seismic Refraction
 The refraction method is dependent upon there

being an increase in velocity with depth.
 The direction of travel of a seismic wave

changes on entry into a new medium.
 The amount of change of direction is governed

by the contrast in seismic velocity across the
boundary according to Snell's law.
Snell's law

Figure shows: Ray path diagram
showing the respective paths for direct,
reflected and refracted rays.

C
D
B
A
E
Half-space
Nov 8, 2020 model - Refraction Seis
Introd.Seismic 64
Plotting the arrival times of the first arrival First Arrivals
versus offset produces the travel-time curve  The times of arrival of the first wave to be recorded
shown below:
at each offset. When performing an exploration
refraction experiment, this is the only information
extracted from the recorded seismograms that is used.
Before proceeding: time is increasing downward in
reflection methods. For refraction observations it is
more common time increasing upward.
For a simple layer (a half-space model), the travel-
time curve associated with the first arrivals is given
by two, straight-line segments. At small offsets
(green) corresponds to the direct arrival. At larger
offsets
(red) corresponds to that of the refracted arrival.
The two segments are clearly distinguished from
each other by a change in slope at some critical offset
commonly called the cross-over distance. This
distance represents the offset beyond which the direct
Nov 8, 2020
arrival is no longer the first arrival recorded. 65
Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis
 We must determine the time instant at which
ground motion was initiated on each seismogram.
On the seismogram shown to the right, this time
corresponds to the time indicated by the red line.
 On this record, choosing the first arrival time is

not difficult, because the seismogram shows no
signal before this time.
 If, however, there is any type of noise recorded on the seismogram preceding the
time of arrival of the first arrival, this time can be very difficult to pick. In practice,
one should consider this choice of first arrival times to be part of the interpretational
process rather than part of the data collecting process.
 Often, geophysicists will not attempt to pick the first arrival time but will rather
pick the time of the first prominent peak following the first arrival as shown by the
blue line.
 This will bias your results by a small amount, but the effect of the bias is minimal
compared to the effect of picking first arrival times inconsistently from trace to
trace.
Travel-Time Curves:
 For this simple model under consideration, we can compute what the arrival times
of the various seismic waves should be and overlay these predicted arrival times on
top of our shot record.
 As expected, the first arrival at short offsets is the direct arrival. This arrival has a
very large amplitude and its moveout is constant over all offsets. That is, its arrival
times fall along a straight line when plotted versus offset.
At larger offsets (>275 m), the first arrival is the refracted arrival. This arrival is
characterized by small amplitudes and a constant moveout that is smaller in value
than the moveout of the direct arrival. That is, the slope of the line connecting the
arrival times of the refracted arrival is smaller (the line is flatter) than the direct
arrival. The last arrival recorded at all offsets is the reflected arrival.

Travel-Time Curves:
 Notice that the reflected arrival does not have a constant moveout at all offsets*.
Its moveout is zero at zero offset and it approaches the moveout of the direct
arrival at very large offsets. (*It can be shown rather easily that the time of arrival versus
distance of the reflected wave can be described by a hyperbola.)
 Plots of the times of arrivals of the various recorded waves versus offset from
the source are called travel-time curves. We will often show the travel-time curves
of seismic arrivals without overlaying them on shot records as shown below:

Geometry of the refracted ray paths
 Two layer case:
Travel way of the refracted wave
Travel time of the refracted wave

Travel times
 Travel time of the direct wave:
 Travel time of the reflected wave:
 Example:
v1 = 1500 m/s
v2 = 4000 m/s
z = 100m
( x = 10, 50, 100, 300!!) meter

 Refraction for x > xk. At a distance xk called critical distance the
reflected arrival is coincident with the first critically refracted arrival
and the travel times of the two are identical.
 The crossover distance xc

is the offset at which the
critically refracted waves
precede the direct waves.
reflection
refraction
Ti
direct
Figure shows: Travel-time
curves for reflected,
refracted and direct waves.
Nov 8, 2020
x
k xc 71
Figure shows: Principle of refraction seismic.

Practical 2
Calculation of the Depth of
the Refractor
Proove Eq. in page 56

Wave Propagation with Multiple Subsurface Layers
the Earth is more complex?
• This model consists of two
layers overlying a halfspace. The
speed of wave propagation of the
halfspace is greater than either
layer, and the speed of
propagation in the middle
halfspace is greater than the
speed in the top halfspace
(i.e, V increases with depth)
• For this model, will observations

of first arrival times provide us
with enough information to
estimate all of the relevant model
parameters? The answer
is yes!

Three snapshots of the wave field
at various times after initiation of
the source are shown below.

Thus, at any distance we could observe one of three separate first
arrivals.
 At short offsets, we will observe the direct arrival. This arrival

propagates horizontally along the Earth's surface at a speed equal
to that of the top layer.
 At intermediate offsets, we will observe the head wave off of the

top interface (B1) as a first arrival. This arrival propagates
horizontally along the Earth's surface at a speed equal to that of
the middle layer.
 At large offsets, we will observe the head wave off of the top of
the half space (B2) as the first arrival. This arrival propagates
horizontally along the Earth's surface at a speed equal to that of
the halfspace.

Travel Time Curves From Multiple Subsurface Layers

• The depths to each interface, again like the simple model we have
described previously, can be computed from the intercept times, t01
and t02, and the velocities.
• The equations for computing the depths are given below. D1 is the
depth to the first interface and D2 is the depth to the second interface.
• Additional layers simply add additional linear segments to the

observed travel time curve. From these segments and their respective
zero offset times, we can compute the velocities within each layer and
the depths to each interface...usually!!
Practical 3
Calculation of the Depth of
the Refractors For Multiple
Subsurface Layers
Proove Equations in page 78

Hidden Layers
 Can layers exist in the subsurface that are

not observable from first arrival times? As
you may have guessed from the wording used on
the previous page, the answer is yes!!
 Layers that can not be distinguished from first

arrival time information are known as hidden
layers.
 There are two possible scenarios that produce

hidden layers.

Low Velocity Layers:
This is the most obvious cause of hidden layers.
• Because the velocity
decreases downward across the
first interface, no head wave is
generated at this boundary (as
was the case for the first model
we considered).
• At the second interface,

however, a head wave is
generated that can be observed at
sufficiently large offsets. Thus,
our first arrival time observations
will consist of direct arrivals at
small offsets and head wave Consider the model shown here.
arrivals from the deeper
interface at larger offsets.
• The first arrival travel-time

curve generated from this model
is shown below.
• Notice that this travel-time curve
is indistinguishable from the curves
produced by a model containing a
single interface !!!.
• Hence, from this data alone you
would be unable to detect the
presence of the middle layer.
• Using the methodology described

earlier, you would interpret the
subsurface as consisting of a single
layer with a velocity of 1500 m/s
(from the slope of the travel-time
Low Velocity Layer Case
curve for the direct arrival) underlain
by a halfspace with a velocity of
5000 m/s (from the slope of the
head wave travel-time curve).
• Using the value of t01 from the

graph and the values of the
velocities, you would guess that the
thickness of the layer is 314 m!!
You would be wrong???.
Thin, Large Velocity Constrast Layers:
Another type of hidden layer is produced by media whose
velocity greatly increases with a small change in depth.
• In this model there is a thin layer that
is underlain by the halfspace, which has
a velocity much larger than the upper
layer.
• Unlike the previous example, head

waves are produced at both interfaces
just as described previously.
• Because the layer is thin and the

velocity of the underlying medium
is larger, however, the head wave
coming from the top boundary is never
observed as a first arrival!!
Consider the model shown below
• It is overtaken by the rapidly traveling
head wave coming from the bottom
boundary before it can overtake the
direct arrival.
• The travel-time curve you would

observe is shown below.
Nov 8, 2020
83
• The red line in the figure shows
the travel times for the head wave
coming off of the top boundary.
• As described above, it is never

observed as a first arrival. Therefore,
like before, you would interpret the
first arrivals as being generated from
a subsurface structure that consists
of a single layer over a halfspace.
Thin, Large Velocity Contrast Layer
• Again, like before, you can correctly
estimate the velocities in the top
layer and the halfspace, but because
you missed the middle layer, the
depth you would compute from t01
to the top of the halfspace would be
incorrect.

Hidden Layers Cases:
(Low Velocity Layers + Thin, Large Velocity Constrast
Layers)
 In both of these cases, notice that the existence

of the hidden layer can not be determined from
the travel-time observations you are collecting.
 So, in practice you probably will never know that

hidden layers existed under your survey. That is,
until the client begins to excavate or drill!!

Head Waves From a Dipping Layer:
(Shooting Down Dip)
• A high velocity half space underlies a lower velocity layer.
• The boundary between the layer and the half space dips
from left to right. Notice that in this example, the source is
to the left (up dip) of the receivers.

(Shooting Down Dip)
 As was the case in the other examples where velocity increases

with depth, in this case, head waves will be generated along the
top of the halfspace that will propagate back up through the
layer and be observed on the surface of the Earth.
 Raypaths for the head wave observed at four different offsets are
shown in red in the figure below.
 Notice, if we were able to put geophones inside the Earth

along a line that passes through the source and parallels the top
of the halfspace (black dashed line), we would observe the
head wave as if it had been generated on a flat boundary.
 Thus, the times that it takes the head wave to travel from the
source back up to the black dashed line are identical to the
times we've discussed for flat boundaries.

• Our geophones,
however, are not sitting
within the Earth. They're
sitting on the surface
of the Earth !!!.
• The head waves must

travel an extra distance
beyond the black
dashed line to reach our
geophones (blue
extensions to the red ray
paths).
•Notice that the

distance that the head
wave must travel
beyond the black
dashed line increases •Therefore, when compared to the travel times we
with offset. would expect from a flat layer, the dipping layer
causes the travel times of the refracted arrival to
be delayed.

(Shooting Down Dip)
• The size of the delay increases with offset.
• It is easy to approximate* how much later the head wave is observed

at every offset. Knowing the dip of the layer, α, and the offset, x, the
extra ray path traveled, d, can be easily computed.
• Dividing this distance by the velocity, V1, gives us the extra travel
time. An equation for this extra time is shown in the figure above.
• Notice that the amount of extra travel time increases in proportion

to the offset, x. Thus, like the flat layer case, we would expect the travel-
time curve for the head wave off of a dipping layer to define a straight line
versus offset.
• The travel times observed from this dipping layer are shown below,
along with the times that would be observed if geophones were placed
along the black dashed line (the flat layer equivalent).

• Direct arrivals are
shown in green.
• They are not affected

by dip on the layer.
• The head wave

generated from the
dipping layer as observed
on the surface of the
Earth is shown in dark
red.
• Shown in bright red is

what be observed on
the black dashed line.
• As expected, the head

wave observed on the
Earth's surface arrives
at later times, and this
time difference increases
with offset.
Thus, if we were to collect data over a dipping layer by
shooting down dip, the following points would be true:
•We would not be able to tell the layer was dipping from the shape of
the travel-time curve. In both the dipping and non-dipping layer case, the
curve consists of two linear segments,
•We could compute the velocity of the layer from the slope of the
travel-time curve that defines the direct arrival,
•When using the slope of the travel-time curve for the head wave, we
would compute a velocity for the halfspace that is too small, and
•Using the velocity calculated above and the zero offset time, t0, we
would compute a depth to the layer boundary larger than the distance to
the interface beneath the source, hs.

Shooting Up Dip
Now what happens if we place the source down dip, to the right, and the
receivers up dip? The geometry and the ray paths (red) for the head
wave
Nov 8,observed
2020 at four different offsets
Introd.Seismic are shown
- Refraction Seis in the figure below. 93
 As we did when shooting down dip, we can examine how
the dip affects the observed travel times by comparing
them to the times we would observe along a line passing
through the source and paralleling the boundary (dashed
line).
 In this case, notice that when shooting up dip, the actual

ray paths are smaller than we would observe along the
black dashed line.
 Thus, the travel times at any offset for the head wave
observed on the surface of the Earth are less than those we
would observe for an equivalent flat layer.
 The time deficit increases with increasing offset and has the
same size as the time increase at a given offset when
shooting down dip.
 The travel-time curve we would observe over this structure

is shown below.

 As before, direct arrivals
are shown in green. They
are not affected by dip on
the layer.
 The head wave generated
from the dipping layer as
observed on the surface of
the Earth is shown in dark
red.
 As it would be observed on
the black dashed line is
shown in bright red.
 As described above, the
head wave observed on the
Earth's surface arrives at
earlier and earlier times
with increasing offset.
 As before, the travel-time
curves collected over a
dipping layer when shooting
up dip consist of the exact
same components as those
observed over a flat layer
(two straight line
segments).
If we were to interpret this data with having no other
information, the following results would occur:
• We would not be able to tell the layer was dipping from the shape of
the travel-time curve. In both the dipping and non-dipping layer cases,
the curve consists of two linear segments. Thus, we would most like
misinterpret the observations as being indicative of a simple flat-lying
interface,
• We could compute the velocity of the layer from the slope of the
travel-time curve that defines the direct arrival,
• When using the slope of the travel-time curve for the head wave, we
would compute a velocity for the halfspace that is too large, and
• Using the velocity calculated above and the zero offset time, t0, we
would compute a depth to the layer boundary smaller than the distance
to the interface beneath the source, hr.

Recognizing Dipping Layers: A Field Procedure

Estimating Dips
and Depths From
Refraction
Observations

How to calculate Depth and dip
of the multi horizontal layers??

 Advantages and disadvantages of
the Seismic Methods
Comparasion between Reflection

and Refraction Seismic

This part of Exploration geophysics:
(Seismic Introduction & Refrection
Seismic Method)
is finished..

Hydrostatic pressure
Hydrostatic pressure:
 Considering a small cube of liquid at rest below a free surface,
pressure caused by the height of the liquid above must be balanced
by a resisting pressure in this small cube. For an infinitely small cube
the stress is the same in all directions and liquid weight or equivalent
pressure can be expressed as:
where,
P is the hydrostatic pressure (Pa);
ρ is the liquid density (kg/m3);
g is gravitional acceleration (m/s2);
h is the height of liquid above (m);
Pa is the atmospheric pressure (Pa).

Wish you a great day,
I apologize that I couldn't reply your email earlier that I was in a field work shooting Resistivity Tomography (ERT) for quartz veins
mapping in a mineralization zone in northern Sudan. I heard about the recent earthquake in Northern California before I left.
Of course I remembered Suganth Kannan, in fact I was impressed with his presentation and the innovative mathematical model
for earthquake prediction using a spatial connection theory. I told my students his valuable story and some were really inspired
by him.
I am totally agreed with you that I it would be interesting to see the results of his model recalibrated to 6.0-8.0 magnitude
challenging quakes. I even wish that Suganth Kannan can extend his prediction area of study for potential seismic activities. Of
course that will take time, efforts and facilities, but I wish him a great success.

Introduction Seismic Methods - Refraction Seismic

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Introduction Seismic Methods - Refraction Seismic

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Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 1

 In air, or in a liquid, sound propagates as a compression

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 2

 To understand the different types of seismic waves that can

 An external force F is applied across an area A of a surface of a

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 4

 This work in the late 1800s and early 1900s showed

 A detailed study of the arrival times at different

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 5

 The density of the medium is represented by the distributed

 The masses and springs should be envisioned as lying in a

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 6

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 7

 The distance at a given time between two successive points of

 The velocity, frequency, period and wavelength are all related as

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 8

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 9

A typical stress-strain curve for a solid body .

→ Earthquake occurs when rocks are

→ In exploration seismology the

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 10

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 11

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 12

 The strains associated with the passage of a seismic pulse may

 The propagation of seismic pulses is determined by the elastic

 There are two groups of seismic waves: body waves and

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 13

 (longitudinal, primary  (transverse, secondary or

 Material particles oscillate  Particle motion is at right

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 14

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 15

Deformation propagates. Particle motion consists of alternating compression

Deformation propagates. Particle motion consists of alternating transverse motion.

Deformation propagates. Particle motion consists of elliptical motions

 The derivation of the equation of motion for an element in a solid

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 21

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 22

 Any S-wave propagating in any direction can always be represented

 The elastic constants are all interrelated and a consequence that is

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 23

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 24

This changes the equation of motion for elements or particles adjacent

Further a particle moves up and down vertically as well as in the

(In Fluid) In detail a particle traces an ellipse with a prograde rotation

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 25

 Rayleigh waves carry a large amount of energy away from surface

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 26

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 27

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 28

 The change in velocity with frequency is known as dispersion.

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 29

 This wave, now called a Love wave, is also dispersive, and

 This is a major factor used in discriminating between underground

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 30

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 31

 These are the properties that we wish to extract from measurements of

 To begin, an assumption is made that a point source is responsible for

 Such simple concepts immediately run into practical limitations (what if

Nov 8, 2020 Introd.Seismic - Refraction Seis 33

 Energy is dissipated in irreversible deformation (damage) to the

 For convenience is describing wave propagation, the vector