On the Biot slow S-wave

Geophysics ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. N19-N33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pratap N. Sahay

It is accepted widely that the Biot theory predicts only one shear wave representing the in-phase/unison shear motions of the solid and fluid constituent phases (fast S-wave). The Biot theory also contains a shear mode wherein the two constituent phases essentially undergo out-of-phase shear motions (slow S-wave). From the outset of the development of the Biot framework, the existence of this mode has remained unnoticed because of an oversight in decoupling its system of two coupled equations governing shear processes. Moreover, in the absence of the fluid strain-rate term in the Biot constitutive relation, the velocity of this mode is zero. Once the Biot constitutive relation is corrected for the missing fluid strain-rate term (i.e., fluid viscosity), this mode turns out to be, in the inertial regime, a diffusive process akin to a viscous wave in a Newtonian fluid. In the viscous regime, it degenerates to a process governed by a diffusion equation with a damping term. Although this mode is damped so heavily that it dies off rapidly near its source, overlooking its existence ignores a mechanism to draw energy from seismic waves (fast P- and S-waves) via mode conversion at interfaces and at other material discontinuities and inhomogeneities. To illustrate the consequence of generating this mode at an interface, I examine the case of a horizontally polarized fast S-wave normal incident upon a planar air-water interface in a porous medium. Contrary to the classical Biot framework, which suggests that the incident wave should be transmitted practically unchanged through such an interface, the viscosity-corrected Biot framework predicts a strong, fast S-wave reflection because of the slow S-wave generated at the interface.

Geophysics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 1519-1527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Sun ◽  
George A. McMechan

Reflected P‐to‐P and P‐to‐S converted seismic waves in a two‐component elastic common‐source gather generated with a P‐wave source in a two‐dimensional model can be imaged by two independent scalar reverse‐time depth migrations. The inputs to migration are pure P‐ and S‐waves that are extracted by divergence and curl calculations during (shallow) extrapolation of the elastic data recorded at the earth’s surface. For both P‐to‐P and P‐to‐S converted reflected waves, the imaging time at each point is the P‐wave traveltime from the source to that point. The extracted P‐wave is reverse‐time extrapolated and imaged with a P‐velocity model, using a finite difference solution of the scalar wave equation. The extracted S‐wave is reverse‐time extrapolated and imaged similarly, but with an S‐velocity model. Converted S‐wave data requires a polarity correction prior to migration to ensure constructive interference between data from adjacent sources. Synthetic examples show that the algorithm gives satisfactory results for laterally inhomogeneous models.


Author(s):  
Maryam Safarshahi ◽  
Igor B. Morozov

ABSTRACT Empirical models of geometrical-, Q-, t-star, and kappa-type attenuation of seismic waves and ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs) are viewed as cases of a common empirical standard model describing variation of wave amplitudes with time and frequency. Compared with existing parametric and nonparametric approaches, several new features are included in this model: (1) flexible empirical parameterization with possible nonmonotonous time or distance dependencies; (2) joint inversion for time or distance and frequency dependencies, source spectra, site responses, kappas, and Q; (3) additional constraints removing spurious correlations of model parameters and data residuals with source–receiver distances and frequencies; (4) possible kappa terms for sources as well as for receivers; (5) orientation-independent horizontal- and three-component amplitudes; and (6) adaptive filtering to reduce noise effects. The approach is applied to local and regional S-wave amplitudes in southeastern Iran. Comparisons with previous studies show that conventional attenuation models often contain method-specific biases caused by limited parameterizations of frequency-independent amplitude decays and assumptions about the models, such as smoothness of amplitude variations. Without such assumptions, the frequency-independent spreading of S waves is much faster than inferred by conventional modeling. For example, transverse-component amplitudes decrease with travel time t as about t−1.8 at distances closer than 90 km and as t−2.5 beyond 115 km. The rapid amplitude decay at larger distances could be caused by scattering within the near surface. From about 90 to 115 km distances, the amplitude increases by a factor of about 3, which could be due to reflections from the Moho and within the crust. With more accurate geometrical-spreading and kappa models, the Q factor for the study area is frequency independent and exceeds 2000. The frequency-independent and Q-type attenuation for vertical-component and multicomponent amplitudes is somewhat weaker than for the horizontal components. These observations appear to be general and likely apply to other areas.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Watremez ◽  
Sylvie Leroy ◽  
Elia d'Acremont ◽  
Stéphane Rouzo

<p>The Gulf of Aden is a young and active oceanic basin, which separates the south-eastern margin of the Arabian Plate from the Somali Plate. The rifting leading to the formation of the north-eastern Gulf of Aden passive margin started ca. 34 Ma ago when the oceanic spreading in this area initiated at least 17.6 Ma ago. The opening direction (N26°E) is oblique to the mean orientation of the Gulf (N75°E), leading to a strong structural segmentation.</p><p>The Encens cruise (2006) allowed for the acquisition of a large seismic refraction dataset with profiles across (6 lines) and along (3 lines) the margin, between the Alula-Fartak and Socotra-Hadbeen fracture zones, which define a first order segment of the Gulf. P-wave velocity modelling already allowed us to image the crustal thinning and the structures, from continental to oceanic domains, along some of the profiles. A lower crustal intermediate body is observed in the Ashawq-Salalah segment, at the base of the transitional and oceanic crusts. The nature of this intermediate body is most probably mafic, linked to a post-rift thermal anomaly. The thin (1-2 km) sediment layer in the study area allows for a clear conversion of P-waves to S-waves at the top basement. Thus, most seismic refraction records show very clear S-wave arrivals.</p><p>In this study, we use both P-wave and S-wave arrivals to delineate the crustal structures and segmentation along and across the margin and add insight into the nature of the rocks below the acoustic basement. P-wave velocity modelling allows for the delineation of the structure variations across and along the margin. The velocity models are used as a base for the S-wave modelling, through the definition of Poisson’s ratios in the different areas of the models. Picking and modelling of S-wave arrivals allow us to identify two families of converted waves: (1) seismic waves converted at the basement interface on the way up, just before arriving to the OBS and (2) seismic waves converted at the basement on the way down, which travelled into the deep structures as S-waves. The first set of arrivals allows for the estimation the S-wave velocities (Poisson’s ratio) in the sediments, showing that the sediments in this area are unconsolidated and water saturated. The second set of arrivals gives us constraints on the S-wave velocities below the acoustic basement. This allows for an improved mapping of the transitional and oceanic domains and the confirmation of the mafic nature of the lower crustal intermediate body.</p>


1992 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 642-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Gutierrez ◽  
Shri Krishna Singh

Abstract The city of Acapulco is located near or above the mature seismic gap of Guerrero along the Mexican subduction zone. With the purpose of studying the character of strong ground motion on soft sites, four digital accelerographs have been installed in the city on such sites. These instruments have been in operation since 1988. Two additional instruments, part of the Guerrero Accelerograph Array, are located on hard sites in the area. One of these, VNTA, has been in operation since 1985 and the other, ACAN, since 1989. These stations have recorded several earthquakes. We use data from eight events (4.2 ≤ M ≤ 6.9) to study spectral amplification of seismic waves at the soft sites with respect to VNTA. The S waves are amplified by a factor of 6 to 25 at the soft sites in a fairly broad range of frequencies; both the amplification and the frequency band over which it occurs depend upon the site. Although the largest earthquake in our data set (M = 6.9) gave rise to a peak horizontal acceleration exceeding 0.3 g at one of the soft sites, no clear evidence of nonlinear behavior of the subsoil is found. Spectral amplifications of S-wave coda are very similar to those of S waves. We also measured microtremors at the strong-motion sites. The microtremor spectra were interpreted, using reasonable assumptions, to test the feasibility of this technique in reproducing the spectral amplifications observed during earthquakes. Our results show that only a rough estimate of site response can be obtained from this technique, at least in Acapulco; caution is warranted in its use elsewhere.


2006 ◽  
Vol 326-328 ◽  
pp. 1149-1152
Author(s):  
Xiao Yan Liu ◽  
Cheng Yuan Zhang ◽  
Dao Ying Xi ◽  
Quan Sheng Liu

Most rocks are saturated or partly saturated with different fluids under different depth, temperature and pressure conditions. It is generally acknowledged that fluids have the most important effect on the attenuation and dispersion of seismic waves. There exists a relation between frequency- and temperature- dependence on rock’s seismic properties. It is not yet clear in literature whether there exist other equally important attenuation mechanisms as that in Biot’s model, since there are other sources of dissipation, also related to fluids, that are not considered in Biot theory but that may also contribute to the overall dissipation of seismic energy. Identifying the precise relaxation mechanisms is still the subject of experimental and theoretical research. In this article, a series of experiments are conducted on dry and saturated rocks (sandstone, marble, granite) at different temperatures and frequencies to find the attenuation mechanism of interaction between rock skeleton and pore-fluid. Fluid viscosity generally depends on temperature, so the effect of pore fluid on attenuation is confirmed in terms of apparent viscosity variation of rock caused by the change of pore-fluid conditions (such as frequency or temperature). Based on our experimental data, we develop a new model of macroscopic apparent viscosity in saturated rock which is consistent with the nonlinear relaxation law. It helps to derive the analytical expressions to compute velocity dispersion and attenuation as functions of frequency and temperature.


Geophysics ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. D183-D195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Pimienta ◽  
Jérôme Fortin ◽  
Yves Guéguen

Poisson’s ratio [Formula: see text] is an important parameter when interpreting measured geophysical and seismic data. For an isotropic medium, it directly relates to the ratio of P- and S-wave velocities. We have measured [Formula: see text] as a function of pressure and frequency in fluid-saturated sandstones. The method of measuring [Formula: see text] was first tested as a function of pressure and frequency using standard samples. The phase shift [Formula: see text] between radial and axial strains was also measured. For all standard samples, such as the linear viscoelastic Plexiglas, the data indicated that [Formula: see text] correlated with [Formula: see text] and related to a dissipation on [Formula: see text]. Then, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] were measured as a function of pressure and frequency for two dry and fluid-saturated Fontainebleau sandstone samples. Under dry conditions, no frequency dependence and very small pressure dependence were observed. Unusual behaviors were observed under fluid-saturated conditions. In particular, [Formula: see text] of one sample indicated a frequency-dependent bell-shaped dispersion under water and glycerin saturation that correlated with peaks in [Formula: see text]. Plotting the measurements as a function of apparent frequency (i.e., normalizing by the fluid viscosity) indicated a good fit between the water- and glycerin-saturated measurements. The bell-shaped dispersion in [Formula: see text] that was observed for one particular sandstone held for all effective pressures. These variations fully correlated with the peaks of [Formula: see text] observed. Our results can be interpreted using fluid flow and effective medium theories in the case of a porous microcracked rock. Drained/undrained and relaxed/unrelaxed transitions have frequency and magnitude of variations that are consistent with the measurements. The rock sample microcrack density strongly affects this frequency dependence. The inferred [Formula: see text] ratio at low effective pressures also indicates a large frequency-dependent bell-shaped dispersion. The parameter [Formula: see text] is a clear indicator of the frequency-dependent dissipation of [Formula: see text] and relates to the attenuation of P- and S-waves.


1973 ◽  
Vol 63 (6-1) ◽  
pp. 2091-2104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Molnar ◽  
Brian E. Tucker ◽  
James N. Brune

Abstract P- and S-wave spectra of 144 aftershocks 12≦M≦412 of the February 9, 1971 San Fernando earthquake corroborate previous work showing that the corner frequencies for P waves in general are greater than those for S waves. This observation is consistent not only with models that treat earthquakes as volume sources, but also with physically reasonable dislocation models for which (1) the source is approximately equidimensional, (2) both the duration of slip at each point on the fault and the time for the ruptured area to develop are not long compared with the time for seismic waves to cross the ruptured area, and (3) much of the source radiates essentially simultaneously. There may be other physically reasonable dislocation models compatible with the observations. Savage's calculations indicate that models that involve propagating dislocations on long thin faults are not adequate for describing most moderate and small earthquakes studied.


Geophysics ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-109
Author(s):  
Alexey Stovas ◽  
Yuriy Roganov ◽  
Vyacheslav Roganov

The parameterization of anisotropic models is very important when focusing on specific signatures of seismic waves and reducing the parameters crosstalk involved in inverting seismic data. The parameterization is strongly dependent on the problem at hand. We propose a new parameterization for an elastic orthorhombic model with on-axes P- and S-wave velocities and new symmetric anelliptic parameters. The perturbation approach is well defined for P waves in acoustic orthorhombic media. In the elastic orthorhombic media, the P-wave perturbation coefficients are very similar to their acoustic counterparts. However, the S-waves perturbation coefficients are still unknown. The perturbation coefficients can be interpreted as sensitivity coefficients, and they are important in many applications. We apply the second-order perturbation in anelliptic parameters for P, S1 and S2 wave phase velocities in elastic orthorhombic model. We show that using the conventional method some perturbation coefficients for S waves are not defined in the vicinity of the singularity point in an elliptical background model. Thus, we propose an alternative perturbation approach that overcomes this problem. We compute the first- and second-order perturbation coefficients for P and S waves. The perturbation-based approximations are very accurate for P and S waves compared with exact solutions, based on a numerical example. The reductions to transversely isotropic and acoustic orthorhombic models are also considered for analysis. We also show how perturbations in anelliptic parameters affect S-wave triplications in an elastic orthorhombic model.


Geophysics ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 696-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ker C. Thomson ◽  
Thomas J. Ahrens ◽  
M. Nafi Toksöz

The occasional existence of very pronounced, anomalous, horizontally polarized seismic waves from underground nuclear bomb blasts has been reported by several investigators. In order to further understanding of this phenomenon and the processes of mechanical radiation from explosions, particularly in prestressed media, a model study has been undertaken. Experimental apparatus has been developed which permits the generation and propagation of body waves from explosions in transparent plate models prestressed to various two‐dimensional stress configurations. High‐speed framing camera sequences are presented showing the explosion process and the resulting plate compressional and shear wave propagation in prestressed models. These are compared to theoretical calculations of isochromatic and [Formula: see text] isoclinic fringe patterns associated with the wave propagation in stressfree plates and plates prestressed in tension and shear. The following distinctive optical phenomena were predicted theoretically and observed in the high‐speed photoelastic patterns: a [Formula: see text] discontinuity between P and S wave isoclinics for the unstressed case; a tendency for the isoclinics to broaden and envelope the isochromatics in regions where the P and S waves are superimposed; development of serrations in the dynamic isoclinics in the presence of a prestressing field (yielding a pseudo‐isochromatic appearance to isoclinics when viewed monochromatically); and finally, a general similarity between the dynamic optical effects in media under tensile and shear prestress.


Geophysics ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 44 (11) ◽  
pp. 1777-1788 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. C. Dutta ◽  
H. Odé

An exact theory of attenuation and dispersion of seismic waves in porous rocks containing spherical gas pockets (White model) is presented using the coupled equations of motion given by Biot. Assumptions made are (1) the acoustic wavelength is long with respect to the distance between gas pockets and their size, and (2) the gas pockets do not interact. Thus, the present theory essentially is quite similar to that proposed by White (1975), but the problem of the radially oscillating gas pocket is solved in a more rigorous manner by means of Biot’s theory (1962). The solid‐fluid coupling is automatically included, and the model is solved as a boundary value problem requiring all radial stresses and displacements to be continuous at the gas‐brine interface. Thus, we do not require any assumed fluid‐pressure discontinuity at the gas‐water contact, such as the one employed by White (1975). We have also presented an analysis of all of the field variables in terms of Biot’s type I (the classical compressional) wave and, type II (the diffusion) wave. Our quantitative results are presented in Dutta and Odé (1979, this issue).


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