Wave velocity dependence on density

  Denser rocks usually have higher

seismic velocities.

  Elastic moduli also increase with
density, faster than ρ1.

  A linear relationship by Birch (1964):

  An empirical relation (e.g., Nafe-Drake

curve), from observations on different
types of rocks: igneous and
metamorphic rocks have higher
velocities than sedimentary rocks.

 Seismic velocity and Poisson’s ratio

  Using the relationships between Poisson’s ratio, Lame’s constants, elastic
moduli and seismic velocities:

vp 2(1 − σ )
=
vs 1 − 2σ
vp
For a Poisson solid, σ =0.25, = 3
vs

v p / vs (hence Poisson's ratio σ ) can be characteristic of rock type or physical property

Felsic rocks  low Poisson’s ratio (e.g., granite 0.1-0.25);

Mafic rocks  high Poisson’s ratio (e.g., basalt 0.15-0.25);

Partial melt or pore fluids  very high Poisson’s ratio (~ 0.4).

 Overpressurized subducted oceanic crust in
northern Cascadia

[Audet et al., 2009]

 Seismograms

3-component ground motion
from seismic waves generated
by an earthquake ~ 280 km
beneath two stations in Japan.

First arrival P, primarily on the
vertical (U-D) component.

Later S, on horizontal
components (N-S, E-W).

A shallow earthquake in
Nevada, source to station
distance < 100 km.

P, S arrival time difference can
be used to constrain the
distance of source.

 Using P and S waves to locate earthquakes

  Need to know S-P travel time difference (the difference in arrival times)
and some knowledge of the velocity structure, at at least three seismic
stations.

 Surface waves

  Seismic waves that are guided along the surface of the Earth and the
layers near the surface, analogous to water waves. There are two types of
surface waves: Rayleigh (combination of P and SV motions) and Love
(combination of SH motions) waves.

  Best generated by shallow earthquakes, they do not penetrate into the

deep interior.

  Due to geometric spreading, surface waves have 2-D decay in amplitude

1/r1/2 (versus 3-D decay of body waves, 1/r)  larger amplitude and
longer duration, more destruction, than body waves.

  Surface waves can circle the globe many times after a large earthquake.

Water wave

Clockwise circular particle motion

 Surface wave – Rayleigh wave

  Particle motion consists of elliptical motions (generally retrograde elliptical as

shown in the figure) in the vertical plane and parallel to the direction of propagation,
is a combination of P and SV waves that can exist at the top of a homogeneous
halfspace. Amplitude decreases with depth.  Material returns to its original shape
after the wave passes.

Surface wave displacement derivations in Stein and Wysession An introduction
to seismology, earthquakes and earth structure

 Rayleigh wave particle motion

For energy to be trapped near the free surface, the particle motion must satisfy
two conditions:

1.  Exponential decay with depth z  exp(-ikzz) has negative real exponents

2.  Free surface boundary condition σxz=0, σzz=0

 Rayleigh wave in a homogeneous half-space

For a Poisson solid. Both Particle motion with time at z=0, x=0; phase
components are sinusoidal difference of T/4 between vertical and radial
functions of (ωt-kxx), and components.

decay with depth as exp(-ckxz) Longer-wavelength surface waves contain more
Note the change in the sign of information about the deep velocity structure;
ux at about 1/5 wavelength.
while shorter-wavelength waves yield
information about the shallow structure.

 Love wave

  Love wave cannot exist in a

homogeneous half-space. The
simplest geometry to generate Love
wave: interactions between SH waves
in a layer on top of a half-space, and
β2>β1.

 Surface wave – Love wave

Particle motion consists of alternating transverse motions.  Particle motion is horizontal

and perpendicular to the direction of propagation, results from the interaction of SH
waves, requires a velocity structure that varies with depth, thus cannot exist in a
half-space.  Amplitude decreases with depth.  Material returns to its original shape after
the wave passes.

 Surface wave dispersion

  Surface waves are dispersive:
velocities depend on wave frequency, Dispersion curve: describes the
variation in seismic velocity with
wave train changes shape as it travels.

frequency (period)

Record section of surface waves

• Phase velocity C: velocity of a particular phase (e.g., peak or trough). Frequency of a

given phase may change with distance.

• Group velocity U: velocity at which surface wave energy of a given frequency travels.

• C and U are linked by:
C = ω / k(ω ); U = dω
dk wavenumber k = 2π / λ
dC dC angular frequency ω = f / (2π )
U =C+k =C−λ
dk dλ
Earthquake near Vancouver Island, 2004, recorded by a station in southeast
Ontario. Longer-period (lower frequency) signal arrives earlier than shorter-
period signal, with higher group velocity.

  In an ideal situation, where elastic properties are constant with depth, Rayleigh
waves are not dispersive and travel at a velocity of ~ 0.92β. Real Earth has a
layered structure, thus Rayleigh wave is dispersive.

  Love wave is always dispersive, with phase velocity between β1 and β2.

  Love wave generally has group velocity greater than Rayleigh wave, thus arrives
earlier on a seismogram.

 Global surface waves

Surface waves travel along great circles paths

radiating away from the source. At a receiver
(station), the first arrival, (R1 or G1) travels
along the minor (shorter) great circle. The
second arrival (R2 or G2) travels in the
opposite direction, passing the antipode. And so
A 1989 Tonga trench earthquake (230
on…

km) recorded at station NNA in Peru. P,
On the right diagram, note the decay in the
SV and Rayleigh waves most visible on
amplitudes of arrivals with time (attenuation).

the vertical and radial components; SH
and Love waves on the transverse comp.


Stack records from many
different events to produce a global
picture: Earth’s long-period seismic
response on vertical component on
seismograms as a function of time
and distance [Shearer, 1994].

The power of surface wave
observations lies in that velocity can
be measured at different frequencies
from a single seismogram,
providing direct constraints on the
velocity versus depth profile along
the source-receiver path.

A linearized inversion technique
is used to obtain a velocity-depth
structure appropriate for particular
dispersion curves.

Non-volcanic tremors triggered by Love
surface wave from Denali earthquake

Broadband 3-
component record of
the 2001 Denali
earthquake (Alaska) at
station PHC (north
Vancouver Island).
[Rubinstein et al.,
2007]

  Induced shear stress on the subduction fault promotes seismic failure
responsible for the tremors.

 Free oscillation and normal modes

Propagating body and surface waves from a large

earthquake can excite standing waves within the
Earth, causing the entire planet to vibrate at a set of
frequencies (like a bell).

Standing waves on a vibrating string.

No displacement at fixed points on the
string (nodes); other points vibrates up
and down. Wavelength decreases
going up to higher harmonics.

   For each mode of oscillation, the
sphere can be divided into zones of
opposite displacements (red and
blue regions), separated by nodes.

  First observation from the 1960

Chilean earthquake (M ~ 9.4).

  Two independent types of free

oscillations: spheroidal and
toriodal (torsional) oscillations.

A set of standing waves of the Sun’s

vibration (from soi.stanford.edu
helioseismology group).

Toroidal modes

Motion is only horizontal, always
perpendicular to the radius vector so confined
to the surface of concentric spheres, does not
change the shape or volume of the Earth,
outer core is not involved. Analogous to SH
and Love wave motions.

m
Notation:
nTl

n: radial order (number of depth nodes)


l: angular order (number of nodal
lines at the surface +1 )


m: azimuthal order (number of
great-circle nodal lines passing through poles)

Examples of toroidal modes

Special cases:

T : undefined
0 0

T : no nodal planes, rigid-body rotation,

0 1

physically impossible for Earth

n = 0 : fundamental mode,
same direction of motions at
surface and depth
n ≥ 1: overtones,
spherical nodal planes across which
displacements reverse.
Spheroidal modes

Motion in both radial (vertical) and transverse
(horizontal) directions. Analogous to P-SV
and Rayleigh wave motions.

Notation:

n: radial order (number of internal
nodal surfaces increases with n but doesn’t
correspond exactly; n=0 fundamental mode)


l: angular order (number of nodal
lines at the surface)


m: azimuthal order (number of
great-circle nodal lines passing through poles)

Special

cases:

• For the fundamental overtone
branches, modes with angular
order > ~ 20 correspond to the
fundamental mode Rayleigh and
Love waves with those periods,
often viewed as traveling waves.

• Higher-order modes are often

thought of in terms of a body
wave phase to which they
contribute.

 Long-period modes of a large earthquake

From Dahlen and Tromp (1998). Amplitude spectrum of the radial component of
the 1994 Bolivia earthquake recorded at Pasadena, showing coupling between
modes of similar frequencies. Solid line: observed; dashed line: predicted using a
3-D velocity model.

 Normal mode synthetic seismograms

Like a music synthesizer creates a particular sound by summing the right
combination of harmonic overtones (“modes”), seismologists can model
seismograms (synthetic seismograms) by summing up normal modes of
many frequencies, which requires information about the velocity structure of
the Earth.

Observed (top) and

modeled (bottom,
w. normal modes)
seismograms from
an Indonesia
earthquake. From
Woodhouse and
Dziewonski (1984)