Book Review: Seismic Waves in Laterally Inhomogeneous Media by I. Pšenčík and V. Červený (Eds.), Birkhäuser Verlag,Basel-Boston-Berlin, 2002, ISBN 3-7643-6915-9 and 6916-7

Studia Geophysica et Geodaetica -     

Phase identification and attribute analysis of broadband seismograms at far-regional distances

A trained analyst can frequently provide a rapid assessment of a seismic record and provide identification for many seismic phases. For digital data a challenge is to find methods (or combinations of methods) which can provide equivalent levels of phase identification and attribute analysis. Until now, there have been few discussions on phase attribute analysis for broadband records, even though the character of the major phases has been recognised several decades ago. We introduce a combination of four simple methods into the analysis of broadband seismograms so as to provide a means of improving phase recognition and the full use of broadband information for far-regional distances where the seismograms are particularly complex (because of the influence of the upper mantle discontinuities). For arrival detection we can employ the energy ratios of the short term behaviour to the long-term trend, using the vertical component and horizontal components of unrotated seismic records. We also use auto-regressive analysis to endeavour to separate broadband records into three parts: the seismic signal, microseismic noise and white noise. The higher order auto- and cross-correlation coefficient (representing the similarity of waveform) can be used to identify the presence of seismic phases, by avoiding the influence of the relatively low order correlation of microseismic noise. For each broadband 3-component record a set of complex traces are constructed and then a variety of definitions of instantaneous phase and frequency can be exploited to separate the behaviour of signal and noise. The complex traces can also be used for polarisation analysis. The changes in the character of the eigenvectors are particularly helpful for recognising the phases of broadband records in the far-regional range. The individual methods are quite powerful but when used in combination can provide a very effective means of phase characterisation.     

On the density distribution within the Earth

The distribution of density as a function of position within the Earth is much less well constrained than the seismic velocities. The primary information comes from the mass and moment of inertia of the Earth and this information alone requires that there be a concentration of mass towards the centre of the globe. Additional information is to be found in the frequencies of the graver normal modes of the Earth which are sensitive to density through self-gravitation effects induced in deformation.
  The present generation of density models has been constructed using linearized inversion techniques from earlier models, which ultimately relate back to models developed by Bullen and based in large part on physical arguments. A number of experiments in non-linear inversion have been conducted using the PREM reference model, with fixed velocity and attenuation, but with the density model constrained to lie within fixed bounds on both density and density gradient. A set of models is constructed from a uniform probability density within the bound and slope constraints. Each of the resultant density models is tested against the mass and moment of inertia of the Earth, and for successful models a comparison is made with observed normal mode frequencies. From the misfit properties of the ensemble of models the robustness of the density profile in different portions of the Earth can be assessed, which can help with the design of parametrization for future reference models. In both the lower mantle and the outer core it would be desirable to allow a more flexible representation than the single cubic polynomial employed in PREM.     

Guided waves in three-dimensional structures

A new formulation for the propagation of surface waves in three-dimensionally varying media is developed in terms of modal interactions. A variety of assumptions can be made about the nature of the modal field: a single set of reference modes, a set of local modes for the structure beneath a point, or a set of local modes for a laterally varying reference structure. Each modal contribution is represented locally as a spectrum of plane waves propagating in different directions in the horizontal plane. The influence of 3-D structure is included by allowing coupling between different modal branches and propagation directions. For anisotropic models, with allowance for attenuation, the treatment leads to a set of coupled 2-D partial differential equations for the weight functions for different modal orders.
The representation of the guided wavefield requires the inclusion of a full set of modes, so that, even for isotropic models, both Love and Rayleigh modes appear as different polarization states of the modal spectrum. The coupling equations describe the interaction between the different polarizations induced by the presence of the 3-D structure.
The level of lateral variation within the 3-D model is not required to be small. Horizontal refraction or reflection of the surface wavefield can be included by allowing for transfer between modes travelling in different directions. Approximate forms of the coupled equation system can be employed when the level of heterogeneity is small, for example the coupling between the fundamental mode and higher modes can often be neglected, or forward propagation can be emphasized by restricting the interaction to a limited band of plane waves covering the expected direction of propagation.     

Optimal spherical spline filters for the analysis and comparison of regional-scale tomographic models

Advances in seismic tomography lead to increasingly detailed models of the Earth that are often represented on irregular and resolution-adaptive grids. To take full advantage of such models, their assessment must progress beyond a purely visual analysis, and tools must become available for their quantitative comparison.We present a method for the spectral analysis and comparison of multi-scale tomographic models. The method is applicable to irregular grids on the sphere, and is more efficient that filters based on spherical-harmonic expansions or convolution integrals. The combination of a spherical spline representation of tomographic information with Abel-Poisson scaling enables the construction of targetted spatial filters by solving a nonlinear inverse problem for appropriate weighting coefficients. This can be readily achieved with a simulated annealing approach for the limited number of weights. Once suitable filters have been generated they can be employed to address issues such as the patterns of small-scale heterogeneity, transitional structures and comparison of independent models from a region.We illustrate our method in a series of applications where we use different bandpass filters to detect differences in the distribution of small-scale heterogeneity beneath central and eastern Europe, and to compare several recent tomographic models of the Australian region.     

Probability of radial anisotropy in the deep mantle

It is well established that the Earth's uppermost mantle is anisotropic, but observations of anisotropy in the deeper mantle have been more ambiguous. Radial anisotropy, the discrepancy between Love and Rayleigh waves, was included in the top 220 km of PREM, but there is no consensus whether anisotropy is present below that depth. Fundamental mode surface waves, for commonly used periods up to 200 s, are sensitive to structure in the first few hundred kilometers and therefore do not provide information on anisotropy below. Higher mode surface waves, however, have sensitivities that extend to and below the transition zone and should thus give insight about anisotropy at greater depths, but they are very difficult to measure. We previously developed a new technique to measure higher mode surface wave phase velocities with consistent uncertainties. These data are used here to construct probability density functions of a radially anisotropic Earth model down to approximately 1500 km. In the uppermost mantle, we obtain a high probability of faster horizontally polarized shear wave speed, likely to be related to plate motion. In the asthenosphere and transition zone, however, we find a high probability of faster vertically polarized shear wave speed. To a depth of 1500 km in the lower mantle, we see no significant shear wave anisotropy. This is consistent with results from laboratory measurements which show that lower mantle minerals are anisotropic but LPO is unlikely to develop in the pressure–temperature conditions present in the mid-mantle.     

Hydrological Modeling and Prehistoric Settlement on Santa Rosa Island,California, USA

Fresh water availability was an important variable that influenced prehistoric human settlement on California's northern Channel Islands. Previous attempts to understand settlement on the islands use watershed size as a proxy for water at canyon mouths. In semi‐arid regions, this approach has limitations because streams may lose much or all of their flow to groundwater. We developed a distributed hydrological model for Santa Rosa Island that incorporates geospatial and temporal data for climate (precipitation, solar radiation, wind speed, relative humidity, temperature), soils, vegetation, and topography to simulate the complex land‐surface‐groundwater behavior of island hydrology for hypothetical wet, dry, and median centuries. Our simulations show that water flow is greatest in drainages on the northwest and east coasts of the island. This correlates with some of the earliest and most persistent settlement on the island. During the most extreme droughts of the last 2000 years during the Medieval Climatic Anomaly (1150–600 cal BP), island populations contracted to a small number of large coastal villages. We argue that this was related in part to the greater availability of surface water at these locations. This study expands the theoretical and methodological scope of past studies that have applied hydrological simulation to archaeological investigations.