3.2. Refraction seismology 3.2.4 Flatlayermethod ‘The simplest approach to the inverse problem of determining velocity a depth from travel times treats the earth as flat layers of uniform-velocity material. We thus begin by deriving the teavel tine curves for such a model, which show when seismic waves arrive at a particular distance from a scismic source, ‘The travel times, especially those of waves that are citcally refracted atthe interfaces, are used to find the velocities of the layers and underlying halfspace and the layer thicknesses, Asa result, his technique is called refraction seismology. Refraction seismology is used on vastly differing scales, Near surface structure at depths less than 100 meters can be studied using a sledge hammer or a shotgun asa source anda single receiver. Similar methods are used to study the crust and the upper mantle, with earthquake or explosion sources and ‘many receivers at distances of hundkeds of kilometers. ‘The simplest stuation, shown in Fig. 3.2-1, is a layer of thickness ly, wita velocity vy overlying a halfepace with « higher velocity, x, We write the velocities as “v” to indicate that theanalysis applies for ether P or $ waves, There are three basic ray paths from a source on the surface at the origin to a surface receiver a: x. The travel times for these paths can be found using Snell's law. The first say path corresponds to a direct wave that teavels through the layer with travel time Tole ty. a ‘Thi travel time carve (Pig. 3.2-2) is a linear function of dis- tance, with slope 1!vp, that goes through the origin, ‘The second ray path is for a wave reflected from the inter- face. Because the angles of incidence and reflection are equal, Diet ware elected ave Head wave ety Fig. 3.2-1 Thre basic ay paths fora layer over a hallspace model. The slrect and reflected raysteavel within the layer, wherersthehead wave path also includes segnent just below the intecace, For thehead wave ‘ocxis, the layer velociy vy mustbe les than the halspace velocity,3.2 Refraction seismology 121 a Slope Vig ead sege= Vy Tine x % Ditance cit crosiover Tig.32-2 Travel time versus sourceto-recsver distance plot forthe three athsin ig. 3.2-1, The drect wave isthe fe arrival for ecevers ‘loser than the erossover distance, Beyond x,thehead wave arrives first The head waveexstsonly beyond the exital distances, the wave reflects halfway between the source and the receiver, ‘The travel time curve can be found by noting that x/2 and ‘hg form two sides ofa right triangle, so Tole) =2(44 + )"Ivy Dy) ‘This curve is a hyperbola, because it can be written THs) = 203+ 4053. 6) Foc.x~0 the reflected wave goes straight up and down, with a travel time of Ty(0) = 2hg/v9. At distances much greater than the layer thickness (x >> b), the travel time for the reflected ‘wave asymptotically approaches that ofthe dieect wave. ‘The third type of wave is the head wave, often referred to as a efracted wave. This wave results when a dovngoing wave impinges on the interface at an angle at or beyond the critical angle. Its tavel time ean be computed by asstuming that the wave travels down to the interface such thatit impinges at the critical, angle, then travels just below the interface with the velocity of thelower meclium, and finally leaves the interface atthe critical Angle and travels upward co the surface. Thus the travel time the horizontal distance traveled in the halfspace divided by plus that along the upgoing and downgoing legs divided by vg: Tyla) 2Matani, , 2h % cos, +14(amr 4} ‘The last step used the fact that the critical angle (Section 2.5.5) satisfies a sini, vl (5) To simplify Eqn 4, we use trigonometric identities showing that 603 j,==(1 sin? ,)!2= (1 — up)" @ and tani, = Hite = toll, _ 7 cost, = upg soEqn 4 can be written Tyle)=xlv, +2 eg 1} =x/y, +7, 6) ‘Thus the head wave's teavel time curve ia line with a slope of Mr and atime axis intercept of t= Dhl Uv Uv, ° This intercept is found by projecting the travel time curve back to.x=0, although the head wave appears only beyond the sritical distatce, x, = 2ln tan i, where critical incidence frst ecurs. Because Uy > Uy, the direct wave's travel time curve has a vigher slope bur stats at ce urigi, whereas the heal wave has a lower slope but a nonzero intercept. Ar the ertical distance the direct wave arrives before the head wave. At some point, however, the travel time curves eross, and beyond this point the head wave is the frst arrival even though it traveled a longer path. The crossover distance where this occuts, x, is found by setting T(x) = Ty(x), which yields ye an(24) Fe (10) 1m Hence the crossover distance depends on the velocities of the hhyer and the halfspace and the thickness of he layer." “Thus we can solve the inverse problem of finding the velocity structure at depth from the variation of the travel times ob- served at the surface as a function of source-receiver distance. “his simple structure is described by three parameters. The two ‘elocties, vp and v, are found from the slope ofthe two travel time curves. We then identify the crossover distance and use Eqn 10 to find the third parameter, the layer thickness, hy. Alternatively, the layer thickness ean be found from the relee- tion time or the head wave intercept (Eqn 9) at zero distance. Each of these methods exploits the fac that there is more than cne ray path between the source nthe receiver. simple analogy deing to. stan point by aroun combing sete snd Iighway. If he destination if enough ay, ie quicker to ake lone rove caing:he ner ighny than a det osteo slower set Thepoine st which is oxcs depends on the elative pees ane aan ditance equ 0 use Atehihsay122. Seismology and Earth Structure Tig-3.2-3 Generation of an upgoing head wave by Huygens sources due toarefcaced pulse propagating along a boundary. The head wave aves ‘nthe upper ayer at slower velocity (vy) than the refracted wave cresting it, which travels inthe ayer blow at velocity. (Aer Grifthsand King, 1981) Despite this solution’s elegance, the basic assumption about the tcavel time ofthe head wave may scem unsatisfying, because it is unclear why energy should follow this path. However, the result conforms with observations — the experiment diagramed in Fig, 3.2-1 yields an arrival whose travel time is siven by Eqn 8, To understand why, wean view the head wave in several ways. As shown in this chapter's problems it cor- esponds to a minimum time path between the source and the receiver, 80, by Fermat's principle (Section 2.5.9), we expect such a wave. Another approach, using Huygens’ principle (Section 2.5.10), is to consider the refracted wave traveling horizontally below the boundary at the velocity of the half space, generating spherical waves that propagate upward inthe lower-velocity layer (Fig 3.2-3). The spherical waves interfere to produce upgoing plane waves that leave the interface atthe critical angle.? However, our analysis of postcrtical incidence (Section 2.6.4), which showed that an evanescent wave pro- pagates along the interface, docs not fully describe the head wave. A more sophisticated analysis than is appropriate here shows that the geometry in Fig. 3.2-1 gives the head wave's, travel time, but not its amplitude, because geomettical optics, are not applicable. Thus, although the energy propagation is ‘more complicated than along the geometric ray path, the travel time predicted is coreect. Seismic refraction data led A. Mohoroviti¢? in 1909 to fone of the most important discoveries about eatth structure. Observing two P arrivals (Fig. 3.2-4), he identified the frst as, hhaving teaveled in a deep high-velocity (7.7 km/s) layer, and the second asa direct waveina slower (5.6 kins) shallow layer about 50 km thick. These layers, now identified around the world, are known as the crust and the mantle. The boundary between them is known as the Mohorovitié discontinuity, oF Moho. We now denote the head wave as Band the direct waveas 2 (*g” for “granitic”). Corresponding arrivals are also, observed for S waves. The Moho, which defines the boundary 2 “Thisiuatontanlogostoa bow waveom aboat orasupesonc wate froma [stsicplanenthatheenergy sources fist than he wave it produces 5 And Mekoroit (1857-1936), werkingin Zgib, Crt then ps ofthe Auto angarian Ente, sted uve eines emeachguake nthe repion ing, ‘cel invented pelo ogg rime) soo 700 Bistance em) Tig. 3.2-4 Schematic of Mohoroviti'sreuls showing the existence ofa istnet erst ane mantle. The travel tne curves ar labeled using modern ‘omenclatue the dsect waves te F, nd Sand the head waves ate, and5,, (After Bonini and Bonini, 1949. Eos, 60, 699-701, copyright iy the Amecican Geophysical Union) between the crust and the mantle, has been observed around the world. One of the first steps in studying the nature of the crustis characterizing the depth to Moho, of crustal thickness, and the variation in P, velocity from site to site. ‘Travel time plots for refraction experiments can be made by displaying seismograms in record sections, Because seismo- grams arc functions of time, aligning several as a function of distance yields a travel time plot showing the different activals