The arrival‐time curve of a reflection from a horizontal interface, beneath a homogeneous isotropic layer, is a hyperbola in the x ‐ t‐domain.
If the subsurface is one‐dimensionally inhomogeneous (horizontally layered), or if some or all of the layers are transversely isotropic with vertical axis of symmetry, the statement is no longer strictly true, though the arrival‐time curves are still hyperbola‐like. In the case of transverse isotropy, however, classical interpretation of these curves fails. Interval velocities calculated from t2 ‐ x2‐curves do not always approximate vertical velocities and therefore cannot be used to calculate depths of reflectors.
To study the relationship between velocities calculated from t2 ‐ x2‐curves and the true velocities of a transversely isotropic layer, we approximate t2 ‐ x2‐curves over a vertically inhomogeneous transversely isotropic medium by a three‐term Taylor series and calculate expressions for these terms as a function of the elastic parameters. It is shown that both inhomogeneity and transverse isotropy affect slope and curvature of t2 ‐ x2‐curves. For P‐waves the effect of transverse isotropy is that the t2 ‐ x2‐curves are convex upwards; for SV‐waves the curves are convex downwards. For SH‐waves transverse isotropy has no effect on curvature.
Changes in subglacial bed conditions through multiple glaciations and their effect on ice dynamics are addressed through an analysis of glacigenic sequences in the Upper Pleistocene stratigraphy of the southern North Sea basin. During Elsterian (MIS 12) ice growth, till deposition was subdued when ice became stagnant over a permeable substrate of fluvial sediments, and meltwater infiltrated into the bed. Headward erosion during glacial retreat produced a dense network of glacial valleys up to several hundreds of metres deep. A Saalian (MIS 6) glacial advance phase resulted in the deposition of a sheet of stiff sandy tills and terminal moraines. Meltwater was at least partially evacuated through the till layer, resulting in the development of a rigid bed. During the later part of the Saalian glaciation, ice-stream inception can be related to the development of a glacial lake to the north and west of the study area. The presence of meltwater channels incised into the floors of glacial troughs is indicative of high subglacial water pressures, which may have played a role in the onset of ice streaming. We speculate that streaming ice flow in the later part of the Saalian glaciation caused the relatively early deglaciation, as recorded in the Amsterdam Terminal borehole. These results suggest that changing subglacial bed conditions through glacial cycles could have a strong impact on ice dynamics and require consideration in ice-sheet reconstructions.
HELBIG, K. and MESDAG, C.S. 1982, The Potential of Shear-Wave Observations, Geophysical Prospecting 30, 41 3-43 1.Shear waves can today be generated and observed, though not with the flexibility and the technical standard of compressional waves, and they can be identified in seismograms by various means. Their potential lies not so much in their lower velocity (corresponding-for the same frequency-to shorter wavelength and higher resolution) but in the fact that they probe the earth with stresses and strains that differ from those of compressional waves. Full utilization of the information potential of shear waves, therefore, requires combined use of Pand S-waves.Complications in the combined use of different wave types should be regarded as opportunities to obtain additional information. A typical example is the observation that the depth of one and the same interface estimated on the bases of P-and SH-reflections, respectively, can differ significantly. This discrepancy may be due to the anisotropy of a finely layered medium. Under favorable circumstances some of the parameters describing this anisotropy can be deduced from the different depth estimates and the curvature of the squared-offset/squared-time representation of the different reflections. Since in anisotropic media vertically polarized shear waves are significantly different from horizontally polarized ones, the combined observation of all three waves opens up additional possibilities.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.