Coupled normal-mode sensitivity to inner-core shear velocity and attenuation

We have studied the response of normal modes to perturbations in inner-core shear velocity and attenuation, using fully coupled mode synthetics. Our results indicate that (i) mode pairs   _n S _l – _{n ±1} S _l   are strongly coupled by anelasticity, (ii) this coupling causes shear velocity perturbations to strongly affect the Q values of modes through exchange of inner-core characteristics, (iii) there is no evidence for a weakly attenuating inner core in shear, and (iv) the discrepancy between attenuation models returned from normal modes and body waves is small. These results suggest that inversions for inner-core attenuation and shear velocity should be performed simultaneously and should take account of the strong cross-coupling due to attenuation.     

Rayleigh-wave dispersion function for a transversely isotropic layered spherical earth using the Thomson-Haskell matrix method

We consider the two coupled differential equations of the two radial functions appearing in the displacement components of spheroidal oscillations for a transversely isotropic (TI) medium in spherical coordinates. Elements of the layer matrix have been explicitly written—perhaps for the first time—to extend the use of the Thomson-Haskell matrix method to the derivation of the dispersion function of Rayleigh waves in a transversely isotropic spherical layered earth. Furthermore, an earth-flattening transformation (EFT) is found and effectively used for spheroidal oscillations. The exponential function solutions obtained for each layer give the dispersion function for TI spherical media the same form as that on a flat earth. This has been achieved by assuming that the five elastic parameters involved vary as r ^p and that the density varies as r ^p-2, where p is an arbitrary constant and r is the radial distance. A numerical illustration with p = - 2 shows that, in spite of the inhomogeneity assumed within layers, the results for spherical harmonic degree n , versus time period T , obtained here for the Primary Reference Earth Model (PREM), agree well with those obtained earlier by other authors using numerical integration or variational methods. The results for isotropic media derived here are also in agreement with previous results. The effect of transverse isotropy on phase velocity for the first two modes of Rayleigh waves in the period range 20 to 240 s is calculated and discussed for continental and oceanic models.