Pre-drilling reflection survey of the Black Forest, SW Germany

Summary. The unified seismic exploration program, consisting of 345 km of deep reflection profiling, a 200 km refraction profile, an expanding spread profile and near-surface high resolution reflection meaasurements, revealed a strongly differentiated crust beneath the Black Forest. The highly reflective lower crust contains numerous horizontal and dipping reflectors at depths of 13-14 km down to the crust-mantle boundary (Moho). The Moho appears as a flat horizontal first order discontinuity at a relatively shallow level of 25–27 km above a transparent upper mantle. From modelling of synthetic near-vertical and wide-angle seismograms using the reflectivity method the lower crust is supposed to be composed of laminae with an average thickness of about 100 m and velocity differences of greater than 10% increasing from top to bottom. The upper crust is characterised by mostly dipping reflectors, associated with bivergent underthrusting and accretion tectonics of Variscan age and with extensional faults of Mesozoic age. A bright spot at 9.5 km depth is characterised by low velocity material suggesting a fluid trap. It appears on all of the three profiles in the centre of the intersection region. The upper crust seems to be decoupled from the lowest crust by a relatively transparent zone which is' also identified as a low-velocity zone. This low velocity channel is situated directly above the laminated lower crust. The laminae in the Rhinegraben area are displaced vertically to greater depths indicating an origin before Tertiary rift formation and a subsidence of the whole graben wedge.     

Crustal structure beneath exposed accreted terranes of Southern Alaska

Summary. The crustal structure beneath the exposed terranes of southern Alaska has been explored using coincident seismic refraction and reflection profiling. A wide-angle reflector at 8–9 km depth, at the base of an inferred low-velocity zone, underlies the Peninsular and Chugach terranes, appears to truncate their boundary, and may represent a horizontal decollement beneath the terranes. The crust beneath the Chugach terrane is characterized by a series of north-dipping paired layers having low and high velocities that may represent subducted slices of oceanic crust and mantle. This layered series may continue northward under the Peninsular terrane. Earthquake locations in the Wrangell Benioff zone indicate that at least the upper two low-high velocity layer pairs are tectonically inactive and that they appear to have been accreted to the base of the continental crust. The refraction data suggest that the Contact fault between two similar terranes, the Chugach and Prince William terranes, is a deeply penetrating feature that separates lower crust (deeper than 10 km) with paired dipping reflectors, from crust without such reflectors.     

Simultaneous velocity and interface tomography of normal-incidence and wide-aperture seismic traveltime data

A tomographic inversion technique that inverts traveltimes to obtain a model of the subsurface in terms of velocities and interfaces is presented. It uses a combination of refraction, wide-angle reflection and normal-incidence data, it simultaneously inverts for velocities and interface depths, and it is able to quantify the errors and trade-offs in the final model. The technique uses an iterative linearized approach to the non-linear traveltime inversion problem. The subsurface is represented as a set of layers separated by interfaces, across which the velocity may be discontinuous. Within each layer the velocity varies in two dimensions and has a continuous first derivative. Rays are traced in this medium using a technique based on ray perturbation theory, and two-point ray tracing is avoided by interpolating the traveltimes to the receivers from a roughly equidistant fan of rays. The calculated traveltimes are inverted by simultaneously minimizing the misfit between the data and calculated traveltimes, and the roughness of the model. This 'smoothing regularization' stabilizes the solution of the inverse problem. In practice, the first iterations are performed with a high level of smoothing. As the inversion proceeds, the level of smoothing is gradually reduced until the traveltime residual is at the estimated level of noise in the data. At this point, a minimum-feature solution is obtained, which should contain only those features discernible over the noise.
The technique is tested on a synthetic data set, demonstrating its accuracy and stability and also illustrating the desirability of including a large number of different ray types in an inversion.     

Sequential integrated inversion of refraction and wide-angle reflection traveltimes and gravity data for two-dimensional velocity structures

A new algorithm is presented for the integrated 2-D inversion of seismic traveltime and gravity data. The algorithm adopts the 'maximum likelihood' regularization scheme. We construct a 'probability density function' which includes three kinds of information: information derived from gravity measurements; information derived from the seismic traveltime inversion procedure applied to the model; and information on the physical correlation among the density and the velocity parameters. We assume a linear relation between density and velocity, which can be node-dependent; that is, we can choose different relationships for different parts of the velocity–density grid. In addition, our procedure allows us to consider a covariance matrix related to the error propagation in linking density to velocity. We use seismic data to estimate starting velocity values and the position of boundary nodes. Subsequently, the sequential integrated inversion (SII) optimizes the layer velocities and densities for our models. The procedure is applicable, as an additional step, to any type of seismic tomographic inversion.
We illustrate the method by comparing the velocity models recovered from a standard seismic traveltime inversion with those retrieved using our algorithm. The inversion of synthetic data calculated for a 2-D isotropic, laterally inhomogeneous model shows the stability and accuracy of this procedure, demonstrates the improvements to the recovery of true velocity anomalies, and proves that this technique can efficiently overcome some of the limitations of both gravity and seismic traveltime inversions, when they are used independently.
An interpretation of field data from the 1994 Vesuvius test experiment is also presented. At depths down to 4.5 km, the model retrieved after a SII shows a more detailed structure than the model obtained from an interpretation of seismic traveltime only, and yields additional information for a further study of the area.     

A deep seismic profile of 800 km length recorded in southern Queensland, Australia

Summary. In 1984, the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources and the Geological Survey of Queensland recorded a regional seismic reflection profile of over 800 km length from the eastern part of the Eromanga Basin to the Beenleigh Block east of the Clarence Moreton Basin. A relatively transparent upper crustal basement with an underlying, more reflective lower crust is characteristic of much of the region. Prominent westerly dipping reflectors occur well below the sediments of the eastern margin of the Clarence Moreton Basin and the adjacent Beenleigh Block, and provide some of the most interesting features of the entire survey. A wide angle reflection/refraction survey of 192 km length and an expanding reflection spread of 25 km length were recorded across the Nebine Ridge. The only clear deep reflectors are interpreted as P-to-SV or SV-to-P converted reflections from a mid-crustal boundary at a depth of about 17 km. The combined Nebine Ridge data provide well-constrained P and S wave velocity models of the upper crust, and suggest a crustal structure quite different from that beneath the adjacent Mesozoic basins.     

Synoptic interpretation of seismic reflection and refraction data

Summary. The structure of the upper lithosphere beneath southern Germany, northern Switzerland and west-central Utah (U.S.A.) has been investigated in detail by various geophysical methods. A synoptic interpretation of travel time and amplitude data obtained in seismic refraction and wide-angle reflection surveys, combined with near-normal incidence reflection observations, now permits the elucidation of the fine structure in a more quantitative and unified manner. With this scheme it is possible to unambiguously identify low-velocity zones and to deduce velocity gradients if reliable amplitude information is included in the inversion process.     

Seismic reflection traveltimes in two-dimensional statistically anisotropic random media

Velocity estimation remains one of the main problems when imaging the subsurface with seismic reflection data. Traveltime inversion enables us to obtain large-scale structures of the velocity field and the position of seismic reflectors. However, as the media currently under study are becoming more and more complex, we need to know the finer-scale structures. The problem is that below a certain range of velocity heterogeneities, deterministic methods become difficult to use, so we turn to a probabilistic approach. With this in view, we characterize the velocity field as a random field defined by its first and second statistical moments. Usually, a seismic random medium is defined as a homogeneous velocity background perturbed by a small random field that is assumed to be stationary. Thus, we make a link between such a random velocity medium (together with a simple reflector) and seismic reflection traveltimes. Assuming that the traveltimes are ergodic, we use 2-D seismic reflection geometry to study the decrease in the statistical traveltime fluctuations as a function of the offset (the source–receiver distance). Our formulae are based on the Rytov approximation and the parabolic approximation for acoustic waves. The validity and the limits are established for both of these approximations in statistically anisotropic random media. Finally, theoretical inversion procedures are developed for the horizontal correlation structure of the velocity heterogeneities for the simplest case of a horizontal reflector. Synthetic seismograms are then computed (on particular realizations of random media) by simulating scalar wave propagation via finite difference algorithms. There is good agreement between the theoretical and experimental results.     

A crustal seismic velocity model for the UK, Ireland and surrounding seas

A regional model of the 3-D variation in seismic P -wave velocity structure in the crust of NW Europe has been compiled from wide-angle reflection/refraction profiles. Along each 2-D profile a velocity–depth function has been digitised at 5 km intervals. These 1-D velocity functions were mapped into three dimensions using ordinary kriging with weights determined to minimise the difference between digitised and interpolated values. An analysis of variograms of the digitised data suggested a radial isotropic weighting scheme was most appropriate. Horizontal dimensions of the model cells are optimised at 40 × 40 km and the vertical dimension at 1 km. The resulting model provides a higher resolution image of the 3-D variation in seismic velocity structure of the UK, Ireland and surrounding areas than existing models. The construction of the model through kriging allows the uncertainty in the velocity structure to be assessed. This uncertainty indicates the high density of data required to confidently interpolate the crustal velocity structure, and shows that for this region the velocity is poorly constrained for large areas away from the input data.     

Coincident seismic reflection/refraction studies of the continental lithosphere: a global review

Summary. Vertical-incidence reflection profiling has identified several characteristic features of the continental Iithosphere including a generally transparent upper crust, a reflective lower crust, reflections from the crust-mantle boundary, and a commonly transparent upper mantle. The underlying physical causes of these characteristic features remain poorly understood. This review summarizes additional information brought to bear on the physical properties of these characteristic crustal structures through the use of coincident wide-angle refraction profiling.     

Seismic reflection measurements behind the Hikurangi convergent margin, southern North Island, New Zealand.

Summary. The active Australian-Pacific plate boundary passes through New Zealand. In the north, the Pacific plate subducts beneath the Australian plate with an accretionary wedge forming the eastern continental (Hikurangi) margin of the North Island. The structure of the region behind the Hikurangi margin changes from the extensional back-arc basin under central North Island to a postulated crustal downwarp under the southern North Island. A 100 km long multichannel seismic reflection profile was recorded across the region of crustal downwarp. The data show discontinuous coherent reflectors dipping westwards at the east end of the profile, and east dipping reflectors at the west end, from depths of 9 to 15 s two way time. Simple hand migration of these events indicate that the east dipping reflectors, interpreted as the base of the Australian plate crust, abut against the west dipping reflectors which are interpreted as marking the top of the subducted Pacific plate. Detailed earthquake hypocentre locations in the area show a dipping zone of high seismicity, the top of which coincides closely with the west dipping events, thus supporting this interpretation.     

The Hatton Bank continental margin—I. Shallow structure from two-ship expanding spread seismic profiles

Summary. The Hatton Bank passive continental margin exhibits thick seaward dipping reflector sequences which consist of basalts extruded during rifting between Greenland and Rockall Plateau. Multichannel seismic reflection profiling across the margin reveals three reflector wedges with a maximum thickness near 7 km, extending from beneath the upper continental slope to the deep ocean basin. We present results of the velocity structure within the dipping reflector sequences at eight locations across the margin, interpreted by synthetic seismogram modelling a set of multichannel expanding spread profiles parallel to the margin. At the top of some reflector sequences, we observe a series of 100 m thick high- and low-velocity zones, which are interpreted as basalt flows alternating with sediments or weathered and rubble layers. At the profile locations, the base of the dipping reflectors correlates with P -wave velocities near 6.5 km s⁻¹. However, elsewhere the reflectors appear to extend significantly deeper than the inferred 6.5 km s⁻¹ velocity contour, indicating that the velocity structure may not be controlled solely by lithological boundaries but also by metamorphic effects. Shear-waves were observed on two lines, permitting the calculation of Poisson's ratio. The decrease in Poisson's ratio from 0.28 to near 0.25 in the upper 5 km of crust may also indicate the effect of metamorphism on seismic properties, or alternatively may be explained by crack closure under load.     

A wide-angle seismic traverse through the Variscan of southwest Ireland

A wide-angle seismic profile across the western peninsulas of SW Ireland was performed. This region corresponds to the northernmost Variscan thrust and fold deformation. The dense set of 13 shots and 109 stations along the 120  km long profile provides a detailed velocity model of the crust.
  The seismic velocity model, obtained by forward and inverse modelling, defines a five-layer crust. A sedimentary layer, 5–8  km thick, is underlain by an upper-crustal layer of variable thickness, with a base generally at a depth of 10–12  km. Two mid-crustal layers are defined, and a lower-crustal layer below 22  km. The Moho lies at a depth of 30–32  km. A low-velocity zone, which coincides with a well-defined gravity low, is observed in the central part of the region and is modelled as a Caledonian granite which intruded upper-crustal basement. The granite may have acted as a buffer to northward-directed Variscan thrusting. The Dingle–Dungarvan Line (DDL) marks a major change in sedimentary and crustal velocity and structure. It lies immediately to the north of the velocity and gravity low, and shows thickness and velocity differences in many of the underlying crustal layers and even in the Moho. This suggests a deep, pre-Variscan control of the structural development of this area. The model is compatible with thin-skinned tectonics, which terminated at the DDL and which incorporated thrusts involving the sedimentary and upper-crustal layers.     

Oceanic crustal structure—Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 45° N

Summary. We present a velocity—depth model for the crust beneath the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 45° N which is derived from a comparison of waveforms corresponding to observed and synthetic seismograms. The model which best fits the observations includes a high-velocity layer at the base of the crust (layer 3B) and a velocity gradient in the upper mantle. These results are in agreement with other recent seismic studies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and indicate that the velocity structure is more complex than that obtained from travel-time analysis. There is no evidence for a low-velocity zone at the base of the crust.     

Crustal structure of the French Guiana margin, West Equatorial Atlantic

Geophysical data from the Amazon Cone Experiment are used to determine the structure and evolution of the French Guiana and Northeast Brazil continental margin, and to better understand the origin and development of along-margin segmentation. A 427-km-long combined multichannel reflection and wide-angle refraction seismic profile acquired across the southern French Guiana margin is interpreted, where plate reconstructions suggest a rift-type setting.
The resulting model shows a crustal structure in which 35–37-km-thick pre-rift continental crust is thinned by a factor of 6.4 over a distance of ∼70  km associated with continental break-up and the initiation and establishment of seafloor spreading. The ocean–continent boundary is a transition zone up to 45  km in width, in which the two-layered oceanic-type crustal structure develops. Although relatively thin at 3.5–5.0  km, such thin oceanic crust appears characteristic of the margin as a whole.
There is no evidence of rift-related magmatism, either as seaward-dipping sequences in the reflection data or as a high velocity region in the lower crust in the P -wave velocity model, and as a such the margin is identified as non-volcanic in type. However, there is also no evidence of the rotated fault block and graben structures characteristic of rifted margins. Consequently, the thin oceanic crust, the rapidity of continental crustal thinning and the absence of characteristic rift-related structures leads to the conclusion that the southern French Guiana margin has instead developed in an oblique rift setting, in which transform motion also played a significant role in the evolution of the resulting crustal structure and along-margin segmentation in structural style.     

Anisotropy in multi-offset deep-crustal seismic experiments

Modelling of deep-seismic wide-angle data commonly assumes that the Earth is heterogeneous and isotropic. It is important to know the magnitudes of errors that may be introduced by isotropic-based wide-angle models when the Earth is anisotropic. It is equally important to find ways of detecting anisotropy and determining its properties.
  This paper explores the errors introduced by interpreting anisotropic seismic data with isotropic models. Errors in P -wave reflector depths are dependent on the magnitude of the velocity anisotropy and the direction of the fast axis. The interpreted, isotropic, model velocity function is found to correspond closely to the horizontal velocity of the anisotropic medium. An additional observed parameter is the time mismatch , which we define to be the difference between the vertical two-way traveltime to a reflector and the time-converted wide-angle position of the reflector. The magnitude of the time mismatch is typically <1.0  s (when the whole crust is anisotropic) and is found to be closely related to the magnitude and sign of the anisotropic anellipticity. The relationships are extendible to more complicated models, including those with vertical velocity gradients, crustal zonation, and lower symmetry orders.
  A time mismatch may be symptomatic of the presence of anisotropy. We illustrate the observation of a time mismatch for a real multi-offset seismic data set collected north of Scotland and discuss the implications for crustal anisotropy in that region.     

Low velocity zone reflections observed in geometrical shadows of refraction profiles

Summary. A low-velocity zone (LVZ) shadow on a refraction profile may contain coherent energy. If the LVZ contains reflectors, the corresponding pre-critical reflection branches will lie within the geometrical shadow. Such energy is observed in data and can, via inversion or synthetic seismogram modelling, potentially provide information on the location and character of the main structural features (those with significant reflectivity) within the LVZ.     

P-wave traveltime and polarization tomography of VSP data

The presence of anisotropy requires that tomographic methods be generalized to account for anisotropy. This generalization allows geological structure to be correctly imaged and allows the anisotropic parameters to be estimated. Use of isotropic inversion for imaging anisotropic structures gives systematic trends in the traveltime and polarization residuals. However, due to the limited directional coverage, the traveltimes along may not be sufficient to study the anisotropic properties of the structure. Polarizations can provide independent information on the structure. Traveltime and polarization inversion are applied to synthetic examples simulating VSP experiments. Transverse isotropy and 1-D structure are assumed. Plots of traveltime and polarization residuals are an important tool to detect the anomalies due to the presence of anisotropy. For receivers located in anisotropic layers, polarization residuals display consistent anomalies of several degrees. The synthetic examples show that even the simple 1-D problem is difficult, when using direct arrivals only. Large a posteriori errors in anisotropic parameters are obtained by traveltime inversion in layers where available incidence angles are less than 45°. Resolution of the tomographic image of VSP data is greatly improved by a combination of traveltime and polarization information. In order to obtain accurate inversion results, the measurement error of polarization data should be kept to within a few degrees.     

Modelling and inversion of single-ended refraction data from the shot gathers of multifold deep seismic reflection profiling—an approach for deriving the shallow velocity structure

A multifold crustal-scale deep seismic near-vertical reflection profile generates a large number of single-ended shot gathers, which provide redundant data sets because of overlapping coverage of the shallow refractors. We present an approach for deriving the shallow velocity structure by modelling and inversion of single-ended seismic refraction first arrival traveltime data. We apply this method to a data set acquired with a 12-km long spread with 100 m spacing of shots and receivers, of the Neoproterozoic Marwar basin in the NW Indian shield. The approach is shown to be quite successful for delineating the shallow refractor depths, steep dips and velocities, even in the absence of regular reverse refraction profiles. The study reveals two-layered sedimentary formations, Malani volcanics and a complicated basement configuration of the Marwar basin, and provides a measure of resolution and uncertainty of the estimated model parameters. A seismic section of the near-trace gather is found to be qualitatively consistent with the derived structural features of the basin. The relative highs and lows, observed in the Bouguer gravity profile, further corroborate the derived velocity model. The present approach can be especially useful in offshore areas and elsewhere, where the single-ended multifold seismic profiles are the only available data sets.     

Application of stacking and inversion techniques to three-dimensional wide-angle reflection and refraction seismic data of the Eastern Alps

We present new methods for the interpretation of 3-D seismic wide-angle reflection and refraction data with application to data acquired during the experiments CELEBRATION, 2000 and ALP 2002 in the area of the Eastern Alps and their transition to the surrounding tectonic provinces (Bohemian Massif, Carpathians, Pannonian domain, Dinarides). Data was acquired on a net of arbitrarily oriented seismic lines by simultaneous recording on all lines of seismic waves from the shots, which allows 2-D and 3-D interpretations. Much (80%) of the data set consists of crossline traces. Low signal to noise (S/N) ratio in the area of the young orogens decreases the quality of travel time picks. In these seismically heterogeneous areas it is difficult to assign clearly defined arrivals to the seismic phases, in particular on crossline record sections.
In order to enhance the S/N ratio, signal detection and stacking techniques have been applied to enhance the Pg -, Pn - and PmP phases. Further, inversion methods have been developed for the interpretation of WAR/R-data, based on automated 1-D inversion ( Pg ) and the application of the delay time concept ( Pn ). The results include a 3-D velocity model of the crust based on Pg waves, time and depth maps of the Moho and a Pn -velocity map. The models based on stacked data are robust and provide a larger coverage, than models based on travel time picks from single-fold (unstacked) traces, but have relatively low resolution, especially near the surface. They were used as the basis for constructing models with improved resolution by the inversion of picks from single-fold data. The results correlate well with geological structures and show new prominent features in the Eastern Alps area and their surrounds. The velocity distribution in the crust has strong lateral variations and the Moho in the investigation area appears to be fragmented into three parts.     

The PUMA experiment west of Lewis, U.K.

Summary. In August-September 1984 a 165 km long, reversed, wide-angle, seismic line was shot along part of the BIRPS WINCH deep seismic reflection profile west of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The experiment was recorded using a new type of sea-bottom receiver, the PUMA (Pull-Up Multichannel Array). This consists of an 1100 m long array of hydrophones connected to a sea-bottom recording package. Airgun and explosive shots recorded by the PUMA provide a densely sampled record section, allowing even low amplitude arrivals to be traced across the section. An initial, 1-D interpretation of the data reveals a crustal thickness of 27 km, and confirms that a band of reflectors seen at around 8.6 s TWT on the normal incidence data, and interpreted as the 'reflection Monol, coincide with the Moho determined by wide-angle reflections and refractions.