Seismic anisotropy — the state of the art: II |
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| Authors: | Stuart Crampln Eugenie M Chesnokov Roger G Hipkin |
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| Institution: | Institute of Geological Sciences, Murchison House, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3LA, Scotland;Institute of Physics of the Earth, Academy of Sciences USSR, Bolshaya Grouzinskaya 10, Moscow 123810, USSR;Department of Geophysics, University of Edinburgh, James Clerk Maxwell Building, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, Scotland |
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| Abstract: | Summary. The theory, causes, observations, and possible applications of seismic anisotropy in the Earth have developed considerably since the previous state of the art paper was published in 1977. The behaviour of waves in layered anisotropic media is now much better understood and the evidence for seismic anisotropy indicates that anisotropy is likely to be present throughout much of the crust and upper mantle. The top few hundred kilometres of the mantle appears to be anisotropic with the orientations aligned by the present or palaeo stress-field. The upper part of the crust is frequently anisotropic, probably due to cracks differentially aligned by the non-lithostatic stresses. The possibility of being able to monitor crack geometry by seismic techniques opens a wide range of applications in currently important activities. |
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