Physical and numerical modeling of reflections from interfaces and thin layers

Basic models for understanding the reflection of seismic waves by the seafloor or the sublayering consist of isolated interfaces and isolated thin layers. An isolated interface model is used to demonstrate a reasonable agreement between physical modeling and two numerical solutions of the elastic wave equation. An isolated thin-layer model is used to show that reflections from it can be regarded as a scattered wavefield caused by three secondary sources proportional toDeltaM,-Deltamu, and,Deltarhoat each element of the layer, whereDelta, indicates the difference between the layer and the surroundings,Mis the compressional wave modulus,muis the shear wave modulus, andrhois the density. This viewpoint leads to a simple explanation of the observed variations in amplitude and phase of the reflected waves as the offset distance from source to receiver increases.