Download Ray Theory

Geology 5640/6640 18 Feb 2015
Introduction to Seismology
Last time: Spherical Coordinates; Ray Theory
• Spherical coordinates express vector positions in
terms of a distance r and angles , . This frame
transforms the Laplacian, 2, to e.g.:
1   2  
1
 
 
1
 2
   2 r

sin 

  r 2 sin 2   2
r r  r  r 2 sin   
2
• The spherically symmetric solution to the wave
equation
is of the form (r,t) = f(t±r/)/r… The 1/r

decay of amplitude is called spherical spreading.
• Ray Theory approximates wave propagation by rays
(= normals to wavefronts = propagation paths) with
infinite frequency ( = 0). This approach is relatively
simple but misrepresents diffractions & resolution.
Read for Fri 20 Feb: S&W 157-162 (§3.4)
© A.R. Lowry 2015
Ray Theory
represents the full wavefield in skeletal form, in terms of
travel-times along propagation paths.
Pros:
• It’s relatively simple (analogous to optics)
• Can be used for many problems, including:
– Determination of earth structure
– Locating earthquakes
– Tomographic inversion for earth structure
(We saw some of these Friday)
Cons:
• Accurate only for infinite frequency waves ( = 0). So,
• It images structures on scales of order ≤  poorly
(i.e., it can’t reproduce “wavefront healing” or other
diffraction-related phenomena; poorly represents steep
velocity gradients).
Here we return to Snell’s Law. Consider a wave in a
constant-velocity medium:
We can write sin = s/x
or equivalently x sin= s = Vt.
t sin 
Thus,

p
which we call the ray parameter.
x
V
We can alternatively write the wave velocity V in terms of
a “wave slowness” u, where
1
u
V
In that case, we can write the ray parameter p as

sin 
p
 u sin 
V
Both of these terms/concepts, slowness and the ray
parameter, are extremely important in seismology…
So count on seeing them again often in this class.

Examples:
1
p
V
p0
Now consider a two-layer medium:
In the top layer,
sin 1
p1 
 u1 sin 1
V1
In the bottom
layer,
p2 
sin 2
 u2 sin 2
V2
t sin 
However, t/x

p
x
V
must be the same
above and below the interface… And hence p1 = p2.
Equivalently then
sin 1 sin 2 , i.e.,
 Snell’s Law! Hence the ray parameter
V1

V2
is important because it is a constant
everywhere along the propagation path!
Snell’s law for seismic rays is identical to that for optics, which
is why we call ray theory the
optical representation.
We can approximate any
vertical velocity profile as a
stack of constant-velocity
layers (e.g., a gradient
approximated by discrete
steps). Since the ray
parameter must be constant,
sin 1 sin 2 sin 3
sin i


 p
V1
V2
V3
Vi
If velocity continues to increase with depth, eventually one of
two things happens. Either:
1) The ray follows the interface:

 i1 
sin i
 1
 i 


Or:
2) The ray reflects with no transmitted wave:

 
 sin  i i 1   1
i 

We refer to the angle (from vertical!) at which a particular
ray initially leaves its source (earthquake, explosion,
whatever) as the take-off angle. It is usually denoted
as :
Note that a source can produce an infinite number of rays,
each with a different take-off angle!
For homogeneous, isotropic layers:
1) Ray parameter p is constant along a given ray path.
2) A smaller take-off angle translates to greater distance to
where the ray path emerges at the surface (& a smaller ray
parameter).
3) For a given velocity structure, every ray parameter maps to
some distance () from the starting point, and corresponding
travel-time T = f(V).
If we plot T vs. x (or )…
Remember the plots of the seismic phases show in previous
lectures? The slope of the line gives the ray parameter for
the phase arriving at that given !
Plots like this are common
in seismology; called “T-X”
or “T-” or “time-distance”
plots.
Note the emphasis that is
being placed here: The
skeletalized information
from the wavefield here is
the travel-time; the
information we are
extracting about the Earth
is velocity along the ray!
Time vs Distance:
Since we now have a simple
formula for geometry of ray
paths (Snell’s Law), if we
know the velocity structure
we can derive equations to
describe T-X for a given ray
from T(p,u) and X(p,u).


Consider a segment ds of a
raypath: Here,
dx
sin  
ds
dz
cos  
 1 sin 2 
ds
Since p = u sin, sin = p/u,
dx p
 ;
ds u
dz
p2
 1 2
ds
u
Going the Distance…
We can rearrange dz/ds as:
u 2  p2
dz
p2
u 2 p2
 1 2 
 2 
2
ds
u
u
u
u
Then using the chainrule:
dx
dx dx ds

 ds
dz
dz ds dz
ds
And plugging in our raypath

relations:
If we multiply both sides
by dz and integrate:

But p is a constant! So
p
dx
u

dz
u 2  p2
p
u 2  p2
u



dx 

x p  p
z2

z1
p
u p
2
2
dz
dz
u 2 z  p 2