Vertical seismic profiling on the sea shelf

Results of a numerical experiment on vertical seismic profiling of the sea bottom on the shelf are presented. The results are obtained by analyzing the acoustic fields in the shelf area with the use of both hydroacoustic and seismic bottom sources of radiation. The influence of both transmission depth and source type on the efficiency of seismic wave excitation in the bottom is investigated. The formation of the vertical wave hodographs and its dependence on the acoustic parameters and structure of the bottom in the oceanic shelf region is analyzed. A high sensitivity of the vertical wave hodographs to variations in the parameters of the bottom medium is revealed. For the layered bottom model, the possibility of estimating the positions of layer boundaries in depth and the velocities of waves within the layers is demonstrated.     

Rayleigh wave and detection of low-velocity layers in a stratified half-space

The excitation and propagation of the guided waves in a stratified half-space and a Rayleigh wave exploration method in shallow engineering seismic exploration are studied in this paper. All the modes of the guided waves are calculated by the bisection method in the case where the low velocity layers are contained in a stratified half-space. Cases when the formation shear wave velocity gradually decreases from the top to the bottom layers are also studied. The dispersion curves obtained in actual Rayleigh wave exploration are usually noncontinual zigzag curves, but the dispersion curves given by the elastic theory for given modes of the guided waves are smooth and continual curves. In this paper, the mechanism of zigzag dispersion curves in Rayleigh wave exploration is investigated and analyzed thoroughly. The zigzag dispersion curves can give not only the possible positions of the low-velocity layers but also the other information on the formation structure (fractures, oil, gas, etc.). It is found that the zigzag dispersion curves of the Rayleigh wave are the result of the leap of the modes and the existence of low velocity layers in a stratified half-space. The effects of the compressional wave velocity, shear wave velocity, and density of each layer on zigzag dispersion curves and the relationship of the low velocity layers to zigzag dispersion curves are also investigated in detail. Finally, the exploration depth of the Rayleigh wave is discussed. The exploration depth of the Rayleigh wave is equal to the wavelength multiplied by a coefficient that is variable and usually given by the work experience and the formation properties of the local work area.     

Experimental study of the directional characteristics of a vector-scalar array

We analyze the spatial spectra of a vector-scalar array when the signals are processed using methods with different resolution. The method of presenting the signals used in the research allowed us to apply the previously developed method of detecting and estimating the parameters of signal sources obtained in the calculation of the theoretical characteristics of detecting the signal sources and realization of the algorithms of signal processing. We compared the resolution of vector-scalar and scalar arrays with the same aperture. The experiments were carried out in stationary conditions and in the towing regime. During the towing regime, the accuracy of determination of the source location was controlled using the GPS receivers. It was shown experimentally that the signal to noise ratio at the output of the receiving array is three times greater if the vector-scalar array is used rather than the scalar one. The level of the lateral background appeared to be three times smaller during operation with the vector-scalar array than with the scalar one even in the towing regime. The results of measurements are confirmed by theoretical calculations.     

Matched field processing with data-derived modes

The authors demonstrate MFP using data-derived modes and the sound speed profile, using no a priori bottom information. Mode shapes can be estimated directly from vertical line array data, without a priori knowledge of the environment and without using numerical wave field models. However, it is difficult to make much headway with data-derived modes alone, without wave numbers, since only a few modes at a few frequencies may be captured, and only at depths sampled by the array. Using a measured sound speed profile, the authors derive self-consistent, complete sets of modes, wave numbers, and bottom parameters from data-derived modes. Bottom parameters enable modes to be calculated at all frequencies, not just those at which modes were derived from data. This process is demonstrated on SWellEx-96 experiment data. Modes, wave numbers, and bottom parameters are derived from one track and MFP based on this information is demonstrated on another track.     

Estimating the acoustic characteristics of surface layers of the sea bottom using four-component vector-scalar receivers

It is shown that scalar, horizontal, and vertical vector receivers efficiently split modes of different numbers, which makes it possible to analyze the mode structure and estimate the characteristics of surface layers of a shallow sea bottom. To analyze the mode structure of propagating pulses from a towed pneumatic source, Winger transform was applied, with which seven modes were isolated by vertical vector receivers, whereas the scalar receivers and horizontal vector receivers isolated only three modes. It is established that the use of four-component vector-scalar receivers makes it possible to increase the accuracy in estimating the parameters of a layered bottom model.     

Sound Propagation in Shallow Water with an Inhomogeneous GAS-Saturated Bottom

We present the methods and results of numerical experiments studying the low-frequency sound propagation in one of the areas of the Arctic shelf with a randomly inhomogeneous gas-saturated bottom. The characteristics of the upper layer of bottom sedimentary rocks (sediments) used in calculations were obtained during a 3D seismic survey and trial drilling of the seafloor. We demonstrate the possibilities of substituting in numerical simulation a real bottom with a fluid homogeneous half-space where the effective value of the sound speed is equal to the average sound speed in the bottom, with averaging along the sound propagation path to a sediment depth of 0.6 wavelength in the bottom. An original technique is proposed for estimating the sound speed propagation in an upper inhomogeneous sediment layer. The technique is based on measurements of acoustic wave attenuation in water during waveguide propagation.     

用非饱和三相孔弹模型研究浅层土壤中地震波的传播特性

研究浅层土壤中声波耦合的地震波的传播特性, 用于声波探雷技术的机理分析. 根据浅层土壤具有孔隙度和可压缩性的特点, 利用非饱和三相孔隙介质中的地震波模型, 研究了土壤孔隙度、含水饱和度等参数对地震波传播特性的影响. 计算结果显示: 在给定的参数条件下, 地震波的传播速度和衰减系数均随频率的增加而增加; 纵波的传播速度随孔隙度的增加而减小, 横波的传播速度随孔隙度的增加而增加; 地震波的传播特性随含水饱和度的增加变化比较复杂. 通过对计算结果与已发表实验结果的比较分析, 讨论了解析方法的可行性, 为声-地震耦合机理及其在声波探雷研究中的应用提供了一定的理论基础. 关键词： 声-地震耦合 地震波 孔隙度 声波探雷     

Reconstructing parameters of sediment layers of a shallow sea bottom using broadband seismoacoustic sources

We study the possibilities of reconstructings the parameters of the sediment layers of a shallow sea bottom from interference patterns appearing during sounding of the bottom by broadband seismoacoustic sources with a bistatic sea-bottom sounding scheme, adaptive signal reception with a horizontal array, and matched filtration of low-frequency seismoacoustic pulses excited with an air gun and interacting with the sea bottom, as well as seismoacoustic noise from a vessel in a shallow sea. The parameters of sediment layers of the sea bottom are reconstructed by statistical checking of hypotheses on the parameters of dynamic spectra obtained by parametric models. Comparative possibilities of reconstructing sea bottom parameters with bistatic and monostatic observation schemes are discussed.     

The focusing performance with a horizontal time- reversal array at different depths in shallow water

The performance of time-reversal focusing with a horizontal line array at different depths is investigated by normal mode modeling and computer simulation.It is observed that the focusing performance of a bottom-mounted horizontal time-reversal array is much better than that of a horizontal time-reversal array at other depths in shallow water.The normal mode modeling is used to explain this result.The absolute values of the modes at different depths are compared.It is shown that the number of modes whose absolute values close to zero is smaller at the bottom than that at other depths.It means that the horizontal time-reversal array deployed at the bottom can sample more modes,obtain more information of the probe source and achieve better focusing performance.The numerical simulations of time-reversal focusing performance under various conditions,such as different sound speed profiles,and different bottom parameters,lead to similar results.     

Selection of modes in a shallow sea by using a vertical antenna array

The experimental data on selecting the modes in a shallow sea (the Barents Sea) on 17-and 8-km-long paths are presented. The data are obtained with the use of a 93-m-long vertical receiving array of 32 hydrophones and a point sound source transmitting a pulsed signal with linear frequency modulation in a frequency band of 100–300 Hz. The experimental selection of modes is based on the structure of normal waves in a waveguide with a perfectly reflecting impedance bottom. The bottom impedance for different modes is determined from the experiment. A pressure-release bottom and a bottom with an impedance that is intermediate between the pressure-release and rigid cases correspond to the first mode and the higher modes, respectively. The amplitudes of the modes and their directivity are determined. On the basis of the mode dispersion data and the comparison of the mode contents observed at distances of 8 and 17 km, it is concluded that higher modes are generated at the distances from 8 to 17 km.     

Interaction of interface plasmons and longitudinal optical phonons in a multilayer structure

The interaction between two-dimensional interface plasmons and longitudinal optical phonons in multilayer structures is analysed in this communication. The dispersion relations for the mixed modes are obtained for periodic boundary conditions in the direction normal to the layer planes. The energy gap between the two bands of mixed modes can be seen in the density of states ?_k(ω) at fixed k parallel to the layers. ?_k(ω) also exhibits singularities at the band edges characteristics of the one-dimensional periodic array of parallel layers.     

Observation and removal of daily quasi-periodic components in soil radon data

We report (quasi) periodic oscillations observed in soil radon emanation data especially during summer period. Soil radon has been continuously monitored in the Marmara region of Turkey over the past nine years to reveal possible relationships between soil radon and seismic activities. This long term monitoring has clearly demonstrated that soil radon concentrations are affected by various parameters such as seasonal and daily changes in atmospheric parameters (temperature, pressure, precipitation). Sometimes, soil temperature variations as well as barometric pressure and precipitation may dominantly influence the soil radon concentration; leading to seemingly complex radon time series. One may need to remove such components for better analysis of the possible relationships between soil radon emanation and seismic activities. Here, we suggest using an algorithm to detect and remove daily-oscillations from the raw data. The detection and separation (extraction) algorithm is based on Empirical Mode Decomposition method which is a signal-adaptive method that automatically decompose the signal into its characteristic modes. The algorithm is applied to the data collected from three different soil radon monitoring stations (Bal?kesir, Gönen, and Armutlu) in Marmara region of Turkey and the results are provided.     

Determining the effective parameters of a Shallow-Water bottom from wideband signal spectra under conditions of hydrodynamic variability

We propose a method for determining the effective parameters of the upper marine sediment layer on extended tracks from the spectra of wideband signals in conditions of hydrodynamic variability. As an example, we consider the Shallow Water 2006 experiment on the Atlantic shelf of the United States, which used signals with a band of 300 ± 30 Hz received by a vertical array. The length of the track was ~20 km at a sea depth of ~80 m. Frequency-mode analysis of the received signals showed that spatiotemporal fluctuations of the wave medium lead to random changes in mode amplitudes while retaining the relative stability of the mode phase difference. This is the basis of the proposed method, which makes it possible to determine the track-averaged values of the sound velocity in the bottom and density of the bottom under conditions of hydrodynamic variability.     

Wideband focused transducer array for optoacoustic tomography

The calculation procedure of the parameters of a multielement transducer array for the optoacoustic tomography of biological objects with high spatial resolution values is proposed. A multielement transducer with given spatial resolution values in three dimensions has been developed based on the proposed procedure for the early detection of breast cancer. The transducer array consists of a set of 8 linear PVDF piezoelectric films located on a plane and a focusing cylindrical acoustic lens. A map of the transducer’s focal area and point spread function have been measured using the constructed transducer array. Spatial resolutions of the transducer array obtained experimentally are in agreement with their calculated values.     

Bayesian geoacoustic inversion using wind-driven ambient noise

This paper applies Bayesian inversion to bottom-loss data derived from wind-driven ambient noise measurements from a vertical line array to quantify the information content constraining seabed geoacoustic parameters. The inversion utilizes a previously proposed ray-based representation of the ambient noise field as a forward model for fast computations of bottom loss data for a layered seabed. This model considers the effect of the array's finite aperture in the estimation of bottom loss and is extended to include the wind speed as the driving mechanism for the ambient noise field. The strength of this field relative to other unwanted noise mechanisms defines a signal-to-noise ratio, which is included in the inversion as a frequency-dependent parameter. The wind speed is found to have a strong impact on the resolution of seabed geoacoustic parameters as quantified by marginal probability distributions from Bayesian inversion of simulated data. The inversion method is also applied to experimental data collected at a moored vertical array during the MAPEX 2000 experiment, and the results are compared to those from previous active-source inversions and to core measurements at a nearby site.     

Acoustic mapping of the ocean bottom and requirements of the initial data

The amount and degree of detail of the initial information are analyzed as applied to the new method of ocean bottom mapping on the basis of the fine structure of the bottom-reflected sound field at normal incidence. For the mapping data obtained with a planar multielement receiving array, the distortions caused by insufficiently detailed information derived from discrete measurements of the bottom-reflected amplitude are considered. The relations between the number of receivers, the receiver spacing, the array aperture, and the horizontal correlation length of the sound field are determined. The problem is solved by computer simulation with the use of generalized quantitative data obtained in deep-water ocean experiments.     

Physical modeling of seismic source generation in failure of fault asperities

A series of full-scale experiments was performed to study the influence of impact loads on the parameters of seismic vibrations initiated in variable friction. The study was conducted on a test setup Tribo which is a movable concrete slab modeling an allochthon on a rough plane of the Angara fault segment in Baikal region. Contact interactions of asperities in the slip zone were recorded using strain and load measuring equipment and four seismic stations Baykal-7HR widely used for recording earthquakes. The proposed physical modeling method and obtained results can be of interest for the development of new physical models of differently scaled sources of seismic energy dissipation in tectonic faults and can be useful for seismological studies, related data interpretation, and improvement of extended forecast of rock bursts and earthquakes.     

Numerical modeling of the wave field in seismic profiling of the seafloor

The seismoacoustic field produced by an omnidirectional sound source located near the bottom of a shallow-water sea is numerically modeled at frequencies lower than 100 Hz. The main types of waves that are excited and scattered in the fluid and the layered bottom medium are represented in the form of wave hodographs on the distance-arrival time plane. A possibility to solve some problems of acoustic tomography of the bottom is demonstrated, in particular, the problem of determining the thickness of the bottom sediment layers and the velocities of the longitudinal and transverse waves propagating in them. By varying the elastic parameters of the layered bottom model, typical changes in the wave field are analyzed and the possibility to predict the presence of oil-saturated layers in the seafloor is established.     

On calculating the oscillations of a viscous liquid layer over a solid spherical core in terms of the boundary layer theory

The theory of a boundary layer near the periodically oscillating free surface of a spherical viscous liquid layer over a solid core (bottom) is modified. Two boundary layers are considered to adequately describe a liquid viscous flow in the system: one at the free surface of the liquid and the other at the solid bottom. The thicknesses of the boundary layers are estimated, which provide any given discrepancy between an exact solution to the model problem and a solution obtained in the small viscosity approximation. Taking into account the boundary layer near the solid bottom is shown to be significant only for lower oscillation modes. For higher modes, the flow near the core can be considered potential. In the case of lower modes and shallow liquid, the surface and bottom boundary layers overlap and an eddy flow occupies the entire volume of the liquid.     

Structural implications of basilar membrane compliance measurements

Static point-load measurements of basilar membrane compliance were made in the basal region of the excised guinea pig cochlea. Points on a radial line across the basilar membrane were displaced in one-half micron increments and the force required to maintain each increment recorded. The results are interpreted in terms of the material layers of the basilar membrane and displayed as compliance curves. In addition, a beam model of the basilar membrane, including the arches of Corti and the actual geometry of the pectinate zone, is constructed from anatomical data. The free parameters in this model are the modulus of elasticity of the transverse filaments and the effective spring stiffness of the arches. Compliance curves for the model are generated with a finite element approach and the parameters are obtained by requiring optimal agreement with the experimental measurements. The results show that the separation between fiber layers in the pectinate zone is relevant to the effective moment of inertia of the cross section and that the longitudinal coupling between the heads of the arches provides a rigidity to the arcuate zone not seen in the pectinate zone where longitudinal coupling is minimal. The elastic modulus calculated for the filaments is 1.8 GPa, approximately one-half that of keratin, while the cells and ground substance are five orders of magnitude softer.