Estimation of shear wave velocity in shallow marine sediments

Author

Caiti, Andrea ; Akal, Tuncay ; Stoll, Robert D.

Author_Institution

SACLANT Undersea Res. Centre, La Spezia, Italy

Volume

19

Issue

1

fYear

1994

fDate

1/1/1994 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

58

Lastpage

72

Abstract

A method for estimating shear wave velocity in shallow marine sediments from the dispersive characteristics of seismic interface waves traveling at the water/sediment boundary is presented. Interface waves are recorded using an array of geophones placed on the seafloor, and the shear wave velocity is estimated by a nonlinear least-square inversion algorithm, with smoothing constraints to avoid numerical instability. A detailed description of the algorithm is given, particularly emphasizing the capabilities and limitations of the method. The inversion scheme has been tested at selected sites to compare its estimates with existing direct measurements of shear speed, and it has been proven reliable and accurate. The proposed scheme is able to predict shear speed to a typical depth of 15-40 meters within the sediment, which generally exceeds the depth for which direct measurements are available

Keywords

acoustic applications; acoustic wave velocity measurement; least squares approximations; oceanographic techniques; sediments; seismometers; underwater sound; 15 to 40 m; array of geophones; dispersive characteristics; inversion scheme; nonlinear least-square inversion algorithm; numerical instability; seafloor; seismic interface waves; shallow marine sediments; shear speed; shear wave velocity; smoothing constraints; water/sediment boundary; Acoustic measurements; Dispersion; Geologic measurements; Sea floor; Sea measurements; Sediments; Testing; Underwater acoustics; Velocity measurement; Water;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Oceanic Engineering, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0364-9059

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/48.289451

Filename

289451