PROBING THE DEEP EARTH

SEISMOLOGY USES TRAVEL

TIMES AND AMPLITUDES OF
SEISMIC WAVES TO STUDY
VARIATIONS IN SEISMIC WAVE
VELOCITY & DENSITY
+
GRAVITY STUDIES MEASURE
VARIATIONS IN DENSITY
+
MAGNETIC STUDIES GIVE
INSIGHT INTO CORE'S MAGNETIC
FIELD
+
LABORATORY STUDIES OF ROCK
PROPERTIES
----------->
MODELS OF EARTH'S
COMPOSITION, TEMPERATURE, &
INTERNAL PROCESSES

SEISMIC WAVES
DISTURBANCES AS
FUNCTION OF SPACE
& TIME THAT TRAVEL
THROUGH SOLID
EARTH
LIKE SOUND WAVES,
LIGHT
(ELECTROMAGNETIC)
WAVES, OR WATER
WAVES
USE SEISMIC WAVES
TO SEE INSIDE
EARTH
LIKE LIGHT (VISION,
XRAYS) OR SOUND
(ULTRASOUND,
SONAR, DOLPHINS,
BATS)

Davidson 8.11

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RECORDING SEISMIC WAVES

2ND CENTURY CHINESE SEISMOGRAPH
BALLS COME FROM DRAGONS MOUTH
WHEN WAVES ARRIVE

SEISMOMETERSUSE SPRING-MASS SYSTEM TO

RECORD GROUND MOTION WITH TIME

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Davidson 8.14

- 3 components (north-south; east-west, up-down)

- Precise timing (GPS satellites)
- Amplitude calibrated
- Digital recording and data available on www

WAVES: FUNCTIONS OF SPACE AND TIME

LIKE SWIMMER'S VIEW

FROM FIXED
LOCATION: WAVE AT
BEACH AS FUNCTION
OF TIME

LIKE LIFEGUARD'S
VIEW AT FIXED TIME:
WAVES ALL OVER
BEACH AS FUNCTION
OF POSITION
LIKE SEISMOGRAM
--->

SEISMIC WAVES OCCUR

BECAUSE AN APPLIED FORCE
MAKES ROCK DEFORM
ELASTICALLY & THEN
RETURNS TO ORIGINAL SHAPE
COMPRESSION - VOLUME
CHANGES

SHEAR- DISTORTION: SHAPE

CHANGES

Davidson 5.3

TWO TYPES OF SEISMIC WAVES

P OR COMPRESSIONAL
WAVES - VOLUME
CHANGES MATERIAL
COMPRESSED OR
EXPANDED IN DIRECTION
WAVE PROPAGATES
S OR SHEAR WAVES DISTORTION WITHOUT
VOLUME CHANGES MATERIAL SHEARED IN
DIRECTION
PERPENDICULAR TO
WAVE PROPAGATES
P WAVES TRAVEL FASTER
(ABOUT 1.7x) THAN S WAVES

Davidson 5.5

SEISMIC WAVE SPEED (VELOCITY)

DEPENDS ON ELASTIC
CONSTANTS (MODULI) & DENSITY
OF MATERIAL
K - BULK MODULUS - LARGER K IS
HARDER TO COMPRESS
- SHEAR MODULUS - LARGER
IS HARDER TO SHEAR
- DENSITY

COMPRESSIONAL (P) WAVE SPEED VP DEPENDS ON BOTH MODULI BUT

SHEAR (S) WAVE SPEED VS DEPENDS ON ONLY SHEAR MODULUS
S WAVES CANNOT TRAVEL THROUGH LIQUID ( = 0) LIKE OUTER CORE
IN CRUST, VP ABOUT 6.5 km/s - 14,650 miles/hr

AS SEISMIC WAVES TRAVEL

FROM MATERIAL OF ONE
SPEED AND DENSITY TO
ANOTHER
INCIDENT (INCOMING)
WAVES ARE REFLECTED
AND
TRANSMITTED (REFRACTED)

FAST
SLOW

BOTH THE ANGLES AND SIZE (AMPLITUDE) OF WAVES CHANGE,

DEPENDING ON VELOCITY AND DENSITY CHANGE
THIS EFFECT LETS US STUDY EARTH STRUCTURE
(AND IS USED IN LENSES, EYEGLASSES, ETC. FOR LIGHT)

SNELLS LAW
DESCRIBES BENDING AS
SEISMIC WAVES TRAVEL
FROM MATERIAL OF ONE
SPEED TO ANOTHER
ANGLES OF THE INCIDENT,
REFLECTED, AND
REFRACTED (TRANSMITTED)
RAYS

FAST
SLOW

RELATED BY SNELLS LAW

(SIN i)/VELOCITY = CONSTANT
FROM FASTER TO SLOWER MATERIAL- REFRACTED WAVES BENDS
TOWARDS VERTICAL
FROM SLOWER TO FASTER MATERIAL- REFRACTED WAVES BENDS
TOWARDS HORIZONAL

SNELLS LAW DESCRIBES OTHER FAMILIAR

EFFECTS
DIFFERENT COLORS (WAVELENGTHS) OF
LIGHT TRAVEL AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS IN
WATER OR GLASS, SO REFRACTED AT
DIFFERENT ANGLES
RAINDROPS CAUSE THE RAINBOW.
THIS IS WHY YOU ONLY SEE A RAINBOW
WHEN THE SUN IS BEHIND YOU

CRITICAL ANGLE
WAVES GOING INTO A HIGHER
VELOCITY MATERIAL (V2>V1) CAN
HAVE TOTAL INTERNAL
REFLECTION WHERE
REFRACTED (TRANSMITTED)
WAVE IS ALONG INTERFACE
IN EARTH, REFRACTED WAVES
ALONG CRUST/MANTLE
BOUNDARY (MOHOROVICIC
DISCONTINUITY)

OTHER APPLICATIONS- FIBER

OPTICS- LIGHT TRAPPED IN A
LOW VELOCITY FIBER

REFLECTION (R) AND TRANSMISSION (T) COEFFICIENTS

RATIO OF
AMPLITUDES (SIZE)
AS WAVES TRAVEL
FROM MATERIAL OF
ONE SPEED (V) AND
DENSITY () TO
ANOTHER

VR, R

VL, L

TRANSMISSION COEFFICIENT:
Transmitted/Incident
REFLECTION COEFFICIENT:
Reflected/Incident

http://www.earth.northwestern.edu/people/seth/demos/STRING/string.html

TSUNAMI wave speed =

(water depth x acceleration of gravity)1/2

NY Times

TRAVEL TIME PLOTS

SHOW WHEN SEISMIC WAVES
ARRIVE AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES
FROM AN EARTHQUAKE OR
SEISMIC SOURCE
SHOW SEISMIC WAVE SPEED
(DISTANCE/TIME)
TRAVEL TIME CURVE USED TO FIND
VELOCITY AT DEPTH, WHICH
CONTROLS PATH OF WAVE
LEARN ABOUT STRUCTURE AT
DEPTH

Davidson 5.8

PATHS TRAVELED BY DIFFERENT SEISMIC WAVES

DIRECTION CHANGES AS WAVE TRAVELS THROUGH DIFFERENT
VELOCITY REGIONS

STRAIGHT

SLOW
FAST

Davidson 5.7

BENT

3 IMPORTANT PATHWAYS FOR

SEISMIC WAVES IN CRUST
WAVES MAY TRAVEL FROM
SOURCE TO RECEIVER BY
DIFFERENT PATHS AND
DIFFERENT VELOCITIES
USE TRAVEL TIME CURVE TO
FIND SPEED OF WAVES IN
MATERIAL AT DEPTH

SLOPE OF TRAVEL
TIME CURVE =
TIME/DISTANCE=
1/SPEED

SLOW
FAST
Davidson 5.12

SEISMIC WAVES TAKE

DIFFERENT PATHS
THROUGH
SPHERICAL EARTH
RAY PATHS HAVE
DIFFERENT NAMES, &
THEIR TRAVEL TIME
CURVES USED TO
FIND VELOCITY AT
DIFFERENT DEPTHS
PcP TRAVELS AS A P
WAVE THROUGH THE
MANTLE (P),
REFLECTS OFF THE
MANTLE/OUTER
CORE BOUNDARY (c)
AND THEN RETURNS
TO THE SURFACE AS
A P WAVE (P)

Davidson 5.9

RAY PATHS WITHIN MANTLE

PATHS REFLECTING FROM CORE-MANTLE

BOUNDARY (CMB)

SOLID

DIRECT

SURFACE
REFLECTED

LIQUID: NO S WAVES

SURFACE
CONVERTED
S -> P

GIVE DEPTH TO CORE &

PROPERTIES THERE

RAY PATHS THROUGH THE OUTER CORE

AND INNER CORE

LIQUID: NO S WAVES

GIVE DEPTH TO CORE & PROPERTIES THERE

CORE SHADOW ZONE

WHERE P ARRIVALS ARE
WEAK & NO ARRIVALS OF
DIRECT S WAVES
LIQUID IRON OUTER CORE
HAS LOWER P-WAVE
SPEED THAN ROCKY
MANTLE, SO P-WAVES
ENTERING IT (called PKP)
ARE BENT DOWNWARD
NO S-WAVES CAN
PROPAGATE THROUGH
OUTER CORE
DETERMINED FROM
TRAVEL TIME CURVES

TRAVEL TIME CURVES COMPILED FROM MANY EARTHQUAKES &

SEISMOMETERS USED TO FIND VELOCITY AT DEPTH

ANALYSES OF
TRAVEL TIME
CURVES GIVE
VELOCITIES,
COMPOSITIONS,
AND CHANGES
WITH DEPTH

Near melting at
base of plates
Rapid velocity
increase

4 MAJOR
REGIONS:
CRUST,
MANTLE,
OUTER CORE,
INNER CORE

Smooth velocity
increase

SOLID

Davidson 5.8

LIQUID

Velocity
decrease

SOLID

TRAVEL TIME CURVES GIVE VELOCITY AT DEPTH

TO DETERMINE COMPOSITION, NEED TO KNOW WHAT MATERIALS COULD
EXIST AT THOSE DEPTHS (PRESSURES) AND TEMPERATURES THAT
WOULD HAVE OBSERVED VELOCITIES
PRESSURE = DENSITY x DEPTH x ACCELERATION OF GRAVITY
SO PRESSURE INCREASES WITH DEPTH
3 km depth => 1000 ATMOSPHERES
400 km => 133,000 ATMOSPHERES, ~1500C
CORE-MANTLE BOUNDARY (2900 km) => 1.3 million ATMOSPHERES,
~3700C
CENTER OF EARTH (6371 km) => 3.5 million ATMOSPHERES, ~4200C
MATERIALS BEHAVE VERY DIFFERENTLY AT THESE CONDITIONS
AT SURFACE

THAN

TEMPERATURES IN THE EARTH - GEOTHERM

BELOW MELTING CURVE (SOLIDUS) IN MANTLE AND SOLID INNER
CORE
ABOVE MELTING CURVE IN LIQUID OUTER CORE

SOLID

LIQUID
SOLID

SOLIDINNERCOREFREEZESFROMOUTERCORE
Fractional crystalization as earth cools
Phase
diagram

Liquid core
containing iron (Fe)
and Sulphur (S)
cools
Solid iron core
freezes out

Solid

Solid

Remaining liquid
core enriched in S
Composition of
inner & outer cores
differ

Heat released by freezing and gravitational

energy released as the denser solid sinks
drive convection in the outer core and thus
field
generate magnetic

INCREASE OF PRESSURE WITH DEPTH HAS TWO EFFECTS

- STEADY COMPRESSION (SQUISHING) OF MATERIAL MAKES IT
STRONGER AND DENSER AND SO INCREASES VELOCITY
GRADUALLY WITH DEPTH IN UPPER (100-410 km depth) AND LOWER
(660-2900 km depth) MANTLE
- AT APPROPRIATE PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS
MINERALS TRANSFORM TO DENSER PHASES, CAUSING THE RAPID
VELOCITY INCREASES (DISCONTINUITIES) AT 410 AND 660 km depth

SIMULATINGEARTHS
INTERIOR
Lab experiments
Pressure = Force/Area

Piston Cylinder - reach upper mantle conditions

410km:
olivineto
spinel
phase
change

8% denser

Diamond cell - reach core conditions

DENSITY INCREASES WITH DEPTH

COMBINED EFFECT OF:

Dense
mostly
iron
liquid

Compression (squishing) slow increase

Phase changes - sharp
increase
Changes in composition

Denser
solid iron

Davidson 5.2

TOMOGRAPHY (SLICE PICTURE)

BEAMS TRAVEL THROUGH
OBJECT AT MANY DIFFERENT
ANGLES
COMBINE BEAMS FOR DETAILED
PICTURE OF VARIATIONS INSIDE
OBJECT
(CAT= COMPUTED AXIAL
TOMOGRAPHY)
MEDICAL TOMOGRAPHY USES XRAYS (ELECTROMAGNETIC
RADIATION) TO SEE VARIATIONS
IN ABSORPTION DUE TO BONES,
TISSUE ETC

SEISMIC
TOMOGRAPHY

Davidson 5.14

SEISMIC WAVES TRAVEL THROUGH THE EARTH ON MANY

DIFFERENT PATHS
COMBINE PATHS FOR A DETAILED PICTURE OF VELOCITY
VARIATIONS INSIDE

East African Rift: AfricasplitsintoNubia(WestAfrica)andSomalia(East

Africa)

1-2 mm/yr
Davidson 5.16

Hot rock indicated by slow wave speed rises to fill gap

as plates separate

SEISMIC TOMOGRAPHY OF MIDOCEAN RIDGE

HOT UPWELLING MAGMA HAS LOW VELOCITY

Forsyth et al, 1998

TOMOGRAPHY SHOWS THERMAL

STRUCTURE OF SUBDUCTING
PLATE (SLAB)
COLD (HIGH SEISMIC VELOCITY)
OCEANIC PLATE SUBDUCTS INTO
WARMER (LOWER SEISMIC
VELOCITY) MANTLE

DATA

WARM REGION OF BACK ARC

MELTING CAUSES VOLCANOES
SLAB HEATS UP SLOWLY
(MILLIONS OF YEARS)

TEMPERATURE MODEL

SEISMIC REFLECTION PROFILING

ARTIFICAL SOURCES GENERATE
SEISMIC WAVES THAT BOUNCE
OFF BOUNDARIES BETWEEN
DIFFERENT TYPES OF ROCK.
REFLECTIONS RECORDED
PLOTTED AS LINES ON SEISMIC
SECTION THAT SHOWS FEATURES
LIKE FAULTS, FOLDS AND ROCK
TYPE BOUNDARIES.

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TIMES OF REFLECTIONS GIVE

DEPTH OF REFLECTING
STRUCTURES

SEISMIC REFLECTION USED TO EXPLORE FOR OIL- AND NATURAL GASTRAPPING STRUCTURES IN SEDIMENTARY BASINS
ALSO USED FOR DETAILED STUDIES OF THE DEEP CRUST

SEISMIC REFLECTION ON LAND

USES "VIBROSEIS" TRUCKS THAT SHAKE THE GROUND, OR
EXPLOSIONS

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Vibroseis used to map rocks in

constructing Chicago Deep Tunnel
Project that stores storm water overflow
in the combined sewer system

SEISMIC SURVEY RESULTS

SEISMOGRAMS ARE
COLLECTED AND PROCESSED
BY COMPUTERS TO FORM
SEISMIC SECTIONS
THESE SHOW STRUCTURE AT
DEPTH AS AN IMAGE OF THE
REFLECTED SEISMIC WAVES CAN SEE FAULTS, FOLDS,
DOMES, ETC
STRUCTURES SHOW THE
GEOLOGY OF AN AREA AND
MAY BE "TRAPS" FOR OIL OR
NATURAL GAS (WHICH CANNOT
BE SEEN DIRECTLY)

OIL?

TIME ON SEISMOGRAM
DEPTH = 2 x SPEED x
TIME TO REFLECTOR

VANCOUVER ISLAND
IMAGE OF JUAN DE FUCA
PLATE SUBDUCTING
FENEATH NORTH AMERICA
FROM SEISMIC REFLECTION
DATA