skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: On the validation of seismic imaging methods: Finite frequency or ray theory?

Abstract

Abstract We investigate the merits of the more recently developed finite‐frequency approach to tomography against the more traditional and approximate ray theoretical approach for state of the art seismic models developed for western North America. To this end, we employ the spectral element method to assess the agreement between observations on real data and measurements made on synthetic seismograms predicted by the models under consideration. We check for phase delay agreement as well as waveform cross‐correlation values. Based on statistical analyses on S wave phase delay measurements, finite frequency shows an improvement over ray theory. Random sampling using cross‐correlation values identifies regions where synthetic seismograms computed with ray theory and finite‐frequency models differ the most. Our study suggests that finite‐frequency approaches to seismic imaging exhibit measurable improvement for pronounced low‐velocity anomalies such as mantle plumes.

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [1];  [1];  [3]
  1. Earth and Environmental Sciences Division Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos New Mexico USA
  2. Department of Earth Sciences University of Southern California Los Angeles California USA, Department of Earth and Planetary Science University of California Berkeley California USA
  3. Department of Earth and Planetary Science University of California Berkeley California USA
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1240467
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1212465; OSTI ID: 1240468
Grant/Contract Number:  
DE‐AC52‐06NA25396/LA12‐SignalPropagation‐NDD2Ab; AC52-06NA25396
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Published Article
Journal Name:
Geophysical Research Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Volume: 42 Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES

Citation Formats

Maceira, Monica, Larmat, Carene, Porritt, Robert W., Higdon, David M., Rowe, Charlotte A., and Allen, Richard M. On the validation of seismic imaging methods: Finite frequency or ray theory?. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1002/2014GL062571.
Maceira, Monica, Larmat, Carene, Porritt, Robert W., Higdon, David M., Rowe, Charlotte A., & Allen, Richard M. On the validation of seismic imaging methods: Finite frequency or ray theory?. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062571
Maceira, Monica, Larmat, Carene, Porritt, Robert W., Higdon, David M., Rowe, Charlotte A., and Allen, Richard M. 2015. "On the validation of seismic imaging methods: Finite frequency or ray theory?". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062571.
@article{osti_1240467,
title = {On the validation of seismic imaging methods: Finite frequency or ray theory?},
author = {Maceira, Monica and Larmat, Carene and Porritt, Robert W. and Higdon, David M. and Rowe, Charlotte A. and Allen, Richard M.},
abstractNote = {Abstract We investigate the merits of the more recently developed finite‐frequency approach to tomography against the more traditional and approximate ray theoretical approach for state of the art seismic models developed for western North America. To this end, we employ the spectral element method to assess the agreement between observations on real data and measurements made on synthetic seismograms predicted by the models under consideration. We check for phase delay agreement as well as waveform cross‐correlation values. Based on statistical analyses on S wave phase delay measurements, finite frequency shows an improvement over ray theory. Random sampling using cross‐correlation values identifies regions where synthetic seismograms computed with ray theory and finite‐frequency models differ the most. Our study suggests that finite‐frequency approaches to seismic imaging exhibit measurable improvement for pronounced low‐velocity anomalies such as mantle plumes.},
doi = {10.1002/2014GL062571},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1240467}, journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
issn = {0094-8276},
number = 2,
volume = 42,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jan 23 00:00:00 EST 2015},
month = {Fri Jan 23 00:00:00 EST 2015}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record at https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062571

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 12 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

The Spectral-Element Method, Beowulf Computing, and Global Seismology
journal, November 2002


Cross-borehole tomography with correlation delay times
journal, January 2014


Free software helps map and display data
journal, January 1991


Fréchet kernels for finite-frequency traveltimes-I. Theory
journal, April 2000


Three-dimensional sensitivity kernels for finite-frequency traveltimes: the banana-doughnut paradox
journal, June 1999


Testing Community Velocity Models for Southern California Using the Ambient Seismic Field
journal, December 2008


Wavefront healing renders deep plumes seismically invisible: Lower mantle plume resolution
journal, August 2011


The TauP Toolkit: Flexible Seismic Travel-time and Ray-path Utilities
journal, March 1999


Fréchet kernels for finite-frequency traveltimes-II. Examples
journal, April 2000


Tomographic resolution of ray and finite-frequency methods: a membrane-wave investigation
journal, May 2009


Global P and PP traveltime tomography: rays versus waves
journal, August 2004


Science Is Key to Decision Making, U.S. Secretary of Interior Tells Eos
journal, February 2014


Traveltimes for global earthquake location and phase identification
journal, May 1991


The spectral element method: An efficient tool to simulate the seismic response of 2D and 3D geological structures
journal, April 1998


A catalogue of deep mantle plumes: New results from finite-frequency tomography: DEEP MANTLE PLUME CATALOGUE
journal, November 2006


An introduction to the special issue of Earth and Planetary Science Letters on USArray science
journal, September 2014


Sensitivity kernels for seismic Fresnel volume tomography
journal, September 2009


Validation of Shear-Wave Velocity Models of the Pacific Northwest
journal, December 2012


Application of a linear finite-frequency theory to time-lapse crosswell tomography in ultrasonic and numerical experiments
journal, November 2007


Three dimensional model of seismic velocity variation in the Earth's mantle
journal, February 1976


Savani : A variable resolution whole-mantle model of anisotropic shear velocity variations based on multiple data sets
journal, April 2014


Hessian kernels of seismic data functionals based upon adjoint techniques: Hessian kernels
journal, February 2011


Assessment of tomographic mantle models using spectral element seismograms
journal, March 2010


On recent seismic tomography for the western United States: WESTERN U.S. TOMOGRAPHY
journal, January 2012


On the relevance of Born theory in global seismic tomography
journal, January 2006


Mantle structure beneath the western United States and its implications for convection processes
journal, January 2010


Determination of the three-dimensional seismic structure of the lithosphere
journal, January 1977


Finite frequency whole mantle P wave tomography: Improvement of subducted slab images : FINITE FREQUENCY WHOLE MANTLE
journal, November 2013


Large-scale heterogeneities in the lower mantle
journal, January 1977


On the use of the checker-board test to assess the resolution of tomographic inversions
journal, October 1993


Wavefront healing: a banana-doughnut perspective
journal, August 2001


Slab-plume interaction beneath the Pacific Northwest: WESTERN U.S. SEISMIC TOMOGRAPHY
journal, July 2010