Abstract
It is generally accepted wisdom that the highest resolving power for the investigation of the crust and uppermost mantle is obtained through the use of seismic profiling with controlled, high-frequency sources. If we interprete “resolution” as the ability of elastic waves to be scattered by thin layers or small changes in the properties of the rock, there is no reason to question this statement. But to those who have experience with high-frequency seismology in areas of complicated geological structure (usually the interesting areas) it is also evident that this resolution may be so large, that one does not see the wood for the trees: different interpretations of the results of such surveys sometimes lead to seriously conflicting models. Misidentification of phases is usually the cause of conflicts. For instance, we may wrongly interprete a multiple in the crust as a reflection from the mantle. Misidentification is a plague for which no robust editing method can provide the cure, since the error is by nature systematic.
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© 1984 Plenum Press, New York
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Nolet, G. (1984). Global Seismology and the Investigation of Deep Continental Structure. In: Cassinis, R. (eds) Problems and Methods for Lithospheric Exploration. Ettore Majorana International Science Series. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2373-0_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2373-0_2
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