Abstract
The irregularities in seismic wave fronts observed at arrays such as LASA can be ascribed to heterogeneities in the lithosphere beneath the array. These heterogeneities are important in detection seismology because of their effect on seismic waveforms to be used for source identification.
The present author has studied the following effects of heterogeneities in the lithosphere on short period seismic waves: (l) the fluctuation of the amplitude and phase of teleseismic P waves observed at a seismic array, (2) the attenuation of S waves through the lithosphere, and (3) the backscattering effect using coda waves of local earthquakes.
We found that the backscattered energy required to explain coda amplitude agrees with the loss of energy from S waves, suggesting that attenuation of S waves in the lithosphere may be primarily due to scattering. The frequency dependence of Q and its systematic change with the degree of tectonic activity suggests a trend that the scale length of inhomogeneity is shorter and the magnitude of velocity fluctuation is greater for younger and more active regions.
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Aki, K. (1981). Attenuation and Scattering of Short-Period Seismic Waves in the Lithosphere. In: Husebye, E.S., Mykkeltveit, S. (eds) Identification of Seismic Sources — Earthquake or Underground Explosion. NATO Advanced Study Institutes Series, vol 74. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8531-5_28
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8531-5_28
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