Shallow Water Sediment Properties Derived from High-Frequency Shear and Interface Waves
Abstract
Low-frequency sound propagation in shallow water environments is not restricted to the water column but also involves the subbottom. Thus, as well as being important for geophysical description of the seabed, subbottom velocity/attenuation structure is essential input for predictive propagation models. To estimate this structure. bottom-mounted sources and receivers were used to make measurements of shear and compressional wave propagation in shallow water sediments of the continental shelf, usually where boreholes and high-resolution reflection profiles give substantial supporting geologic information about the subsurface. This colocation provides an opportunity to compare seismically determined estimates of physical properties of the seabed with the ground truth properties. Measurements were made in 1986 with source/detector offsets up to 200 m producing shear wave velocity versus depth profiles of the upper 30-50 m of the seabed (and P wave profiles to lesser depths). Measurements in 1988. were made with smaller source devices designed to emphasize higher frequencies and recorded by an array of 30 sensors spaced at 1-m intervals to improve spatial sampling and resolution of shallow structure. These investigations with shear waves have shown that significant lateral and vertical variations in the physical properties of the shallow seabed are common and are principally created by erosional and depositional processes associated with glacial cycles and sea level oscillations during the Quaternary. When the seabed structure is relatively uniform over the length of the profiles.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 10, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA251492
Entities
People
- George H. Sutton
- Jerry A. Carter
- John Ewing
- Noel Barstow
Organizations
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution