Introduction to

Geophysics
Lecturer: Rheneilwe Andries Sekhala (Mr) (MSc, BSc, UZ)
Email: rsekhala@gmail.com
Cell: +263773255259
Office Number 10, New Wing, SSAP Department, UZ
THEORY OF ELASTICITY

Stress is the ratio of applied force F to the area across which it is acts.

Strain is the deformation caused in the body, and is expressed as the

ratio of change in length (or volume) to original length (or volume).

Triaxial Stress Stresses act along three orthogonal axes, perpendicular

to faces of solid, e.g. stretching a bar:
Theory of elasticity
Theory of elasticity
Pressure Forces act equally in all directions perpendicular to faces of
body, e.g. pressure on a cube in water:
Theory of elasticity
Strain Associated with Seismic Waves Inside a uniform solid, two
types of strain can propagate as waves:
1. Axial Stress
- Stresses act in one direction only
- Change in volume of solid occurs.
- Associated with P wave propagation
Theory of elasticity
Shear Stress
- Stresses act parallel to face of solid, e.g. pushing along a table
- No change in volume.
- Fluids such as water and air cannot support shear stresses.
- Associated with S wave propagation
Stresses on a solid in three
dimension
The stress can be expressed in two sets of components:

Normal stress (n), perpendicular to the surface of the body (c.f. pressure)
Shear stress (t) acting parallel to the surface of the body

The surfaces themselves can be defined as 3 orthogonal components definition of 9 components of stress
(direction of the force and direction of the surface on which it acts).
Stresses on a solid in three
dimensions
For each body, it is possible to define 3 axes for which shear stresses are zero and only the normal stresses exist
(using geometrical transformations).
These axes are called the principal axes, and the corresponding normal stresses are the principal stresses.

If all 3 principal stresses are equal, the body is subjected to a pressure (lithostatic pressure in the case of solid
rock).
Pressure = (
- Stresses towards the interior : compression
- Stresses towards the exterior : tension (extension, dilatation)
Hooke’s law
Hooke’s Law essentially states that stress is proportional to strain.

At low to moderate strains: Hooke’s Law applies and a solid body is

said to behave elastically, i.e. will return to original form when
stress removed.

At high strains: the elastic limit is exceeded and a body deforms in

a plastic or ductile manner: it is unable to return to its original
shape, being permanently strained, or damaged.

At very high strains: a solid will fracture, e.g. in earthquake

faulting.
Constant of proportionality is called the modulus, and is
ratio of stress to strain, e.g. Young’s modulus in triaxial
strain.
Elastic Moduli
1. Young’s modulus, E
longitudinal strain proportional to longitudinal stress.
E=

2. Bulk modulus, K
describes the change of volume due to a change of pressure.
K=
 elastic moduli
Shear modulus, µ
amount of angular deformation due to the application of a shear stress on one side of the object.

, µ = 0 in liquids

Axial modulus, Y
response to longitudinal stress, similar to Young’s Modulus
Poisson's ratio ( Dimensionless ratio)

is the ratio of transverse contraction strain to longitudinal extension strain in the direction of stretching force.

Tensile deformation is considered positive and compressive deformation is considered negative.

The definition of Poisson's ratio contains a minus sign so that normal materials have a positive ratio
Seismic waves
A. Body Waves: Seismic waves are pulses of strain energy that propagate in a
solid.
Two types of seismic wave can exist inside a uniform solid:

1. P waves (Primary, Compressional, Push-Pull)

Motion of particles in the solid is in direction of wave propagation.

- P waves have highest speed

- Volumetric change
- Sound is an example of a P wave.
S waves (Secondary, Shear, Shake)
Particle motion is in plane perpendicular to direction of propagation.

- If particle motion along a line in perpendicular plane, then S wave is said to be plane polarised: SV in vertical
plane, SH horizontal.
- No volume change
- S waves cannot exist in fluids like water or air, because the fluid is unable to support shear stresses

v is the poisson’s ratio = 0 for a perfect fluid, so S-waves cannot propagate through fluids. Poisson’s ratio is
theoretically bounded between 0 and 0.5 and for most rocks lies around 0.25, so typically V P /V S is about 1.7.
S waves
Vp /Vs ratios (hence Poisson’s Ratio) can be characteristic of rock type or physical
property, e.g.
Felsic rocks : lower Poisson’s Ratio
Mafic rocks : higher Poisson’s Ratio
Partial melt : very high Poisson’s Ratio (S wave speeds are more strongly affected by melt than P waves
Surface waves
Further a particle moves up and down vertically as well as in the direction of the wave.
In detail a particle traces an ellipse with a prograde rotation as shown in the sketch below.
The surface wave on an isotropic half -space is known as a Rayleigh wave and it is similar in form to the surface
wave on a liquid half-space except that the particle motion is retrograde .
Surface waves
1. Rayleigh waves
- Propagate along the surface of Earth
- Amplitude decreases exponentially with depth.
- Near the surface the particle motion is retrograde elliptical.
- Rayleigh wave speed is slightly less than S wave: ~92% VS.

2. Love waves
- Particle motion is SH, i.e. transverse horizontal
- Dispersive propagation: different frequencies travel at different velocities, but usually faster than Rayleigh
waves.
Seismic velocity, attenuation and
rock properties
Rock properties that affect seismic velocity
- Porosity
- Lithification (known as cementation. The degree to which grains in a sedimentary rock are cemented together by post
depositional, usually chemical, processes, has a strong effect on the modulii. )

- Pressure
- Fluid saturation
- Velocity in unconsolidated near surface soils (the weathered layer)
- Attenuation
Constraints on Seismic Velocity

Seismic velocities vary with mineral content, lithology, porosity, pore fluid saturation, pore
pressure, and to some extent temperature. In igneous rocks with minimal porosity, seismic velocity
increases with increasing mafic mineral content.

In sedimentary rocks, effects of porosity and grain cementation are more important, and seismic
velocity relationships are complex.
Various empirical relationships have been estimated from either measurements on cores or field
observations:
1. P wave velocity as function of age and depth
where Z is the depth in km and T is the geological age in million of years
2. Time-average equation
Wave front and rays
Wave front: is a line or surface on the path of the wave motion on which the disturbances at every
point have the same phase

Ray: is a line that represents the direction of travel of a wave and is at right angles to the wave
fronts
Huygens's construction
If the present position of the wave front is known then Huygens’ construction helps us to know what its
position will be in a later time.
Huygens postulated that each point on the wave front could be regarded as a secondary source of secondary
wavelets and that the new wave front is a surface that touches all of these secondary wavelets
It is useful to understand the refraction, reflection and diffraction of seismic waves
Assumptions
1. The amplitude of the secondary wavelets is zero in the backward direction
2. The secondary wavelets should be circular rather than spherical since its 2D
Snell’s law
The ratio of the sine of angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of
refraction is a constant
Seismic refraction
A signal, similar to a sound pulse, is transmitted into the Earth. The signal recorded at the surface can be used
to infer subsurface properties. There are two main classes of survey:
1. Seismic Refraction: the signal returns to the surface by refraction at subsurface interfaces, and is
recorded at distances much greater than depth of investigation.
2. Seismic Reflection: the seismic signal is reflected back to the surface at layer interfaces, and is recorded
at distances less than depth of investigation
Applications
Seismic refraction
- Rock competence for engineering applications
- Depth to Bedrock
- Groundwater exploration
- Correction of lateral, near-surface, variations in seismic reflection surveys
- Crustal structure and tectonics
Seismic Reflection
- Detection of subsurface cavities
- Shallow stratigraphy
- Site surveys for offshore installations
- Hydrocarbon exploration
- Crustal structure and tectonics
Travel Time Curves

Analysis of seismic refraction data is primarily based on interpretation of critical refraction travel
times.
Plots of seismic arrival times vs. sourcereceiver offset are called travel time curves.

Example Travel time curves for three arrivals shown previously:

- Direct arrival from source to receiver in top layer
- Critical refraction along top of second layer
- Reflection from top of second layer
Important terms
Critical Distance: Offset at which critical refraction first appears.
Critical refraction has same travel time as reflection  Angle of reflection same as critical angle

Crossover Distance: Offset at which critical refraction becomes first arrival.

Field Surveying
Usually we analyze P wave refraction data, but S wave data occasionally recorded
Seismic reflection
Seismic waves are mechanical perturbations that travel in the Earth at a speed governed by the acoustic
impedance of the medium in which they are travelling.
The acoustic (or seismic) impedance, Z, is defined by the equation

When a seismic wave travelling through the Earth encounters an interface between two materials with
different acoustic impedances, some of the wave energy will reflect off the interface and some will refract
through the interface.
At its most basic, the seismic reflection technique consists of generating seismic waves and measuring the time
taken for the waves to travel from the source, reflect off an interface and be detected by an array of receivers
(as geophones or hydrophones) at the surface.
Knowing the travel times from the source to various receivers, and the velocity of the seismic waves, a
geophysicist then attempts to reconstruct the pathways of the waves in order to build up an image of the
subsurface.
Seismic reflection
The amplitude of the reflected wave is predicted by multiplying the amplitude of the incident wave by the
seismic reflection coefficient
R, determined by the impedance contrast between the two materials

For a wave that hits a boundary at normal incidence (head-on), the expression for the reflection coefficient is
simply

Similarly, the amplitude of the incident wave is multiplied by the transmission coefficient, T to predict the
amplitude of the wave transmitted through the boundary. The formula for the normal-incidence transmission
coefficient is

The equations above a called Zoeppritz equations

Good day.