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A Model for Attenuation and Scattering in the Earth’s Crust

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Scattering and Attenuations of Seismic Waves, Part I

Part of the book series: Pageoph Topical Volumes ((PTV))

Abstract

The mechanisms contributing to the attenuation of earthquake ground motion in the distance range of 10 to 200 km are studied with the aid of laboratory data, coda waves, Rg attenuation, strong motion attenuation measurements in the northeast United States and Canada, and theoretical models. The frequency range 1 10 Hz has been studied. The relative contributions to attenuation of anelasticity of crustal rocks (constant Q), fluid flow and scattering are evaluated. Scattering is found to be strong with an albedo B 0 = 0.8 0.9 and a scattering extinction length of 17 32 km. The albedo is defined as the ratio of the total extinction length to the scattering extinction length. The Rg results indicate that Q increases with depth in the upper kilometer or two of the crust, at least in New England. Coda Q appears to be equivalent to intrinsic (anelastic) Q and indicates that this Q increases with frequency as Q = Q 0 f n, where n is in the range of 0.2 0.9. The intrinsic attenuation in the crust can be explained by a high constant Q ( 500 ≤ Q 0 (2000) and a frequency dependent mechanism most likely due to fluid effects in rocks and cracks. A fluid-flow attenuation model gives a frequency dependence (Q ≃Q 0 f0.5) similar to those determined from the analysis of coda waves of regional seismograms. Q is low near the surface and high in the body of the crust.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earth Resources Laboratory, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    M. Nafi Toksöz, Anton M. Dainty & Edmund Reiter

  2. Air Force Geophysics Laboratory/LWH, Hanscom AFB, MA, 01731, USA

    Anton M. Dainty

  3. Physics and Institute of Tectonics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA

    Ru-Shan Wu

Authors
  1. M. Nafi Toksöz
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  2. Anton M. Dainty
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  3. Edmund Reiter
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  4. Ru-Shan Wu
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA

    Keiiti Aki

  2. Physics Dept. & Richter Seismological Lab., University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA

    Ru-Shan Wu

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© 1988 Springer Basel AG

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Toksöz, M.N., Dainty, A.M., Reiter, E., Wu, RS. (1988). A Model for Attenuation and Scattering in the Earth’s Crust. In: Aki, K., Wu, RS. (eds) Scattering and Attenuations of Seismic Waves, Part I. Pageoph Topical Volumes. Birkhäuser, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-7722-0_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-7722-0_5

  • Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Basel

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-7643-2254-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-0348-7722-0

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