Liu, Xuejian, Tieyuan Zhu, and Jorden Hayes. Critical Zone Structure by Elastic Full Waveform Inversion of Seismic Refractions in a Sandstone Catchment, Central Pennsylvania, USA. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 127, no. 3 (2022): e2021JB023321. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021JB023321

Jorden Hayes is a professor of Earth Sciences at Dickinson College.

© 2022. American Geophysical Union.
All Rights Reserved. For more information on the published version, visit American Geophysical Union's (AGU) Website. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021JB023321

Seismic imaging provides key information for revealing structures within Earth's critical zone (CZ) and quantifying subsurface fluid properties. The P-wave velocity (Vp) models estimated by seismic refraction tomography or acoustic full waveform inversion (FWI) are useful to delineate the thicknesses of weathered bedrock but ambiguously map fluid properties in CZ. Considering the complementary sensitivity of S-wave to subsurface fluid saturation, we explore advanced elastic full waveform inversion (EFWI) to estimate both Vp and S-wave velocity (Vs) models simultaneously. Several strategies are proposed for robust EFWI implementation of noisy single (vertical) component refraction data: (a) we window seismic data to preserve early arrivals mainly including P-wave, converted waves, and S-wave refractions; (b) we use a correlative misfit rather than the classic L2 misfit to alleviate the interference of unreliable data amplitudes; and (c) we perform inversion using a multiscale frequency strategy with the iterative constraint with the rule of Vp/Vs > 1. We validate that the EFWI approach reliably reconstructs Vp and Vs models using synthetic data. Then, we apply our EFWI approach to seismic refraction data acquired at the Garner Run site of the Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory. The inverted Vp and Vs models indicate three distinguished layers and with significant lateral and depth heterogeneities (e.g., low Vp and Vs zones). Joint analyses of Vp, Vs, and Vp/Vs with rock-physics knowledge reveal potential gas or water gathering zones.
Plain Language Summary: The critical zone (CZ) is the permeable, heterogeneous near-surface layer of the Earth which manages gas exchange with atmosphere, filters water at surface and underground, and supports life at the surface. The near-surface heterogeneities and fluid (gas/water) properties are critical to understanding multiple CZ processes such as nutrient exchange and groundwater flow. To image near-surface
heterogeneities, improve layer resolution, and characterize fluid properties in the CZ subsurface, we implement elastic full waveform inversion (EFWI) with single (vertical) component seismic refraction data for estimating both P- (Vp) and S-wave velocity (Vs) models. We are able to interpret possible subsurface water flow paths and gas and water charged areas of CZ based on derived Vp, Vs, and Vp/Vs models.