A model for the calculation of the seismic properties of geologic units

Abstract

A model for the calculation of a representative complete elastic tensor of a geologic body is presented here, in order to fill the gap between the small scale sample and the complex structural and lithological association of a geologic body, which may be of the same large scale as the wavelength used on the seismic survey. The major problems arising during the modelling are discussed, namely the representativity of a suite of hand samples and the evaluation of the volume fraction of the different lithologies comprising a formation. An application example is presented of a metapelitic sequence spanning the tectonic boundary of the Ivrea-Verbano zone with the Serie dei Laghi in Valle Cannobina (N. Italy). It is shown that the effective formation anisotropy is drastically reduced relative to that of hand samples when the structure is averaged over a large area, except for the sheared and mylonitic sub-areas comprising the tectonic contact zone (the Cossato-Mergozzo-Brissago- and Pogallo lines). In these subareas the effective anisotropy is slightly reduced (a few points of a percent) from the hand sample scale to that of the geologic formation. Moreover, because the polarization of the fastest shear wave and the plane of maximum shear wave splitting of the most common crustal rock types coincide with the foliation, there is an opportunity to infer the structure of deep rock formations from teleseismic shear waves.