Abstract
It is amazing how much has been learned about the sediments and igneous crust beneath the sea by invoking the assumption of lateral homogeneity because almost every record obtained of sound propagating through the seafloor contains evidence of lateral heterogeneity and scattering. Three scales of scattering are evident: (1) There is the focusing and scattering of energy due to lateral heterogeneity within the seafloor. This causes anomalously high‐ or low‐amplitude arrivals but no new arrivals; (2) there are diffractions from isolated topographic irregularities such as hills and valleys. In some cases, the hyperbolic appearance of these arrivals is evident on refraction sections; and (3) fine scale heterogeneity in the seafloor causes incoherency and time spread of arrivals. These are ubiquitous effects in seafloor reflections and refractions. These three phenomena will be demonstrated in observed data from the Pacific and in synthetic seismograms.
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