Laboratory Studies on Pulsed Leaky Rayleigh Wave Components in a Water Layer Over a Solid Bottom

Abstract

Laboratory experimental results are presented demonstrating the existence of multiple pulsed leaky Rayleigh wave components in a liquid layer over a solid bottom. These broadband pulsed leaky Rayleigh waves are not revealed from normal mode phase and group velocity dispersion curves. Waveforms from a free liquid layer model are compared with waveforms from a liquid layer over a solid half-space model. The time separation between different leaky Rayleigh wave pulses is independent of range, however, the time separation between waveguide acoustic pulses in a free liquid layer increases with range. The results indicate that the amplitude of subsequent pulsed leaky Rayleigh wave components increase with range over finite regions creating late-arriving high-amplitude seismo-acoustic waves. The laboratory waveforms are related to underwater Canadian Arctic field data.