The accuracy of models derived by WKBJ waveform inversion

Abstract

Summary. In this paper the accuracy of velocity-depth profiles derived by matching WKBJ seismograms to observations is quantitatively evaluated. Seismograms computed with the WKBJ method are generally quite reliable but possess predictable, systematic inaccuracies in the presence of strong velocity gradients. The effects of these inaccuracies on models derived through WKBJ waveform inversion are studied, using reflectivity seismograms as ‘data'. The velocity structure used is an oceanic lithosphere model that contains several transition regions separated by relatively homogeneous layers, producing partially-reflected reverberations in the reflectivity synthetics that are absent from the WKBJ seismograms. The inversion incorporates the ‘jumping’ strategy to solve for the smoothest models consistent with the data. We find these solutions to be independent of the starting model and to have a stable basic structure that agrees well with the correct model. The differences, everywhere less than a seismic wavelength, depend on the frequency content of the seismograms. Reverberations in the reflectivity seismograms that are well separated from WKBJ arrivals are treated as ‘noise’ in the inversion.