Seismic Imaging Overview

Principles

Definition

Seismic imaging is a geophysical methodology employing seismic waves, generated at the surface or within the Earth, to infer and visualize the structure, properties, and dynamics of the subsurface. This approach is fundamental in disciplines such as Earth science, resource exploration, and engineering for mapping geological formations, identifying potential reservoirs, and monitoring subsurface changes.

Ontological type

Imaging Algorithms

Acquisition Methods

Engineering Applications

Key developments

Key Figures

Waveform Foundations era

Keiiti Aki[1], affiliated with Massachusetts Institute of Technology[3] and California Institute of Technology[4], helped anchor the physics-based waveform foundations of the era. His contributions included the origin of coda waves[6], the scaling law of seismic spectrum[7], and seismic displacements near a fault[8], which clarified wave propagation, attenuation, and fault-related effects and underpinned forward models for layered Earth. Adam M. Dziewoński[2], active at Harvard University[5] and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology[3] in this period, helped pioneer global seismic imaging through waveform-based modeling. His three papers—Mapping the upper mantle: Three-dimensional modeling of earth structure by inversion of seismic waveforms[9], Mapping the lower mantle: Determination of lateral heterogeneity in <i>P</i> velocity up to degree and order 6[10], and An experiment in systematic study of global seismicity: Centroid‐moment tensor solutions for 201 moderate and large earthquakes of 1981[11]—illustrated the move to 3D earth models and global seismicity studies that defined the era's inversion framework.

Global Tomographic Scaling era

M. H. Ritzwoller [1] emerges as a central figure in the Global Tomographic Scaling era, with affiliations at Université Joseph Fourier [3] and Yale University [4]. His key contributions include processing seismic ambient noise data to obtain reliable broad-band surface wave dispersion measurements [7], high-resolution surface-wave tomography from ambient seismic noise [8], and ambient-noise Rayleigh wave tomography across Europe [9], advances that enabled systematic, higher-resolution regional and global models. E. R. Engdahl [2] is a pivotal figure in this era, with affiliations at University of California, San Diego [5] and University of California, Santa Barbara [6]. His papers Traveltimes for global earthquake location and phase identification [10] and Closing the gap between regional and global travel time tomography [11] advanced the integration of regional and global travel-time data, bridging scales essential for global tomographic scaling.

Integrated Data-Driven Imaging era

David J. Wald [1] is active in this era with affiliations at Baylor College of Medicine [3] and Nanyang Technological University [4]. His key contribution is Slab1.0 [7], a three-dimensional model of global subduction zone geometries, which advanced seismic imaging and informed interpretation of subduction systems in this era. G. A. Abers [2] is associated with Boston University [5] and Cornell University [6] during this era. His key contribution is the analysis of induced seismicity in Oklahoma, exemplified by the paper 'Potentially induced earthquakes in Oklahoma, USA: Links between wastewater injection and the 2011 Mw 5.7 earthquake sequence' [8], which demonstrated how human activities can trigger earthquakes and underscored the importance of hazard assessment and policy response in this era.