How optics can sharpen diffuse images of structures in the Earth's brittle crust

What is it about?

Vast parts of the Earth's crust consist of so-called crystalline (or "hard") rocks, which heavily diffract seismic waves, making internal structure almost invisible to the seismic method. For a 3D controlled-source seismic field dataset acquired in Saxony, Germany, we demonstrate that coherence arguments borrowed from optics can help to focus the diffusely scattered energy to make fault structures visible, which could not be observed traditionally.

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Why is it important?

Our work demonstrates that seismic imaging in crystalline rocks is not impossible, but that non-traditional concepts need to be employed. Optics with its long history of research and everyday sensory experience is familiar with this problem of diffusivity and provides recipes that can help to sharpen seismic images in these demanding environments.