Evaluation And Prediction Of Shear Wave Velocities In Soft Marine Sediments

Abstract

Shear wave velocities from full waveform acoustic logs were determined at DSDP Site 613 using the spectral ratio inversion method. Discrete shear wave velocities for a 350 meter interval at 0.5-2 meter depth increments were calculated. Shear wave velocities were not evaluated for the upper 130m of the log because of data recording problems. The sediments of Site 613 represent a progression from carbonaceous-siliceous oozes through partial lithification and cementation. A method for predicting shear wave velocities using Wood's equation, the bulk moduli of water and carbonate grains, the P-wave velocity and porosity from well logs will be described. The predictions of this method provided a theoretical maximum value for the shear wave velocity to compare with the inversion results. In general, the method works well for shear wave velocities greater than 800 m/s. The inverted data fall just below the predicted theoretical maximum value from Wood's equation and agree quite well with the trends. Below this velocity threshold, trends with depth and Poisson's ratio and the divergence of the inversion itself seem to indicate incorrect behavior.