Seismic tomography is a cornerstone of geophysics and has led to a number of important discoveries about the interior of the Earth. However, seismic tomography remains plagued by the large number of unknown parameters in most tomographic applications. This leads to the inverse problem being underdetermined and requiring significant non-geologically motivated smoothing in order to achieve unique answers. Although this solution is acceptable when using tomography as an explorative tool in discovery mode, it presents a significant problem to use of tomography in distinguishing between acceptable geological models or in estimating geologically relevant parameters since typically none of the geological models considered are fit by the tomographic results, even when uncertainties are accounted for. To address this challenge, when seismic tomography is to be used for geological model selection or parameter estimation purposes, we advocate that the tomography can be explicitly parametrized in terms of the geological models being tested instead of using more mathematically convenient formulations like voxels, splines or spherical harmonics. Our proposition has a number of technical difficulties associated with it, with some of the most important ones being the move from a linear to a non-linear inverse problem, the need to choose a geological parametrization that fits each specific problem and is commensurate with the expected data quality and structure, and the need to use a supporting framework to identify which model is preferred by the tomographic data. In this contribution, we introduce geological parametrization of tomography with a few simple synthetic examples applied to imaging sedimentary basins and subduction zones, and one real-world example of inferring basin and crustal properties across the continental United States. We explain the challenges in moving towards more realistic examples, and discuss the main technical difficulties and how they may be overcome. Although it may take a number of years for the scientific program suggested here to reach maturity, it is necessary to take steps in this direction if seismic tomography is to develop from a tool for discovering plausible structures to one in which distinct scientific inferences can be made regarding the presence or absence of structures and their physical characteristics.
This content will become publicly available on May 3, 2025
Seismic tomography is the most abundant source of information about the internal structure of the Earth at scales ranging from a few meters to thousands of kilometers. It constrains the properties of active volcanoes, earthquake fault zones, deep reservoirs and storage sites, glaciers and ice sheets, or the entire globe. It contributes to outstanding societal problems related to natural hazards, resource exploration, underground storage, and many more. The recent advances in seismic tomography are being translated to nondestructive testing, medical ultrasound, and helioseismology. Nearly 50 yr after its first successful applications, this article offers a snapshot of modern seismic tomography. Focused on major challenges and particularly promising research directions, it is intended to guide both Earth science professionals and early-career scientists. The individual contributions by the coauthors provide diverse perspectives on topics that may at first seem disconnected but are closely tied together by a few coherent threads: multiparameter inversion for properties related to dynamic processes, data quality, and geographic coverage, uncertainty quantification that is useful for geologic interpretation, new formulations of tomographic inverse problems that address concrete geologic questions more directly, and the presentation and quantitative comparison of tomographic models. It remains to be seen which of these problems will be considered solved, solved to some extent, or practically unsolvable over the next decade.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1945565
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10527288
- Publisher / Repository:
- Seismological Society of America
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
- Volume:
- 114
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 0037-1106
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1185 to 1213
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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