Revisiting Lunar Seismic Experiment Data Using the Multichannel Simulation with One Receiver (MSOR) Approach and Random Field Modeling.

Mahvelati, Siavash; Coe, Joseph T.

Major advancements in surface wave testing over the past 2 decades have led researchers to revisit and re-analyze archived seismic records, particularly those involving measurements on the Moon. The goal of such recent efforts with lunar seismic measurements has been to gain further insights into lunar geology. We examined the active seismic data from the Apollo 16 mission for their surface wave information using a multichannel approach. The inversion of Rayleigh surface waves provided a subsurface estimate for the uppermost 8 m of the lunar subsurface with the shear wave velocities varying from 40 to 50 m/s at the surface to velocities in the range of 95–145 m/s with an average of 120 m/s at a depth of about 7 m. Generally, the results from this inversion demonstrated good agreement with previous studies. Also, we carried out numerical modeling of wave propagation in a highly-heterogeneous domain to examine the effects of such anomalous features on the acquired seismograms. Results confirmed that a sharp-contrast bi-material domain can indeed produce significant coda wave as reflected on the lunar seismic traces.

SURFACE waves (Seismic waves); RANDOM fields; RAYLEIGH waves; THEORY of wave motion; FRICTION velocity; LUNAR craters; SHEAR waves

Earth, Moon & Planets, 2020, Vol 124, Issue 3/4, p73

0167-9295

Academic Journal

10.1007/s11038-020-09536-6