Generalized Ray Theory for an Inhomogeneous Medium

Abstract

The impulse response of a plane layered medium can be studied by the generalized ray method, often called the Cagniard‐de Hoop method. The response of an inhomogeneous medium can be simulated by approximating the model by many thin homogeneous layers. This method is extended to allow the response of an inhomogeneous medium to be obtained directly. The technique can be adapted for a spherical stratified model using the Earth flattening transformation. It is shown that the seismogram of first order reflections is not exact even for the first motion. The result for the response of an inhomogeneous medium is sufficiently simple that the effect of model perturbations can be derived directly. Copyright © 1974, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved