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Observations of the transition from linear polarization to complex polarization in short-period compressional waves

LAMOMT-DOHERTY GEOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, PALISADES, NEW YORK 10964
DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10027

Abstract

We measure the polarization of compressional waves from seismograms of chemical explosion of the Ontario-New York-New England refraction experiment recorded by the seven element ECO array in the New York Adirondack mountains. After careful instrument calibration, a precision of about 5° is achieved in measuring the azimuth of the compressional wave polarization direction. The azimuth of the polarization of the onset of the P wave differs from the geometrical source-receiver azimuth by as much as 20°, possible due to deflection of the first-arriving ray by lateral variation in crustal structure. Shortly after the onset of P, the polarization changes from the linear polarization expected of a compressional wave to become very complex. The time of this transition increases with source-receiver distance, from about 0.4 to 0.5 sec at 50 km distance and 0.7 to 0.8 sec at 150 km distance. The complex polarization may be due to the arrival of strongly scattered waves that have propagated mainly in the shallow crust, which would imply that the upper 1 to 2 km of the crust is particularly heterogeneous.