Abstract

A common assumption in reflection seismology is that the interfaces are perfectly welded, implying continuity of both traction and particle velocity. At an imperfectly coupled (or non-welded) interface, like a fault or a fracture, traction can generally still be assumed continuous, but particle velocity can not. Such interfaces can be described with a linear slip boundary condition, where the particle velocity discontinuity is assumed to relate linearly to the interface traction through the interface compliance. We evaluate seismic reflections at non-welded interfaces sandwiched between general anisotropic media and show that at low frequencies the real parts of the reflection coefficients can be approximated by the responses of equivalent welded interfaces, whereas the imaginary parts can be related directly to the interface compliances