Animations - Free surface We here consider a three-layer models: air/water/solid. We can see that the wave does not enter the air, the incident wave are reflected back into the incident medium. These air/water and air/solid interfaces are free-surface. More important, most seismic-wave sources and measurements are made at or near the free surface; thus it is critical to understand the phonemona of wave reflection at the free surfaces.
Animations - Free surface We here consider a three-layer models: air/solid/solid. We can see that the wave does not enter the air, the incident wave are reflected back into the incident medium. These air/water and air/solid interfaces are free-surface. More important, most seismic-wave sources and measurements are made at or near the free surface; thus it is critical to understand the phonemona of wave reflection at the free surfaces.
Animations - Free surface
The air/solid interface is nonflat for rough terrains; it can have
a very complex shape, thus further complicating the character of land-seismic data.