Head waves – also called refraction arrivals, lateral waves,
or conical waves – have been used extensively in near-earthquake studies,
geophysical prospecting, and deep-crustal seismological investigations. In the past,
research was confined largely to the kinematic characteristics of the waves, but
emphasis is now being given to the dynamic characteristics: amplitudes, spectra, and
wave forms. In the last fifteen years, several new mathematical and computational
techniques have been developed to study these waves.

This is an advanced,
technical book presenting a consistent theory of head waves, using methods developed
in the famous Leningrad school under G.I. Petrashen and his colleagues. It proceeds
from a consideration of the simplest problem of one interface to a study of the
situation in which there are many interfaces (some of which may not be plane or
parallel to one another) and the material between the interfaces is not necessarily
homogenous. The method is used principally, though not exclusively, that of ray
series in which the displacement vector is expressed in terms of an asymptotic
series in inverse powers of frequency. The volume includes numerical data and an
extensive bibliography.

This book is intended as a text for graduate and
senior undergraduate students in geophysics, and as a reference work for practising
seismologists and research workers.

Vlastislav Červený is a professor of geophysics at Charles University in Prague.

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Ravi Ravindra, Ph.D., is a spiritual visionary, scholar, and leading international speaker on religion, science, and spirituality. A native of India, he emigrated to Canada and is Professor Emeritus at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he served for many years as a professor in Comparative Religion, Philosophy and Physics. He was a Member of the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla, and Founding Director of the Threshold Award for Integrative Knowledge. He has been a member of the Board of Judges for the prestigious Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. Ravindra's spiritual search has led him to the teachings of J. Krishnamurti, G. Gurdjieff, Yoga, Zen, and a deep immersion in the mystical teachings of the Indian and Christian classical traditions. He is the author of many books, including Christ the Yogi: A Hindu Reflection on the Gospel of John and Krishnamurti: Two Birds on One Tree.

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