To investigate the seismic velocity structure of the shallow sediments in the Bohai Sea of China, we conducted a shear-wave velocity inversion of the surface-wave dispersion data from a survey of 12 ocean-bottom seismometers (OBSs) and 377 shots of a $9000{\mathrm{in}}^3$ air gun. With OBS station spacing of approximately 5 km and air-gun shot spacing of approximately 190 m, high-quality Scholte-wave data were recorded by the OBSs within 0.4–5 km offset. We retrieved the Scholte-wave phase-velocity dispersion for the fundamental mode and first overtone in the frequency band of 0.9–3.0 Hz with the phase-shift method and inverted for the shear-wave velocity structure of the shallow sediments with a damped iterative least-squares algorithm. Pseudo-2D shear-wave velocity profiles with a depth of approximately 400 m revealed coherent features of relatively weak lateral velocity variation. We also estimated the uncertainty in shear-wave velocity structure based on the pseudo-2D profiles from six trial inversions with different initial models, which suggested a velocity uncertainty less than $30\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}$ for most parts of the 2D profiles. The layered structure with little lateral variation may be attributable to the continuous sedimentary environment in the Cenozoic sedimentary basin of the Bohai Bay basin. The shear-wave velocity of 200–300 $\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}$ in the top 100 m of the Bohai seafloor may provide important information for offshore site response studies in earthquake engineering. Furthermore, the very low shear-wave velocity structure (150–600 $\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}$) down to 400 m depth could produce a significant traveltime delay of approximately 1 s in the shear-wave arrivals, which needs to be considered to avoid serious bias in shear-wave traveltime tomographic models.

The shear-wave (S-wave) structures of shallow marine sediments are important for offshore geotechnical studies, deep crustal S-wave imaging, multicomponent seismic exploration, and underwater acoustics studies. We have applied the multicomponent Scholte-wave analysis technique to an active-source shallow marine seismic profile in the East China Sea. Scholte waves have been excited by shots from a 5450 inch3 air-gun array and their recordings have been conducted at the seafloor using ocean bottom nodes (OBNs). First, we extract the common-receiver gathers (CRGs) and correct for the time drift simultaneously using a forward and inverse fast Fourier transform resampling algorithm. Three CRGs of seismic sensors are used for Scholte-wave analysis. Raw sensor CRGs are rotated to the inline, crossline, and vertical coordinate system. The rotated tilt and roll angle are directed using the inner electric compass log value, and the shot inline azimuth is estimated using the particle motion method. Then, the velocity spectra are calculated from the inline and vertical components using the phase-shift method. Higher Scholte-wave modes dominate on the horizontal components, whereas the stronger fundamental mode dominates on the vertical components. The multicomponent velocity spectrum stacking method is adopted to produce the final dispersion energy image. Up to four modes of dispersion curves are retrieved within the 1.1–4.3 Hz frequency band. The multimode dispersion curve inversion is constructed for imaging the shallow sediments. The results suggest a low VS of 180–650 m/s and few lateral variations within the top 0.5 km of shallow marine sediments in the East China Sea. This model can provide an important reference for offshore geotechnical investigations, especially for OBN multicomponent seismic exploration data processing. The use of OBNs has high feasibility in VS imaging for shallow marine sediments when combined with the Scholte-wave dispersion-curve inversion.

The southern Mariana subduction zone, home to the Challenger Deep—the deepest known point on Earth—poses significant challenges for studying the hydration of the subducting plate due to its extreme depth. This study uses S‐wave seismic tomography and V _p / V _s ratios to investigate hydration and serpentinization at the Challenger Deep. We observe a low V _p and V _s layer in the upper mantle with V _p / V _s ratios exceeding 1.8, reaching up to 1.95 at the Moho. These high ratios indicate a strong serpentinized layer (>15 vol%) with significant changes in the mechanical properties of the serpentinized peridotite. Additionally, V _p / V _s ratios in the crust and uppermost mantle increase from the outer rise to the trench axis, demonstrating that bending‐related faulting and hydration intensify as the plate approaches the trench. Our results suggest extensive faulting, hydration, and mantle serpentinization at the Challenger Deep, making this region an extreme example of water cycling in subduction zones.

Scholte-wave dispersion analysis is effective at imaging the relatively low shear-wave velocity of shallow marine sediments in marginal seas. The combination of a four-component ocean-bottom-seismometer (OBS) and a towed air-gun source can economically and effectively acquire the marine dispersive seismic data. Extracting higher-order dispersive Scholte wave modes is the most critical problem in the dispersion analysis method. The extremely low shear-wave velocity and severe attenuation in the top hundreds of meters of marginal sea sediment provide an uneven dispersive energy distribution for the four components of the Scholte wave data. The fundamental mode dispersive energy dominates in the vertical component and higher-order modes dominate in the horizontal component. We developed the method of the four-component OBS Scholte velocity-spectra stacking, which can effectively, rapidly, and robustly extract higher-order modes. We imaged the shear-wave velocity structure of complicated shallow marine sediment in the North Yellow Sea using an active OBS seismic profile with a large-volume air-gun array. The fourth higher-order Scholte wave mode can be imaged with the four-component velocity-spectra stacking method with a lower frequency range of 1.0–7.0 Hz. Only the second-order mode can be recognized from the dispersion energy image of the single vertical component. The joint inversion of multimode dispersion curves can provide more accuracy and deeper constraints for the inverted model; thus, the constraint depth with five modes increases by a factor of 1.9 compared with single fundamental mode inversion. The inverted profile suggests a low shear-wave velocity of 123–670 m/s and strong lateral variations within 350 m. The main regional geological structures are shown by the inverted shear-wave velocity structure.

A large hydrothermal field at depths >4300 meters was found on the east Caroline plate in the western Pacific Ocean. Here, we show that large hydrothermal pipes with steep walls and breccia-dominated bottoms suggest explosions of billion metric tons of TNT (trinitrotoluene) equivalent. More than 800 short-duration seismic events were detected within 28 days along a 150-kilometer profile, indicating widespread ongoing explosive gas release. We suggest that billions of tons of hydrogen gas were produced through serpentinization associated with fluid infiltration via fractures formed by bending of the oceanic plate. Hydrogen was retained in fractures sealed by mud and carbonate. However, hydrogen alone cannot produce the explosive capacity responsible for the formation of pipes. Oxygen released from circulating seawater can be concentrated at crustal depths and then mixed with mantle-derived hydrogen. Explosion of the gas mixture releases large amounts of heat that triggers further explosions of compressed hydrogen gas and results in the formation of hydrothermal pipes.